Review: Zoom Q2HD

Hello everyone, how are you doing? Sorry about the delay on the post for this week, but after some last minute decisions on a vacation and working dilegently on a new arts activism site (If you want more info, I'll talk about it in a later post) I've been strapped thin. In any case, I have a review that I've been saving for just this situation, and one that I've had several requests about posting. If you like this review and would like more, then send me some stuff you would like for me to look into and I'll see what I can do. Don't forget to subscribe for more Adam Sullivan Music Theory Blog posts. So then, without thougher ado, this is my review on the Q2HD microphone camera by Zoom.

Zoom's Logo.

First off, I want to note from the beginning that Zoom is a wonderful company for starting musicians who need recording/editing equipment. I've used several of their other microphone cameras like the Q2HD and have loved them. I've only had problems with them once before, but their customer service helped me take care of the situation. Continuing with more background info, I also like the packaging that this product has.
They tend to package their products with care, and with the quality their products deserve. It's well sealed and the box does a good description going over the features it offers for the basic user. Going into the packaging we see it's well packaged in styrofoam, and it includes the usual manual, warnanty and a CD with the installer of the audio program that comes with the product.
I have not had the opportunity to test this program out so for the sake of simplicity I'll stick to just the recorder. Zoom offers an accesories pack that includes a basic wind screen, carrying case, USB cabe, HDMI to mini HDMI cable and a tripod for the Q2HD however I will only go into great detail of the wind screen, case and USB in this review. I will cover the kit in another episode.

Now then, let's look at the recorder itself. First, from the front we have camera with it's 4X digital zoom, and the case where the batteries go not to mention the Q2HD's logo on the battery cover. Opening the cover up reveils the need for 2 AA batteries. Rotating clockwise, we see the power button, headphone/line out 3mm jack, the HDMI out and USB out starting from the top.
The opposite side contains the mic gain roller, the delete button and a SD jack that recommends an SD XC card. Finally from the back we see the 2" display, a "play" button, a menu button and a D pad that reminds me of the days of the iPod nano and a couple of holes that is where the speaker is located. Finally, the "disco ball" on the top that is (in fact) your microphones.
Before we go into the mechanics, get some AA batteries and any SD card if you haven't. In my situation, I'm using 2 Energizer Recharge rechargable batteries and a 16Gb SanDisk Ultra Micro HCI. I will explain later why I chose these.

After holding the power button and allowing the splash screen to appear, we enter the main display which consists of the battery gauge and memory gauge in the top right, a time stamp at the top, the main camera display in the center, audio levels for both left and right below followed by some options below. Now pressing the menu button pulls up the main menu with all it's features. For this walk-through portion however, I'm not going into all the details. Besides, wouldn't that ruin the fun or exploring and/or reading the manual? The basic mode I kept mine of during the process of testing it is audio set to PCM 48/24 with mic angle set to mono while video was set to 1080/30. When my card is blank, this allows for around 2 hours of HD recording with mostly uncompressed audio.
If I went any higher in quality, it would eat up more memory and offer little noticable difference in audio. I have, however tested the camera with the angle set to 90 degrees and 150 degrees and they sound wonderful if you need to record a concert. In the case of voice overs or talking in general, I recommend leaving it on mono. Same for video quality. If you need something with a higher frame rate but not too much on having to be in 1080p, go for 720/60.

Now, on to the review side of things! With all things considered, this is a great hand held mcrophone if you're in need of starting up musician or video producer this is a wonderful product to look at. Whenever I recorded this intro to my YouTube video introducing my OC to the arts activist group I used the same audio settings, set to no audio angle, no video, added the wind screen and set the mic using my personal tripod so that the front was slanted facing my throat.
I talked into the top of the mic, but not straight to the top. Whenever I used video, I talked into the back of the mic on mono using the settings previously mentioned. I feel like the video could be better, however seeing I have a video based camera and my on screen capture program to record in 1080p so it's not that big a deal. The video isn't great for recording concerts, which I'll add a video to demonstrate that that I took at one of the Winthrop Freshmen Orientations. There are some lean way with this however. Buried in the video settings there is a way to change the mode of the video quality so it's slightly more lenient towards video recording concerts. This too brings me to my next point to the device: hidden features.

While I love how this device has a lot of features for something like this, there are some that are nice to know how to use without needing to dig through the manual and some that shouldn't really be on here. My main point to this is the screen flipping feature and the need for memory/batteries to run. Now, the screen flipping feature is a thing in the playback menu that allows you to view your video in landscape instead of portrait.
The way to access it is to start playing a video clip, then hold the play button for a few seconds then it will flip. The feature would be nice if one didn't have to have the clip playing first before getting to flip. Another thing about it is I wish it wasn't so hidden in the manual. It's almost burried and took me a while to get the hang of it. The other half of this is some features not needing to be on this device.
The main point to this is requiring batteries to start up and needing a SD card to record. Whenever I was really testing the recorder, I was using it to Skype with friends of mine on various projects. The way I would like to use it is have USB in and have that power it to turn on and off, and have it run on the background. The odd thing though, is this WILL recharge my batteries (hince why I use the rechargable batteries) but not run.
Whenever I turn on my camera, in order to edit a setting I had to have my SD in to access anything besides a lock screen.

Overall this is something to seriously consider if you're in the market for this device. Great quality microphones with wonderful response for people on a budget of starting to record. Though I have a couple of minor issues with the device, that doesn't mean it's not worth testing out for yourself.

Practice Tip #4: Don't Forget to Write in the Music

Hello everyone, Sulli here with a very late post! Wasn't trying to have it this late but I've been having more difficulties with technology and some personal issues, so let's cut the chit chat into one sentence: Subscribe and follow please!

