Bingo
11-21-2010, 04:53 PM
-= Update To Original Review/post =-
Check out Post #9 below for a direct comparison between a 1st Gen Flip UltraHD and my Zoom Q3HD at a concert.
I'm just not convinced that the Zoom is that much better than what's currently out there. There is no question the audio is better, but the video is far worse than most cameras and the audio improvement isn't enough to make up for it, in my opinion.
Either I received a defective product or Zoom simply dropped the ball with video processing on this unit. I should see if I can get a regular Zoom Q3 and compare that with the HD version...
For a product specifically designed and advertised as being for concert use, the Zoom just falls too far short for my taste. Which is a shame since that's exactly what I bought it for - to document local music and get quality performance recordings into the hands of local musicians.
-= End of Update =-
So I got myself a brand new just released toy. Here's my review!
Note - Skip to the bottom for pros, cons and video samples if you don't want to read all the details!
Zoom Q3HD
So after waiting for a few months I finally picked up one of the new Zoomn Q3HD video recorders immediately upon Release. I purchased this one from George's Music Online since it was the only place I could find one in stock as most stores hadn't received them yet.
I purchased this specifically to record live music since, as most of you have noticed already, I do a lot of live music photography and have wanted to start adding video as well but haven't had anything that was really good at it.
Previously, I've owned and used a Flip UltraHD along with a handful of other small recorders but the UltraHD is what I'm considering as my comparison.
First Impression After Receiving
Looks really cool and imposing with the dual mics mounted on top! Nice large screen. Fits in my hand really well (Though I have larger hands. Might be an issue for someone with a very small hand). Screen looks really good. Control layout is easy to navigate and pretty intuitive. Boot up time is about 1 second from power on to recording. Nice!
Note that it only comes with a 2GB SD card, so an exta card is definately warranted. The included 2GB card will hold about 20 minutes of 1080 video. If you aren't very familiar with SD cards, make sure to look up information on them. You want at a minimum a Class 6 card but I'd suggest going with a Class 10. Higher class cards can write faster and you need that extra speed when recording HD video.
Also the unit does come with some standard cheap alkaline batteries. Useful for those of us who want to geek out and play with it immediately upon opening but I wouldn't depend on them for any real use. Note that the Q3HD does have an option under the "Settings" menu to switch between Alkaline and NiMH batteries. I'm honestly not entirely sure what the setting does, but know that it's there!
The dual audio meters also look really cool and are genuinely useful on a camera like this.
I love the built in USB cord though it really needs to be a little longer. I do like how they put a little magnet in the slot it fits back in to which means it will never hang out. Nice touch!
Ease Of Use
I love the menu system on this. They really nailed that. Looks a lot like a smartphone home screen with 9 large buttons layed out in a home screen style. They are all pretty self-explanatory and the labels and various menus are all easy to read. Navigation is with the 4-way control ring around the center record/enter button. Again, pretty typical style these days but it's typical because it's easy and it works!
I do love how they split up some things to seperate buttons which I find a better system than having multiple submenus. The only[/n] item which has submenus is the Settings screen. Video Format (1080/30, 720/60, 720/30 etc) is one icon while the light settings (Concert, low light, etc) are another. I like not having all those under something like one general 'Video Settings' menu item.
The ability to divide and trim videos directly from the playback screen is [b]VERY cool and a nice touch. It works very well and super fast, only taking a few seconds.
The Accessory Pack
The accessory pack, which at the time I bought it was $39.99 extra and consists of a mini HDMI cable, a miniplug to composite video cable, AC Adapter, Mini Tripod, carry case and a windscreen for mics on the top of the unit. All in all, I was fairly disappointed in this. The minitripod is pretty cheap and while useful, you can almost assuredly find one better pretty cheaply. The windscreen is a standard 2-dollar windscreen as far as I can tell. The carry case is really nice, but difficult to use in practice for me. It zips all around like a piece of luggage. So while on your belt you risk having the unit fall open when you are unzipping it and the Q3HD falling out. I much much prefer a flip-top type case. Basically, unless you need several of these things I think a better value would be to buy the items you need seperately and that way you can match your preferences exactly.
