Zoom ZH1 H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder

This is exactly what I needed. Mounted this on my mirrorless camera and turned those noisy preamps way down and now I get stellar audio along with the awesome video my camera takes. Easy as hell to use. I did watch a YT video on how to use it before it came but honestly I didn't need to. It's super easy. Input side has "volume" button and so does the output side. Like I said, easy to use. If you know nothing about audio file quality (WAV vs MP3) just watch a video on it and you'll understand the bulk of the good functions this has. Watched some review on it that said it had something that rattled on it but mine doesn't so the person who made that video got a defect on his. Mine is pretty solid. You can shock mount it (on or off the camera), wind screen it, mount a handle on it and put it on a stand or a boom... Or just lay it on a table behind something in the foreground and get your subjects audio no issue. You can carry it and use it as a standard interviewers type mic too. Use lav mics with it or any other 3.5mm mic and up the quality even more. Very affordable solution and I don't have an h4n that's bigger than my camera sitting on top of the tiny mirrorless camera. I'll probably end up buying another one maybe in red to keep them color coded to different subjects and use 2 lav mics and sync audio in post. Easy solution to what could be a VERY expensive problem. If you're like me and needed something with 3.5mm inputs and outputs and you don't like to spend a grand on something but still want way WAY better quality audio for your DSLR or mirrorless. Buy this and your problem is solved. The built in mic is great too. Yes, I know there's better stuff out there but not for this type of money. For any youtube creator or indie film makers... Well you already know about this and if you don't, then here you go. This is what you need to clear up that in camera audio. Or, use it for one of those affordable samsung cameras that does 4k video but doesn't have audio. Sync the sound in post and you have a 4k rig for less than half of what some people are using. Not to mention all of it will almost fit in your pockets too. Cause face it, if you're making movies or the like with a DLSR or mirrorless... You'll probably end up syncing audio in post at some point anyways.

Many years ago I miked a jazz band with a big name 1/4" reel-to-reel and two then state of the art condenser mikes half as long as Harry Potter's wand in return for free beer. I wish I had had this instead. Technically it is as good as without the tape hiss, weighs less than one mike and carries in my pocket not my car trunk. Factually my interest started with simply being able to record normal conversations. I tried a couple memo type recorders. They only recorded at an adequate level if held close to the mouth. The cost of those two failures was over $100 and Amazon sold this one for $91. (see $3000 below) Needless to say it works perfectly for group conversations with auto level turned on. And the stereo nature of the recording makes it much easier to understand who is saying what when everyone talks at once. This alone makes it superior to mono memo recorders. And if an officer should break into song during a traffic stop I am ready for him. (Think Buffy, Once More With Feeling.) I haven't had the chance to test it on live music as yet but the Ode To Joy in Beethoven's 9th was a faithful reproduction of what came out over the sound system. This goes back to everyone speaking at once. The better the frequency response the easier it is to tell who is saying what. I haven't had a knock-down, drag-out yet but I have no complaints either. (We are passionate not enemies.) So this unit does everything I wanted in an audio recorder. It will do what an amateur music recorder like myself did 30 years ago with equipment that would cost at least $3000 of today's dollars. All that said making it do what I want is easy. Even the switches on the back are easy to memorize and change without looking not that you will want to change them much. The hold position that locks selections is a brilliant addition. Get it right once and don't worry about it afterwards. This is incredibly useful if your recording session includes the consumption of alcohol or other intoxicants. If you are not familiar with what frequency and bit depth mean to resulting quality then simply record in the mode that has the shortest recording time on the display. That is the best quality it can do. Reduce it later if you want with most any commonly available free software. No matter what your SD card size a single recording can be no more than 2GB. That is the size of the card that comes with the recorder. That is 58 minutes at highest WAV quality (lossless -- see below) which is enough for any of Beethoven's symphonies. It is longer than any set a band is going to play. An 8GB card is good enough for anything short of an all night rave. It will take up to at 32GB card for 16 hours at best quality. BTW: Auto volume should NEVER be used for music but if you want a triangle to be as loud as a bass drum, knock yourself out. It destroys the dynamic range. The noise floor appears to be down there in the 24th bit which means you do not worry about it. Also do not worry if your peak recording level is not at the peak of the meter. It does not translate directly but from the tape days your peak should be about -6dB from the peak. This was not only because of non-linearities all through the analog system but also because the real peaks are always higher than you think and this prevents clipping. You hate clipping which is when the red recording light flashes. The latter reason applies to digital recordings. The microphones have a dynamic range limit also. This can only be adjusted by moving them further from the sound source. Doing this correctly is a matter of experience. It cannot be fixed by reducing the recording level. In other words, if you have done everything right and there are still problems, move the unit further from the source. If that fails contact the manufacturer. === below *The crossed x/y pattern is important in digital recordings. These days the components are accurate enough that the phase shift issue mentioned in the produce description is significant. It changes the amplitude of frequencies by phase interference. It is minor but for the surprising quality of this unit it is worth correcting. Besides, its width profile does not increase for having to rotate the mikes outwards. It is such a trivial solution it is unclear why all stereo mikes and recorders do not use crossed paths. *Because the rear-looking w pattern is only useful when the recorder is in the middle of the musicians (unless you want to record the audience reaction) it is not clear why us amateurs would need the more expensive models. If you are a member of the band fine. If you are audience you can't put your recorder there. *The audio manipulation tools in the top of the line model may be great for instant gratification but for my money and effort they are best done in a computer with a terabyte to hold mistakes. *Compared to analog, digital is always lossy. Lossless means the quantization level is below what can be detected by the ear or eye. With the present standard level of quantization the few failures are rare and take experts to notice and amateurs have to know what to look for. However the noise floor and dynamic range of digital methods is so much more robust than any analog recording system there is no prefer analog over digital.

