by Rachel Smith
06 May 2015
A question for you: what digital voice recorder / tech gear do you use? Thanks! Stef
Everyone will have a different response to this one, Stef (and I hope they offer some answers for you in the comments). From my point of view I’ve always thought less is more, so this is a short list – but it’s all the gear I use all the time and I’ve found I don’t really need anything else:
Desktop: Dell XPS with Windows 7. It’s a few years’ old now but I’ve been happy with it overall. I use Outlook, Word and Chrome as my browser and find that’s plenty. For my invoicing and pitch tracking, I use Excel spreadsheets.
Laptop: Macbook Air. A newish addition to my kit but one I love for working anywhere. If I want to work in a cafe, I use my iPhone as a hotspot (instant Internet!).
Tablet: iPad 2. I used to do a bit of work on this before I got the Macbook but now it’s essentially a reader to cosy up on the couch with at night, or in bed, to catch up on blogs and news and to Tweet, etc. I have used it to do some Skype interviews and it has also doubled as an essential back-up for interviews.
Dictaphone: Olympus WS-100 64 MB Digital Voice Recorder with USB Interface. I bought this for about $150 overseas years ago (about 8 years ago now) and it’s still going strong, but there are plenty of better, more updated options now. Still, it serves me well for both face to face interviews and phoners (when used with a landline pick-up connection kit – available at Officeworks). The USB makes it easy to download interviews to your computer for transcribing and you can save interviews in separate folders on the device too.
Dictaphone back-up: This will sound bodgy, but when my dictaphone has been out of batteries I’ve done phoners with my iPhone on speaker, next to my iPad with a microphone app running (ideal in the quietest room you can get so you get the best sound possible). While it’s sounds a bit strange, it actually works like a charm and there’s no downloading of files; the digital file is already on your iPad and easy to transcribe.
Camera: I use a Canon EOS 450D for travelling but my iPhone camera for shots more often now, especially blog posts, because the quality is surprisingly good. However, I’d love to invest in a smaller digital camera at some point.
So, that’s what’s in my kit. What’s in yours? Please share in the comments the gadgets you find invaluable as a journo / freelancer, especially if you use a whiz-bang dictaphone that you’d recommend (I’d love to upgrade mine eventually!) I’d also love suggestions on good, not too expensive digital cameras.
I agree with your ‘less is more’ statement, Rachel. And your dictaphone back-up is not bodgy at all! When working from the home office I often record directly onto my computer with my iPhone on speaker. For international interviews I sometimes use Skype and record the conversation using Quicktime. I find it simpler to work from the one device and Skype is much cheaper than using the mobile (although it does require a stable internet connection!).
I admit I’ve never taped Skype interviews using your method Leigh, will have to try that. I do like not having to transfer sound files (always a bit paranoid) which is why I did love doing the ipad/iphone interviews recently.
For years I’ve used Skype with a recording program as my main interview tool- have tried Callburner (don’t bother), Skylook (great but a resource hog) and Powergramo (OK but non-existent support if you have a problem) – plus an old Sony dictaphone for the rare face to face.
Just recently I discovered TapeACall for iPhone and it means that now my iPhone does the lot.
Ooh, hadn’t heard of TapeACall – must check that out. Thanks for the tip Darren.
Great to hear about TapeaCall. There are not many ways to record a call on the same mobile that you’re talking on.
Hey Rachel, I swapped from a Blackberry to an iPhone four years ago and also got an iPad not long after that. I still have a Windows desktop and laptop but I’ve got to admit I really love my Apple stuff and I’m really seriously thinking about getting a Macbook Air or Pro to replace my Windows laptop. Sooo I’m curious about how you’ve found the changeover and if you like the Mac Air? Cheers, Darren