First use
So I went out and bought a pack of high power rechargeable NiMH AA batteries to use with this. Spent the day charging them up and went off very excited to record the first show with my fancy new Q3HD!
The artist was a local singer/songwriter named GeriX and the release party for her new EP "The Kid". It was at The Local 662, a local venue which I'd been to before and new they had a great sound rig that they loved to push really loud. I thought it would be an interesting test, a normally quieter act run through a punching sound system. Lighting was pretty standard local venue flavor - multiple colored overhead lights behind and to the sides of the performers along with a few fill lights below and in front.
Again, using this was a breeze. Just turned it on, pressed the little red button and it's recording. The screen was pretty easy to see. It's large enough and definately bright enough to see everything.
I started out on 1080p, auto sound leveling and auto lighting. According to the audio meters it was easily adjusting as the song progressed louder and quieter. I never saw any clipping which impressed me a lot as I was right between the stacks and maybe 20 feet away. It was loud enough that it was very difficult to hear people right next to me.
I recorded both handheld and with a mini-tripod (Not the one that comes with the accessory pack).
I recorded several songs. A very loud full band opening act, a few solo songs and a few songs with GeriX and a bass player. I used a mix of 1080/30 and 720/60. I also used a mix of having the lighting mode set to both auto and to "concert lighting".
Playback on the Q3Hd itself was easy though it's a bit hard to really tell how the video is coming out on such a small screen.
Again, it was wonderfully easy to use and to change settings on the fly in a venue. Everyone around was asking about it since it is so strikingly different and eyecatching with the little level meters bouncing around and the mics on top.
Results
I was blown away by the audio quality. Really excellent. I would have liked to have heard the mid-range frequencies be a bit more prominent but I will hold off until the next gig to say for sure. It's possible it was the venue. Zoom has a record for quality audio recorders and they maintain it here.
However, I was very disappointed by the video quality. Everything looks like it was shot through a layer of plastic. The lighting should not have been that challenging. Especially for a camera at this price range. Any of the performers that stepped out of direct light disappeared. It had a very difficult time dealing with low light. This was both in auto and in concert lighting mode. I admit I forgot to try low-light mode but I would think auto should have essentially done the same. To me, auto should be covering the whole range of settings.
I have another gig to shoot next weekend and I'll also be able to setup the Flip UltraHD and the Zoom Q3Hd side-by-side and do a direct comparison. I'll reserve my final judgement for that. For now, I'm disappointed enough in the Zoom that I may be returning it if next weekend doesn't improve dramatically in the video department.
Pros:
Ease of Use
Menu Navigation
Excellent Auto Adjustment Audio
Very Good Audio
Built-In USB Cord
Ability to trim and split videos directly from the unit.
Adjustable Audio Format and quality is very cool
Good battery life. I never even dropped 1 bar (out of 3) for battery life after about 30 mins of use
Cons:
So far, poor video quality in concert setting
1080 video is only at 30fps which will not play back natively on a 60hz LCD monitor (Most monitors)
Carry Case - Extra Cost Accessory but one most might think about getting
USB cord is too short
Final Thoughts
This is a good little handheld video recorder and could be great if the video quality was there. I'll update this again after next weekend or earlier if I get a chance to record another show.
One thing I wish they had included is storing all the camera settings with the video. You can see video rate and audio rates but not things like the lighting setting and audio level settings. It's not a huge deal but it really helps when you are trying to learn how to get the most of the product.
The file sizes are pretty small. Smaller than I would have thought for being 1080 and having such high quality audio.
A couple of photos I took with my DSLR for an example of what it looked like:
http://www.livesuncoast.com/GeriX.jpg http://www.livesuncoast.com/Margot%20West.jpg
And some sample videos I uploaded:
zB8J5n3215k
crgZETpdSWg
XmLquVRTo4g
F2i2sVX6be0
Check out Post #9 below for a direct comparison between a 1st Gen Flip UltraHD and my Zoom Q3HD at a concert.
