Zoom H4N in-depth review

So you are thinking about getting an audio recorder for Canon DSLR with the Zoom H4N

Reasons that I thought about buying…
So if you have watched my review on Canon 7D here, you know that using the on-camera mic is not great.  I knew that I needed to add-on to the camera to allow for better audio recording.  I read review after review of people discussing an on-camera mic, but I really wanted the added flexibility of multiple channels of audio.  I wanted to be able to plug-in multiple mic's for field recording and I wanted it to be simple.  Funny story, I actually got my wife to agree to getting it because she was a big fan of Ghost hunting.  I told her that she could use it as a great EVP recorder.  Turns out, it's a horrible EVP recorder, because of it's high quality, the chances of "interference" causing "unknown" sounds to be recorded is pretty low. That being said, the Zoom H4N has become the de-facto standard of off camera audio recording.  There are many imitators out there, and even Zoom is trying to up-sell people to the new Zoom H6N that is about to be released.  But the abilities of this little recorder make it flexible enough to do just about anything.

Here is what I actually use it for.....
I use this as the main input for mic'ing and ultimately sending the audio into my camera.  The nice part of this is that I can record multiple mic inputs at the same time either on multiple channels or just from the x/y stereo mic on the zoom.  I will typically mount the zoom on top of the hot shoe on top of the camera if I am running and gunning or shooting an event like sports or concert type events.  It captures the stereo field rather nicely, and also has the ability to set limiting and compression for those moments that you want the maximum audio signal that you can.  In more advanced setups for interviews or training videos I usually run a separate condenser mic in order to get closer to the subject.  Originally, even though you could have this as a recorder, plugging into the Canon 7D directly out of the Zoom required a intermediate device or cable in order to cancel out the AGC from the 7D.  I bought a JuicedLink device to have the signal on half of the stereo channel to max out in order to allow the signal be controlled on one channel.  Now with the latest 2.0 firmware for the 7D, you just need to set the levels in the camera to Manual and then make sure the levels in the camera are set to not peak, and in the Zoom both the record level and the headphone out level so that the camera does not peak out anywhere along the audio chain.

Here are the things I didn't expect or didn't like...
Learning the menu system and learning the different options in the Zoom can take some time.  Recording multiple inputs at the same time with multiple mic's can be a bit tricky.  The Zoom also has updated the firmware to allow for setting input levels while recording multiple sources.  I highly recommend updating if you want to do multiple mic setups.  The biggest surprise was when I accidentally tipped my camera bag over into a river at the top of a waterfall.  The Zoom went off the 100 foot waterfall and survived the fall, not even a scratch on it.  I did the bury it in rice for a couple of days trick to get the water out.  And to my surprise, it worked.  Even the microphones sound no worse for wear.  I have used the Zoom in meetings, concerts, interviews, and in cold and hot weather.  It just works.  I haven't come across any flaws that I can find.  The only thing that I had to do is get a fuzzy wind screen.  The foam screen that comes with it doesn't help with wind. When shooting with the camera I typically don't even record on the Zoom, I just turn on Monitoring  (in settings) and go directly into the camera.  If you want to monitor with headphones, then you need a splitter cable for coming out the headphone out.

Here are the super cool things that I love about it...
If you are going to get serious about shooting video with a DSLR, you are going to need some way to get quality audio with the video.  The Zoom makes this possible with a portable, quality audio, at 24bit 96Khz.  I love my Zoom and would replace it immediately if it ever got lost or broke.  Because it is so portable, and the battery life is very good -- about 4-6 hours of continuous recording, taking on a shoot is a no-brainer.  I am going to look seriously at the Zoom H6N.  The added flexibility for the 6 channels and the different on-board mic options is a very nice set of added features.  I would highly recommend this piece of equipment for anyone trying out film-making.  It has about every feature you could ever want from a portable and high quality audio reproduction.
 
Common settings that I use...
Record Settings, 24 bit WAV, mp3 variable
Input Monitoring On
Record levels
Headphone out levels
Camera settings Manual levels
Multiple microphones attached

Canon 7D in-depth review

So you are thinking about buying Canon 7D?

Reasons that I thought about buying… 
Canon is a strong brand. I had a Canon film camera and I also bought a Canon T2i (now upgraded to a T3i) years ago when I got back into shooting.  I had friends who got the Canon 5D Mark II (now upgraded to a Mark III) and I wanted one.  The things that were really important to me were the mega pixels, and the ability to shoot video.  The pictures per second, the crop factor…although there were benefits, I didn't really understand them fully at the time. I also knew that the camera needed good lenses, and I couldn't afford both the 5D and some good lenses.  I knew that I wanted high quality glass, probably a 24-70 2.8 and a 50mm 1.4.  My main focus was going to be shooting stock photography of common things.  I knew that I wanted to shoot some landscapes and shoot portraits.  For video I also wanted to shoot stock video of locations and people.  And of course, I wanted to capture all the school activities and cheerleading of my girls.

