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Hi wonderful JW members! It's been a little while since I posted on here and I wanted to start by thanking everyone for the wonderful resource this forum is. I want to start a conversation about the pros/cons of small portable recorders to be paired with DSLR or other cameras for lower budget or "one man band" type shoots. I'd love to hear people's opinions and experiences with recorders in this market. Specifically I am thinking of 3 recorders that are out right now: The Tascam DR-60D (which has a great thread started by Tom Duffy and a review by Ty Ford ), the Zoom H6 (which has a short discussion that is mostly negative ), and the Fostex DC-R302 (which has a great thread has some negative comments mixed in with small positive reviews). I guess I'll start with my thoughts and see where that takes us. This thread is for a decent, compact recorder to be used for OMB type purposes. I wouldn't put a budget cap on this, more a size cap/cam compatibility. I'd be willing to spend close to $1,500 if there were a very compact pro recorder that was easily paired with DSLRs. (I also preface all of this in saying I am primarily a DP/Op and in every single case I am able, I hire a sound professional to accompany me. This is for those other times.) I used to record with a Sound Devices 702 and it (for me) was an amazing, durable, very simple and intuitive recorder. I dream that SD would put out a mini-702 to pair with DSLRs, but I digress. My thoughts on... - Tascam DR-60D: I don't think it has the worst form factor, but definitely not great. I personally would never put this thing under my camera on a tripod (it is way too high and would make operating more difficult and would not be conducive to switching to handheld quickly.) If I imagine using this (or really any of these recorders) I would probably mount it behind camera on 15mm rods. It seems still a little tall here, but I could deal. I am most concerned with the "zipper effect" I've read about from adjusting trim while rolling. I would also love to hear more thoughts on this unit's pre-amps. - Zoom H6: I always hated (and thus never owned) a Zoom H4N. I thought they were frankly crap recorders that were not easy to use or effectively monitor levels. This recorder seems a step up, but still not really geared the same way towards using with a DSLR setup. I am very worried about the quality of the preamps on this guy. It also is a bit weird to use with a DSLR. I would probably take off the top console and mount it behind the camera on rods. This would actually lay flatter than the Tascam behind the camera, but the form factor is so weird that having cords run from 2 directions may be crappy. - Fostex DC-R302: My main concern here is the fact that it is the only recorder of the 3 that does not record 3 individual tracks for 3 mics. 3 channel mixer - 2 channel recorder. Since a semi-common scenario is 2 lavs & a boom, this is a problem. It is flatter than the Tascam, so I may debate actually putting it below camera, but it still seems a little heavy and big. The big question is are the pre-amps that much better than the Tascam & the H6 to warrant the price jump (almost double)? I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on these recorders or definitely suggestions of other recorders that may work. This is a piece of gear that I absolutely need very soon, but seem pretty distressed with all of my options.