This is my second one, I bought the other kit also-which includes the shotgun mic.
There is no material difference between the two. The other kit includes a shockmount (which doesn't do much tbh). This one has a belt clip.
The good: Compact, lightweight, pretty good sound with a little hiss and a slight tendency to pick up radio interference (modem and phone interference). Uses two AAA batteries and battery life is not bad, maybe 2-3 hours of continuous use.
The bad: Limited gain control (external mics have a manual dial for adjustment, but the lav mic uses the recorders built in gain controls)
Unwieldy menus
Really susceptible to handling noise. As mentioned, the shockmount which comes with the shotgun mic kit does very little to reduce handling noise. If you are using this recorder with the various zoom mics, I would say that fitting a handle or mini tripod is essential, and even then you will still get noise. This recorder doesn't have a tripod fitting.
Build quality- the main body is fairly solid, there are parts of metal alloy and plastic. The let down is that the battery compartment door and memory card door are flimsy and soft, and they are held in place by a tiny, flexible arm of soft plastic which doesn't inspire confidence.
Overall, it's not bad. If you are handling and using it carefully and not trying to record very quiet ambience, then you will be ok.
