H2 ZOOM DIGITAL RECORDER

[fraught]

Just so as not to confuse the uninitiated (and being the pedant that I am) I believe you are referring to the XLR connectors (which, I believe also take 1/4" jacks which may be useful if connecting to certain sounddesks)

Absolutely right Tim... i was just thinking of an old Video Company i once helped out with called 'BNC XLR'... always mixing those two up!

[fraught]

Seems people are split on whether the H2 can keep sync with video... Without purchasing the H2, which i'm tempted to do, anyone who has one, can they run a test to see how long the sync stays before it goes out?

[TimStannard]

I wonder whether two H2s actually keep in sync. You may get different results depending on who is testing, what kit etc.
Unfortunately I no lomger have the source, but a few weeks back I recorded a number of 30 min lessons (teacher instructing a primary pupil) and within each 30 mins I was splitting the audio maybe four or five times in order to sync. The amount it had drifted out of sync between each split was less than a frame, but I'm afraid I didn't note how much it had drifted for the half hour.

I'll run a test if I get a chance.

[tom hardwick]

Fraught, if they drift out of sync then that's what they do, from the very first second onwards. It won't stay in sync and then suddenly start to drift, the clocks maintain speed consistency but not speed accuracy.

[fraught]

Thanks guys... i just need to know whether it's worth buying the H2 and putting up with the drift and correcting it... or splash out on the H4n?

[tom hardwick]

The H4n is a far nicer machine, though it's twice the size and twice the weight. It does have a decent, legible LCD readout, whereas the H2's looks as if it was designed in 1978. But $ for $ the H2 is the bargain.

[billyfromConsett]

I don't notice a sync problem with my H2. As for Tim's comment about his recordings being less than a frame out of sync every 10 minutes or so, well without a graphical demonstration of that you surely wouldn't notice that difference in under the best part of an hour maybe (6 frames), so you'd need a very long recording on the H2 to actually need to re-align the recording to suit in my opinion.

But I've used the Zoom H2 purely for voice-overs - and I'd give it 8/10. With my Sennheiser M66, I would rate it a wee bit higher if the sound level recorded was slightly higher. I need to use Soundbooth to amplify the signal to get an ideal signal which dominates the timeline.

I'm considering buying an H4n just for the better electronics, but as Tom might elude to, it's double the price for a minimal enhancement.

[fraught]

Cheers guys... I'm still torn, but as i rarely shoot anything over 5 minutes before i cut, i think the H2 may just be the device for me.

[Arthur Bates]

Hi fraught, I recently purchased a H2 recorder and found it very good. The screen is small and a lot of information is displayed on it. I find it rather a fiddle to select the folder and file when I want to play a sertain recording back to the compuer. The file and folders are what I usually want to see in order to select what I want to save. Otherwise I can reccopmend it. Arthur B.

[TimStannard]

Arthur, I rarely bother with the fiddly folder system on the H2. I simply remove the card, copy everything to my computer, delete it from the card and then do my file management on the PC for that very reason.

I know some people don't like removing the card because of the flimsy door/flap on the H2 - mine broke within days and I phoned Samson UK up and they sent a new one - but I prefer this to using the USB interface because that again requires using the fiddly menu system (though admitedly turning on USB isn't particularly hallenging)

So, I don't delete, rename, file in different folders or anything like that on the H2 (I've never recorded more than 2GB in one session and I have a 4GB card). Whilst it's possible, why make life difficult?

[fraught]

Sounds like i shall go with the H2 and save my pennies. Thanks for everyones comments.

[tom hardwick]

Yes, the H2 is the bargain, and at half the price of the Sony WMD6c it makes recordings that sound 10x better. Not sure why Billy from C was getting low level recordings with the H2 because of course there's very many compression, limiting and AGC settings in the menu, as well as full manual recording. There's even a high and low mic sensitivity switch, so you can therefore have any level you like with whatever mic you like.

tom.

[TimStannard]

There's even a high and low mic sensitivity switch, so you can therefore have any level you like with whatever mic you like.

Actually it's even better than that, Tom. There's a mid setting as well

Everything does have it's limits though. Even on the low setting it can't quite cope with church bells ringing from inside the belfry in a church tower. It just about managed one or two bells ringing without clipping, but as soon as we had a few together it suffered. Admittedly this was with AGC/Comp set to OFF. Maybe using on eof the limiter settings would have helped.

[billyfromConsett]

Not sure why Billy from C was getting low level recordings with the H2 because of course there's very many compression, limiting and AGC settings in the menu, as well as full manual recording. There's even a high and low mic sensitivity switch, so you can therefore have any level you like with whatever mic you like.

tom.

Perhaps I should do a crazy thing and look at the instruction book. I did have a go at setting the mic level, which is at level 127, but thought that if I use medium or high mic gain, that the sound quality will suffer. So it's used on low mic gain.

Maybe I should try medium mic gain to raise the sound a bit.

[Wilmot]

I have the H" but found that hen I connected my Sen MHK300 that it introduces hiss whereas the mikes on the H2 are silent- far better!