The ZOOM H4essential is a new version of a very well known handy field recorder. The original H4 was my first audio recorder back in 2007. It was super convenient and affordably priced and a great way to get a start in recording sound for podcasts and video. But it had some major weaknesses, too: Preamps which didn't supply much gain and were quite noisy when pushed to higher gain levels, odd controls, and not the greatest build quality. But the newer versions have become progressively better and, astonishingly, the newest version H4essential is still priced at only $200 USD. So we bought one to try it out. Oh, and they added 32-bit float recording which a lot of prosumers, in particular, find quite useful.
We'll also answer your sound for video questions.
If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. We have a course on sound for live-streaming with the ATEM Mini, Introduction to Izotope RX for Dialogue Audio, and Mixing fundamentals in DaVinci Resolve Fairlight.
Gear I often use or that we mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:
- ZOOM H4essential audio field recorder — Amazon
- ZOOM H6essential audio field recorder — Amazon
- ZOOM H1essential audio field recorder — Amazon
- Mackie DLZ Creator XS adaptive audio mixer — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon
- Mackie DLZ Creator adaptive audio mixer (the original, bigger one) — B&H, Amazon
- Earthworks ETHOS microphone — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon
- Allen & Heath SQ5 digital mixing board — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon
- Sound Devices 888 field recorder/mixer with Dante — B&H, Sweetwater
- Sound Devices MixPre II Series Recorders - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon
- Panasonic GH5 camera - B&H, Amazon
- Teleprompter Ikan 17" high bright — B&H
- Canon C200 Camera - B&H
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens — B&H, Amazon
- ATEM Mini Extreme & Extreme ISO - B&H, DVE Store, Amazon
- Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel, pre-amp, EQ, compressor - Sweetwater, B&H
- Universal Audio 6176 channel strip pre-amp, EQ, compressor — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon
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Copyright 2024, Curtis Judd