Zoom H5 or........

[Bob Bickerton]

Have a slightly odd application whereby I need to send a stereo XLR handheld recorder along with a couple of Sennheiser MKH8050s to someone who is undertaking field interviews. Because it’ll be on and off for a few months, I don’t want to send down a MixPre as inevitably it’ll clash with another project.

Preamp noise wouldn’t be a problem. Ease of operation would be important.

I’m thinking a Zoom H5 but happy to hear of any other suggestions.......

Ta!

Bob

[Drew Stephenson]

An H4 is cheaper but only allows multi-tracking at 16bit.
Other thing to bear in mind is that an H4/5 providing phantom power to two mics absolutely eats batteries. Not sure if you're "field interviews" will be indoors or actually out and about, but if the former then make sure to get a mains adaptor as well.

[shufflebeat]

Looks like the H5 takes 5vDC via USB, would a chunky power bank be appropriate?

Slight OT:
#2 brought a solar powered one back from sunny China a while back and I've been keen to find a niche for it. The Rockboard 9v battery (5v in) looks like the winner.

[The Elf]

A Zoom H4/5 would be my choice for size and flexibility combined with decent quality, but if quality and flexibility can take a back seat then something like an Olympus LS-P1 (or whatever the current model is) might be worth considering. I managed to get one from a charity shop recently and I've been pleasantly surprised how useful it's been.

And if anyone can tell me what the difference between the P1 and P4 are I'd appreciate it - I can't see any!

[Hugh Robjohns]

I've just reviewed the Zoom F6. It's an astonishingly good little recorder that is about as idiot proof as as anything I've ever used.

Minimal controls, and floating point recording format mean its pretty hard to come back with something unusable. Six preamps are very good quality -- not quite MixPre Kashmirs, but not far off.

Very compact, and remarkably frugal on the power consumption. Can be powered from a Sony L brick or a USB powerbank, and even the internal AA batteries last a surprisingly long time.

And it can serve as a 6-track backup recorder to your mainstay MixPres...

... Obviously more expensive than an H4 or H5, but no bigger, better sound quality, easier to use, and has a valuable role after your field interviews.

[The Elf]

I've just reviewed the Zoom F6. It's an astonishingly good little recorder that is about as idiot proof as as anything I've ever used.

A crying shame those inputs aren't XLR/jack, mic/line combos.

[Wonks]

A crying shame those inputs aren't XLR/jack, mic/line combos.

Those combi connectors are considerably deeper than straight XLRs, so they'd have to make the recorder significantly bigger to fit 6 of them in. And small seems to be beautiful with these field recorders. It might not bother you, but it obviously bothers the design/marketing people at Zoom.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I've just reviewed the Zoom F6. It's an astonishingly good little recorder that is about as idiot proof as as anything I've ever used.

A crying shame those inputs aren't XLR/jack, mic/line combos.

It's designed for location videographers and location sound recordists really, rather than musicians, and the preamps don't have a hi-z mode. Plus, since combo XLRs are bigger internally using them would have resulted in a larger overall package and that would have made it less attractive again for videographers.

As it is, with six full-size XLR sockets and an internal 4xAA caddy, it's difficult to imagine where all the electronics are anyway!

Its a compromise that will inevitably frustrate some, and appeal to others. Personally, I don't have a problem with it for the kinds of applications I'd want to use it on. There are alternative multichannel recorders with TRS hi-Z inputs... But they are all bigger...

[Bob Bickerton]

Thanks folks.

Yes the F6 is tempting alright, but probably beyond budget for the application. I’m also adding the Tascam DR-100MKIII as a possibility as it appears to out perform the Zoom in terms of preamp performance.

Bob

[Tim Gillett]

Those 8050s wouldn't be my first choice for outdoor work unless well protected from wind. How skilled are the people operating the gear?

[Bob Bickerton]

The interviews are indoors.

Bob

[Bob Bickerton]

And a little feedback.......

I settled on the Tascam DR-100mkiii and was partly influenced by this EIN comparison report: http://www.avisoft.com/recorder-tests/

Also it has a dual recording mode (a duplicate file recorded 12dB lower) which is potentially very useful for the said application. I presume this occurs by splitting the signal and attenuating it prior to a second set of converters?

Anyway a solid little unit (metal body) with sensible controls and good metering. The onboard directional mics are workable, but not brilliant, and the XLR preamps seem really rather good. There’s something about it which is reminiscent of the HD-P2 which was a unit I really liked in the day.

The built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery is a great feature too for field recording.

Bob

[pmarc]

I've got the H5 connected to my iphone14 so I can get better audio with video.

1. When using the camera adapter, is the phone actually running the H5 (so you don't need batteries in the H5) or is there a cable available that goes into the H5 and simultaneously powers it while connected to the camera adapter?

2. The eventual video file you get with this setup... is it just 1 file which appears in the phone, like regular phone videos? Or is the H5 audio file separate?

3. It doesn't seem necessary to use the H5 app on the phone for a simple video. Am I missing something?

4. the camera adapter has 2 ports. one is Lightening the other, USB. what if you connect a charger to the USB port? would that run the H5?

[James Perrett]

I don't have an H5 but I have a Zoom U-44 audio interface which is also intended to work with phones and tablets. I have found that it is possible to power the Zoom directly from a phone or tablet but Zoom don't recommend this, presumably because it takes a fair amount of current and will run a phone battery down very quickly. The U-44 can run from its internal batteries or from an external supply. If the H5 doesn't have a separate power input then you may be able to power it from a powered USB hub.