UPDATE 10/3/10: Zoom has just released their Zoom Q3HD. Still with only a Hi-Low microphone gain, but with up to 1080p HD capability. Details here.
This July I got turned on to a new way to record student lessons (by my continual inspiration for my studio, Cynthia Vaughn). She recommended I use video when recording lessons, instead of recording & saving an mp3 sound file as I had previously been doing. The camera she recommended is the Zoom Q3, by Samson (CNET review here).
The best thing about this camera is its ease of use. I have had all my students purchase a 4GB minimum SDHC media card (they’re currently selling for $12-$20). This allows for 1:23:37 of recording at 48 kHz, 24-bit audio. At first use, I make sure the student knows that this card needs to be dedicated to voice lessons (warning: don’t let them give you the card out of their digital camera!), as I format the card, and then run the “New Card” program that comes with the camera. This then places Samson’s “Handy Share” – a super basic video editing/playback program – onto the SD card. After this one-time setup, all future lessons only require putting the card into the camera & then removing the card at the end of the lesson. The time that I’ve been taking to save the lesson file onto a USB Flash Drive is completely gone. My students all feel as if they’ve “gained” time in lessons.
Another completely easy part of the camera is the ease of switching between video and audio. There is a switch on the side of the camera that toggles between video and solely audio. There are times where I just want an audio file (such as when recording the notes of a new song), or very quickly video (for speaking a foreign language text where the student can really see what my mouth is doing for articulation). This ease is AMAZING & well worth the purchase of the camera.
This camera is marketed for its sound: Audio formats with video include 44.1/48 kHz 16/24-bit Linear PCM WAV or MP3 up to 320kbps; Audio only formats include 96 kHz 16/24-bit Linear PCM WAV. The audio truly is better than anything I’ve used previously in studio (my progression has been from Sony Professional cassette tape recorder, to Sony Sound Forge & a decent microphone burned onto CDR’s – then saved as mp3 files onto USB Flash drives). The addition of video makes it a compelling tool for me to use.
So, am I sounding a bit wishy-washy? Well, that’s because I am. I LOVE that there’s video. The feedback I’ve polled for in the past week (after about a month of use), is that the video helps immensely in really seeing what I’ve been telling my students about posture, breathing, mouth/facial position. Also, there is generally high praise for the audio quality. The problem that I have run up against is that the “High” setting for the microphone can be too high, and the “Low” setting can be too low. The “Auto” setting that adjusts between the two is acceptable, but at times, slow to react. It also clips the sound when switching, so there is an audible click. The video is also, really, sub-par. It’s equivalent to a 3-year old digital camera, generally quite grainy. My students have not complained of this, but I notice the difference between it and my Flip Ultra HD video camera (whose audio is nowhere near this level of clarity and crispness).
I have a few students with larger voices, but if I set the camera on “Low” for the entire lesson, what I’m saying to the student is sometimes lost, and I have had reports of not being able to hear the audio at all. The video is recorded into mp4 format, and plays in QuickTime very easily. I have found that playing it through iTunes allows more adjustment of volume (you can easily boost the audio levels through the info tab of each item – in fact, I highly recommend that students do this as it allows them to hear more of the nuances recorded).
The “High” setting on the microphone works well for capturing vocaleses – as demonstrated here (videos shown by permission of my over-18-year old student):Zoom Q3 Video Review – Vocalese
Also in this video I have my student take off her glasses so she can see and feel the difference. She reported back that seeing this on camera really made a difference in her understanding of the importance of facial posture.
In this recording of my student singing the Schumann song “Widmung,” the camera audio resets itself to “Low.” You can hear this especially at the end, where we are talking & it is quite muffled & unintelligible, compared to the previous vocalese video. Zoom Q3 Video Review – Widmung
I would LOVE the next version of this camera to have HD video and an infinite adjustment of audio available. I would buy that camera in a heartbeat. I don’t regret purchasing this camera, I only regret selling my Flip Ultra HD 2 Hours to finance this purchase (whose audio, admittedly, did NOT hold up in close quarters such as the voice studio and did not have ease of transfer of files). The bottom line: the students find it helpful and have shown marked improvement in a short time, because of this additional feedback available to them.
What do you think? Am I expecting too much out of a $200 purchase? (Oh, BTW, make SURE you purchase the AC adapter – 2 AA batteries are used up in 2 hours of recording.) What are your thoughts on video vs. audio importance? The slogan of this camera is “Sound makes the movie.” Are they correct, or do we have so many HD cameras out there that this camera, only out on the market for the past 10 months, is already obsolete? Please let me know your thoughts on the best tools to use in the studio.
