Q2n-4K Video Recorder for Musicians, Streamers & Filmmakers

I have an old Zoom 2 audio recorder and have been very happy with it and still use it to this day. I have an earlier version of the Q2N. The prior version was okay but there were issues. The manufacturer apparently listened to the feedback and the Q2N-4K Handy Video Recorder literally addressed and solved every legitimate issue. [Battery Life, recording clip length, using the right size and type Micro SD, and unexpected recording cut offs.] The result is a superior product. I use this one to record very different types of music from church choirs with and without accompaniment, British Brass Bands and live jazz in concert settings. The sound and video reproduction in all of these areas is excellent. The battery life is more than acceptable. I have had it record a rehearsal nearly two hours long on just the internal batteries. The recording time is longer when I can stop the video between sets. The lens angle on this is slightly less than the earlier version, but it still allows the unit to be placed close to the stage, and covers the entire stage with slightly less 'fish eye' distortion. This is an improvement. The sample video was recorded just more than four feet from a 25 ft stage front, sitting on a table and still the top and both ends of the stage are visible. The demo is recorded at 720, considerably less than the highest resolution. You will need head phones to appreciate the sound on the nine second demo clip.

Pro tip: throw in some batteries, but plug into a portable charger when using. Musicians prioritize audio over video. The video is serviceable. It’s not near as good as an iPhone or Galaxy camera. But it gets the job done. We used a couple of phone cameras to record different angles, and having video of any kind made it super easy to sync the audio from the Zoom to the video of the phones. I love this thing. I watched reviews. I knew what I was buying. And it does the job fantastically. Sure better video would be great, but this device is super affordable and easy to use. And the audio really is fantastic. For fun, I used this as a mic on Teams meetings. It sounds incredible. Called my gf from a different room so I could hear what she sounded like between the MacBook mic and this. The Zoom sounds pro. Pretty close to a Shure SM7b. If you can’t tell, I’m in love. My only true grievance: it’s 2024. Just update the charging port to usb C. Don’t have to change anything else. But man I really do have micro USB. It’s structurally inferior and antiquated.

First of all, wow! is this thing tiny! We are talking so small its somewhat awkward in my hand (I have somewhat larger hands than your average bro). This Q2 unit would be perfect for covert recordings except for the fact that the batteries last about 2 minutes (Lithium batteries and the external battery case are a MUST!). That's sad because the external battery case and USB wire to connect the two make the presence of the Q2 known because these things take up more space. The wire protrudes in an arc about 2 inches to the side of the Q2 unit and the battery case props the Q2 unit up about 2 1/2 - 3 inches . NOT SO COVERT! :( :( :( Man, other than that they had everything figured out into a super compact unit that runs on AA batteries... Sad because this thing takes INCREDIBLY sharp video for its size/price point. I recorded some video of myself and the picture was so sharp it was scary! Ever see ENEMY OF THE STATE! Holy cow! If this thing can record like that for $200 imagine what capabilities the CIA/NSA/NASA have in their arsenal. Otherwise, the Q2 4k is an engineering marvel. Repeat E N G I N E E R I N G MARVEL! Zoom knows what is needed by their customers/audience: Small profile/Black Stealth/covert presence, High Quality recording, and affordability. It's just a shame about what. could. have. been. a. miracle. I'll be honest, I haven't tried Lithium batteries (I've only used Energizer Alkaline batteries) but because of the short battery life, I would not trust this thing to record an entire set with it, unless I was sure it would record and save everything if the recording ended prematurely due to dead batteries. So...what I mean by that is that it would be cool if Zoom could GUARANTEE that whatever was recorded would be saved, even if the recording ended prematurely due to batteries running out. As it is now, I don't believe that the recording will be saved if the juice runs out early. This thing would be great for recon recordings. If you want to scout a band, fire this baby up for 5-10 minutes (IDK can Lithium batteries squeeze out 20 minutes of juice without the external battery case?). I would also use this thing for recording a SINGLE SONG, or maybe 2 songs if I didn't have the battery case. You just cannot rely on it for extended recording length, but KUDOS TO ZOOM. Truly this is a remarkable piece of gear that I hope could be remedied with Lithium AA's or maybe there will be some kind of SUPER BATTERY in the future...OR....one way to remedy this problem would have been to include a Wall-Wart adapter to plug into an outlet. THAT would have been MAGNIFICENT! Imagine the small profile, black color Q2 camera built for stealth and superior recording able to plug into an outlet. DO IT ZOOM! YOU HAVE THE POWER! For now, I'll stick with my Zoom H2 that records audio. For my purposes, recording the audio of the entire set is more important than video. The H2 is also an engineering marvel that has served me well for many years. I am actually about to upgrade and get the H2n for its black color also because mine has seen its days. One more time to praise Zoom because they thought of just about everything that a musician could want in a handheld, portable, superior recording machine...that SHOULD PLUG INTO THE WALL!!! Holy crap is that a great idea or what?! -Steve

These things are crazy good for audio. Video not so much. The various auto audio settings make using it easy even in crazy live situations. If you want video get in as close as possible, the CCD chip is very small. You will need a lot of light. I use the video more as a reference and shoot with real 4k camcorders. I wouldn't bother with 4k go 1080. Battery life non existent. It will eat 4 aaa in minutes. I use a large 16750mAh Power Bank Velcroed to the bottom of the camera. That lasts hours. I use a Samsung 256GB 100MB/s memory chip. It works at all resolutions, just don't lose it. Again for recording audio for bands or other live events this thing rocks.

