Tascam iM2 vs Fostex AR-4i

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Hello

Im looking for an external mic for capturing better audio when making videos. Mostly for live gigs. I narrowed it down to the tascam iM2 and the Fostex AR-4i

Has anyone used either of these? The tascam has a lot of good write ups for sound quality and its small so its not a problem to carry in my pocket. The Fostex is a little bigger as it has a battery, two separate mics and also a handle. Now the handle is a plus side for handily, obviously. Again the reviews say the audio quality is good.
I can buy them for virtually the same price, give or take a couple of quid.


So I'm trying to weigh it up.

Tascam

Product: iM2 | TASCAM

Pros: Lightweight, doesn't need batteries, compact(fit in pocket easy)

cons:accidentally touching it while holding phone, does it use the battery up quickly?

Fostex

AR-4i | Audio Interface for iPhone 4 | Fostex

Pros:Handle so no chance of knocking mics, can put on any other tripod,

Cons: not as compact and light weight as tascam(maybe a pain going to a gig if they don't let you record, e.g., hard to sneak in), have to use 2xAAA batteries



So, has anyone had any experience with them?

Cheers!
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MacPro, MacBook, AppleTV, iPhone, iPad etc :)
The Fostex is attractive on first look but is too big 'n bulky. I triples the thickness and is probably good for video but again - too big. Then again its force is the option to use it for natural landscape video-stereo and even with outward bounding microphones.

The IM2 is small but sitting on the short end it will not give a natural stereo sound with one mic pointing upward and the other one downward. The trick with the very discrete IM2 is to detach it from the iPhone using a 10$ iphone cable extender.

I have bought a Glif+ which takes absolutely no space in your pocket AND a 2$ flexible mini-tripod like this which doubles as a handle when the legs are together.
 

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