Following on from last year’s successful Zoom’s H6 portable recorder, the cheaper H5 Handy Recorder has now been announced, promising most of the functionality of its bigger brother, but with less inputs, bells and whistles.
The new H5 features an interchangeable microphone system that is compatible with the existing line of H6 mic modules, with its own XY stereo microphone module featuring a built-in shockmount system and 140dB maximum SPL.
The recorder comes with four input channels, allowing users to record simultaneously from the included stereo XY mic and two additional sources, all controllable by analogue gain knobs.
There’s an analogue line output and a headphone output for monitoring, with the black-and-white screen (opposed to the H6’s colour screen) keeping the price down. The H5 will record to external SD cards.
Targeted at DSLR filmmakers, the H5 has an optional tripod mount accessory for cameras, with the recorder running on two AA batteries, giving up to 15 hours of operation.
The new H5 is expected to be on the shelves at the end of July 2014, with pre-orders being taken now for $269.99.
[—]
