Description
EVOLVED RECORDING
THE ZOOM H5
Flexible Audio for Video Perfection
Four tracks of simultaneous recording and interchangeable mic capsules make the H5 flexible and powerful enough to meet the evolving needs of today’s creators.
The H5. Versatile Productivity.
Ideal for documentaries, podcasting, audio for video, and professional sound design, the Zoom H5 portable handheld recorder lets you quickly record up to four input signals regardless of your audio experience. With a swappable stereo microphone capsule, versatile 2-channel inputs, and up to 4-track recording, the H5 is both user-friendly and easily expandable.
Like other H-Series Handy recorders such as the H4n Pro and H6, you can hold it in your hand, attach it to a mic stand or tripod, or mount it to a camera (shoe mount available separately); the H5 packs an impressive array of features into a rugged, rubberized body that’s more than ready to meet the varied demands of musicians, videographers, sound designers, content creators, and news shooters.
From the plentiful battery life to the powerful audio processing functions, the H5 is well equipped to handle anything from tracking live performances and podcasts to recording interviews, dialogue, and sound effects. It can supply phantom or plug-in power for condenser mics, or accept direct connections from synths, keyboards, drum machines, or +4 dB line-level mixers. No matter the source, selectable auto-recording and pre-recording ensure that you’ll never miss the start of a take, and stereo safety track recording provides duplicate tracks at a lower level to avoid distortion.
Louder.
The design of the XYH-5 mic capsule allows the H5 to handle up to 140 dB SPL — equivalent to the sound of a jet aircraft from less than 200 feet away! And to keep your levels under control, the H5 offers compression and limiting.
Cleaner.
The H5’s rubberized housing and shock-mounted microphones minimize vibration and handling noise, while a low-cut filter helps eliminate wind noise and other kinds of low frequency rumble.
Clearer.
The H5 utilizes the same high-quality, low-noise preamps as our flagship H6, ensuring great-sounding recordings in all sonic environments.
Six interchangeable mic capsules that can be swapped out as easily as the lenses of a camera
XYH-5 X/Y CAPSULE
Louder. Closer. Cleaner.
X/Y stereo recording allows you to cover a wide area yet still capture a strong center image. The XYH-5 X/Y microphone capsule provided with the H5 features two matched unidirectional condenser microphones set at a 90 degree angle and housed within an advanced shockmount to minimize vibration and handling noise, making it ideal for location videography and live broadcast/podcast applications. The design of the XYH-5 also allows it to handle extremely loud sounds, making it perfect for use at live rock concerts and for electronic newsgathering. The XYH-5 can also be used with the H6.
MSH-6 MS CAPSULE
Mid-side mic magic.
MS (“Mid-Side”) recording: an incredible technique that allows you to actually adjust the width of the stereo image after it has been recorded, making it especially useful for film, video and television projects. Sound like magic? Read on.
The MSH-6 comes standard with the H6 and can be used with the H5.
Although the MSH-6 MS capsule appears to be just one microphone, it actually contains two mic elements, positioned directly on top of one another. One of the microphones inside the MSH-6 is unidirectional (that is, it is mostly sensitive to signal coming from directly in front, and less sensitive to signal coming from behind or from the sides) while the other is bi-directional (that is, it is mostly sensitive to signals coming from directly in front and directly behind, and less sensitive to signal coming from the sides).
The basic concept behind MS recording is that the Mid microphone picks up signal coming from the center, while the Side microphone creates ambience and directionality by adding or subtracting information from either side.
The Mid-Side technique works well whenever you need a variable amount of room sound. It can also be used for studio recording, and its convenience and flexibility make it a good option for rehearsal and live concert recording as well. Another benefit is that it provides total mono compatibility, making it an excellent choice for stereo recordings that may eventually be played back in mono, such as TV broadcasts.
Inside the H6 MS capsule, the directional (“Mid”) mic faces forwards while the bi-directional (“Side”) mic is set perpendicular to it, like this:
XYH-6 X/Y CAPSULE
A little X, a little Y, a whole lotta stereo.