I'm just not convinced that the Zoom is that much better than what's currently out there. There is no question the audio is better, but the video is far worse than most cameras and the audio improvement isn't enough to make up for it, in my opinion.
Either I received a defective product or Zoom simply dropped the ball with video processing on this unit. I should see if I can get a regular Zoom Q3 and compare that with the HD version...
For a product specifically designed and advertised as being for concert use, the Zoom just falls too far short for my taste. Which is a shame since that's exactly what I bought it for - to document local music and get quality performance recordings into the hands of local musicians.
-= End of Update =-
So I got myself a brand new just released toy. Here's my review!
Note - Skip to the bottom for pros, cons and video samples if you don't want to read all the details!
Zoom Q3HD
So after waiting for a few months I finally picked up one of the new Zoomn Q3HD video recorders immediately upon Release. I purchased this one from George's Music Online since it was the only place I could find one in stock as most stores hadn't received them yet.
I purchased this specifically to record live music since, as most of you have noticed already, I do a lot of live music photography and have wanted to start adding video as well but haven't had anything that was really good at it.
Previously, I've owned and used a Flip UltraHD along with a handful of other small recorders but the UltraHD is what I'm considering as my comparison.
First Impression After Receiving
Looks really cool and imposing with the dual mics mounted on top! Nice large screen. Fits in my hand really well (Though I have larger hands. Might be an issue for someone with a very small hand). Screen looks really good. Control layout is easy to navigate and pretty intuitive. Boot up time is about 1 second from power on to recording. Nice!
Note that it only comes with a 2GB SD card, so an exta card is definately warranted. The included 2GB card will hold about 20 minutes of 1080 video. If you aren't very familiar with SD cards, make sure to look up information on them. You want at a minimum a Class 6 card but I'd suggest going with a Class 10. Higher class cards can write faster and you need that extra speed when recording HD video.
Also the unit does come with some standard cheap alkaline batteries. Useful for those of us who want to geek out and play with it immediately upon opening but I wouldn't depend on them for any real use. Note that the Q3HD does have an option under the "Settings" menu to switch between Alkaline and NiMH batteries. I'm honestly not entirely sure what the setting does, but know that it's there!
The dual audio meters also look really cool and are genuinely useful on a camera like this.
I love the built in USB cord though it really needs to be a little longer. I do like how they put a little magnet in the slot it fits back in to which means it will never hang out. Nice touch!
Ease Of Use
I love the menu system on this. They really nailed that. Looks a lot like a smartphone home screen with 9 large buttons layed out in a home screen style. They are all pretty self-explanatory and the labels and various menus are all easy to read. Navigation is with the 4-way control ring around the center record/enter button. Again, pretty typical style these days but it's typical because it's easy and it works!
I do love how they split up some things to seperate buttons which I find a better system than having multiple submenus. The only[/n] item which has submenus is the Settings screen. Video Format (1080/30, 720/60, 720/30 etc) is one icon while the light settings (Concert, low light, etc) are another. I like not having all those under something like one general 'Video Settings' menu item.
The ability to divide and trim videos directly from the playback screen is [b]VERY cool and a nice touch. It works very well and super fast, only taking a few seconds.
The Accessory Pack
The accessory pack, which at the time I bought it was $39.99 extra and consists of a mini HDMI cable, a miniplug to composite video cable, AC Adapter, Mini Tripod, carry case and a windscreen for mics on the top of the unit. All in all, I was fairly disappointed in this. The minitripod is pretty cheap and while useful, you can almost assuredly find one better pretty cheaply. The windscreen is a standard 2-dollar windscreen as far as I can tell. The carry case is really nice, but difficult to use in practice for me. It zips all around like a piece of luggage. So while on your belt you risk having the unit fall open when you are unzipping it and the Q3HD falling out. I much much prefer a flip-top type case. Basically, unless you need several of these things I think a better value would be to buy the items you need seperately and that way you can match your preferences exactly.
