Features:

  • Fits perfectly under a DSLR camera rig, without relying on bulky recorders or the limits of the camera’s microphone in
  • Record up to 4 channels at a time to the internal SD Card, at up to 96kHz/24-bit WAV file resolution
  • Two mic inputs utilize locking XLR connectors with 48V phantom power; the other two use a 1/8” stereo connector for wireless and lav mics
  • The channel 3/4 input connector supports a high-level maximum input – up to +10dBV
  • The upgraded HDDA preamps provide up to 64dB of gain and some of the lowest noise levels available
  • The user interface is designed to ensure use is easy and won't interfere with filming in any way
  • Manufactured with very rigid plastic for a durable but lightweight design that won't get in the way of camera operation
Sound Out!

I purchased this device to allow me to control both video and sound at the location of the camera on the tripod. It has worked great. We were able to film a short movie and the sound was clear and clean. I love the backup track feature for when the main sound track is distorted because someone spoke too loud. I had to use this feature for the film and it was definitely appreciated so that we did not have to shoot the scene again. I have not experienced the XLR connector problem that others have talked about. I have had the device for about a month and I have plugged and unplugged the XLR cables without any problems. It has many features and options that I plan on using in the future. When filming with a limited crew, this device gives the cinematographer full control and monitoring ability to get the job done.I have only had the device for a month, but it has worked great so far. I currently would recommend the device. I love it.

TASCAM has done a nice job on this & im soooooo happy they left ...

For the Money, its worth the cost to own this fella !.. as well, I own TASCAM DP800XL & comparing the two, they are very close in Menu operation, function, user ability & other perks. TASCAM has done a nice job on this & im soooooo happy they left the "mode" choices as a 'Knob' option rather than digital, having to flip & punch through many ( sub-menu's) to find its functions. pretty much turn & push the main knob to find the options. even at its hardest, to figure out where other settings are located, the instruction manual is simple to follow. & even if you get lost, just push 'HOME' button & start from the beginning until ya get it. I had mine figured out in about 2hrs. of playing around with it. I love this thing, & if you really master it in about a few days or so, you can be cutting & editing audio tracks with a truly professional level of performance ! KUDOS to TEAC !.....T/EPS.

I am in love.

This is the perfect tool for small crew field recording needs and/or DSLR film work. Let's say I need to record a piano, a singer, and a cello in one live take. Vocal mic, straight into DR 60. Cello mic, straight into Dr 60. Stereo mic pair, running into a dual input preamp, sent out by a simple 1/8 stereo plug, into the 1/8 stereo input of the DR 60. and BAM, 4 channels, no syncing in post. Then, run 1/8 stereo cable from the DR 60 into your DSLR, while you are filming said instrumentalists, and BAM, music video with no syncing in post! Ok, so in terms of the actual performance of this unit. My biggest fear was the pre amp signal to noise ratio. I desperately did not want to have any hiss to contend with. The DR 40, when used with external shotgun mics, added an unacceptable level of hiss. So, since the DR 60 is a Tascam unit, I was concerened, But after buying it and testing it, I can assure you that the level of background hiss is as low as the ART dual pre, and almost as good as the Riggy Assist. In other words, the signal to noise issue with the DR 60, is not really an issue. It sounds great. The Pre amps have really been upgraded and you can hear the difference. The buttons and MILLIONS of features make this thing a complete joy to use. I am in love. It is also, tiny tiny. Like a little child's toy. Almost silly looking tiny. It does have a plastic feel to it...like, "do not drop me" feel. So, don't drop it. I am so happy I bought this thing. btw, my background is, professional sound recording engineer/mixer/producer/music teacher/videographer, etc. also, professional cheapskate. so i like things that don't cost a billion dollars.

Wonderful Unit

The functionality of this little unit is amazing. I use it as a back-up recorder with a little "shot gun" mike and the adapters for the jack (as pictured) when I shoot video interviews. Nice to be able to power it with AA batteries or USB. One of the cell phone boosters will work for the latter. Recorded sound quality is fine for me. It feels like I have a miniature recording studio. Well worth the price.

