Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder

Comment: I agree with most of the other reviewers, this little recorder packs a jumbo sized punch. I have used it to record video soundtrack with my Canon HV30 by plugging the H4n line-out into the HV30 mic-input using a 1/8" connector. The quality of the captured audio is at least 100 times better than the HV30s built in microphones; fantastic. The stereo image/depth/quality with birdsong...gurgling streams, footsteps etc etc is astounding, a revelation coming from on camera mics.
Importantly, Do NOT record soundtrack with the H4n AUTO mode turned on; its important to set the levels manually (65%-75% works great for most stuff), and then keep an eye on the levels. I use slight compression on the incoming signal to tame peaks. If you use AUTO mode, and start recording in near silence (often the case), the recorder sets the pre-amp gain to 100% and you get a hissy signal. Even dialing this back to 90% would give you much much better signal, but 100% just sucks. Go Manual.
Plus all the other XLR connectors, 4 track recorder stuff, tuner, metronome works just great too. Like everyone says.

The main thing I want to say is Zoom Customer Support is GOOD! One of the reasons I bought the H4n was to use it as a Audio Interface/SoundCard with my Laptop for recording/music production while traveling. Imagine my surprise when I all I got was crackling and dropouts on windows 7 64 bit (I was bummed). BUT after 3 or 4 emails with Zoom Customer support, we had solved the problem (turned off the wireless card) and audio quality over the USB connection is excellent. The H4n driver co-exists happily with MOTU firewire drivers, and works great with Ableton, Sonar, Cubase, Vegas Pro.

Comment: It sucks batteries quickly when not in stamina-mood.

-Stamina mood- is good for recording audio with the on-board mics but it has some operating mood limitations.. If you are working with a shotgun-mic like I do (I'm using it for production sound and filming with a Canon D5MII) you have to use the normal mood..

-4 Stars- only because of the rapid battery consuming otherwise I'm very happy with the sound quality and it is very easy to use. I took it out of the box and was up and running in few minutes..
-The quality of the Zoom H4n itself is very good and solid.

I use a rechargeable battery kit -around $13 amazon prime- and I solved "battery problem". If I would have to shoot all day with no interruptions using -normal mood- I charge my 4 batteries + extra 2 to be safe and the "game is done".

-Production sound with the Canon D5 Mark II:
After carefully see what's on the market I decided to have "top quality" sound for my productions without spending a fortune nor hiring professional sound technicians.
*built-in Canon D5MII mic*
There are devices you can connect straight to the camera for more then $300 that work with experimental firmwire AT YOUR OWN RISK and apparently they offer good sound quality although you are limited to one stereo track (could be a mix of two mics connected to one of these devices which connects to the camera body using the Mic input) and have to take a $2500 risk..
If you simply connect a mic to the camera, no matter how good your mic is you will get LOT OF BACKGROUND NOISE which is understandable since the camera wasn't originally designed to shoot pro video..
The capability of the Zoom H4n of recording 4 TRACKS simultaneously (2 mono with the input mics XLR and one stereo with the on board mic it's pretty good.. Lot's of good functionality such as Low cut reduction and custom recording adjustments on the different tracks.

Conclusions:
If you are not a sound technician and have no knowledge of sound at all.
If you want to film Features, Shorts, Documentaries, interviews, etc. capturing great sound for your project and you are a one-man-crew or you can count on friend-help to boom for you.
If you don't want to spend a fortune in equipment or pro sound technicians but still want to get TOP QUALITY SOUND.
The Zoom H4n is the way to go.

Certainly it takes sometime to sync the sound in post but it is well worth it when you will hear it loud and clear.

I hope this will be helpful..

Comment: First off, I'm no professional audio guru. I'm a nerd that does outdoor videos with his Canon 5d Mark II.

I don't need to tell you about the technical aspects, but I will say that it does exactly as described. It also comes with a wind blocker so no need to buy one. The audio is great about picking up only the angle of degree you have it set to. I do some beach video and it was important that I didn't pick up a lot of garbage from passerby's, etc. If you're right up on it of course you will hear outside noises but for interviews or specific sounds where your camera is pointed this is perfect. I also bought an adapter so I could put it on the hotshoe of my 5ds which helped. For the price this can't be beat.

