Olympus DM-3 vs Olympus DM-5

Choosing a digital voice recorder can be a little frustrating sometimes, mainly due to the huge range of digital voice recorders all sporty a thousand features. Fortunatly there are people like me who know the best digital voice recorders, Olympus, inside out.

In our latest blog post we look at two of the higher range digital notetakers (perfect for interviews, meetings, focus groups), the Olympus DM-3 and the Olympus DM-5. To look at they appear to be the same, except for the colour, but there are a few features available on one and not the other. We detail the maximum recording times on both along with the features that the DM5 has that the DM3 doesn't to help you decide on the right model for you.

New Olympus DM-5 Digital Voice Recorder Arrives In Australia

Just perfectly timed by Olympus Imaging in Australia, the voice recorder every person who records interviews, meetings, focus groups, conferences or lecture speakers will be placing top of their Christmas list has just arrived in Australia, the new Olympus DM-5.

Why top of the Christmas list? This little recorder screams "features" louder than any other recorder in its class and like most recorders in the Olympus digital notetaker range is faster than ever leaving the competition behind. Have a look at the feature list for the DM-5:

• Record in .mp3, .wma or PCM .wav
• 8Gb of in-built memory
• MicroSD card for explanded memory (how much memory do you need?)
• Voice activated recording
• 8Gb of memory, that's massive
• Mac & Windows compatible
• Daisy 2 compatible (audio books)
• Audible.com compatible (audio books)
• 8Gb of memory, I just can't believe that
• Voice guidance - talks you through menu options
• Rechargeable batteries which last for 29 hours
• Can be powered by USB or mains power
• Comes with Olympus Sonority sound editing software for Mac & Windows
• Massive 2.2 inch colour screen
• And more, and more, and more

You may have noticed that I mentioned 8Gb of memory. That is way way more memory than would be required to record voice alone, even if you went away from civilisation for a month. Your digital voice recorder is now starting to also become your USB backup drive, your memory stick for your documents, notes, photos and movies and your device for audio book or music playback.

Something Olympus has been proud of over the last few years is the work they are doing to help vision impaired people. We have seen recorders for a while from Olympus with clearly defined by touch keys and more recently in the DM-450/DM-550 voice guidance. The DM-5 continues this path with all those features plus now also voice activation and selected voice commands. Daisy support is also included for a wider range of audio books which are Daisy compatible.

Available in Australia this week, the Olympus DM-5 will RRP for $599 incl. GST and as always is available from Dictate Australia - Olympus Gold Partner