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 enlarge | Brand: Zoom
Category: Musical Instruments
Buy New: See price in cart
New (58) Used (3) Refurbished (2) from $220.00
Rating:  116 reviews
Sales Rank: 20
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
System Memory: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 3 x 7 x 10
The Zoom H4 Handy Digital Recorder fits in your palm and is ideal for recording live musical performances, interviews, podcasts, meetings, classes and seminars. The H4 allows you to record 24-bit/96 kHz digital audio as well as in MP3 format with bit rates up to 320kbps. The H4 features two studio-quality electret condenser microphones configured in an X/Y pattern for true stereo recording. It also includes 2 combination XLR-1/4" input jacks with phantom power for use with any external micropho
MPN: H4
Model: ZOO H4
UPC: 718122383009
EAN: 4515260007059
ASIN: B000LGA2K6
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Great recorder at a great price September 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this recorder to record live classical music using external microphones requiring phantom power. While figuring out the interface and menu items was a little clumsy, it was relatively easy to use. What's really amazing about this recorder is the clarity of sound, wide frequency range and ease of transporting audio files to my mac. Some reviewers may not like certain features of this recorder - it being made of plastic, SD card and batteries somewhat difficult to get to, etc.. - but for the money it's an astounding little package. I've been really happy with it.
handy indeed September 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
first the bad :
the switches (side-panel on the right) for "gain lo-med-hi" seem easy to break and are difficult to put in the middle position.
the pushwheel (also on the right side-panel) seems fragile too.
i find it very difficult to remove the SD card (it doesn't pop up high enough), so rather than use tweezers i just leave it in there and transfer the files over USB.
the usage is awkward at first, you navigate using the center button and the pushwheel, which almost requires two hands.
the center joystick button has two menu-navigation purposes: pushing it in is basically a back/clear button, and pulling it down gives you access to the input menu. the rest of the menu-navigation (and selection) is done by the pushwheel.
maybe this is a good thing because it allows you to still use the joystick to control the music (play/pause/record/ffwd/rew) WHILE you're navigating the menus.
unfortunately, many of the menus don't wrap-around (so if you scroll to the end of a list before deciding you want the first item, then you have to scroll all the way back to the beginning).
the volume wheel controls the 3.5mm "headphone" output, but has no effect on the 3.5mm "line" output; no big deal, you can get around that using a 2-dollar splitter (so two people can listen with headphones, for example).
now the good :
the product does everything it says it does; i find the recording quality excellent considering the size and cost of this thing.
i also use it as a headphone amp for my electric guitar (of the 50 built-in effects, there are at least five that i use frequently).
battery life is good, you'll want rechargeable batteries ofcourse.
once i got used to the user-interface, i found this product very satisfying.
although it could use some design improvements, i consider this almost essential equipment for a musician, and very useful for a bunch of other people, including bootleggers, podcasters, lecturers/students, or anyone who wants decent quality digital recordings for under 300$.
(maybe students recording lectures would be better served by the zoom H2 or other mini-recorders that you can find on www.thomann.de)
i bought this product directly from amazon, free shipping, order tracking, zero problems.
i also bought a sony AA/AAA battery charger with LCD display and discharge function (model BCG-34HRMF4) with which i am VERY pleased.
and a couple of 2 Gig SD cards.
note : i read that the H2 and H4 are not compatible with the 4 Gig SD High-Capacity (SDHC) cards.
i have not tried the zoom H2 yet, but i don't think i'll buy one because for me the H4 is portable enough.
but i don't need to test the H2 to recommend the H4 over it; the H4 is just so much more versatile, can do so much more for musicians, and has better mics anyway.
happy recording!
Great portable recorder for the price September 9, 2008
I did a lot of research before buying this and so I wasn't surprised by much about it. Overall I'm very happy with it, I got what I expected. It sounds good and although, the controls are a little fiddly, it isn't that hard to use. One thing everyone should be aware of is that the audio files aren't time and date stamped in any way. If you need or want that you'll have to look elsewhere. It's annoying, but not a deal breaker for my use. At the price the H4 goes for, I think it's a really good deal for the quality you get.
Field recording with the H-4 September 7, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
After having read many of the reviews about this little nifty machine I decided to give it a try in a direct-sound production as the main recorder for dialog. In order to be compatible with audio suites we decided to record in the 48 KHz / 24 Bit mode. I know that the machine is not specifically designed for film/TV field recording, but it did its job very well.
Advantages at first sight:
# 1: It does not weigh 8 Kg (about 18.7 lbs.) what a Nagra IV used to.
# 2: No reels, no heavy batteries, no shoulder harness.
# 3: The recording quality and the S/N ratio are far above that of an open-reel machine and equal any DAT or HD-recording system.
So far so good. Since the microphone/gain controls on the H-4 are not accessible during recording, I decided to feed the audio (boom & radio-mikes) through a SHURE FP-33 field mixer and connecting it via two XLR cables to the H-4. Besides, one can NOT hold it in the hand and record through the built-in mikes due to severe noise from handling the machine.
First I had to calibrate the H-4 with the FP-33 to see where my levels were, so I set the IN 1&2 switches both to "L" and then calibrated the 1 KHz tone to -24dB on the H-4. Why so low? The limiter of the SHURE mixer works OK for analog, but clearly overshoots the 0 dB limit of any digital recorder thus causing distortion / clipping.
The dialogues came through crisp and clear, but I still had to watch peaks since the limiter of the H-4 did not catch them accordingly. I still haven't figured out if the built-in limiter only works for the internal mike (MIC) or works as well on the input (IN 1&2).
I live and work in Costa Rica, so sometimes the "Latin Way" interferes with the normal production logistics which I was used to in Germany and the States.
Production forgot to buy batteries, so they gave me a strip of regular Panasonic Blue-Ones. BEWARE! A set of two lasted about 10 minutes, just enough for one scene, without risking the recorder going "off-line" in the middle of a take. We barely made the first morning (exterior shooting), and then got some decent alkaline AAs.
Cons:
1. The more data you have on the SD-card, the longer the machine takes to fire up / load / initiate. I use an 8 GB Transcend card, which lasted me - in a "normal" 16-hour working day - for four (4) whole days and still had about 1.5 Gigs left over.
2. The XLR inputs do not have the usual safety latch. So, if you are moving around, be sure that your cables are always plugged up to the hilt. And, re-check them before you start recording again.
3. The readability of the display is poor in daylight, and so is the status-light of the "Record" button. Is it on? Is it recording? One has to monitor the output of the H-4 directly so one knows at least if the machine is "off".
4. I upgraded the firmware immediately after getting the H-4 to Ver. 2.20. Still it takes up to an hour and a half to download, via USB, about 1.5 Gigs of audio (Vista Ultimate / 2 Gigs of RAM / fast 500 GB HD).
5. The Zoom H-4 has a twisted learning curve. It takes some time to get used to the two kinds/options of menus. But that has been discussed at length in other reviews... (see those).
Overall I am surprised by the excellent quality of the recorded audio. I even did a couple of recordings of a Mariachi band, using the built-in microphones, and at home I was astounded by the crispness and the stereo-field resolution.
So, leave your bulky machines at home, and start using the H-4 for your field recording. ... and you'll save about US$ 750 compared to other digital SD-recorders.
Don't forget the clapper, because otherwise you are going to be in deep trouble trying to sync your audio to your video in post-production.
 perfect August 6, 2008
This is the perfect compact recorder. I'm using it for my piano practicing, and the sound quality is excellent. I must say the worst thing about it is that it is so revealing! I can hear all of my mistakes!
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