audio of Zoom h4n vs q3hd?

[t1m]

I'm looking to buy my first recording equipment, but I'm currently torn between the Zoom H4n and the Zoom Q3HD. As far as the actual recording goes, I'm not trying to make youtube videos or 'show off' videos/clip but rather recording so I can listen to myself play to correct any kind of problems that I am unable to notice during playing. Also, I'm almost always practice playing in front of a mirror so I'm not too concern at videos of my playing... At the same time, I would like to buy something high quality that I could 'grow' into and eventually record legitimate clips in the future. Even if I decide to record videos in the future, I would still be recording audio and video separately (if I got the q3hd) since I have access to pretty good video recording equipment already.

With all this in mind...

I know that the q3hd has the same hardware (i think?) as the h4n, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have as many recording features due to the addition of video on the q3hd. If the video is a novelty feature to me, would it still be worth it to buy the q3hd over the h4n? Are they that much different as far as audio goes? They're both still roughly the same price...

Thanks in advance!

[cotten]

I didn't need video capability, but I did need some of the features of the H4n. I've been happy with mine.

cotten

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by t1m

I'm looking to buy my first recording equipment, but I'm currently torn between the Zoom H4n and the Zoom Q3HD. As far as the actual recording goes, I'm not trying to make youtube videos or 'show off' videos/clip but rather recording so I can listen to myself play to correct any kind of problems that I am unable to notice during playing. Also, I'm almost always practice playing in front of a mirror so I'm not too concern at videos of my playing... At the same time, I would like to buy something high quality that I could 'grow' into and eventually record legitimate clips in the future. Even if I decide to record videos in the future, I would still be recording audio and video separately (if I got the q3hd) since I have access to pretty good video recording equipment already.

With all this in mind...

I know that the q3hd has the same hardware (i think?) as the h4n, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have as many recording features due to the addition of video on the q3hd. If the video is a novelty feature to me, would it still be worth it to buy the q3hd over the h4n? Are they that much different as far as audio goes? They're both still roughly the same price...

Thanks in advance!

The H4n has features like XLR inputs with 48V phantom, 4 channel recording, multi-tracking with overdubs and internal mixing, built-in effects. If you want to record audio, the H4n is a studio in the palm of your hand. Amazingly, it's also a dead simple good quality point&shoot recorder.

The Q3HD is a decent but limited video camera with audio quality on par with the H1/H2/H4/H4n but no preamp for external mics.

Fran