I was expecting to use this for high-quality video for promotional purposes. Although the audio is pretty good, the video is just not up to snuff. Performance in low light is particularly bad, with poor adjustment to lighting, grainy images with banding. I used this in a restaurant lounge and it could not cope with some backlighting. I used it in a more brightly lit room and it was better. Key points: - Screen is tiny. It's difficult to see your subject, especially in low-light conditions. Tedious to set the zoom level. - Battery life is absurdly low. It takes two AA batteries which last about an hour. You will need to plug a cable (not included) into a charger (not included) to ensure you can capture an entire set. (They could have at least included a cable.) - Multiple video quality options allow you to extend card capacity, including down to 720p. - Pocket size device is very portable - Includes multiple video modes like Jazz Club for expected lighting, which I did not find useful. - Audio quality options to manage capacity - Auto or manual gain control - Five zoom levels. I assume these are digital zoom. The widest is super wide but the highest zoom is not going to get you very close. The highest zoom is probably comparable to a 50mm lens on an SLR. - There is a feature to cut lows in the audio to filter out pops and wind noise, but I haven't tried it. It will filter out anything in those frequencies, so would also cut bass in music. Probably OK for voice/podcast. - Standard mini phone jacks for headphones and extension mic - Picks up a lot of background noise, not very directional. My Galaxy 24+ phone performs much better. I took video of the same set using both the Zoom and my phone and the phone outperformed it for video and had higher gain for audio (the Zoom was set on Auto), though the Zoom might give a little more stereo separation. It also underperformed my old Canon VIXIA camcorder, although the camcorder was much more expensive when it was new.

I never leave reviews, but felt like I had to in this case. I was very hopeful about this product. As a band, having an easy to use, small camera that can capture good sound that won't break the bank was very enticing. The first time I used the product, I used 2 rechargeable batteries during a rehearsal to test. It lasted about 15 minutes and the batteries died. Put 2 brand new batteries in, lasted another 15 minutes and died. The video quality was poor even at 4k in decent light. My Android does better, but the sound was decent so I thought I'd give it another chance. Had an outdoor show with good light so tried it there. This time, I attached it to a power bank so I wouldn't have problems with the battery life. Camera just shut off after an hour. Not because of power, have no idea why. Did some research and found that some had this issue with certain Micro SD cards. So I went to zoom site and saw they had a list of recommended cards. Bought one of the recommended cards, then tried it at an indoor show. Started the camera, then noticed about 20 minutes into the set that the red light was off. Arrgggh. Started it up for second set, and same thing happened (again, attached to power source so it wasn't a power problem). Out of curiosity, I downloaded what it did record and the quality was absolute rubbish in lower light. Looked like a phone from 10 years ago. What a disappointment. Called customer service. What customer service? They don't even answer. Just a canned message that says that basically they are too busy to take any calls (called several times at different hours), but if you leave your number and email, they will get back to you. Left both and never heard anything. I was ready to buy several of these to get multiple angle shots at shows. Instead I'll be returning as soon as I can. Don't waste your money. Shame on you Zoom for your poor customer service.

