Hands on with the OM SYSTEM LS-P5

A quality audio track can be the difference between a great video and one that’s not really worth watching. I’ve written before about the importance of putting in the effort to get good sound, and it’s no less true now.

The LS-P5 is a new device from OM SYSTEM designed to make it as easy as possible for you to do just that.

It’s more versatile than a microphone, as it can record audio while not connected to the camera, and, subjectively, the preamps built into the recorder are much better than those built into most camera bodies. It is also noteworthy in the dedicated audio recorder market, because it’s not much bigger than digital voice recorders used by students and professionals for minimally-demanding audio like lectures and meetings. It’s that combo of size and quality that sold me on one of its predecessors, in fact.

I’ve used an Olympus LS-P2 for several years, mostly to do field recording (especially friends’ concerts). Every time I’ve planned to record a video for a purpose other than personal documentary, I have made sure to attach the recorder or set it up somewhere else to match up the file later. You can imagine my excitement, then, when OM SYSTEM reached out to see if I could do a little hands-on work with their latest (and greatest? spoiler alert…) ultra-compact professional audio recorder, the LS-P5. Let’s dive in to it!

An outsized aural improvement

The OM SYSTEM LS-P5 is a portable audio recorder that can capture anything from 64 kbps mono MP3s up to 96.0 kHz / 24-bit lossless PCM (WAV) or FLAC. You can use its built-in three-microphone array (dubbed TRESMIC II by OM SYSTEM) or plug in an external source to a 3.5mm jack. (This jack can be set to receive microphone input or line-level input, so it can make a very handy companion for home transfer of analog media.)

Audio is recorded internally and can also be output to a camera via, again, 3.5mm cable. Internal audio can be saved to the 16 GB built-in storage or to microSDXC. Even the highest quality on the unit takes up about 2.25 GB per hour, so that’s room for plenty of recording.

Oh, and yes, the LS-P5 can be used as an audio interface via USB. That means you can use the microphone array or line-in input for video-conferencing, sampling, or whatever else you can dream up. I was very excited about this feature!

Whether you’re a filmmaker looking to improve your on-the-go audio or a musician needing a handy tool for self-review, demoing, etc., it’s hard to beat the convenience of the LS-P5. New in the LS-P5 is the ability to monitor in real-time using Bluetooth headphones, and the new app for remote control is extremely robust. Check out what you can do now (right side of the video, below). As fun as it was watching the little index flag cruise along the simulated waveform with my LS-P2, that was about all the remote control I had available…

Did you notice that “SMART” button? That’s another new feature worth highlighting. Setting the levels for audio recording is an extremely important step that always feels a little intimidating to the newbie. On the LS-P5, just hold down the record button (or hit “SMART” on the app) and it will listen and automatically adjust the levels to match the loudest sound it hears. When you’re satisfied it’s been fed a sufficiently loud sound to prevent clipping, just hit record and go!

If you are already used to using an older LS-PX model, you may be surprised that the LS-P5 starts recording with a single press of the red button. This is because you can use this auto-leveling feature! Don’t worry, though… if you’d prefer to set the levels manually, there’s a setting to make the first press of Record put you in standby mode.

The audio zoom feature means you can use the LS-P5 to capture either ambient noise or super-focused interview dialogue. I wouldn’t quite call it a shotgun mic, but it gets close. There’s even a new pre-recording mode that captures the two seconds before you hit Record, in case you’re worried about missing something decisive! A low-cut filter and numerous post-processing features let you do quite a bit with this little guy without ever touching a computer.

When you are ready to hop on the computer, slate and test tones make it simple to sync the audio recorded to the LS-P5 with the video (slate) or to make sure that your in-camera audio is the right level in the first place (test)… though, honestly, I’d recommend doing the former. In my tests, the preamps built into my camera put some pretty hissy gain on the audio which was not present on the audio recorded internally to the LS-P5. Your mileage may vary, of course.

So, how much improvement can you really expect? I took the LS-P5 to a little Colorado mountain town’s parade of lights to do an apples-to-apples comparison with the camera’s built-in mic/preamp. I was a little surprised at how dramatic the results were. See for yourself in the video below! Note that, for much of the video, the LS-P5‘s audio is routed to the left channel and the built-in audio is routed to the right, so headphones are necessary to really appreciate the comparison.

That’s proven quality! And you simply will not find a more compact, convenient recorder with the same level of quality. What are you waiting for? Visit a Mike’s Camera near you or click here to upgrade your audio today!