Bill

Comment: I bought my zoom as an openbox/demo unit for $100 off the regular price, full warantee, from a major a/v house, and figured at that price I could not go wrong. I never look back as it being a bad purchase with the heavy discount since everything was perfect in the box, and the quad channel recording is a great feature to have around (for those wondering about the abiguity if you must use the builtin mics for the other two channels, the answer is no, they have a 3.5 mm TRS jack that kills the internal mics and thus allows you to input 4 mic level signals to be recorded in time sync.

The unit's microphones can be optimized for different stereo pickup patterns, which again I much appreciate.

The cons:

You can never turn off the H4n's mic level amps - you get a 1% - 100% attenuator on the front of the amps, but they are still mic level amps. Compare this with the Marantz PMD-661 Marantz PMD661 Portable SD Recorder and you have a 3 way switch - mic w/ 48VDC, mic w/o 48VDC, line - but the marantz lacks the 1/4 TRS combo inputs which I like on the H4n.

Still getting back to the attenuator - the connection goes like this

int/ext source --> attenuator 1-100% --> mic pre-amp + amplifier noise --> a/d --> SD card
while the marantz has 2 chains:
line level input --> a/d converter --> SD card
mic level input --> amplifier to line level + amplifier noise --> then just like above line in

The net result is that BOTH the PMD-661 and H4n can handle high level line signals, but the H4n first cuts them down to mic level, then internally amplifies them to the recorder's standard a/d level. By shutting off this mic amplifier in the marantz you also shut off the noise that comes with the amp, leaving a cleaner signal into the a/d converter. I always try to get line level signals from mixing boards, wireless microphones, etc because I can cut out the extra noise of having the un-needed mic preamp running when I am feeding a line signal to begin with.

One negative that was only recently discovered applies equally to both the H4n and the PMD-661 units - these are part of a category of "soft off" battery powered devices. This means there is no 0/1 snapswitch that powers the product on, but rather a slider on both units you hold in the power toggle or button to turn them on, afterwhich it returns to "neutral". The benefits from this system are that the units can watch their battery life and if they are going to kill your NiMH cells they turn themselves off, which is commendable. Unfortunately, when turned off, they draw a very very small amount of power looking for that "ON" slideswitch/button to signal turnon. This small amount of power puts a small drain on the batteries while the units are turned off, and you might put your best eneloop cells in there and come back in 3 weeks to find they are 1/3 full now due to the self discharge. I worked with another reviewer on amazon regarding this "soft off" feature and it's not just for recorders - flashlights and other battery powered systems that don't have a hard on/off switch (e.g. click "on" - click "off) are all in the same boat - all draining their batteries while not being used. It's part of the design and the best solution is to get the largest NiMH cells (I prefer sanyo 2700 mah conventional) and have them on a trickle charger waiting for when you need to use your device.

So to sum up the H4n, it's one of the most innovative recorders made today with features far ahead of the competition. It's remote Zoom RC4 Wired Remote Control For Zoom H4n duplicates the face of buttons on the unit and even includes an extension cord if you need to go long distances. Unlike the PMD-661 which I had to make a case from an old microphone case, the Zoom comes with a plastic case ready to go. Both the PMD 661 and H4n have 1/4-20 tripod mounts on the bottom if you want to snap them into a tripod then use their internal mics. The zoom adds an oversized wind protector that covers the entire microphone array.

I'd give the H4n one more star if I could route the signal around the mic preamps when driving it with line level inputs. This is good practice in the recording / mixing industry and one of the main reasons I default to the marantz if I don't know what signal I will get a copy of to record. The H4n's quad recording ability is a great addition for videographers. I'd recommend you get an azden cam-3 small mixer to help level things out in the field and output a 3.5 mm signal for the H4n. AZDEN CAM-3 On-Camcorder Mini Audio Mixer The price on the H4n is great - when I had the open box special I just could not walk away from it and I have no regrets. It's been a true performer. Finally, the H4n has many features for musicians and small bands (like a metronome and 4 ch recording) to capture jam sessions.

Comment: I tried recording a few audio and it has been wonderful. But I am still having issues with couple of things. When I connect the output to my 5DMarkII there is a hissing sound and somewhere it is mentioned that I need a 25 dB attenuation cable or something. Not sure as of now on how to get the sound to record directly to the camera. I have the latest firmware on the camera. Secondly, they should do something about the windscreen. They should bundle the redhead windscreen with this recorder. The one provided with the product is pretty much useless to my knowledge. Need to do some testing with external microphones before I can provide a decent update.