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Want to capture Grandma’s stories, record interviews, or get clean audio for your videos? A small digital voice recorder does all three.
I picked up this sleek KAYOWINE 8GB digital voice recorder on Amazon for a couple of reasons: capturing family stories and memories, and recording backup audio when I shoot video. I expected a little plastic recorder. What I got is real metal with a mirror finish that wouldn’t look out of place with a Sony logo on it. The KAYOWINE isn’t listed anymore, so the button goes to a current, well-reviewed EVISTR rechargeable voice recorder with MP3 playback.
- Gorgeous real-metal build with heft
- Tiny; smaller than most recorders I have seen
- One-button recording, press again to stop
- Doubles as an MP3 player
- No wireless link or cable to fail mid-shoot
- Comes with earbuds and a pouch
- The mirror finish shows fingerprints
- Micro USB charging
- You have to sync the audio to your video yourself
▶ Watch the full review on YouTube
Why get a voice recorder?
Maybe you have a grandmother telling stories from her childhood. Those are memories you want to catch, and a recorder is an easy way to do it.
It’s also great for video. If you’re doing interviews and don’t have a wireless lavalier mic, or yours is a little sketchy, record the audio on a recorder and merge the MP3 with the video track later.
Build: way nicer than I expected
This thing is wicked nice looking. It has a mirror finish on top, and the body is legit metal, a matte-finish metal with real weight and heft. If it said Sony or even Apple on the back I wouldn’t be surprised. It reminds me of early-2000s Sony hardware, like the digital Walkman era.
It’s really small, too. Most recorders I’ve seen are bigger and plastic.
Buttons, ports and features
There’s forward and back, a volume up and down rocker, the micro USB port, two microphones (possibly stereo), a headphone jack, a record button, a slider, an SD card slot and a little speaker. It came fully charged out of the box.
It also plays music, so it doubles as an MP3 player. To record, just hit the record button; hit it again to stop.
Why I want it for my videos
On my tent video, my wireless lavalier’s battery was slowly dying and the transmission was terrible, so I had to narrate over the whole video. With a recorder you don’t have to worry about the transmission, or whether a jack came out of the lavalier or the phone. It’s a backup.
Put it in your pocket, hold it up for a specific sound when you can’t get the camera close, or even hold it up to an exhaust pipe for car reviews. If the recording quality is even remotely good, this thing wins on looks alone.
FAQ
How much storage does the KAYOWINE recorder have?
8GB, plus an SD card slot.
Can it play music?
Yes, it doubles as an MP3 player and has a speaker and headphone jack.
How do you start recording?
Press the record button, then press it again to stop.
Is it plastic?
No. The body is real metal with a mirror-finish top.
Why use a recorder for video?
It gives you clean, separate audio you can sync later, and a backup if a wireless mic fails.
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