I bought the Zoom H1 to record playing the harp and then use the music for CD's to give to my friends or as accompaniment to slideshows. The Zoom H1 out of the box does appear to be a little flimsy however if it's used carefully it shouldn't be a problem. The settings out of the box were as it turned out the exact settings best for recording harp. The level was at 50 out of 100, wav file setting at 44 khz / 16 bit which is CD quality. The autolevel was turned off which was fine. At that setting I could record about 3 hours of music on the SD card which is about all I'd ever need. I read over the instructions, inserted the Microsd card and the provided battery and was pretty much ready to go within about 10 minutes. I placed the Zoom H1 so that the dual stereo recording head hung off the edge of my sheet music stand (oddly enough, I played around with it on a tripod but the music stand worked the best) which was about 2 feet from the harp. I hit the record button, played a piece and then hit the record button again to stop the recorder. Then I found a USB cord (not provided) to plug the H1 into my Mac. The H1 showed up like an external drive. I could browse it and find the WAV file(s) I have recorded. I cranked up Garage Band and simply dragged the wav file into an empty track in Garage Band. I trimmed off the front part and back part of the recording. then exported it from Garage BAnd to iTunes. I could then use iTunes to burn the tune to a CD (or more tunes if I uploaded them from Garage Band). I played back the CD on my home stereo and car stereo. Basically it did a pretty good job! The sound is quite decent, sounding just like your standing beside the harp. The pickups are quite sensitive. On a really good stereo system, I could just faintly make out a car that drove by outside while I was making the recording. I would not say the recordings you would make are ready to be sold as if you'd spend $1,000 per day in a recording studio. But if your desire is to basically get a reasonable good recording with pretty good fidelity, then the H1 is going to get the job done with little fuss. I can imagine bands using it to make quick demo CD's or MP3's to be streamed from a website or something like that. The H1 can easily and quickly complete the job I intended which would be to make CD's to give out to friends or record my harp playing to use in slideshows. I couldn't imagine a simpler way to do this with than with the Zoom H1. The only reason I didn't give the H1 five stars would be that the build quality is a bit flimsy but I'm sure the unit will stay together for years. Also, including a USB chord would have been nice, but not absolutely necessary.

I just got mine a few days ago, and so far I love it. Yes, as other reviews have said, it does feel very light and sort of fragile. Really though, if you take good care of your equipment, and keep it in some sort of case when you aren't using it, like I do, then I don't see why this recorder won't last a while. I bought this to replace my Tascam DR-07, and after testing the Zoom, I will be selling my old Tascam for sure. Here's why: The Zoom H1 is tiny. I've been keeping it in a PSP case very similar to this one: I can fit the recorder, headphones, and a mini tripod in this case, along with a small piece of foam to place between the Zoom and the tripod because I'm overly careful about scratches. The sound quality on the Zoom is better than the Tascam, especially with the built in mics, but also with external plug-in mics. The Tascam always seems to have a little bit of a background hiss, which I have experienced none of with the Zoom. The built-in mics on the Zoom H1 are a little bit more clear and sharp sounding than the Tascam, and their pickup pattern is much more directional. This is good and bad, depending on your usage. With the Tascam, I could pretty much place it anywhere in the middle of a group of musicians and it would pick up the whole ensemble almost evenly, with some stereo separation. With the Zoom, whatever is directly in front of the recorder is picked up louder, and centered between the left and right. Things slightly off to the sides are picked up quieter, and with much more clear stereo separation than the Tascam. So overall, I would say this is another positive for the Zoom, unless you are trying to pick up all of the sounds in all directions at once. The buttons are easy to learn the layout of, but they are a small and recessed, making them a little bit more difficult to press than I would like. The record button has a soft feel to it, as opposed to a solid click, which is kind of a set back. The buttons could be better but they are in no way a deal-killer. You are definitely going to want some sort of windscreen for this recorder, either foam, fur, or something. I sewed together a little sleeve out of nylon stockings and a hair elastic, and I can keep it on the recorder all the time because it takes up no space. It does less than a foam windscreen would, and much less than a fur one like a redhead would, but it cuts out a lot of the pops and noises of moving the recorder around or breathing near it. All together, I would say this is a great little recorder, with superb sound quality, and alright build quality, that is easily worth the low price it is currently going for. For DSLR filmmakers, musicians, or anyone else, I say go for it.

