TASCAM DR-10L PRO Review - Micro Audio Recorder for Video

In this episode we review the new TASCAM DR-10L PRO lavalier micro recorder. This audio recorder can be used instead of wireless microphone systems. Instead of sending the audio wirelessly back to your camera or audio recorder, the audio is recorded on the body pack. Then in post production, you sync the audio to the video clips. And the DR-10L PRO makes that pretty easy with timecode support. It also records 32-bit float wide dynamic range audio so the chances of your sound clipping or distorting is much lower than with traditional recorders. Let’s take a closer look and listen!

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. Our latest courses cover Sound for Live Streaming with the ATEM Mini and an Intro to Izotope RX.

Support my work creating videos by donating at Ko-Fi.com.

Gear used or mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, DVEStore, Perfect Circuit, Trew Audio or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:

- TASCAM DR-10L PRO micro audio recorder — B&H

- TASCAM AK-BT1 bluetooth module to enable mobile app control and bluetooth timecode — B&H, Amazon

- ZOOM F2BT micro audio recorder — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon

- Tentacle Sync Track E micro audio recorder — B&H, Amazon

- RODE Wireless GO II wireless microphone system — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon

- DJI Mic wireless microphone system — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon

- Amaran 200x S LED light — B&H, Amazon, Aputure

- Aputure Light Dome II soft box — Aputure, B&H, Amazon

- Aputure Spotlight Mount — Aputure, B&H, DVE Store, Amazon

- Rosco Prismatic Glass Gobo in Cool Lavender — B&H

- Canon C70 Cinema Camera — B&H

- Canon RF 24-70 f/2.8 lens — B&H, Amazon

- Panasonic GH5 camera — B&H, Amazon

- Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 II lens — B&H, Amazon

The intro and outro music for this episode is from Musicbed - “Dynamo” by Virgil Arles. Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself.

Copyright 2023, Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: TASCAM DR-10L Pro preview & Q&A

In this week's session, we have a first look at the TASCAM DR-10L PRO, an update to the original DR-10L body pack recorder which is quite popular amongst creators, independent video creators, and wedding videographers. This new version steps forward with 32-bit float recording and remote bluetooth control. This is just the first look, we'll have a full review in a few weeks. Then we answer your sound for video questions.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at https://school.learnlightandsound.com including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. We have a course on sound for live-streaming with the ATEM Mini and just added Introduction to Izotope RX for Dialogue Audio.

Gear I often use or that we mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, DVE Store, Waves, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:

- TASCAM DR-10L PRO audio recorder — B&H https://geni.us/fJfNXC

- TASCAM AK-BT1 bluetooth module for iOS/Android control — B&H, Amazon https://geni.us/k18a

- Mackie DLZ Creator — B&H, Amazon https://geni.us/42KrX0

- Earthworks ETHOS microphone — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon https://geni.us/8G8UdBB

- Sound Devies 888 field recorder/mixer — Trew, B&H, Sweetwater https://geni.us/zAryW4J

- Sound Devices MixPre II Series Recorders - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon https://geni.us/O8e0

- Panasonic GH5 camera - B&H, Amazon https://geni.us/InspOl

- Canon C200 Camera - B&H https://geni.us/9Zi4m4a

- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens — B&H, Amazon https://geni.us/kZyU7e

- ATEM Mini Extreme & Extreme ISO - B&H, DVE Store, Amazon https://geni.us/b8my

- Allen & Heath SQ5 Digital Mixer - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon https://geni.us/sRxFU90

- Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel, pre-amp, EQ, compressor - Sweetwater, B&H https://geni.us/9ZfE77

- Universal Audio 6176 channel strip pre-amp, EQ, compressor — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon https://geni.us/505L55n

The intro and outro music for this episode is from Musicbed. Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself: https://geni.us/G7by

Copyright 2023, Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: 2017 Audio Gear Highlights

In this week's sound for video session, I talk through some of the highlights in sound gear for film and video in 2017.

This episode shot/recorded with:

RODELink Filmmaker kit (I did NOT use the included lavalier microphone)
Voice Technologies VT500 Lavalier Microphone
Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder/Mixer
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 ART Lens

Music licensed from Artlist: Midday Moon by Vikings in Tibet. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.

Previous Episodes covering the gear in more detail:

Tentacle Sync E:

Ambient Recording NanoLockit:

Zoom F-Control:

Mixing Sound for 2 People:

Sound Devices MixPre-6:

MixPre vs Zoom Series:

Sound Devices MixPre-10T:

5 Shotgun Microphones:

RODE VideoMic Pro+:

Tascam DR-10L:

Izotope RX6:

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Fix Waveform Asymmetry, Gear, Bias Power, Preamp Quality

In this week's episode we cover questions submitted by our little community on how to record and process better sound:

- How to fix asymmetric waveforms in Audition
- Recommended gear for no/low/big budget films
- Sound Devices MM1, Tascam DR-10CS and bias power
- Recording dynamic scenes
- Getting audio from FCPX to Audition
- Why is there such a big quality difference between the Zoom H6 and F8?

