Topic: Which is Better: Mid-Side mics or X-Y mics? Zoom Q2HD or Q3HD?

[beancurd5]

Hey everyone,

I've really appreciated everyone's thoughts on this thread. I just wanted to share my email exchange with Zoom.

1) why is the Q3HD $100 more than the Q2HD, even the the Q2HD is a newer model? Is it because the Q3HD has better parts?
Zoom: The Q2HD is a newer model than the Q3HD. The Q3HD has better mics parts and line input compared with the Q2HD.

2) which recorder provides better video quality? It seems the Q3HD has better video quality, but it hard to tell on youtube.
Zoom: We think that the Q2HD is better video quality than the Q3HD because we got the method of a cost cut, and improvement in image quality, as a result of developing Q3HD.

3) Which recorder has better mics?
Zoom: We think that the Q3HD has a better mics than the Q2HD.
However, we think that you should purchase the Q2HD if you don't use the line input.

I've decided to go with the Q3HD.

Hope this helps!
 

[daspyknows]

Don't be a Zoomie.    Recording audio from the front row hand holding a Zoom recorder will not make any listenable audio.  UI can't vouch for the video but I know the audio will be trash.

[Alan_Schezar]

Hey everyone,

I've really appreciated everyone's thoughts on this thread. I just wanted to share my email exchange with Zoom.

1) why is the Q3HD $100 more than the Q2HD, even the the Q2HD is a newer model? Is it because the Q3HD has better parts?
Zoom: The Q2HD is a newer model than the Q3HD. The Q3HD has better mics parts and line input compared with the Q2HD.

2) which recorder provides better video quality? It seems the Q3HD has better video quality, but it hard to tell on youtube.
Zoom: We think that the Q2HD is better video quality than the Q3HD because we got the method of a cost cut, and improvement in image quality, as a result of developing Q3HD.

3) Which recorder has better mics?
Zoom: We think that the Q3HD has a better mics than the Q2HD.
However, we think that you should purchase the Q2HD if you don't use the line input.

I've decided to go with the Q3HD.

Hope this helps!

Good to know that it's official... Because that's basically what I determined in my video/audio tests in my previous post. Wish I knew that beforehand!

BTW, who did you email and what was the response time?

Also, FYI, I talked to the Samson reps at CES 2012 in Las Vegas and they said, amongst other things, the next generation of the Q3HD wont come for "at least a year and a half." I also asked things like why is the record on/off button so close to the zoom dial, which means you can accidentally turn it off while trying to zoom, and he said "I agree." And that probably explains why the Q2HD has a much harder to press record on/off button and it is more sunken into the unit..

[miker71]

I'm another fan of M-S and am also intrigued by the Q2HD, especially at the price point. I would hazard a guess that the Q2HD max SPL of 120dB is one reason the Q3HD is considered having 'better mic parts' with max SPL of 130dB. So the Q2HD is physically going to crap out before the Q3HD no matter what your gain setting.

Another thing that puts me off these mic/cam combos is the poor battery life - though I note the Q2HD can supposedly be USB bus powered which opens it up to being powered by USB battery packs (I have a 12000mAh pack I use with my iDevices).

I haven't been able to find any Q2HD videos except on YouTube. I like the sound generally, just wondering how the video stands up in terms of artefacting and overall sharpness - I know YouTube can make trash of even the best source video :-/

I wouldn't be recording concerts. Would be doing documentary/reportage - currently works OK with iPhone 4S but I really really miss a stereo soundstage!!

[u2_fly_2]

If you´d like to check out some concerts I recorded with the Q3HD, i really like the sound of it but the videoquality could be better and I think like some others that don´t use the zoom at all, it´s no good.

Samples here:
Russian Circles - "Mladek" (720p HD):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzMrQkUvuys&hd=1

[u2_fly_2]

To,
Hello Palominox64.

these were the settings I used for my q3hd at this concert:
I used low-cut for the sound (sound settings: 96 Khz / 24 Bit) Video: 1080 HDp
I didn´t use the digital zoom at all, I stood 1m from the stage almost up on the stage.
If you don´t use the digital zoom and try to stand as close as possible it will be very nice, the digital zoom is in my opinion very bad, so just get close to the source and avoid the digital zoom as much as possible for best results!

Enjoy!

[MIQ]

*There are three ways I can think of to get a true cardioid pattern from M/S:

...

3) Use a subcardioid mid and set the M/S decoding ratio to the one position which will create virtual cardioid patterns.  Again, there is only one mix ratio which produces virtual cardioid patterns, which will be a ratio with more mid than side.  The resulting cardioids will have a more reasonable mic angle of less than 180 degrees between them and this arrangement would probably be more useable than an omni mid for our type of recording, but that’s speculation as I’ve never done it or had any motivation to try it (as mentioned, I strongly prefer the sound of some opposite polarity lobe in my coincident setups, and I suspect that's the basis for Joe's preference as well). Anyone around here use a subcardioid mid often?  It could be an appropriate choice onstage I suppose, but I’d be more tempted to go in the opposite direction.

Attached is a pic of what Gut is describing.  Like he mentioned you almost never end up with crossed cardioids except under specific conditions.  Another one would be using an "open cardioid" pattern with a mid/side ratio of about 70/30 but this gives an even wider recording angle (174 deg).

-MIQ

[noahbickart]

There are a bunch on schoeps m/s recordings using the mk41 hyper cardioid and mk22 subcard here:

http://bt.etree.org/?searchsss=Noahbickart&cat=0

[daspyknows]

Quick update:

I recently bought the Q2HD and it performed terrible. The audio was worse than the Q3HD, and the ability to get video under dim light conditions was worse. I'll post some video samples later.

That's a zoom for you.

[Chimney Top]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZoJUyXyif8  <<< Velvet Truckstop video shot with Zoom Q2HD (or possibly Q3HD).

[bryonsos]

This thread needs to die, so I'm going to go ahead and say it. If you have a Zoom, buy a hammer, and smash the shit out of it. Start with the mics and move down.

[acidjack]

This thread needs to die, so I'm going to go ahead and say it. If you have a Zoom, buy a hammer, and smash the shit out of it. Start with the mics and move down.

Virtually nothing about it makes sense.