Zoom H2 recorder

[Aidan Wilson]

Probably should have sent that to the list...

Aidan Wilson wrote:
> Hi Cindy,
>
> I haven't had any primary experience with the H2, but the larger, 
> older H4 has very good reports. Samson, which makes the zooms, tend to 
> do a very good job with internal mics and preamps, at least inasmuch 
> as value for money.
>
> It'd still be wise to use an external mic, but the mic input is only a 
> single stereo minijack, but that's not so bad. The H4 wins on this 
> point, as it has two 3-pin xlr inputs, which are much better for 
> audio. Another big problem with this is that it's only USB 1.1, 
> meaning transfer to your laptop will be excruciatingly long. But this 
> is easily overcome if you use a USB 2 SD card reader or if your laptop 
> has an SD card slot, which most do these days.
>
> I'd normally advise against small devices like this, as, the more 
> compact the components the higher the introduced noise, and the fact 
> that every button press will translate to an audible (and honesty 
> irritating) noise in your recording. This is why it's always best to 
> use an external mic.
>
> Another problem I can foresee is that things you'll want to do quite 
> often, level adjustment and so forth, require you to navigate through 
> the menu, which might make setting up for a recording considerably 
> fiddly and time consuming. But all small devices have this problem as 
> the small size means they can't fit analog level dials on the front or 
> side. In fact, I'd want to find out exactly how levels are adjusted 
> before buying it. I think some manufacturers cheap out on this and 
> offer a switch from 'low gain' to 'high gain', which clearly is 
> inadequate.
>
> As for power, it takes AA batteries - good, and the battery gauge can 
> be configured to rechargeables - even better. Two AA batteries (non 
> rechargeable, presumably) yields four hours of operation. Not bad, but 
> with rechargeables that might come down a little. The firmware seems 
> to support SD cards up to 8GB (or at least that's the implication in a 
> few reviews). Depending on which PCM properties you record in (it can 
> be either 16 or 24 bit, 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz), a 2GB sd card (probably 
> the cheapest per GB) will get you around 3 hours on the lowest quality 
> (16 bit, 44.1 kHz - CD quality) or just under one hour at the highest 
> (24/96). Though this has less to do with the device itself.
>
> Considering the expectations of small devices, and the drawbacks of 
> some of the others, this seems to do alright. However, I can't shake 
> the feeling that the H4 would be a better performer.
>
>
> Aidan Wilson
> Audio at Paradisec
>
> Cindy Schneider wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I am thinking about purchasing the Zoom H2 for doing fieldwork in PNG.
>> I'd be interested in hearing about other people's experiences with this
>> recorder. I'd especially appreciate any feedback on the internal mic. I
>> will have regular access to my laptop, so backup is not a problem.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Cindy Schneider
>>
>> -------------------------
>> Postdoctoral Research Fellow
>> Research Centre for Linguistic Typology
>> La Trobe University
>> Victoria 3086
>> Australia
>> Ph +61-3-9479 6413
>> Fax +61-3-9467 3053
>>   
>
>

-- 
Aidan Wilson

PARADISEC
0428 458 969
+61 2 9036 9558
aidan at usyd.edu.au