I can't believe something so small and so light can deliver such great sound. I'm just getting to grips with its features but already I have one result that is the best recording of myself singing to date. Live, in a pub, at a session, with the recorder just sitting on a table near me, it picked up the sound of the most distant instruments, albeit somewhat softly, but the wave editor enhanced that beautifully. My voice, nearest the mikes, was loud but distortion-free. I sprung a couple of bucks for a small connector that allows me to mount the recorder onto the hotshoe of my Canon 550D SLR. At last week's session I tested the two together for the first time and they make a fantastic pairing - the Canon getting great video and the Zoom adding awesome stereo sound. On the PC I have synched the sound to the video and gotten three-channel sound - great! The Zoom exceeded all my expectations, and it's so easy and convenient to cart around, and incredibly easy to use. I bought a couple of extra cards for storage - 8GB will allow me three hours of the very highest res WAV sound, and way more than 12 hours of MP3. Gotta get myself some extra batteries now - the one that comes with the unit lasted about 6 hours. Other reviews point out that it's made of plastic - yep! So don't stand on it, and don't drop it too often. But it also means it is exceptionally light. One review said the auto-volume control doesn't work too well so I don't use it. It rewards careful placement - medium sensitivity and close to the sound you want to feature most. But if you stick it in the middle of a larger group, and normalise the sound afterwards in your wave editor, you'll get very good results. Best recorder I ever had, best value for money, looking forward to years of fun with it. Highly recommended. But then, I am an amateur and professionals might rubbish me.

(First submitted 12/8/13, additional comments made 3/3/15) This is a very handy recorder that is extremely easy to use. Basic set up is very simple. I like that it will record in wav format (as well as MP3) and will take up to a 32GB microSDHC card. Recording starts and stops with the push of a button. You have a lo cut noise filter for background/wind noise reduction. Track marks can be added. Input and output levels are adjustable. I. TESTING NORMAL VOICE AT 84” AND 36” FROM MICS I tested it against another small digital recorder I have, an old Sony ICD MX20, which produces very good basic recordings, and would probably be considered to be in the same basic price range. I tested the recorders’ built-in mics by speaking at a normal voice 84” away then 36” away, with the mics facing me, turned to the side, and then facing away from me. I did these tests with the recorders a few inches above floor level while I was standing than again when I was at a lower level (on my knees). I put the recordings on the Adobe Audition digital editing program on my PC. While the voice quality of the Zoom was very good I was quite surprised at how low the recording volume turned out to be on the PC – whether or not I used the auto vol. setting or the highest manual setting (100). (There actually was not much difference between the results of the two settings.) Zoom recordings done on my knees had noticeably weaker rec. vol. (closer to 100db on Adobe) than when I was standing (closer to 200db on Adobe). On Adobe Audition I “normalized” the recordings to increase the volume. Doing this for the Zoom recordings yielded suitable recordings for voice as long as I don’t need anything “professional,” and as long as I was OK with some background noise due to the amount of amplification. The Sony’s rec. vol. was far superior. I also listened to these recording directly from the Zoom recorder, with output volume turned up high. With the recorder’s built in speaker, the recordings were audible and good quality, but very low volume. With good quality headphones plugged into the unit, the recording volume was certainly sufficient and, again, the quality very good, even when recorded at 84” away and, to some extent, even with the mic was facing away from me. II. TESTING NORMAL VOICE AT 2” FROM MICS Speaking in a normal voice a couple of inches from the mics, with auto vol. control, yielded a pretty good recording volume, and quality voice, for digital editing work. You’d want to use a windscreen in this type of situation. III. TESTING RECORDING OFF PC AND CD PLAYER It does a good job of recording directly off a PC – recording live radio streaming, recording a DVD played on the PC, recording a recording on my digital editing program (Adobe Audition) – with the Zoom H1 connected to the PC’s headphone output. You need to adjust the output vol. to get the best recording vol., and make adjustments with a digital editing program to get the optimum recording. But the result is good, with clear voice. Same for recording off of a CD player, connecting the Zoom H1 to the headphone output. I could not get it to record off of a portable radio, using the headphone output. IV. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS Pretty good recorder for interviews. It is possible that with live music or something else with good volume you’d get a good recording volume for an editing program, using the manual vol. input setting. (I did not try this.) To record a person speaking a few feet away the recorder has some limitations, depending on what you want to do with the recording. Recording off of the PC or a CD player works well.

