Photoethnography.com

Thanks for posting this. (I've linked to it on Savage Minds.)

It actually does seem to be in stock at a number of places, I had trouble finding it at first but found that Froogle, Amazon, and Pricegrabber gave a lot more results if I searched for "Zoom H4 field recorder" rather than "Samson Zoom H-4 field recorder." I think I'll wait a bit though and see if some more reviews come out.

Thank you Karen this is so cool ... Now I just need to find a proper use ...

Your chart indicates the Microtrack does not timestamp files, but I own one and vouch that it does. Thanks for making this comparison table!

Although the MSRP for the Zoom H-4 is $500, it seems to be available for US$300 or $299 almost everywhere. So I'd treat US$300 as the "list" price and see if you can't get a good deal somewhere. For example, B&H has it for $299 with free shipping.

Samson notes that a future firmware update might support 4GB+ SD-HC cards on the H-4..... See here:
http://samsontech.com/faq/h4faq.cfm

I found a post verifying the lack of a date/time stamp on the H-4:
There is no stamp/date function on the H4. Perhaps this will be added with a future firmware update. But as of now, all recorded files have the same date 16 Sep 2005 in their info.

from: http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewtopic.php?p=67538&sid=98258e08ffdd71cf2589419e2eaddf83

Also see: http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=76850&page=2

Apparently there is no onboard clock chip on the H-4 so I personally think it's unlikely that this will be added through a firmware upgrade. I'd love it if a H-5 came out with that feature, though.

Sean - Are you sure the Microtrack is time/date stamping your files? I don't see any indication in the user manual that there is a built-in clock. Furthermore, a very comprehensive review on CoreSound also indicates that there is no time/date stamp on the 24/96: "The MicroTrack 24/96 and R-1 do not time/date stamp their audio files." (http://www.core-sound.com/pdaudio_system/10.php)

When you copy the files over to your PC, your PC will time/date stamp the files with the current time/date. Maybe that's what you're seeing?

Dear Karen,
Our organization (Prevention Research Center) has purchased a number of H4's in January for carrying out ethnographic interviews. So far they have worked very well indeed. The built-in mics have excellent sound quality, and the machine is very simple to operate for live recording (I can't imagine using it as a four track recorder, though). I particularly like the fact that they use AA batteries and can also be operated via DC power. Although the operating system takes some getting used to and the screen resolution is not so hot, we have had good results with these recorders. (And yes, it's true that there is no time or date stamp: I get around this by including the date of the interview when I rename my sound files). Just make sure to invest in a 2 GB card, and maybe a case for the thing, as the H4 is made of plastic.
Warm Regards,
Michael

Michael -

Thanks for the user report! I'm very excited about the Samson Zoom H2, which I just recently blogged about. It has the time/date stamp and a more compact form factor -- and a lower price, $199.

Karen

Hi Karen,
I will be very interested to hear your impressions of the H2 once you get ahold of one. If the sound quality is as good as the H4 and the interface less cluttered/counter-intuitive, it will be a great recorder.
Michael