Marvelous and Best for Value

The TASCAM DR-60DmkII is just marvelous. I use it with a Sony A65 DSLR and my favorite configuration is with a Sennheiser shotgun mic in channel 1 and a Sennheiser wireless handheld mic in channel two. I consider this my perfect field documentation setup. I also use the Dual Record mode, Limiter and Bass Roll Off settings on all of my recordings. I attach it to the bottom of my camera and use a Gitzo Tripod with a Manfrotto 503 HDV fluid video head for a solid field shooting platform. Some complain that stacking the TASCAM unit and the camera together makes the configuration too tall. These people obviously haven't used older professional video cameras that are over a foot tall and two feet long, plus those dinosaurs weighed in upward 25 to 35 pounds. If placed on a solid tripod head rated for the weight of your gear you'll be perfectly fine. Some complain the unit has a plastic feel but I find the unit to be quite well made and the camera mount quite sturdy. Some complain that the menu is too complicated. They obviously haven't used a Zoom, Marantz PMD660 or a Marantz PMD670. I sat down on my stoop, fiddled with the buttons and knobs and figured out the menu in less than 5 minutes without looking at the manual. Remember it is a TASCAM, their manuals read like stereo instructions. If you have used digital audio recorders in the past, you will find the menu quite intuitive. If not good, luck with the manual. The pre-amps are absolutely wonderful, but test and know your input settings in relation to your mics before going to the field. Just make sure your audio levels peak above the -12db delta mark without hitting the 0db Clip wall. This is where your Dual Record mode can save you if audio gets too loud. When using the channel adjustment knobs be careful of stair-stepping the digital signal by turning the knob too much at one time. Only make micro adjustments while recording. If you find yourself slightly clipping just fall back on the Dual Record tracks rather than messing with the knobs. That is what the Dual Record function is for, it is your safety net. Finally, I love-love-love the Slate function. It makes post-production audio syncing a breeze. In summation this TASCAM unit turns my Sony A65 into a truly professional video production camera. I like it so much I ordered a second one. The TASCAM DR-60mkII is perfect for most of my production needs and the price tag didn't put a huge dent in my wallet.

Great sound from a portable package!

Excellent audio recording that won't break the bank! My Sony DSLR needed a quality audio solution that could accept XLR mic with phantom power. I found my solution in the TASCAM DR-60DMKII. Why you need it: This device will accept professional microphones that have XLR connectors and require phantom power. The DR-60mkII can provide phantom power even while on battery power and on the go. It has a standard tripod mount screw on the bottom, as well as a place for you to attach your cameras tripod mount to it. You can stack them on your tripod providing and easy way to record high quality audio during DSLR video production. Usage: I won't get into every feature of the mkII as you can see those in the item description, but it's safe to say it does more than expected. I had heard the previous version had issue with the pre-amp causing poor audio quality. I can safely say this issues have been resolved with this current version. Audio is clear and will record as good a quality as your microphone allows. I use this for recording external audio for video, as well as recording audio sessions for my podcast. The user interface is straight forward and anyone with any experience in audio recording equipment should be able to use without any need for instructions. This unit uses standard SD cards for recording so storage should always be easy to come by. As I satiated above, it fits nicely under any camera rig and doesn't ad a lot of weight or bulk. Unit is much smaller and lighter than I expected from the product shots. One great feature is second safety track recorded at a lower level to ensure your audio stays consistent and clean throughout the recording. This has come in handy a few times already! Battery life: The Dr-60mkII can be powered by usb, alkaline, or rechargeable batteries. Battery times can vary greatly depending on weather or not phantom power is used. I find I can get about 1.5 - 2 hours out of Phantom power. I usually use eneloop rechargeable AA batteries and carry an extra set if I think I will be in the field for longer. It's more than sufficient for my needs. Build Quality: The TASCAM DR-60mkII is built extremely well. It has a solid feel, while still being extremely light. The buttons and dials all feel very well made and it should withstand years of use in the field. The display is a basic "old school" lcd with and orange/red backlight. It is nothing fancy, but it does what it needs to do. Incorporating a more modern display, or color LCD would have been unnecessary and would have had a negative impact on battery life. I think they made the right choice here. Overall, I am very happy with the Dr-60mkII. Audio quality is great, and the device is a great addition to any professional setup.

Tascam DR-60DmkII nice enhancement over DR-60D and big jump up from DR-40, BP-6AA is essential!

