Is there a definitive field recorder we think you should buy? No. Do we have opinions about all the choices that are out there? You bet. See a summary of our humble opinions in the chart below. Click on the name of each recorder for the full Transom Tools review.

	Model	Pros	Cons
	HHb FlashMic DRM-85	Excellent sound quality, easy operation, integrated mic and recorder, effective Automatic Gain Control, professional appearance, good battery life, records mono files.	Expensive, mic is large and heavy, no memory card slot, only one gig of built-in memory, only one microphone pick-up pattern (omni or cardioid,) basic model has no line-input.
	Olympus LS10	Very small, good sound quality with external mics, input gain knob, 2 gigs of built-in memory, good battery life, USB2 file transfer.	Built in mics are over-bright and wind-sensitive, cannot record mono files, 1/8" mic input, no digital in, no power cord supplied.
	Sony PCM-D50	Good sound quality with external mics, adjustable built-in mics, sturdy construction, large input gain knob, 4 gigs of internal memory, good battery life, hardware switches for many functions.	Built-in mics are very wind sensitive, windscreen is expensive, cannot record mono files, 1/8" mic input, a little too large to be pocket-sized, only uses Sony memory cards,
	Marantz PMD 620	Good sound quality with external mics, small, light, one-button record, config presets, mono recording, gapless track marking.	audio delay in headphones(fixed), poor placement of headphone jack, audible button clicks, no digital input, 1/8" mic input
	Marantz PMD 660	XLR inputs, good meters, recording config presets, mono recording, gapless track marking.	Hissy with some dynamic mics, input distorts with some condenser mics, comparatively large and heavy, no digital input.
	Zoom H2	4-channel surround recording, good built-in mics, very small, inexpensive, easy to use, quick start-up.	Loud hiss on external mic inputs, clipping on line-input, no digital in, no phantom power, mini jack only external mic input.
	Zoom H4	Easy to use, good built-in mics, XLR mic inputs, phantom power.	Fine input volume control is buried in a menu, built-in mics very wind-sensitive, case transmits handling noise, single channel recording complicated to set-up, unintuituve menu navigation, no digital input.
	Edirol R-09	Ease of use, small, hardware switches or buttons for major functions.	Noticable hiss on all inputs, no digital in, no phantom power, mini jack only external mic input.
	M-Audio Microtrack 24/96	Balanced mic inputs, digital input, clean sound, mono recording.	Built-in rechargable battery not field-swappable, non-standard phantom power voltage (fixed on Microtrack Mark II), TRS mic inputs not as convenient as XLR.
Tascam HD-P2		XLR inputs, excellent sound quality, optional padded case, good meters, large display, gapless track division, configuration presets, time code for sync to video or film.	Larger and heavier than other recorders, plastic case, expensive, menus can be hard to navigate, low gain for dynamic mics, speaker is on by default if no headphones connected.
Sound Devices 702/722		Excellent sound quality, metal construction, flexible recording options, reliable meters, long recordng times possible to 722's hard drive, gapless track marking.	Expensive, heavy, larger than the pocket recorders, batteries hard to recharge in the field.