First use
So I went out and bought a pack of high power rechargeable NiMH AA batteries to use with this. Spent the day charging them up and went off very excited to record the first show with my fancy new Q3HD!
The artist was a local singer/songwriter named GeriX and the release party for her new EP "The Kid". It was at The Local 662, a local venue which I'd been to before and new they had a great sound rig that they loved to push really loud. I thought it would be an interesting test, a normally quieter act run through a punching sound system. Lighting was pretty standard local venue flavor - multiple colored overhead lights behind and to the sides of the performers along with a few fill lights below and in front.
Again, using this was a breeze. Just turned it on, pressed the little red button and it's recording. The screen was pretty easy to see. It's large enough and definately bright enough to see everything.
I started out on 1080p, auto sound leveling and auto lighting. According to the audio meters it was easily adjusting as the song progressed louder and quieter. I never saw any clipping which impressed me a lot as I was right between the stacks and maybe 20 feet away. It was loud enough that it was very difficult to hear people right next to me.
I recorded both handheld and with a mini-tripod (Not the one that comes with the accessory pack).
I recorded several songs. A very loud full band opening act, a few solo songs and a few songs with GeriX and a bass player. I used a mix of 1080/30 and 720/60. I also used a mix of having the lighting mode set to both auto and to "concert lighting".
Playback on the Q3Hd itself was easy though it's a bit hard to really tell how the video is coming out on such a small screen.
Again, it was wonderfully easy to use and to change settings on the fly in a venue. Everyone around was asking about it since it is so strikingly different and eyecatching with the little level meters bouncing around and the mics on top.
Results
I was blown away by the audio quality. Really excellent. I would have liked to have heard the mid-range frequencies be a bit more prominent but I will hold off until the next gig to say for sure. It's possible it was the venue. Zoom has a record for quality audio recorders and they maintain it here.
However, I was very disappointed by the video quality. Everything looks like it was shot through a layer of plastic. The lighting should not have been that challenging. Especially for a camera at this price range. Any of the performers that stepped out of direct light disappeared. It had a very difficult time dealing with low light. This was both in auto and in concert lighting mode. I admit I forgot to try low-light mode but I would think auto should have essentially done the same. To me, auto should be covering the whole range of settings.
I have another gig to shoot next weekend and I'll also be able to setup the Flip UltraHD and the Zoom Q3Hd side-by-side and do a direct comparison. I'll reserve my final judgement for that. For now, I'm disappointed enough in the Zoom that I may be returning it if next weekend doesn't improve dramatically in the video department.
Pros:
Ease of Use
Menu Navigation
Excellent Auto Adjustment Audio
Very Good Audio
Built-In USB Cord
Ability to trim and split videos directly from the unit.
Adjustable Audio Format and quality is very cool
Good battery life. I never even dropped 1 bar (out of 3) for battery life after about 30 mins of use
Cons:
So far, poor video quality in concert setting
1080 video is only at 30fps which will not play back natively on a 60hz LCD monitor (Most monitors)
Carry Case - Extra Cost Accessory but one most might think about getting
USB cord is too short
Final Thoughts
This is a good little handheld video recorder and could be great if the video quality was there. I'll update this again after next weekend or earlier if I get a chance to record another show.
One thing I wish they had included is storing all the camera settings with the video. You can see video rate and audio rates but not things like the lighting setting and audio level settings. It's not a huge deal but it really helps when you are trying to learn how to get the most of the product.
The file sizes are pretty small. Smaller than I would have thought for being 1080 and having such high quality audio.
A couple of photos I took with my DSLR for an example of what it looked like:
http://www.livesuncoast.com/GeriX.jpg http://www.livesuncoast.com/Margot%20West.jpg
And some sample videos I uploaded:
zB8J5n3215k
crgZETpdSWg
XmLquVRTo4g
F2i2sVX6be0