Zoom North America has debuted the all-new H5 Handy Recorder. Like the company’s flagship H6, the H5 employs a system of interchangeable input capsules, allowing the best microphone to be used for every recording situation. In addition to being fully compatible with all Zoom input capsules, the H5 comes with a new X/Y stereo capsule, featuring extended signal capacity—up to 140dB SPL—and shockmounted microphones for reduced handling noise.
The H5 allows four tracks of simultaneous recording directly to SD cards up to 32GB in a variety of MP3 and BWF-compliant WAV file formats, including 24-bit/96k high-resolution audio. With the use of an optional adapter, it can be mounted directly to a DSLR or camcorder and requires just two AA batteries for power, with alkaline battery life of more than 15 hours. Dual XLR/TRS combo jacks enable the connection of external microphones or line-level devices. Each input has its own dedicated gain control and pad, as well as phantom power in three different voltages.
Additional features include a stereo Line Out for connection to camcorders; a headphone jack and built-in speaker; onboard effects, metronome and chromatic tuner; adjustable playback speed and pitch correction; and Pre-record, Auto-record and Backup-record functions. A USB port enables data transfer to and from editing software and allows the H5 to serve as a multichannel audio interface for computers and iPads.
“Our products are constantly evolving to meet the needs of the creators who use them,” said Scott Goodman, Zoom North America CEO. “The H5 continues that tradition, providing everything needed to do professional-quality multitrack recording in the field and capture pristine audio for video, broadcast and podcast.”