Zoom Q3: Video Demo Of Handy Video Recorder (Meta-Alert)
November 12, 2009
Could you tell which of our videos from AES were shot with our expensive Sony HDV1080i and which were shot using the new Zoom Q3? Even if you can, would have noticed before we told you? I'm guessing no.
That's either a testament to the Zoom Q3's video quality or an embarrassing lack of videographical skillz on our part. Either way, that's not a very scientific test of the Q3's abilities, so we used the Handy Video Recorder in a few more scenarios before coming to a verdict on this potential Flip-killer. Which was. . . you'll have to watch for yourself.
Visit the official Zoom website for more information
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Consider the Kodak Zi8...
For the money, I'd go for the Kodak Zi8. It has an external mic jack (and you can set the levels) and does 1080p 720p at 30 or 60 frames and the standard format for longer videos. Make sure you get the latest firmware as it solves a lot of problems it had out of the gate.
I own the Zi8 but before I bought it I seriously considered the Zoom. I went for the Zi8 for the enhanced video, but I had to purchase a separate stereo mic (the Sony ECM-DS70P with a small elbow adapter. Been using it at shows and so far nothings been blown out or distorted.
I'm only posting this not to dissuade anyone, but just put in my 2 cents. Limiters on gadgets like these generally suck as it makes for an uneven playback so right there, there's a feature not needed. The Zi8 also has the threads on the bottom. But it all comes down to low light. As we're all musicians around here, most of our gigs are inside at night. The Zi8 is not magic, but does the job, There weren't enough examples here on gearwire to compare, but the Zoom looked okay, but that was a full blown show with lots of stage lighting.
Just a few things to consider.
B
low light, you're right
You know, I completely forgot to mention to the low-light issue with the Q3. We don't have a lumen meter here, but the Zoom definitely doesn't do well in dim situations. I might have a few more live concert examples to link to shortly.
Still, I think the main draw for the Q3 is the built-in mics, which sound pretty freakin' great. To get a comparable stereo mic you're looking to spend at least the price of the Kodak Zi8 again, or am I mistaken?
Trouble with Tripods
Owen- Thanks for the great review. I'm a musician and own the Q3. It is definitely weak on video, especially in low light, and I'm not a fan of Quicktime. But I do love its simplicity and audio quality, and the price was right for the whole package.
I purchased a Sunpak 6601UT tripod. It wobbled on the stand when I screwed it down which won't work if the angle would ever change or the tripod moved while recording. Did you (or anyone) have success with the Q3 on a tripod? Can you recommend one?
manfrotto
for the concert vid you see in the review, i mounted the Q3 on a Manfrotto 728B Digi, which has this simple little rectangular mounting foot. Worked very well with the Q3.
OWEN!
Owens band rocks!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Audio Settings for Concert Footage
Thanks for posting that concert footage- it sounds amazing. Hope to see more. What audio settings did you use on the Q3? Did you have low-cut enabled? Did you use Auto or Low for the mic gain setting? Bit rate?
We recorded my performance at an Open Mic, and we had it set to high which resulted in distorted audio. High seems to be a good setting for very quiet settings without amplification.
Settings
Low Cut was on, as was the Auto limiter. Auto-limiter is extreme when it first kicks on, but it's pretty gentle after it sorta self-calibrates to the input. Audio was encoded as MP3 at 256k.
I agree that the "high" sensitivity might be just a bit too hot. I recorded some loud-ish acoustic guitar playing at the "high" setting and got distortion. Might be better suited to just speech at that setting.
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