Here are links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:

Episode on Microphones:

Audio Recorders/Mixers:

Tascam DR-10L: 

Tascam DR-10CS (not available in the US)

XtoCC (App to convert an XML file of the audio from FCPX to a format that Audition can read):

Tascam DR-10L Micro Recorder and Lavalier Review

If you need to record audio wirelessly but you don’t have a lot of money and you want to make sure you get the best possible audio quality, the Tascam DR-10L is worth a look. It is not a traditional wireless lavalier microphone kit. Instead of transmitting the audio to your camera, it records the audio. Then when editing your video, you simply sync the audio from your Tascam to the video recorded by your camera. Don’t worry, it isn’t hard as you can see here:

The audio quality of the Tascam is quite good, especially if you place the lavalier microphone on the talent’s forehead or their ear. I know, that sounds like crazy talk, but it sounds much better than on the talent’s chest. Try it some time!

The DR-10L has a solid feature set on the most critical things. Battery life is good at 7 hours on a single AAA alkaline battery (longer on Ni-MH or lithium), easy to use controls, a useful screen, a locking plug for the microphone, and more. Let’s have a closer look!

Sound for Video Session: Setting up Your Recorder or Mixer

This week, more requests for "How do I set up my recorder?" My goal is to help you understand the concepts so that you can set up ANY recorder/mixer.

We gave examples using the Tascam DR-60DmkII and Zoom F8 but the settings are similar on all recorders.

The main settings you need to set: 

1) Record format: WAV or BWF (on the Zoom F8, this is the default so you don't have to set this up)

2) What to record - tell it how many channels (on the Tascam) or on the Zoom F8, tell it whether you want just the ISO channels or ISO + a stereo mix (L & R channels). Remember that if you have a recorder like the F8 which is also a mixer, the faders affect the levels of the sound in the stereo mix track, not in the ISO tracks.

3) Sample Rate: 48kHz for broadcast, 44.1kHz if for YouTube or other online distribution

4) Bit Rate - 24 bit. I do this because then I have more room in post to process the audio. if you choose 16 bit, your audio files will be smaller, but you'll potentially have a harder time doing things like noise reduction.

5) Gain (sometimes called input or level) - set this until the peak meters show the loudest parts hitting -12dB. Of course your talent needs to talk while you get this set. Typically I'm looking for them to talk for 30 seconds so that I feel comfortable

Tascam DR-701D Audio Recorder Review

If you like to capture the best sound for your video and film projects and you’re a solo or small crew operation, you might find the Tascam DR-701D to be a nice piece of gear. The recorder has 4 XLR/TRS inputs as well as a 3.5mm stereo mini jack input and can record 4 tracks plus a stereo mix at the same time. The build quality is a very nice step up from Tascam’s previous recorders with its magnesium alloy body. It also has some really useful and unique features like the ability to receive timecode from DSLR and mirrorless cameras via HDMI input and the ability to start recording when you press record on your camera.

We also spend several minutes comparing the DR-701D to the Zoom F8, another recorder targeted at independent and small crew filmmakers. One thing I ran out of time to include in the video is that the Tascam does not appear to have the ability to solo an input/track so that's another consideration if that feature is important to you.

Overall, this is a great little recorder for solo and small crew film and video making crews.

Recorder Rendezvous: Special Pricing on Audio Recorders

B&H has an Audio Recorder special pricing event going December 11th and 12th they call Recorder Rendezvous. If you're in the market for a recorder, there appear to be some nice deals worth checking out:

Tascam DR-70D and RODE NTG2 package with all the accessories you'll need (SD card, XLR cable, 3.5mm cable, batteries) for $499.

The good old Zoom H1 can be had for $69. This is still a great option to use in lieu of wireless lavalier systems when you're on a tighter budget. This and the Countryman B6 made an impressive combination in my tests.

One little item that caught my eye that I'd like to try is the Tascam DR10X (in this package with a Senal Reporter's mic) for $199. This is a tiny audio recorder you plug onto the end of a mic and it records the audio to SD or microSD card. Could be interesting to create a "wireless" boom mic with this. (Yes, in the photo they show a RODE mic but the package actually includes a Senal mic).

Black Friday Deal: Tascam DR-60DmkII & RODE NTG2

One last gear nerd black Friday notice and we're moving back to other things: B&H has a deal on the Tascam DR-60DmkII recorder with the RODE NTG2 Shotgun Microphone for $379 USD.  Normally they'd cost over $450 separately.

I've used this combination many times in my corporate jobs with great results. If you're just getting started, this is probably the best deal I've seen on a solid shotgun and recorder combination.

My review of the Tascam recorder:

https://youtu.be/TRoIMPHS91U

And my really old review of the RODE NTG2 shotgun microphone:

https://youtu.be/GlQ32DwdpEw

Power Your Tascam or Zoom Recorder All Day

Tascam and Zoom recorders are really impressive for their price, but given that they are made for cost conscious film makers like myself, the engineers had to sacrifice some things. On the Tascams in particular (DR-60D, 70D), battery life seems to be one of the things that isn’t perfect for longer shoots. The 4 AA batteries power the DR-60D for about 2.5 to 3 hours when phantom powering two mics.

So what can you do for those days when you have a 6 hour shoot?

You could carry around a lot of AA batteries and change them out several times, hopefully without sacrificing any of the takes. And if you’re recording a live event, you cannot afford to stop the recording while you change batteries.

The USB batteries on the market can be a good solution. In this episode we look at two on the market: Coocheer (cost conscious option that offers nearly 8 hours of power for the DR-60D with two phantom powered mics) and LifeCHARGE (pricier option that offers over 20 hours for the same recorder/mic combo).