Build Quality: So far the device is made quite well. It has a heavier feel then the original Q2n and the buttons even feel better in comparison. It’s hard to explain but it makes the Q2n feel cheap because this seems more solidly built even though they share a very similar design. Accessories: The Windscreen from the previous model can also be fitted on the 4K as well. Just make sure you install the lens hood (included) before the windscreen this way it helps keep the fur out of the lens itself. Mind you, doing this outside on a windy day will almost guarantee the windscreen getting in the lens fov. It does help, especially if you like to keep a ceiling fan on high in the same room you may be doing a video in while using this camera. The lens hood and lens cap from the older Q2n is not compatible with the 4K model. The Mic stand adapter is though. Audio: I just want to touch on this for a sec as when you set it at the highest quality, windows computers may have an issue with it and not play any sound at all. Not sure if this is a driver/codec issue but Mac users won’t have this problem. iPad and iPhone users won’t have this problem either. Any other audio setting below the highest will work for Windows users just fine. Zoom has the best audio on a small camera I’ve ever heard before. File type: It’s .MOV and they will airdrop for you Apple users and work in iMovie without a problem. The Q2n is the same if you wanted to know. Audio Line out: It doesn’t mention the headphone jack doubling as a line out but I was successful in doing so. It doesn’t say on either model but the Q2n and the Q2n-4K both work, as long as I turned off “plug in power” in the settings and it was just as clear as my Zoom H2n Recorder which I normally use for this. [I’m referring to using the cameras as a Mic for gaming capture where the audio is direct line into my capture device]. You can use the headphone jack normally for headphones just fine and it has a volume adjustment. The Plug In Power is for external Mics that require power to operate them as you can input those into either model Q2n which will bypass the XY mics built in. There’s a separate Mic In 3.5mm jack for that on the cameras just below the headphone jack. SD Card and Recording Times: (with Max Audio) This camera will take up to a 256gb Micro SDXC card and when using an XC, it will record in a seamless recording. Only to stop when the card is full or you stop it yourself. If you use a SDHC (these are up to 32gb capacity), the files will be broken every 4gb. 128gb Card: 4K30/24fps=3hr 31min 1080p60fps=5hr 9min 1080p30/24fps=9hr 51min 720p30fps=20hr 50min Camera Off 96k24bit WAV Audio=61hr 42min (highest quality) I formatted my own card in the device to get those numbers. Video bitrate up to 76Mbps which is likely 4K mode and I can’t test whether it’s a constant or variable. Lens: A fixed focus 150 degree fisheye wide angle lens. f2.8/15.2mm. I did see a comment where they (Zoom) replied saying it’s 16mp, though I don’t see this anywhere on the website. More: Runs off 2AA batteries and it’s recommended you use Lithium as they will last much longer. Record times with various battery types are listed on Zooms website. You can power the device with a usb power supply and avoid AA batteries altogether. Lens is a 150 degree wide lens and the older Q2n is a 160. The Q2n Lens can easily be replaced but I’m not so sure about this one yet. The Q2n-4K isn’t compatible with Gimbals and doesn’t offer any kind of image stabilization. There isn’t any kind of optical zoom as it’s all digital and on 5 presets. No still photos option. Of course you can always take a screen shot but this could easily be added in a FW update. Mind you, they never added this to the previous model. Same small screen. I wish they gave an option to turn off the selected settings displayed on screen to make the image fill the viewing space. The camera view is just so small with the current settings in the way. Thanks for reading! Even if you already have the Q2n then this is definitely worth the upgrade. A camera that does 4K, Digital Recorder and Microphone! Plug in another Mic, listen live with headphones and even HDMI out to a tv/portable monitor while recording... Why not? You can’t go wrong with this at the current $199 price point. A full video review will be on my YT channel at Para-holiX hopefully soon. Questions then just ask. I may have left some out as it can be found on the Zoom website. *Edit A 55min file at 1080p/60fps will be 25gb with the highest audio as well. *Update If your video is blurry, it may be the device you’re playing back on. If it’s not the device then YT/Para-holiX and I have a video showing you how to replace the lens and focus it back if that’s your issue. We’ve done a video on the previous Q2n model as well.

I don't play out a lot. I play a lot for myself, or acoustically for tips on the street. This camera changed my life. This evening I went and watched a sunset. Put the Zoom Q2n 4k on a tripod, and played ukulele to the camera. I pointed the camera towards the moon for one of the takes. And it showed up in the shot, showing proof of the Q2n 4k's extraordinary high def video. Not to mention the audio is amazing from 5 and ten feet away, perfecty equalized by the camera's software. You basically have a hollywood studio in the palm of your hand with this, if you can just set up the right shot. It comes with a lens cover and small hood cover to block overhead lights. Both of which fit onto the camera well. So far I've filmed inside, and was only displeased by the lighting. The video quality is only limited by the amount of light you are able to evenly illuminate the scene with. When I shot outside, the quality was amazing, as the lighting was even. All I can say is this camera is a dream come true. I've always wished I could save my jam sessions accurately, whether at home or in nature. Now I can. Thank you Zoom!

Excellent quality sound and vision. Highly recommend for good quality AV for concerts and live performances.

La amo, graba genial el sonido, todo es bastante nítido para ser una cámara digital. Súper funcional para grabar conciertos y ensayos, con una pila externa funciona súper bien y no tengo que estar comprando pilas. También es súper sencillo pasar los videos al iPhone con un adaptador de microSD

In General, Audio quality is very good and excellent. However very disappointed with the Video quality especially 4k video. Not that great, lots of noise and pixels are seen. OK product and not impressed

Q2n is best for recording music concerts because of its excellent audio recording with satisfactory video recording. It is aptly called " Musician's Camera".

This is an excellent video recorder with great sound in its own right. However I bought it to use as a webcam as well. It works SO well as a webcam. It's not cheap for a webcam but if good sound and video quality are important to you this is perfect. And the upside is it is versatile. You can use it as a webcam and then take it out and video your friends at a live music venue or something. It is a great product. And because of its versatility it is good value. You need to read the instructions of course but once you work out how to do the things you want it's easy to remember how to do it.