TASCAMDR-60DMKII – Portable linear PCM Stereo Recorder for DSLR

Excellent piece of equipment. I was worried about buying something a little more complex than I was used to. I was torn between this and something simpler like a Zoom handheld recorder. I'm very happy I chose this instead.Two XLR cables with phantom power allow you to connect microphones easily and quickly to either record two tracks or one stereo track. There's a 3.5mm jack that allows you to add two more lines (channel 3 & 4 for lapel mics or wireless mics). The dials on the front allow you to control the gain very easily and there's a clear monitor that tells you the DB. On the right hand side there's a jack for headphones for direct monitoring and lines for Camera in and Camera out (if you want to make a scratch tape I believe but I don't do this and my camera doesn't have a microphone jack so I can't comment on the success of that). I use this to record audio separately and then synchronise it with the video - the SD card is on the side and is easy to take out and insert into the PC or you can connect the two via USB.Some people have criticised this for not being sturdy. I would disagree. It is a solid piece of equipment, well put together. Would it survive being dropped from a height? Probably not, but I doubt many field recorders would. This is sturdy, well designed and easy to use. It produces very high quality, broadcast-quality audio, for amateurs and professionals alike.The only flaw is the recorder eats batteries amazingly quickly. If you get this, I would recommend also buying a ANKER powerbank or something similar. The DR60 will run for less than an hour on regular rechargeable batteries - powered by a powerbank it will run for almost a working day. You can get an AC adaptor so you can plug it in the mains, but that obviously reduces the portability of the DR.Overall, it might seem a little expensive but it is well worth it. If you are interested in recording audio for video, or recording interviews this is a must-have especially for amateurs starting out.

When it comes to budget-friendly pre-amps and field recorders there are two names that tend to dominate the conversation - ZOOM and Tascam. Having used ZOOM field recorders for several years while working in radio production it should have been my first choice when it came to freelance work and personal usage, but I was never happy with the file system used by ZOOMs.So I decided to give Tascam a chance and bought a DR-60D Mk II in March of 2018.Since then it has proven to be an absolute workhorse for fieldwork. It's been dropped (more than once - I do not recommend it), suffered through blizzards, storms and blazing hot weather, and in general been so much of a reliable bit of kit that I went and bought a DR-70D as well! I've heard some people complain about it feeling plasticky and lacking in sturdiness, which are fair points but if you want something that's basically a brick with XLR and TRS inputs then expect to pay a hell of a lot more.Now there may be some complaints about audio quality but I can honestly say that most of that will be equipment-based. Like most recording devices it will pick up what you feed into it, so if your mics or cables aren't connected properly or something has a fault then it will show up on your recordings. Unfortunately for me, I worked in 2nd-line tech support for many years in a previous life so I'm a little bit OCD when it comes to fault checking and in five years of usage there have only been a handful of occasions where I couldn't definitely isolate an audio problem - and n each of those occasions the DR60-D Mk II worked perfectly fine with alternative microphones, cables and cameras.Controls on the DR60-D Mk II are surprisingly easy to grasp and it doesn't have the annoying file system of the ZOOMs. I have to admit I prefer the smooth volume and gain control offered by the knobs on the DR60-D Mk II to the stepped approach of the DR-70D.One of the biggest plus point for the DR60-D Mk II is the fact that you can run it and any attached XLR mics with phantom power from a battery bank. It also serves as a rather good pre-amp for video production, although connecting it so that your audio feeds directly into the camera can be a little fiddly.Overall I'd say that the Tascam DR60-D Mk II is a great field recorder and pre-amp and it easy holds up well against its nearest competitors.

The DR 60D was purchased for a specific purpose, to record 4 mics 2 from XLR and 2 using a two channel 3.5mm source so this was the perfect device.This is quite simple to use especially if you have used digital audio recorders before. Menu system is quite straight forward. Having actual buttons and dials rather than being forced to use on screen menus is useful.Plenty of recording options including a back up at a different gain level.When recording from a RODE Wireksss Go and Go II I had to use some gain to get a useable volume level and you do pick up some noise on the recordings thereofre you may need to clean this up in post.Audio quality not quite as good as my old Sony PCM M10 but thats only 2 channels. Recording quality also dependent on what mics you use and the enviroment. Certainly audio is good enough for my professional needs and has been used on a broadcast TV show,Build quality is a bit plasticy but it doesn't look as though it will break. I transport it in a padded bag.For the price, the fact it has ,4 channels, the input options, and features, it gets a solid 4 stars. Better cleaner pre-amps would have given an extra half star. I am satisfied with the purchase.