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  1. I'll shortly begin making a 10-15 minute YouTube "movie" with some friends as a summer project, and have some questions regarding audio.

    I already own an Azden SGM-2X shotgun mic, and plan on using that as the primary recording device. However, until now I've been routing the XLR output through a conversion cable (a Pearstone LMT100) to 3.5mm and into my camera's microphone input. For this video (the longest I'll have worked on to date) and the future, I want to be able to have audio takes stored separately, for easier scene editing in a single-camera setup, the fact that it frees up whoever's holding the boom pole, and for the (convenience?) of having two audio sources for every take. At a local BestBuy, I spotted the Zoom H1 for $99, which seems to be all I'd need.

    I'm aware the H1 only takes 3.5mm input, but with the conversion cable working fine, I don't see a need to spend an extra ~$130 to go up to the Zoom H4n, which takes XLR--unless I'm missing something.

    So, given that money is super tight (I'm in high school), is there any major quality sacrifice with choosing the H1? Additionally, does the setup with the H1 seem sound in general? All I've had experience with is feeding the SGM-2X into my camera, so any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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  2. If that cable is working for you, great. I'm using a beachtek box to do the xlr to mini "conversion," which for me has been the only tool that's been reliable in the long haul.

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=672719&gclid=CIqb77e36r4CFSlgMg...=REG&A=details

    The problem with converter cables AND boxes is that it's just one more place where a connection can come loose, another piece of electronics to pick up interference, another opportunity for something to go wrong. If you can manage the zoom h4, or the tascam dr40, you should seriously consider it.

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/821259-REG/Tascam_DR_40_DR_40_4_Track_Handheld_Digital.html
    Last edited by smrpix; 8th Jun 2014 at 10:34.
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  3. Member turk690's Avatar
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    The Zoom H1, H2, H2n have one minor flaw: there is a fixed gain stage before the recording level controls such that when high-level input signals overload this stage (above around -3dBm), there is no amount of adjusting the controls to bring down the input levels and the distortion that arises. Zoom subtly acknowledges this by saying in the instruction manual that an external attenuator should be use prior to the inputs. This issue specifically applies to the line-level input, but I wouldn't be surprised if it also applied to the external mic inputs. If it did, a passive beachtek unit would solve connecting an XLR mic in one go: converting XLR to single-end, and attenuation prior to recorder external mic input. The irony is, the beachtek may cost more than the svelt H1.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
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