The X/Y miking technique is optimal when you want to cover a wide area and still capture sound sources in the center with clarity and definition, making it great for all types of live stereo recording.
The XYH-6 X/Y capsule comes standard with the H6.
The capsule adds two matched high-quality unidirectional microphones to your H6 or H5. This kind of microphone is most sensitive to signal coming from directly in front, and less sensitive to signal coming from behind or from the sides; in technical terms, they are said to utilize a cardioid polar pattern.
Playing back stereo X/Y tracks in mono results in a fuller sound than you would get with one microphone, but if mono compatibility is critical (for example, in television production), the Mid-Side (MS) mic technique can be a better choice.
As shown in this illustration, the angle of the two mics can easily be changed from 90 degrees to 120 degrees for a wider stereo image (US Patent 8184815).
SGH-6 SHOTGUN CAPSULE
Riding shotgun.
The SGH-6 Shotgun capsule adds a professional-quality hyperdirectional (that is, highly directional) microphone turning your H6 or H5 into the perfect audio recorder for anyone working in film, video or live theater, or for ENG (electronic news gathering) applications.
A “shotgun” is a long, cylindrical microphone which excels at picking up sounds in front of it while rejecting sounds to the sides and rear. Shotgun microphones are often used when you cannot position a microphone directly in front of a sound source. For example, if someone is speaking in front of a video camera and you don’t want them to hold an interview microphone up to their mouth, the solution is to use an off-screen shotgun mic.
Shotgun mics have a narrower focus (sometimes referred to as more “reach”) than an average microphone. However, shotgun mics are not the audio equivalent of a photographic telephoto lens. Even though they do an above-average job of picking up sounds that originate from a short distance away, they always sound better when they’re physically close to the sound source. That’s why whenever you use the SGH-6 shotgun capsule, you should always strive to get as close as possible to the sound source, which often means hovering right at the edge of the frame of a shot.
EXH-6 DUAL XLR/TRS COMBO CAPSULE
Need more inputs?
If you need more inputs, simply plug in the EXH-6 Dual XLR/TRS Combo capsule. It allows you to connect two additional discrete channels for external microphones, instruments, mixers or portable music players.
Both EXH-6 inputs are combo jacks that accept either XLR or ¼” balanced (TRS) or unbalanced (TS) connectors. They can handle both mic- and line-level signals, which means that you can connect either microphones or line-level devices like mixers, portable music players, electronic keyboards, or electric guitars or basses with active electronics (passive electric guitars or basses can also be connected with the use of a mixer or effects device). Internal switching contacts automatically detect the circuit of choice.
Each EXH-6 input offers a dedicated analog gain control knob as well as a -20dB pad that allows you to prevent distortion even when high-level signals are introduced; in fact, with the use of the Pad switch, the H6 can input 30dB louder signal and 14dB softer signal than any other Handy Recorder model. In addition, a built-in instrumentation amp allows signals to be transmitted with minimal noise even when long cables are used.
SSH-6 STEREO SHOTGUN CAPSULE
The best of both worlds.
The SSH-6 mid-side stereo shotgun capsule includes a super-directional microphone for picking up sound in the center, as well as a bidirectional side mic for picking up sounds from the left and right. This allows you to record a fully mono-compatible stereo image—ideal for film, video, and television projects. For example, you can capture dialogue with the center mic, and then mix in the desired amount of environmental sound captured by the side mic directly on your Zoom recorder, or in postproduction.
A hairy windscreen is included for reduction of wind noise.
The SSH-6 mid-side stereo shotgun microphone capsule is compatible with the Zoom H5 and H6 Handy Recorders, Q8 Handy Video Recorder, U-44 Handy Audio Interface, F1, F4, F8 and F8n MultiTrack Field Recorders, as well as the ECM-3 extension cable for Zoom microphone capsules.
Recording Features
Pre-Record
The Pre-Record function captures and saves two seconds of audio before you hit RECORD — perfect for unexpected starts.
Auto-Record
The Auto-Record function allow the H5 to automatically start and stop recording at predefined sound levels.
Backup-Record*
The H5’s Backup-Record function automatically records a duplicate set of L/R tracks with 12db less input gain. This audio safety net helps to protect your recordings.
