The new H4n recorder

Dylan Couper · March 20th, 2009, 10:07 AM

Bill, so do you think the H4N has more than $150 worth of improvement over the H4?

Bill Rankin · March 20th, 2009, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylan Couper

Bill, so do you think the H4N has more than $150 worth of improvement over the H4?

I would rather have the H4n than the H4 in my tool bag. The screen and fonts are bigger, the menu is much more intuitive, and I can record from onboard mics and inputs as the same time.

I sold my H4 and then bought the H4n and have no real regrets. Although, if there were one thing I could change, I would want each of the 4 tracks to be individually adjustable for record volume.

Is it $150 worth of improvement over the H4? That is a subjective question and my answer is yes.

William James Ryan · March 20th, 2009, 08:17 PM

And when is B&H going to start carrying these? I've been holding out from buying from Amazon.... what's the hold up?

Bill Rankin · March 20th, 2009, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William James Ryan

And when is B&H going to start carrying these? I've been holding out from buying from Amazon.... what's the hold up?

Good question....I was holding out for B&H but couldn't hold out any longer...needed a recorder for an upcoming wedding so I bought one from a store on EBAY. Came with 16 gig SDHC for the same price as B & H. Also, do a google search to find companies selling this recorder.

William James Ryan · March 20th, 2009, 09:23 PM

Yeah, I don't know... I've got some serious OCD issues when it comes to "what happens when I break it in 3 months??" thoughts that prevent me from buying Ebay/random .com stores. Plus I've got some other goodies from B&H I'd like to pack into my mandatory $50 shipping fee.

But I need get audio away from my camera and start practicing recording double system sooner than later... grrrr. *throws an angry colbert fist into the air* B&H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill Rankin · March 20th, 2009, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William James Ryan

Yeah, I don't know... I've got some serious OCD issues when it comes to "what happens when I break it in 3 months??" thoughts that prevent me from buying Ebay/random .com stores. Plus I've got some other goodies from B&H I'd like to pack into my mandatory $50 shipping fee.

But I need get audio away from my camera and start practicing recording double system sooner than later... grrrr. *throws an angry colbert fist into the air* B&H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 'dealer' I bought from is a store in Florida that says they are an authorized Zoom seller, so warranty is in force and shipping was free.

Greg Joyce · March 21st, 2009, 03:06 PM

Bill,

I've been trying to read as much as I can about the Zoom H4n on the web. There's not much and very few samples. Brad Linder's blog has both excellent (quiet) and awful (hissy) samples, which led to an extended flame war in the comments section there:

Brad Linder's blog: Zoom H4n audio take 2 - second time not so charming

You seem to really like the recorder. Have you experienced the hiss on your H4n? Especially with external mics? Linder says he'll publish a full review later, including a test of the external mics, but it may not be for a week or more. I'm no audiophile, but except for the Neil Ewers samples on this Linder blog, which do sound bad, the H4n sees to be a great deal. What's your take?

Bill Rankin · March 21st, 2009, 03:44 PM

I am not an 'audiophile' either, and I cannot attest to the use of a mic attached to the H4n. I've only used the inputs from a sound board and the onboard mics for weddings. I'm totally happy with it.

William James Ryan · March 22nd, 2009, 07:35 PM

I'm wondering if I'm going to lose any sound quality if I use an H4n to record from an SD302.

William James Ryan · March 24th, 2009, 07:52 PM

B&H accepting orders now.

I guess whichever recorder I choose would be better than feeding audio to camera/tape... right?

Dana Love · March 25th, 2009, 05:23 AM

Right, unless your recording settings are really off.

Dylan Couper · March 25th, 2009, 10:29 AM

Bill, you know you are now DVinfo's H4n specialist, right? :)

One last question from me... I'm a total audio recorder newbie... does it have a "full auto" type mode, or any sort of pre-sets that will get me reliable, good clean sound (from external mics recording dialogue) so I don't have to buy a book on sound recording to get great results from it?

Thanks!

Bill Rankin · March 25th, 2009, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylan Couper

Bill, you know you are now DVinfo's H4n specialist, right? :)

One last question from me... I'm a total audio recorder newbie... does it have a "full auto" type mode, or any sort of pre-sets that will get me reliable, good clean sound (from external mics recording dialogue) so I don't have to buy a book on sound recording to get great results from it?

