I'm wondering about buying a Zoom H4n audio recorder for use with my Canon 1Dx but I was wondering how much of an improvement it is over the onboard audio (via xlr mic input) of the XF300 and XF100? I will be using a Rode NTG2 mic.

For what I have in mind I could just use the XF cameras to record the audio track and then sync it to the 1Dx footage or I could get the H4n and be covered for both. Over here they are about £250 so not a massive outlay in the grand scheme of things.

Any thoughts?

Andy

Hi Andy.

In my personal experience, I can answer your question with another question: What do you use it for? The xf100 does not record bad audio with an external mic (it does with the internal mic) and in my opinion, you can record great audio with the internal mics on the zoom, but gotta be careful where and how to place them because they are very sensitive and catch every single tap with your finger.

For an unknown reason my external mic does a "not as good" job on the zoom as the internal mics, so as part of my workflow I record audio on the x100 with an MKE600 mic and Record a backup with the zoom and their own mics, then I take both in post and mix the four channels and it works good for me for most of the live events I do.

The zoom and a shotgung could be better if you are recording on a pole, I just haven't tried that yet.