Zoom M3 MicTrak

I'll be brief. I make short audio documentaries and I also do field recording.
Mostly I will use this for audio documentary work.

Build quality: This is the weak point. The device itself is thin plastic. the battery compartment door and the micro-sd compartment door are very thin plastic.

With careful use you can avoid handling noise. A youtube reviewer has recommended getting a seperate shockmount which gives better access to the battery compartment- I may do this.

Where this device excels is versatility. In my case I often don't use my main M/S microphone as I'm afraid of damage or theft. This device gives the same functionality with slightly lower sound quality and I will have no fear using it.

It weighs virtually nothing, the included foam windshield is fine for indoor use- where I do much of my audio doc work. I have a generic version of a softie for more demanding wind conditions. I haven't tried it, but it looks like the device might fit in a wind blimp, if needed.

The sound quality is very good, perfectly usable, the 32bit audio is great. The editing app is limited but versatile, you can adjust the stereo field width after recording (a raw 32bit file is also recorded at time of recording).

Thomann helpfully include AA batteries to get you started.

The one omission from Zoom (imho) is a USB-C cable, I know they're cheap and ubiquitous but it would be helpful to be able to connect and go straight away as you need to connect the device not only to transfer data but also to adjust various settings (time/date)

All in all, a recommended recorder- I'm not using it on a camera, I'm using it attached to a mini tripod or handle for on-the -go interviews and recording the ambience and details in environments where I make my work.

Recommended

We got this mainly as a stereo field recorder but also it could serve occasionally as boom mic and it does both pretty well, especially for the small price.

The design is easy and it's awesome that the SD card slot is on the back, this way when you run this mic on a fully rigged camera, you still have access easily. The RAW WAV format and the Zoom software is interesting, changing to stereo/mono after recording is definitely gonna come in handy here and there.
32bit recording is neat as well, gives a lot of ease of mind when you don't have to worry about clipped audio.
Just remember that it's only internally 32bit, once you plug the mic into your camera you're most likely recording 16bit/24bit, but you can record onto SD card and into the camera simultaneously which is great.

There was a lot of talk about RF interference but this model doesn't have any problems thus far. For the budget I think it's a great choice and I do prefer the mono boom sound quality over the cheaper RODE mics as well. Of course comparing to a 4-figure boom mic ain't fair.