Zoom Q2n – an All-New Category of Cameras for Musicians

by Olaf von VossNovember 24^th, 2016

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This might not be the perfect camera for everybody, but if you happen to be part time indie shooter and part time musician, the new Zoom Q2n just might be the perfect tool when it comes to quickly capturing your performance in both worlds, audio and video!

Meet the Zoom Q2n

Japanese company Zoom is well-known for their quality audio-capturing and recording devices, such as the famous Zoom H4N. A couple years back, they entered the market of smaller sized video cameras too, and now it seems that they are bringing it all together with the introduction of the Zoom Q2n.

It is basically a combination of one of their quality audio recording devices with one of their video cameras. The product is a completely new category of audiovisual capturing device, aimed for a very specific market. The result is pretty impressive, as this tiny device seems capable of capturing not only high quality audio, but quite decent video at the same time.

For shooting cinematic footage you would probably pick another camera, point taken. But for this very specific field of application the Zoom Q2n seems to be a very decent tool.

Specifications

Let’s break down the specs of this little device. Audio-wise the Zoom Q2n is equipped with built-in X/Y stereo microphones capable of handling sound levels up to 120 dB SPL, and it can record up to 24Bit 96kHz in a WAV container. For setting levels, there is a nice big dial there for you, with no fussing around with deep menu structures.

You can also use the device as a standalone audio recorder. There is a mini jack input on the side which takes either an external microphone or a line level source. For an external microphone, it’s important to mention that only “plug-in power” (5V DC ) is supported, not to be confused with phantom power (mostly rated at 48V DC). In terms of outputs, a combined headphone / line out mini jack can be found right next to the input jack.

Another way of using this tiny jack of all trades is to plug it into your DAW (digital audio workstation) via USB and record directly into your given project. Since it can handle up to 120 dB SPL (which is pretty loud) even badass drum solos shouldn’t be a problem. Have a look here:

On the video side of things, the Zoom Q2n records FullHD at up to 30fps through a fixed focus (36 cm – ∞) lens rated f2.0 with a  160˚ FOV (field of view), which translates roughly to 16.6 mm of focal length on a 35mm sensor equivalent. The codec used is a MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 within a MOV wrapper. The massive wide angle can be adjusted in five FOV steps: (×0.75 / ×0.85 / ×1.00 / ×1.30 / ×1.50). As I said, the specs are certainly not the greatest ever, but the resulting footage looks pretty good indeed.

For powering the Zoom Q2n, you need two AA batteries (batteries included), which will power the device for about two to three hours, depending on the video quality setting. An optional DC adapter can be purchased separately, as well as several accessories such as a windscreen, a hot shoe mount or a tripod adapter.

Pricing and Availability

The Zoom Q2n will hit the market by December and it will be priced at $159. For that price point, I think you get a lot of features in a very tiny package. But again, this is not for everybody.

Read more about the Zoom Q2n on their website.

Any musicians around here? What do you think, is this tiny Zoom Q2n something worth exploring? Let us know in the comments below!