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Zoom H4N and GH1/2
  • 45 Replies sorted by
  • Petee28Petee28

    ok thanks @strangways. ill give them a look

  • FrameFrame

    @wojtek, did you do some further research? Not to worry anymore about dealing with two devices in stressful situations would be amazing. Maybe it would be easier to build a circuit, which could be directly connected/soldered to the H4/H4N´s record button. (Or better, the tactile switch beneath it) So to say, the resistor value for record on/ off on a GH2´s remote triggers the zooms record circuit. (The "trigger" would be what the tactile switch of the record button would do: Close a circuit for I guess a fraction of a second) When you do the first push on a remote for starting recording on the GH2, the circuit sends two triggers to the H4 : Go to pause-start recording. But with the next push on the remote, the H4 is only triggered once: Go to stop

    Third push on the remote - two triggers, fourth push - one trigger - fifth pus, two triggers and so on and so forth. I have not worked with the Zoom for some time, so I do not know, wether some time is needed by the Zoom to go from Pause to Record. maybe the second trigger, or record command will be stored until the Zoom is ready. Also one has to avoid to push the record button on the Zoom itself when GH2 and Zoom are hooked together But thats easier than taking care of always pressing two buttons and loose precious seconds for crosscheck...

  • Chaos123xChaos123x

    I never connect my h4n to my gh2 I always have it with a audio guy with a boom pole. Sometimes I use a Videomic pro on top of the camera.

  • wojtekwojtek

    @Frame Actually I stopped work when it appeared that GH1 file time creation is not exact. My assumption was that I will match H4n and GH1 files by date - unfortunately GH1 creates several files with the same date, I don't know what is algorithm it changes - 1 minute time difference?. After shooting 1 day of movie I found groups of 5-10 files with the same date, so no easy way to match to audio especially when you removed bad takes.

    Other reason as @Chaos123x said is that very often someone else with boom pole operates H4n.

    Since I use rail system I use cable remote like on the photo - GH1 control is very easy, there are 2 resistors - when one is shortcut it is AF, if both it is REC/STOP command. I wanted the button (yellow micro switch on the photo) to be placed under thumb. I sew in micro switch with resistor and cable to the velcro. I can place it easily wherever I want to, I used that several days in the field and worked great.

    I do not abandon completely idea of one record button but first I'd like to have ability to match files by date. I wonder if GH2 is better in this case? Anybody knows if several takes shot one by one have the same creation date?

    GH1_record_button.jpg
    1000 x 750 - 360K
  • gabiloursongabilourson

    hello, does anyone knows how can i have a better electric alimentation on zoom h4n ? I realise a making of for Arte, and my config is : micro senheiser cardiod + H4n + sescom cable + GH2. The sound is great and broadcast but alcalines AA died every 2 hours ! Does anyone knows a light and practical battery system for this config ? thanks Gabi

  • JspatzJspatz

    Energizer Ultimate Lithium. They should last 8-10 hours with phantom power and much, much longer without.

  • gabiloursongabilourson

    ok thanks !

  • ed_lee83ed_lee83

    Having a serious issue with my H4N now. It seems the battery meter would always stay on full, and sometimes it would just shut off when I press record/stop. It's pretty shit when it does that because it destroys the file.

  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp

    @ed_lee Forgive this if you already tried it, but you have set the correct battery type in the H4n menu? I think there's a choice between nimh and alkaline and that lets it know how much capacity there is.

  • ed_lee83ed_lee83

    @Mark_the_Harp Ugh, it really was on the wrong setting. Thanks again. This year has not been good to me in the audio department...

  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp

    @ed_lee83 Great! That battery setting is a funny one, and possibly unique to the H4n. Just another thing product designers do to give you an unwelcome surprise when you least need it.

    BTW I have recovered damaged files from the H4n a long while ago, so can't remember how now. Depending on whether anything at all got written to the card, I think it involves importing in Adobe Audition 3 in a particular mode and playing with the import settings until you get the audio back in a usable form.

  • ed_lee83ed_lee83

    @Mark_the_Harp Cheers. No the files are like, 0 bytes, so I don't think even your magic audio wand could fix it this time..

  • FearseekerFearseeker

    @phenixzone and @spirit Finally my Sescom splitter arrived. Recording sound via Zoom to the GH2 seems OK. BUT the monitor part only monitors sound at an incredibly low level. So I am not able to check the sound through my headphone while recording. Which makes the Sescom unusable, a waiste of money! Am I the only user with this problem?

  • tinbeotinbeo

    you could bring the volume of H4n up to monitor but it also increase recording volume go in to GH2. I just watch the level on Gh2 make sure it not red all the time

  • JackBayerJackBayer

    @Fearseeker

    I have the same problem, although it doesn´t bother me much as I only use this setup in very controlled environments. If you crank up the Line-Out levels too high on the H4n you´ll induce noise to your signal, it´s a real bummer. I always check first (interviews) with headphones directly plugged in and then switch the cables to record.

    A simple y-splitter could be the solution.

    Or, you could use a headphone ampflifier with battery power: http://www.thomann.de/de/vox_amplug_acoustic.htm

    This one could work, if you dial the Blend poti all the way down, so it´ll only amplify the original signal (if I understand this correctly).

    But still, I think a y-splitter would be perfect: H4n y-splitter 1. Headphones 2. Sescom->GH1/2

  • Brian_SianoBrian_Siano

    I shot a live show the other night, and I borrowed a Zoom H4N because I'd be able to plug it right into the venue's sound board. The sound guy there did the setting up, saying that he's worked with this stuff before, and he certainly seemed to know his stuff. He had two feeds going into the XLR jacks, plus the Zoom's own microphones for room sound. That gave me two stereo tracks, and I'm presuming one stereo pair is from the Zoom's mikes, and the other stereo track is from the two XLR feeds.

    But they don't sound quite right. They're at a far lower level than I'd have expected, and the room sound just isn't very good. I'm probably going to get the sound the GH2's mikes picked up, which is actually pretty decent. I'll see if I can augment it with the stuff from the Zoom.

    Long story long: I don't want to rely on a sound man next time I use a recorder. I need to learn how to connect and calibrate a recorder with XLR inputs from a sound board-- settings the levels, knowing what to listen for, etc. Is there a good FAQ or how-to on the Web that I can consult, so I can handle things on my own. Recommendations?

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @Brian_Siano audio is a story for itself....whole philosophy ...and my primary domain ;-) If you specify the question for the specific situation, I will try to give a helpful idea.

  • Brian_SianoBrian_Siano

    @tetakpatak Thanks for the offer. But I figure I ought to read up on the general principles before bugging people with detailed questions.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @Brian_Siano OK, mate... here you can start, directly on the website of one of the finest microphones brands on the earth- many good information and samples to find. Hopefully it isn't too scientific for your taste:

    http://www.schoeps.de/en/downloads

  • Brian_SianoBrian_Siano

    @tetakpatak Thanks!

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