Here is what I actually use it for.....
I started down the path of shooting stock photos.  After getting into it, and shooting several things, I found that there are a lot of rules about shooting stock photos.  And this is a club that other photographers do not necessarily want new members.  This is pretty typical though.  I shot outdoor landscapes and took it to shoot cheer competitions.  I had shot with a Sony HD Camcorder in the past which always left me frustrated with the quality of the picture.  I bought the Canon 50mm 1.4 lens first, thinking that the light sensitivity would allow me to get more great shots even in poor indoor lighting.  The camera with this lens, performed really well in low light, but shooting outdoor landscapes with a lot of light did not give me the flexibility that I thought it would.  And the inside cheerleading shots, while much higher quality than the Sony, forced me to have to pan back and forth even when sitting at the very top of the bleachers.  I think the biggest problem for me, even now with DSLR shooting is focus.  Getting focus to happen fast and accurate is an art form.  It takes lots of practice and you need the right tools that I didn't originally have at the time.  I have taken a lot of photos as well.  I have used the on-camera flash for some of them.  I liked the fact that this camera had a flash for those moments that you want to treat it like a point and shoot.  Since I was determined to make good photos and good videos, the cheaper price on the camera allowed me to add more things to it later on.  And with the firmware update that was released, some of the audio missing features are significantly better now.  I have shot a lot with this camera.  It has performed well even in extreme conditions.  I have shot in brutal Utah cold, humid Oregon coast, hot southern Utah.  I have never dropped it in water, unlike the zoom audio recorder and a flash, but it has gotten slightly wet at times.

Here are the things I didn't expect or didn't like...
The crop factor of the camera with the 50mm lens was narrow.  I hadn't done the math to realize that 50mm meant it was really a 80mm lens.  I didn't realize how much I would have to move back to shoot any people or things.  Don't buy a fixed lens for your first lens. A lot of people really like the 28-104 f4.  I bought a 24-70 2.8.  It has been a great lens. Shooting photos in almost any condition with the a lens like this is great.

It took a lot of work to figure out how to best focus.  If you get used to looking through the viewfinder with photos and setting focus, when you are in video mode, the viewfinder is obviously blocked by the mirror so you have to use the video screen to check focus.  Doing this is almost impossible without digitally zooming in.  Which means following and changing focus is impossible without adding other viewfinders or bigger screens, or magic lantern firmware on. There is no autofocus while recording unless you like your video to look weird while the lens searches for focus in the middle of a shot.

The on-camera mic is not bad if you don't care about quality audio.  If you do care, you are going to have to get some sort of mic, or mic's to go with the camera.  The AGC, or Automatic Gain Control, tries to get the most signal and compresses the sound to raise it to a level without clipping.  For someone who just wants to shoot without worrying about the audio, this feature can come in handy.  For someone who wants to get the best quality audio possible, not so much.  If you upgrade to a mic, you will hear the difference.

One of the features that this camera has is micro focus adjustments.  I found that my 24-70 lens wasn't tack sharp in a lot of my photos.  At first I thought maybe it was camera shake or just me doing something wrong.  After much research, I found that some combinations of cameras and lenses can be off just a bit when focusing.  I used this feature to have the camera recognize this lens and automatically adjust the tiny amount required to get accurate focus.  If you are going to be using lots of different lenses, this is a very helpful feature.

Moire patterns are something that I didn't really understand in video.  Wow, do they become bad news. I shot a training video where I had a shirt with horizontal stripes.  I was shocked when every subtle movement became a huge distraction.  I went to my friend Google to find an answer.  Turns out the only answer is to blur the crap out of the video - kinda pointless if you are trying for something sharp.  Problem is, you don't really have any control of them, it's because of the sensor.

Here are the super cool things that I love about it...
If you are going to get serious about shooting video or photos with a DSLR, you can't go very wrong with any of the Canon's.  While some have more features to enable you to extend things even further into some creative areas, the thing I have enjoyed about the 7D is it's modularity.  I have been able to get into slowed waterfall types of shots, astrophotography, HDR photos, night time video, wireless audio, sports photography and sports video, multiple flash types and sizes for all types of shooting,.. the list goes on and on.  The lenses that are available hit every price point and every feature.  And glass doesn't lose value.  There will always be upgrades, and more features that everyone has to have, if you can afford it.  For me, this has been a great camera and a great bunch of shots.

Common Settings that I use and will add on to later videos
Picture Styles
AEB HDR photos
Audio Manual settings
Max ISO settings High noise reduction
Video record settings