*44.1 and 48 kHz WAV files only.
Inputs and Outputs
Ins
The H5’s XLR/TRS combo inputs can handle both mic- and line-level signals for microphones, wireless receivers, mixers, keyboards and more. Each input has a dedicated gain control knob. The supplied XYH-5 capsule also provides an additional mic/line input via a ⅛” mini phone jack.
Outs
A Line Out with adjustable volume allows you to send audio from the H5 to the input of a camera or other device without the need for an attenuator cable. In addition, there’s a separate headphone output with a dedicated volume control. You can use both outputs simultaneously to route audio to your DSLR while monitoring with headphones.
Recording Times and File Formats
Record continuously for over 15 hours with just 2 AA batteries or extend your recording time indefinitely with the optional AD-17 AC adapter.
The H5 can record up to six monophonic WAV files (or up to three stereo files) in any of the following formats:
Audio Interface
The H5 also works as a USB audio interface for your computer or iPad** complete with a Loop Back function that makes it easy to add narration to music playback.
*Apple Camera Connection Kit required.
Free Production Software
The Zoom H5 comes with free download licenses for Steinberg’s Cubase LE music production software and WaveLab LE audio editing software.
Mic’d for Anything. Built for Everything.
Features
- Includes detachable X/Y capsule (XYH-5) capable of handling 140 dB SPL
- Shock-mounted mics for reduced handling noise
- Compatible with all Zoom input capsules
- Four-track simultaneous recording
- Records directly to SD and SDHC cards up to 32 GB
- Up to 24-bit/96 kHz audio in BWF-compliant WAV or a variety of MP3 formats
- Two mic/line inputs with XLR/TRS combo connectors, each with selectable phantom power and -20 dB pad
- Built-in effects, including low-cut filtering, compression, and limiting
- Auto-record, Pre-record, and Backup-record functions mean that you’ll never miss that perfect take
- Multichannel and stereo USB audio interface for PC/Mac/iPad with Loop Back function
- Powered by two AA batteries or via USB
- Over 15 hours of operation with alkaline batteries
SPECIFICATIONS
| GENERAL | |
|---|---|
| Recording media: | SD card: 16MB to 2GB , SDHC card: 4GB to 32GB |
| Display: | Backlit LCD (128 x 64 pixels) |
| INPUTS | |
| INPUTS L/R [XYH-5 X/Y mic]: | Mic type: Unidirectional
Sensitivity: -45 dB, 1 kHz at 1 Pa |
| PHONE OUT : | Connector: 1/8″ stereo mini jack Output Level: 20 W +20 W into 32 Ω load |
| Built-in speaker: | 400mw 8 Ω mono |
| RECORDING FORMATS | |
| STEREO MODE:: | WAV (BWF-compliant) Sampling frequency: 44.1/48/96 kHz Bit rate: 16/24 (Stereo) Maximum simultaneous recording tracks: 2 MP3 Sampling frequency: 44.1kHz Bit rate: 48/56/64/80/96/112/32/160/192/224/256/320kbps |
| MULTITRACK MODE:: | WAV (BWF-compliant) Sampling frequency: 44.1/48 kHz Bit rate: 16/24 (Mono/Stereo) Maximum simultaneous recording tracks: 6 (L/R + INPUT 1/2 + L/R backup) |
| USB: | |
| Mass Storage Class operation: | Class: USB 2.0 High Speed |
| Audio Interface operation: Multitrack mode:: | Class: USB 2.0 High Speed Sampling frequency: 44.1/48kHz Bit rate: 16/24 bit Inputs / Outputs: 4 / 2 |
| Audio Interface operation: Stereo mode:: | Class: USB 2.0 Full Speed Sampling frequency: 44.1/48kHz Bit rate: 16 bit Inputs / Outputs: 2 / 2 USB bus powered operation possible (iPad operation supported in Stereo mode only) |
| POWER REQUIREMENTS | |
| AA size (LR6) battery x 2 AC adapter: AD-17 (DC5V/1A/USB-type) (optional) USB bus power |
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