PAID :: $99.99 - 1/15/16 - Did not get the Official Zoom Accessories Kit. (SEE VIDEO FOR SOUND EXAMPLES) NOTE :: 1st half is a Nikon D5300 BUILT-IN Mic, 2nd half is the ZOOM. You can hear the irritating Auto-focus noise w/Built-In :( RESULTS :: Captures Audio very well, if you use even earbuds as a monitor, it shocks you how much detail the Stereo Mics on the unit actually pick up. During a Car Show I was able to pickup "Everything" including idle chatter, birds in the distance, loud resonating bass from big block muscle cars...even to the point of being more sensitive then my own ears. CONCERNS :: My MAIN complaint is a specific minor issue. When you use it as a line-in 'ripper' the highs are washed out and the lows lack 50% or more of the frequencies below 250Hz. In other words using this as an mp3 ripper is less then ideal. I am sure I could get good results, but not without disabling every sound feature on my SoundBlaster ZX Card AND setting all EQ's to flat or disabled. NOTE:: When ripping the aforementioned steps are standard, you just need to put in extra time to rip with an H1 due to clarity, high end noise & the low end -db cut. FINAL OPINION :: Fantastic device, super easy to use & very suitable for post-production audio syncing. I don't use the line-in as a ripper, but that's completely overshadowed by the units functionality. If you need a great easy to use recording device for car shows, beach events or other busy convention-like activity the Zoom H1 Handy is the BEST vs. COST. It functions perfectly as a personal recorder and for interviews. The buttons function perfectly for me, with my only real complaint being the plastic case feels cheap & the SD Card slot & battery covers are too delicate. (Although after 6 months, I have not damaged mine...yet.) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: UPDATES :: Make sure you download the firmware update = fixes the battery drain issue. My batteries last for MONTHS sitting in my H1 and I use Rechargeable Duracell NiMH cells. Get a FUZZY windscreen, handle (for personal recordings) & vibration isolation cage. I bought this set Movo AEK-Z1 Accessory Kit for the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder (Includes Shockmount, Camera Shoe, Furry Windsceeen & Hand Grip) it's much better then the Zoom versions (sadly). If you're not sure about this device let me say "It's a critical upgrade when compared to any built-in DSLR Mic hands down!" Just wish they sold an aluminum version with weatherproof rubberized sd card doors & battery cover, I would buy it even at $200. The larger Zoom mics are much better, but for me SIZE, WEIGHT & EASE of USE are more critical to me when used for events/shows/conventions/etc. Multi-track recorders have the edge, but the H1 gets the job done for me at a fraction of the cost & clutter.

I work in the radio industry as a morning show host. I have been in radio since 1986. When I started out, in the mid-1980's, we literally took a huge cassette-recorder-esque four-track recorder with us when we would go out to record audio. Sometimes, if the station was cheap, we WOULD take a cassette-recorder. The sound was poor but it was just accepted that mobile audio would sound that way. Along the way, exciting but expensive technologies replaced the low-speed tape recorders and we eventually used DAT (Digital audio tape) which sounded incredible, but was finicky, easily broken and bulky. Next there were minidiscs, which were also finicky, but a decent resource. Now, for the price of a steak dinner and drinks for two, you can have stereo, digital, ZERO-HISS, high quality audio in a small, sturdy package that will record forever if you use MP3 settings. Using WAV still allows for a great deal of recording and incredibly low-noise recording of the world around you in stereo. As we say on our show, "broadcasting in stereo because you have two ears - if anything changes let us know!" Perhaps the only downside to this recorder is that while it is capable of recording a wide variety of audio with exceptional quality, it would be nice to be able to add XLR mics and be able to record VERY LOUD music, which this unit can handle only with the limiter turned on. Still, it does a great job, but you may want to consider the H4N Pro if you are looking for that extra degree of flexibility. Overall, this is an incredible device for a very low price and it sounds great and is easy to use.