The Tascam DR-60DmkII includes enhanced pre-amps that are good enough not to not introduce any measurable noise on battery power with a quiet room and a Pyle podium mic that requires High mic gain setting. However using a USB to 5v adapter (not the Tascam adapter) did introduce noise. For this reason, I am using a BP-6AA identical to the one used on a Tascam DR-40 recorder installed in a church recording system. Though we can run the DR-40 or this DR-60DmkII off external USB port power, noise levels are typically much lower using the BP-6AA which I'll review separately. With such a low noise recorder, and with the BP-6AA using tripod mounts to attach to the top or base of the recorder, no brainer upgrade from 2+ yr old Tascam DR-40! Here are our usual pros and cons: Pros: + lower noise, higher gain pre-amps than prior model DR-60D + safety track record feature is a lifesaver when initial gain settings are too high! (DR-40 has this feature, too) + consistent menus and operation to prior generations of Tascam DR series including when power or computer is externally attached via USB port + available BP-6AA external battery pack gives reasonable life for rechargeable NiMH batteries, but see below... + Broadcast Wave File (BWF) support - can be a lifesaver when merging audio and video from different recorders. To effectively use, you should keep the clock set correctly. Cons: - drains batteries rapidly compared to comparable Zoom or lower end Tascam DR series recorders - no integral MP3 compression, implying you shouldn't use compression with such a high end recorder! I'd like to make that decision!! - there should be a Li Ion external equivalent bolt-on like the BP-6AA instead of lower capacity and bulkier BP-6AA with NiMH batteries! - might want to think twice about putting a relatively heavy DSLR on top of recorder as shown in photos! This puts a lot of strain on the tripod mount in the bottom of recorder; just don't do it if a BP-6AA is used! - menus can be a bit confusing for the uninitiated and this generation manual is not as helpful as prior generations. Look for YouTube tutorials! I was going to put a small shotgun mic on top with a 1/4" to 5/8" adapter, but realized the DR-60DmkII + BP-6AA underneath + mic on top is not very stable. Better to use either a two-in-one bar tripod adapter or multiple tripods adjacent to one another. If a BP-6AA pack is mounted on top with nothing mounted on top of BP-6AA, then BP-6AA batteries may be changed without impacting setup. The DR-60DmkII batteries are accessible, but it isn't easy to pop them in the rear while the whole setup is sitting upright. Edited 07-31: Beware of open box items marketed as "new". I received one from a vendor sold as new that showed a bit of wear on the rear battery cover and underside. However, the style of packaging for this Tascam makes it difficult to tell whether this is a new, returned, or open box item! I have seen some "unboxing" videos on YouTube and this is the first Tascam DR series I've purchased that doesn't come in a sealed box with a plastic protector for the display and a sealed (at least taped) poly bag holding the recorder. I have seen this style of packaging on "professional" gear before. So how are we as consumers to tell whether an item is an "open box" or return? TEAC/Tascam saved perhaps a few pennies but it would be great to go back to providing a screen protector and tape the poly bags!

I'm no pro, but this performed better than expected!

Bought this to record direct from the board for weddings that I film. Works AWESOME!! First wedding I shot with it was on an ancient board that's Inhad no control over the signal coming to the Tascam, so I had to crank the gain higher than I would have liked to even be able to get the signal to register on the meter! Long story short, imported the audio into the computer and after some boosting, I had totally usable audio! I also shot an interview style video using a shotgun mic hooked up to this. I had previously used a Zoom H1 for this type of thing and has issues with ambient noise. The shotgun eliminated the ambient noise and the Tascam was dead silent in the quiet parts. No buzzing or white noise at all! I don't know that I'd consider myself a professional, but I know enough to get around and I was very impressed and pleased with how it performed. Would recommend to anyone!

Great for audio-only field recording!

I mostly do audio field recording of a vocal group plus occasional videos. Previous audio setup was a matched pair of Shure KSM137 mics, a 100 ft. 2-channel snake, a MOTU 4pre USB preamp/ADC, and a Windows laptop running Sony Sound Forge. Setup took 20-30 minutes depending on how much of the snake needed to be taped to the floor. With the DR-60DmkII mounted on the mic stand and 6 ft. XLR cables connecting it to the mics, I now have a self-contained setup that is good to go in a few minutes. The DR-60DmkII preamps are as quiet as the 4pre, and 24-bit, 96K recordings sound pretty much the same. Recording time on the internal batteries is reasonably good. Using brand new, fully charged Eneloop Pro batteries and supplying 48V. phantom power to two KSM137s, the RD-60DmkII shut down after recording 3 hours, 29 minutes. It draws less than one amp from an external USB charger, so a 6,000 mAH battery pack should allow continuous recording for close to 8 hours.

Perfect solution to cameras lacking XLR inputs

My company does wedding videography, corporate events, and small business films. We frequently have to mic up individuals with lavaliers, and or boom microphones. We also own a TASCAM DR-40 which is GREAT for when you want/have to leave the recorder in one spot and not have to worry about levels, but the DR-60mkII is PERFECT for those that want to be able to monitor and change levels on individual channels. The ONLY downside that I see is that the knobs aren't 'analog' in the sense that if you jack up the level quickly it's not a smooth transition, it jumps to the level you set it at. Same with going down quickly as well. That's a VERY minor issue but it doesn't dock it a star for me. Whether you're a DSLR shooter or someone who's looking to add additional XLR inputs and want to record channels independently, this is the solution you need to have in your audio arsenal. You won't be disappointed!

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