Handheld Field Recorders

Handheld field recorders are all-in-one recording devices that are small enough to fit comfortably in your hand. They have their own, built-in microphones and are capable of recording sounds straight out of the box.

Because they need few accessories and are simple to operate, they are popular field recorders for beginners.

Some even offer phantom power for powering external professional condenser microphones.

Zoom H1n

The Zoom H1n is a great field recorders for beginners.

It’s very small and is capable of recording louder sounds like dialog and some sound effects with very little noticeable self noise.

For recording quieter signals, I recommend using a pair of Primo EM272 PiP microphones to greatly lower the self noise of the H1n.

Recommendation: Good sound quality for beginners not wanting to invest much to get started with sound recording. With relatively high self noise, it’s best to use low noise PiP microphones to lower the noise floor.

For more detailed information about the Zoom H1n, please see my review here.

Zoom H5

The Zoom H5 is a good beginner field recorder with support for x2 phantom powered condenser microphones.

With -121 dBu self noise, the H5 is decently quiet and will be able to record most signals with little background hiss.

However, it is still not quiet enough to capture very quiet natural ambiences like nature sounds.

Similar to the H1n, the H5 supports PiP microphones and they can be used to lower the noise floor.

The internal X/Y microphones can be removed and exchanged with multiple capsule options including:

Recommendation: The Zoom H5 is a good handheld field recorder for beginners wanting to experiment with external condenser microphones requiring phantom power.

Zoom H6

The Zoom H6 is almost identical to the Zoom H5 but includes 2 additional XLR/TRS inputs for a total of 4.

With -121dBu of self noise, it has acceptable noise performance for most circumstances, save the quietest sounds like natural ambiences.

The H6 also supports PiP, which can lower the noise floor.

Recommendation: The Zoom H6 is a good budget choice for production sound requiring multiple microphone inputs. However, the relatively noisy preamps may need noise reduction software applied for satisfactory results.

Sony PCM A10

The Sony A10 is similar to the Zoom H1n in size and self noise.

Unique to the A10 is its internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery and built-in USB-A output allowing the A10 to directly connect to a computer for direct file transfer.

The PCM A10 also features swiveling internal microphones that can be arranged in X-Y or 120° wide stereo positions. However, because the internal microphones are quite noisy, you’ll want to use external PiP mics like the ultra quiet Primo EM272 capsules for low noise recordings.

Its built in USB port make for easy external powering via a USB power supply. The A10 can record for about 20 hours while being powered by a modest 5,000mAh power bank (while powering PiP microphones).

Recommendation: The Sony PCM A10 makes a great field recorder for drop rig recordings. It’s small, easily accepts USB power, and sounds great with low noise PiP microphones.

The A10 has been discontinued by Sony and is only available on eBay.

Sony PCM D100

The Sony PCM-D100 is the king of all handheld field recorders. It has the quietest preamps of any model (-127 dBu) and comes with some great accessories, but it’s not cheap and doesn’t support XLR microphones.

This is my primary handheld recorder and it is awesome for capturing quiet nature sounds.

My favorite features of the D100 include the swiveling microphone capsules, the aluminum body, its great battery life, and of course, its low self-noise. I also love the included case and wind protection. It also comes with a remote control and receiver, but I haven’t found a use for them.

Recommendation: The Sony PCM D100 is the best handheld field recorder if you don’t require phantom power. Unfortunately, it’s been discontinued by Sony but new and used models occasionally pop up on eBay.

Olympus LS-10

The Olympus has long since been discontinued by Olympus but it is much sought after on used marketplaces.

The LS-10 is small, built from aluminum, and has quiet preamps with -121 dBu self noise.

It runs on x2 AA batteries and is not easily powered by USB power banks. It only accepts DC power via a barrel connector.

The LS-10 is my primary drop rig recorder. With 2,000mAh AA batteries installed, I’m able to record for 12 hours at 48kHz/24-bit. I would record at 96kHz, but the maximum capacity SD card allowed is 16GB.

The slightly newer, yet still discontinued LS-11 supports up to 32GB cards.

Recommendation: The Olympus is an extremely well-made handheld. They can be found for around $100 on eBay which is a steal for its performance.