Now, as the name of this article suggests there are musicians who think writing in music hinders more than it helps, and I'm here to say that it should be reconsidered. Writing stuff down helps keep thoughts in our memories. Writing something down on its own will help put it into your memory, but when it comes to writing in music you will also have something to help you practice with. You will have your notes in front of you while you practice, and shouldn't forget what you practice.

Of course, this isn't a requirement however is strongly encouraged. I use this a lot with my music as a way to help focus on what I'm learning, however everyone has their own way of learning. The reason I bring this up though, so some musicians haven't learned a way to practice and this would probably be my most recommended way to do that. However there are some rules to using this method, though they are simple.

First, ONLY write in PENCIL that can erase well. No pens, or erasable pen. Chances are if you use pen then you will make a mistake. When you make a mistake, especially on an original it will stick and replacing music is not cheap. The other is if you can write in a copy then do so. It will help extend the life of the original.

Question of the Week 4: Thoughts on New Authors?

Hey eveybody, Sulli here and I had an interesting conversation with someone the other night to drive this question. Here's the back story for anyone who's asking: I was up one night talk to some friends of mine who write on a fan generated content site called "Fimfiction.net" (beware, this is brony territory if you don't like them) and he was wanting to write some reviews on here of CD's and stuff. Of course the matter now seems to have fallen through (though he may end up writing some things anyways but not regularly) but it had me thinking. Also it reminded me to figure out about our other authors, Lester and Dallas. Dallas has been having a rough time in his life and has decided to take a little break to work on some music. Lester has been working a lot in college, but says he will be back to work on the series in the near future.

So then, here's my question to you: Would you like for me to try a new author on here? Or perhaps open up the possibility of looking for more authors to post on here along with me? Maybe even you are wanting to write on here. Either way, leave a comment below on what you think and we'll see how the results turn out! As always, don't forget to subscribe by entering your email in the box on the right and following us on the social media listed above!

Practice Tips #3: Don't Be Afraid to Play Outside Your Comfort Zone

Hey guys, Sulli here with the weekly Practice Tips. Before I continue though, I want to say that I'm sorry about the lack of posts over the past week or so. I've been having some major computer problems so expect a small delay on these and The Composer's Vlog. As always, don't forget to subscribe if you like what you've read and if you would like to enter our contest today on creating a name and/or logo then feel free to do so! There's going to be a special surprise for everyone Friday in order to make up for this!

Today's lesson is not be afraid of getting out of your comfort zone. As most people will know, that tends to be a very common problem with musicians, especially younger ones. The best thing to do is to not be afraid of what you're trying to do. Have the confidence to play what you think it sounds like, versus not playing anything at all. It is better to have learned from ones mistakes than never taking the risk and tried. Another thing to point out now is that some people may not realize they're stuck in a comfort zone "rut", but they may need that special push the get them out. In this case, you or your friend will need some motivation.

Some motivational ideas for younger students (this works on 20 year old college students as well... Trust me on that ;P) is holographic stickers. Give them stickers after going farther outside to learn something new as a reward. If stickers don't work then you can use anything that will get their attention from candy, to new music or simply praise. It's all up to you. For older students or adults who need that kick, then use whatever reward they prefer. The best for some would be going out with friends and having a good time or just spending a night to yourself. It is all up to you. I mean, if you really wanted to you could write a post about what you do and how it makes you feel! :D If you do then don't be afraid to leave a link in the comments! And as always click the links above to follow us on FB, Twitter, or Soundcloud!

Question of the Week #3: Favorite Type of Music?

Hey everyone, Sulli here with the next question of the week. As always, leave a comment below and subscribe to us via the email link to the right. Question: What is your favorite type of music to listen to? Leave a comment below and as always, no trolling! Happy commenting!

Special Post: 10,000 views and Growing! Special Surprise for all!

Hey everyone, Sulli here and I'm here to gratefully announce we've hit 10,000 views! I am here to announce that we are hosting a new contest, along with a few changes. We hit view #10,000 sometime Saturday morning so whomever it was that rolled us over, thank you! And also thank you for all the support everyone has given to bringing this page as far as it has! We couldn't have gotten as far without viewers like you.



I have talked this over with the other authors of the blog and we have decided that the blog needs a new name and a new logo to accommodate. However, we don't have any ideas for a new name so we are asking everyone to submit a name and a logo idea. The best 3 ideas of each will go down into final vote between everyone out there. Lester, Dallas and I will have the final say on it. The person/people who are selected will get a shout out, and will write a song in your name.

Also, for those who have been following me on Twitter know I am celebrating the 150th follow I'm extending the video to two: The acoustic fiddle tunes on my cello and then the Star Spangled Banner on the electric cello. However, I will have to hold off on posting them for a couple of days due to the extent of recording them while babysitting. However, I WILL have them up asap! Between those and working on the Composer's Vlog episodes, I've been a little stressed out.
Before I go, I have one last announcement. Before school starts for me, I want to post one more special episode as a test for future series (As you may have noticed, I have been testing a lot out lately). I have been talking to some upcoming dubstep artist who are working on a charity fundraiser and have decided to review all the albums and say which I think had the best album. I will have the first episode of 3 up next Friday. As always, don't forget to subscribe if you haven't, leave a comment or email if you have a question/concern/suggestion and have a good day!

Question of the Week #2: What is your favorite DCI?

Hey everyone, Sulli here with the next Question of the Week! Now, before I begin I need to say sorry about yesterday. We had some technical difficulties and I will have it up later tonight or tomorrow.

Anyway, here's the question of the day is to explain what a DCI is, tell us what your favorite is and why they are! As always, leave a comment below and don't troll people because of their opinions or be ready to be removed and happy posting! (I'm not answering this b/c I would give away the answer to the first question!)