New Tascam DR-05 Digital Audio Recorder

Good news for budget-minded multimedia photographers! Tascam has released the DR-05 portable audio recorder for $99.99, and is aiming straight at the comparable Zoom H1. It records WAV or MP3 files at rates up to 24-bit/96kHz to microSD or microSDHC cards, and has integrated microphones and speaker. It's powered by two AA batteries or an optional AC adapter. It sports a threaded 1/4 x 20 mount for convenient tripod mounting.

The Tascam DR-05 can be seen on and ordered from B&H Photo-Video (which offers free shipping on this product).

More details of this new entrant in the budget handheld audio recorders can be found on its manufacturer's website.

While I'm still happy with my Marantz PMD620, I am on the lookout for a replacement that's smaller, lighter and that would take less space.

I should also note that there were some reports that the Zoom H1 had battery longevity issues.