Muy buena grabadora para quien quere comenzar a mejorar el audio de sus videos, su calidad es verdaderamente superior a cualquier microfono de diadema o cámara web, es una calidad semi profesional. Tiene un peso ligero, muy facil de llevar a donde sea. Como consejo es recomendable usar protección anti viento en el micrófono y mantenerlo muy cerca de la fuente de sonido a grabar, haciendo así se puede optimizar el audio desde el editor que ya incluye. Me ha gustado mucho usarla en estos 6 meses y por lo mismo me he animado a hacer el upgrade a la Zoom H6.

Questo microfono è incredibile! La qualità audio è davvero eccellente anche in condizioni difficili di utilizzo. L'ho provato durante una serata musicale in un locale e il risultato è stato sorprendente. Certo non a livello di una registrazione professionale con equalizzazione di livelli (intervento comunque possibile in post) ma consideranto che lo si posiziona, si preme rec e lo si lascia lavorare senza dover minimamente intervenire, il risultato è impagabile! Ho provato anche l'uso con un lavalier da 10 euro per registrare una conferenza, anche qui con risultati ottimi. La qualità della voce è notevole e il tono è caldo e gradevole, mai affaticante. I due microfoni fanno il loro dovere egregiamente e, con il volume di registrazione al massimo, riescono a catturare anche i suoni più deboli. Ho testato il funzionamento anche come microfono USB con una piacevole sorpresa: prende l'alimentazione da USB quindi funziona anche senza batteria. Insomma è leggero, pratico, ricco di funzionalità e di ottima qualità. Se proprio devo trovare un difetto, punterei il dito sull'utilizzo a mano: qualsiasi strofinamento delle dita sulle plastiche del microfono provoca vibrazioni che vengono amplificate in suono e registrate. P.S. ho anche provato a registrare, tramite cavo, direttamente da vinile applicando in post la conversione RIAA. Ebbene... sto pensando di passare in digitale tutta la mia collezione di vinili dato che il risultato è migliore del mio preamp-phono.

Al primer momento que tuve la grabadora en mis manos, el materia se siente muy plástico y frágil. Sin embargo en funciones y trabajo la grabadora brinda unas prestaciones increíble la calidad y nitidez del audio es excelente. Acompañado de un micrófono de solapa de calidad tienes el complemento para grabaciones al aire libre y en zonas de mucho ruido. Sin duda es un accesorio ideal para los videógrafos que trabajamos en exteriores.

I was looking for this particular model and I found only this supplier who had it in stock. Thank you for selling the product at a very competitive price and adding the freebies. Just made my day

Audio Quality, Noise Cancellation, Features, Portability, Usability - Exceptional Exceptional Exceptional!!! No other mic/ recorder at this price does anything like this. Use it as recorder, connect and use it with DSLR/Laptop, use it with another mic, hear what you are recording, etc etc etc - this one checks all the right boxes. Despite being an 8-year-old device, it still is the best in its class, rather it outruns many other pricier models. But there are few things those are a little bummer - 1. The build quality - It feels plastic... like cheap plastic. 2. It doesn't come with any accessories, you can't even expect more at this price point. 3. Just a 2gb card included, not an issue if you are recording mp3. With .wav, you'll get around 80-90min recording if can recall properly. 4. Old technology in some places like Mini USB in the era of USB C, uses AA battery instead of built-in rechargeable battery etc. It's probably because it was launched long back in 2010 and has gotten only software updates. 5. The included battery is not rechargeable. Below are the accessories you might need depending on your requirement - 1. AA Rechargeable Battery (Sony/Panasonic - 500-1000 bucks) 2. Rechargeable Battery Charger (Sony/Panasonic - 1400-1500 bucks) 3. Hot Shoe Mount (Phenovo - 150-200 bucks) - To mount it on DSLR 4. 3.5mm Stereo Cable (AmazonBasics Coiled Cable - 300-350 bucks) - To connect to DSLR 5. Y Splitter (Tizum - 350-400bucks) - To record & listen (using earphone/headphone) at the same time 6. Clip-On Mic (Boya-1500 bucks, not sure if the cheaper mics work) - For vlogging 7. Mic Foam Sheild (70-100 bucks) - To reduce wind noise 8. Mini USB Cable (200-400 bucks) - To record directly to the laptop. Remember you need a Mini USB, not Micro USB/USB C. 9. AC Adaptor (You can use any charger with USB port) - To use it on AC, without worrying about battery drain. 10. Mini Tripod (200-300 bucks) [P.S. - Please, don't buy the Zoom H1 Accessories Pack until and unless you want the carrying case, it's not worth the price at least in India]