I was reading up on recorders and it seems like there are alot of people vouching for this Zoom H4N. What's the rave about? How does it rank up aganist the Fostex FR-2 and the Marantz PMD-660?
Zoom H4N.Whats the rave about?
- Thread starter wparrish24
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The only reason it's popular is that it is cheap. It's actually rather flimsy, the preamps are very noisy and it eats batteries at a ferocious rate. My personal preference is the FR2-LE or the PMD-661 in the budget range of digital recorders, and of course Sound Devices at the upper end.
Well, yeah, it's half the price of those other two recorders.
I personally prefer the Red One over the Canon 7D. The 7D has less resolution, a lot less color space, and a fraction of the data rate. But the 7D is a fraction of the price, which means I can actually afford it, and it produces a better image than any other camera in its price range.
Same with the H4N. I'm sure we'd all love to get that expensive audio gear. But we can't. The H4N does a great job and is really cheap.
Zoom owners are as bad as Apple'iados from 10 years ago.
I still bleed 6 colors!
The key word is CHEAP. I've been reading a lot about budget audio recorders recently from folks who know - the people behind the oscilloscopes and out in the trenches . They have rated the H4n as the worst amongst the budget digital audio recorders for many of the reasons I mentioned previously.
Ones that they preferred were the Edirol R-09 and the M-Audio Microtrack which are about the same price. Their favorite of all of the handheld recorders - that is, ones that have their own built-in microphones - was the Sony PCM-D50 ($500).
What I just can't figure out is why - when "sound is half of the experience" - a filmmaker would spend $5k on a camera and then bitch about spending $500 on an audio recorder. A well-seasoned pro, an experienced filmmaker and teacher whose opinions and expertise I highly respect, recommends that a beginning filmmaker should spend the same amount on picture and sound at the $10,000 or lower budget level. So if you have a budget of $4k spend $2k on the camera and $2k on sound gear. When you get to the $50k level it should be a 75/25% split. How much with a bigger budget? You don't buy anything at all, you hire professionals who already have and are well versed in the best gear in the business.
Alcove, the battery usage on the H4n is vastly improved over the H4. I used both on small shoot two weeks ago, two 8 hour days, both recorders logging the same hours. We had to change the batteries on the H4 five times but didn't have to change the batteries on the H4n at all.
The interface is vastly improved as well.
I don't know from oscilloscopes, but I do know they were very suitable and capable recorders for that project.
And I think anytime we have a tool that allows a certain category of filmmaker the ability to stretch their art its a good thing. The $200 savings over the Sony means that a certain portion of us are going to be able to think about sound in a fresher way and perhaps inspire us to save up for the Sony PCM-D50 next time. Its a gateway drug towards more expensive and better equipment.
The interface is vastly improved as well.
I don't know from oscilloscopes, but I do know they were very suitable and capable recorders for that project.
And I think anytime we have a tool that allows a certain category of filmmaker the ability to stretch their art its a good thing. The $200 savings over the Sony means that a certain portion of us are going to be able to think about sound in a fresher way and perhaps inspire us to save up for the Sony PCM-D50 next time. Its a gateway drug towards more expensive and better equipment.
Neither the Edirol nor the Microtrack have XLR inputs, so they aren't really comparable products. And the PCM-D50 is nearly twice as expensive as the H4N, so it's not really in the same price range.
I did hear of an audio recorder with the same features at the same price as the Zoom H4N but I can't remember the name of it. I wish I'd known about it at the time so I could have compared them more rigorously. I have no complaints about the H4N so far, but I'm no brand loyalist. I'll go with the better deal.
I think at that price range, chances are the camera has a built-in XLR and most indie filmmakers are just going directly into the camera.
But at the $2K price range of the Canon 7D and similar products, I agree for the most part.
I think that sounds like pretty good advice.
I'm not suggesting that people scrimp on audio. I'm saying that when someone says they have $300 to spend, suggesting audio gear several times more expensive isn't very helpful.
To use your earlier car analogy, yes we all understand that a Mercedes is a nicer car than a Corolla. Of course we'd RATHER drive a Mercedes. We're not stupid. But sometimes we simply can't afford a Mercedes and have to look around at something less expensive. So insisting that we MUST get a Mercedes or we just aren't taking our driving very seriously is not useful advice.
I looked up the Zoom H4N, and I think it looks like a fairly decent piece of audio equipment (though I barely know anything on the subject). It's affordable and was rated highly on Amazon.com, and it uses inexpensive SD cards to store hours and hours of audio. The only downside I can think of is syncing audio back to the video; I imagine that's a tedious task. 
Agreed. There's no way in heck that I'd be able to afford a Mercedes at this point. I'd have to go for the cheaper option.
EDIT:
Also, videos I've watched that had their audio recorded with the H4N sounded great. I think I'll pick it up later on when I get a camera.
Agreed. There's no way in heck that I'd be able to afford a Mercedes at this point. I'd have to go for the cheaper option.
EDIT:
Also, videos I've watched that had their audio recorded with the H4N sounded great. I think I'll pick it up later on when I get a camera.
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Not when you use one of these.The only downside I can think of is syncing audio back to the video; I imagine that's a tedious task.
That's the one I saw. I hear rave reviews about this one as well, better than the Zoom from what I understand.
I'd believe that.. Tascam's been around forever, you don't get the kind of longevity they've had by screwing musicians over with crap products.. 
This is true for just about any piece of cheapish equipment in the hands of creative people... once their experience overwhelms the limitations of the equipment, they CRAVE more... it's an addiction to be certain.
I, BTW, am Jonesing!
So I guess the question is for $300 which would you recommend?
Zoom H4n
or
Tascam DR-100
Used to capture sound as-is with no pre-amps using equality both XLR Mics and the Internal Mics.
Remember Indie Filmmakers have small/no budgets so recommendations must fit within prescribed limits, and multi-functional equipment is a god-send to avoid having to buy more & more equipment which could easily sink Movie Making Dreams.
Zoom H4n
or
Tascam DR-100
Used to capture sound as-is with no pre-amps using equality both XLR Mics and the Internal Mics.
Remember Indie Filmmakers have small/no budgets so recommendations must fit within prescribed limits, and multi-functional equipment is a god-send to avoid having to buy more & more equipment which could easily sink Movie Making Dreams.
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