Topic: Tascam DR100 mKII or Sony D50

[ghibliss]

I am contemplating purchasing a new portable recorder and was interested in comments from owners on which of these two machines to purchase.  I presently use an external a/d converter and go in spdif/  both of these machines provide digital inputs.  The only real difference that I see is the Sony is optical in vs the Tascam providing coaxial spdif in.  My a/d provides both coaxial and optical spdif output. 

I read both manuals briefly and see that the Tascam will perform auto file splits when the 2GB maximum file size is reached and that you may also perform a manual file split at any time.  The Sony appears to only have the manual file split function unless I missed something.  I would love to know if the Sony does auto file splits.

The Sony seems to have the best battery life according to its manual it should return around 12-13 hours of recording time.  The Tascam has a great battery option in that you can configure a primary and secondary battery in the software and hot swap batteries without losing a recording.  Since both machines are approximately the same size are there any features or reasons to purchase the Sony over the Tasacam if price is not the issue?  I can get a Sony D50 for $375.00 with a case and Rykote windscreen vs the Tascam which can be had almost everywhere for $329.00.
 

[DigiGal]

I'd be concerned about the long term reliability of the proprietary S/PDIF connector and its supplied adapter on the DR100 MKII.

[Colin Liston]

The Tascam sometimes goes as low as $220 new.  Just need to catch it on sale

[F.O.Bean]

I would go with the Sony. The battery life is better and the optical input seems more reliable than the tascam unit! Which ADC are you using?

[Sloan Simpson]

The D50 does auto-split when the file limit is reached.