Chosing a recorder for sound birding - the Sony PCM A10

In a previous post on recording birds with a camera or mobile phone, I described how you can make quite decent recordings just using your camera or mobile phone. In this post I will discuss how I decided on buying a Sony PCM A10 recorder. You can read more about the technical details of digital recording in my longer article The Basics of Sound Recording for Birders.

Going into the equipment jungle of sound birding is a challenge! What kind of microphone do I need? What kind of recorder? What about those shotgun microphones and parabolic microphones; do I need that? What software is needed to work with the recordings? And how much will it cost? How much do I want to spend? And how many more kilos of technical gadgets will I need in the field? And, have I really thought about how I’d like to record birds songs and calls?

So I started googling and reading blog posts and forums, and this article is a summary of my first voyage into this strange jungle!

My first shortlist of requirements after doing some initial research was:

• I want something that is easy and light weight to carry along and which also easily fits in a trouser och jacket pocket. I’d like to have something handy to pull out and record that weird subsong of a small brown job in the thicket! Or to record that happy bunch of Crossbills feeding up in the pines above me on a walk in the woods!
• I also want something that could be used for nocmigging, which is short for recording calls of passing birds in nocturnal migration. That means something that can be used for outdoor recording during the night for 8-10 hours.
• I’d like to keep the cost low, until I’ve learned more about how it all works, and decided on a budget of at the most 2.000 kr (Swedish Crowns ~$200).

I quickly realized that a smaller hand recorder was what I wanted, since I realized that all of them have built in microphones and also have input jacks for external microphones. So I could choose to buy a decent to good recorder now, and then buy an even better external microphone for my recorder, for example a shotgun or parabolic parabolic microphone, at a later point in time.

So now I just focused on doing an inventory of the available recorders. The table below is an incomplete table of the recorders I considered buying, with some very brief notes.

Many recorders are used by musicians and as dictaphones by journalists, so bear in mind that their reviews are based on other needs, than those of a birder.

Here are a few links that discuss and review recording equipment:

• Soundbirding - Which Recording Device?
• Soundxplorer - Comparing Handheld Recorders & External Microphones
• Choosing a Sound Recorder for Nature Recording: The Essentials
• The Bird Sounds Recording forum at birdforum.net

Eventually I decided on buying the Sony PCM A10 because:

• It has a great preamp and good microphones.
• It has a jack for connecting an external microphone.
• It’s small and light weight.
• It has good reviews.
• A few reviewers commented on that it is really fast to turn on and start recording, compared to other brands and models.
• Many reviewers commented on that the controls and display interface was really easy to understand and use.
• It has a built in USB connector, that you can push out and just stick into your computer, and then easily copy over the sound files.
• I found I could buy it for only 1.500 kr (~$150) on Amazon from a seller in Hong Kong!
• I like Sony, because they’re usually good at hardware (less so at software).

I’ve now had it for 10 months and I’m really satisfied with it. I’ve had it on field trips and I’ve used it for nocmigging during nights with temperatures down to 6-7 degrees Celcius (protected in a plastic bag). It weighs nothing and easily fits in my trouser pockets. From turning it on to starting to record it takes at most 4-5 seconds.

And if you haven’t already discovered it, do take the time to read and enjoy the stunning and magnificent The Sound Approach - Understanding bird sound!