Why I buy this one ?
- Metronome: 5 sounds (Beat: 0/4 - 8/4, 6/8, Tempo: 40.0 - 250.0BPM)
- A/D Conversion: 24bit, 128times oversampling
- D/A Conversion: 24bit, 128times oversampling
- Signal Processing: 32bit
- Recording Media: SD memory card (16MB-2GB)

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What our customer's say!

"Great portable recorder!", As soon as I received the Zoom H4, I read the quick start directions and started recording. All you have to do is push record and start recording. Great sound! If you want to get into it's many, many features, it will take a little longer. The instructions are well written but can be a little complicated. But for what I use it for it is pretty straight forward.
I'm a guitar player and vocalist and I gig with my band about 4 times a month. I've been recording every time we play and getting some really good recordings. The built in mics sound fine, but I especially like the external mic input feature. I get a better sound with a couple of condenser mics. It has XLR,s or 1/4 " inputs. It also has phantom power. I'm stoked with my H4.

"Zoom H4 does good job for professional reporters", H4 has a great feature. It simulates studio microphones. I can use it to record my tracks. It has replaced my RE-20 as my portable studio mic.



"Excellent product - Only 2 drawbacks", This was my "professional" quality recorder, and i am amazed at what it can do.

Pros:
Versatile!!!!
SD card memory
Runs on ac adapter, usb power, or battery power.
Record stand alone or as a computer interface
built in microphones are FLAT OUT SOLID.

Cons:
SD card is hard to take out
size - its a little large to use for recording yourself with a clip on mic and the recorder in a pocket if you use it for that setting.

These are very small negatives though, overall i love this product.

"Zoom H4 - Camcorder Secret Weapon", I haven't heard a lot of talk about the H4's utility for video, so that's what I'm going to explore. With the price of mini-DV and even HD consumer camcorders continuing to come down, the one thing that separates (most of) them from the pro and prosumer camcorders is a lack of microphone inputs and a lack of a headphone output to monitor audio.

One of the overlooked uses of the H4 is that the Neutrik combine XLR and ¼" inputs (with phantom power) make it an ideal "front end" to interface pro microphones with consumer camcorders. Yes there are dedicated interfaces that do this, but the H4 has the added bonus of being a digital recorder, so not only are you able to use professional microphones and supply phantom power to them, you also have a audio back up, just like the pros. An additional bonus is you can use the H4's headphone jack to monitor your sound.

I used this set up to run some test footage for a documentary I was shooting. I ran a small-diaphragm condenser into one channel of the H4 XLR input and a Crown PZM into the other input. I used the condenser on a boom for primary audio on the subject, then placed the PZM near the subject but out of frame to get the same audio with a little of the room ambience. In practice you could run two small condensers , or a lavalier and a mic on a boom, or a lavalier and a PZM, etc. The only restriction is that both microphones have to run on phantom power (or not, you can switch phantom power on or off in the menu, but it affects both Neutrik inputs).

I ran the 1/8" stereo line out from the H4 into the mic in of my camcorder (Panasonic PV-GS300). I was only able to check the audio after I ran a test and played it back, but what I heard in playback was pretty consistent with what I heard on the H4 headphone out during recording. Another added bonus is that now I have a way to back up my audio by recording to the H4's memory card. I shoot with a really small crew, so this feature cam in really handy, especially during tape changes. Even though you're telling your subjects to hang on while you change tape, you can let the H4 keep running and capture any audio that they might not repeat after the tape change. If they say something really profound (which happens) and it just doesn't have the same power when you ask them to repeat it on camera, the H4 audio is still there, so you've got something.

So that's it. The H4 can let you use pro microphones with your consumer camcorder, give you the ability to monitor your audio and give you a back up copy of your audio for editing. That's a bargain!




"Just what I needed", I was searching for a device that would 1) allow me to record a wide array of sounds in high quality and seamlessly upload them to my computer and 2) act as an audio interface for Skype etc. to take the burden off my deteriorating internal microphone (which is now audibly picking up my computer fans). A friend recommended the Zoom H4 Handy Recorder, and I couldn't be happier. The interface is intuitive, the quality is great, and the product offers an enormous number of options.

Although the display is small and a little behind the times, it is nonetheless readable (and backlit). I also ended up spending an extra $10 on a small tripod so I could mount the recorder near my computer when I use it as an interface.

[...]

Read this reviews before You buy...

"Great portable recorder for the price", 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", 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 ½ 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", 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!

"Excellent device", The Good:
The small size, high sound quality and diverse recording formats make this an excellent mobile field recording device. The internal stereo microphone produces a very good audio image, and XLR inputs make it usable with any pro audio mic. I was surprised by all the on-board effects, mixing, an bouncing capability. You can manually set gain and input levels to accomodate any environment. Basic recording is simple, requiring only three steps to "roll tape".

The Bad:
It is a four-track device, but you can only record two tracks at a time. The switches are small and the interface requires some juggling to get to the advanced features. Also, if you're using this device for film, the internal clock doesn't sync up precisely with DV clocks... It is noticable during long takes and requires stretching or shrinking the audio track to match the video track (a simple step, but cumbersome).

"Excellent recorder", I love this recorder. The only things that I don't like is that there is no lock for the microphones (they COULD come out during recording, although it hasn't happened - yet) and that it won't work on 48V powered microphones with the batteries (you must plug it in, although I don't think that it states that in the directions). The menu button also seems a bit flimsy. Other than that, it is a terrific machine with great sound.