Thanks!

I'm really not an expert on audio. I am more of a barely educated layman.
The H4n does not have a 'full auto' mode per sec. There are some recording functions such as "Lo Cut" and "Comp/Limiter" that are handy to have at an live event. I do not know much about the MTR function. There maybe more adjustments there. I think the MTR is more for the musical application this equipment was originally built for.

John McClain · March 25th, 2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylan Couper

Bill, you know you are now DVinfo's H4n specialist, right? :)

One last question from me... I'm a total audio recorder newbie... does it have a "full auto" type mode, or any sort of pre-sets that will get me reliable, good clean sound (from external mics recording dialogue) so I don't have to buy a book on sound recording to get great results from it?

Thanks!

Hi Dylan. No, there is no "full auto" mode, there is actually no such thing. There is a lot of info on setting audio levels available on this forum, you can probably glean a lot of info in a short amount of time. John.

John Newell · March 25th, 2009, 06:09 PM

Another barely educated layman chiming in to say that with any of the better DVRs you should be able to get very good or better results after reading the manual and doing a little digging here. And, a great thing about DVRs is that you can experiment for free - it costs nothing to erase the card! :D

March 20th, 2009, 10:07 AM	#31
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Bill, so do you think the H4N has more than $150 worth of improvement over the H4? __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

March 21st, 2009, 03:06 PM	#37
Greg Joyce Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 106	Zoom H4n: lovers and haters Bill, I've been trying to read as much as I can about the Zoom H4n on the web. There's not much and very few samples. Brad Linder's blog has both excellent (quiet) and awful (hissy) samples, which led to an extended flame war in the comments section there: Brad Linder's blog: Zoom H4n audio take 2 - second time not so charming You seem to really like the recorder. Have you experienced the hiss on your H4n? Especially with external mics? Linder says he'll publish a full review later, including a test of the external mics, but it may not be for a week or more. I'm no audiophile, but except for the Neil Ewers samples on this Linder blog, which do sound bad, the H4n sees to be a great deal. What's your take?

March 21st, 2009, 03:44 PM	#38
Bill Rankin Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 433	I am not an 'audiophile' either, and I cannot attest to the use of a mic attached to the H4n. I've only used the inputs from a sound board and the onboard mics for weddings. I'm totally happy with it. __________________ Bill Rankin

March 25th, 2009, 10:29 AM	#42
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Bill, you know you are now DVinfo's H4n specialist, right? :) One last question from me... I'm a total audio recorder newbie... does it have a "full auto" type mode, or any sort of pre-sets that will get me reliable, good clean sound (from external mics recording dialogue) so I don't have to buy a book on sound recording to get great results from it? Thanks! __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

March 20th, 2009, 08:17 PM	#33
William James Ryan Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 73	And when is B&H going to start carrying these? I've been holding out from buying from Amazon.... what's the hold up?

March 20th, 2009, 09:23 PM	#35
William James Ryan Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 73	Yeah, I don't know... I've got some serious OCD issues when it comes to "what happens when I break it in 3 months??" thoughts that prevent me from buying Ebay/random .com stores. Plus I've got some other goodies from B&H I'd like to pack into my mandatory $50 shipping fee. But I need get audio away from my camera and start practicing recording double system sooner than later... grrrr. throws an angry colbert fist into the air B&H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

March 22nd, 2009, 07:35 PM	#39
William James Ryan Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 73	I'm wondering if I'm going to lose any sound quality if I use an H4n to record from an SD302.

March 24th, 2009, 07:52 PM	#40
William James Ryan Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 73	B&H accepting orders now. I guess whichever recorder I choose would be better than feeding audio to camera/tape... right?

March 25th, 2009, 05:23 AM	#41
Dana Love Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chesterfield, VA Posts: 63	Right, unless your recording settings are really off.

March 25th, 2009, 06:09 PM	#45
John Newell New Boot Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 16	Another barely educated layman chiming in to say that with any of the better DVRs you should be able to get very good or better results after reading the manual and doing a little digging here. And, a great thing about DVRs is that you can experiment for free - it costs nothing to erase the card! :D