I have a Zoom Q3 also and it was totally worth it to me. I got mine for a bit less when Amazon had them on sale. For me the video quality is good enough. I also have a Kodak zi6 for HD video, which I really should sell as I don’t use it anymore. The audio quality really is way more important to me. One of the main things to remember about all pocket video cameras is that low light performance is garbage. You have to have things really well lit for the video to turn out clearly. I do agree that HD video + better level adjustments would be killer.
I love the idea of having the students bring in an SD card to record to. I usually just use video when they’re at the polishing stages for performance. But several parents of younger students bring a video camera to record new things for home practice. It would be much easier for them to just bring an SD card. You’ve inspired me to use video more in my own studio.
I was really glad to read this review and your impressions of this video recorder. I am a singer with a big voice who records myself and my lessons using the Edirol R09HR by Roland. I love this recorder.
However, recently I have wanted to video record myself just to check lots of the things my body is doing. But the trouble I have when video recording is the sound quality from my video camera is very poor and high notes are distorted.
To get over this I have simultaneously recorded on my Edirol while videotaping with my regular point-and-shoot digital Nikkon. Sometimes it is good to see what the body was doing when certain sounds resulted. But using both a camera and an audio recorder at the same time is cumbersome. When I saw the picture of the Zoom Q3 on your blog I was very interested (doesn’t hurt that it’s attractive too.)
However, based on what you wrote of the Zoom Q3 above, as a singer I would want to wait until they came out with something (a video recorder) that can record as well as the Edirol. By providing your experience with this piece of equipment, you help people make better investments. Thanks.
I also really love that you own the recorder and that you have your students bring the SD card. It’s a really great way for students to get the benefit of lesson recordings without having to pay for an expensive recorder.
Hi Frances -
Glad to know that this review helped. I wanted to be completely honset about what I like and what I don’t like. One of the reasons that I purchased the Q3 (and forgot to mention in the review), is that it comes with a windscreen, and on the “low” setting, it records my voice (operatic mezzo-soprano) during my own voice lessons at quite a good quality, audio-wise, and the camera, again, does okay video. For pure audio quality of recording, I still prefer my Sony PCM-D50, which is PHENOMENAL (but also quite a bit more expensive at about $500). I use that to record live performances for use on my personal website, as well as to record my own voice lessons.
If your setup works, I’d wait for the next version of it (which I hope comes out soon). On the low setting, the fidelity is very high, and then by bumping up the EQ (using iTunes or a sound program such as Sony Sound Forge, which edits audio within the video file), the sound is wonderful.
Again, I sincerely hope that a newer version of the Q3 comes out soon with better control over the audio & HD video. For now, as I said, the bottom line is that it’s helping students, as well as motivating them to WATCH their lessons!!
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I guess there are still some technical ticks on the products? But it really sounds like a good idea to tape lessons, one part for reference, and it somehow reinforces students to be at their best.
Music technology will play a big part in our growth in the music industry. We have music jobs for teachers who are well versed in all music technologies like Garage Band and Finale.
[...] Q3HD is the updated version of the Q3 camera I reviewed in August at this link. Well, overall, I’m completely in love with the HD version of the [...]
I use an audio-only Zoom H2 to record rehearsals and I find it to be essential equipment for practice and review. I’m a little concerned though at some of your comments about the gain switch, as the H2 gives us lo-med-hi and I find for ensemble work the med setting is optimal; I wonder why they dropped the median setting? Also you mention having students with booming voices and on the H2 there is a very flexible limiter-compressor that I normally set to cut the gain as the signal approaches the distortion range. Is there no built-in limiter in these video versions?
For concerts, I find the free-software Audacity audio editor to be essential in making large-scale corrections such as trimming the resonant bass of a bad hall or removing fan hum, and the silence mark feature makes it easy to tag the start of each piece and later export the fragments as WAV or mp3 files.
While the thought of video intrigues me, and I certainly see the advantage in sending students home with their weekly SD card to review, I’m not precisely sure how I might fit that into my normal ensemble rehearsal-review work flow. I’m just hoping now that if Zoom advances the state of the audio recorder art, that they don’t remove any of my favourite features so as to match the video recorder’s subsystem!
Thanks for your comments! Yes, there is only a hi-lo gain switch (the same as on the ZoomQ3HD that just came out). There is also a limiter, but it only switches between the hi-lo, there is no median. I am now using the ZoomQ3HD, and it’s working fabulously. I only use it in the private studio setting, though, so there is not the problem of ensemble. For an ensemble, I’d probably end up doing something like a private YouTube channel to post videos. That, of course, takes more time.
Finally, audio editing of video is much more involved and I have yet to find a really good program to do it. I use Sony Sound Forge on my computer for audio editing, but the program drastically bloats the video file when I do any video editing.
Thanks for the comments – definitely things for people to take into consideration.
Rachel