Review on Zoom Q3 Handy Video Recorder (Metal Blue): Unavailable from Manufacturer, but Still Worth Checking Out! by David Estevez

This thing has three levels of gain: Auto (which is boosted during dynamic musical performances), Low (too low to capture music in a club at a level acceptable for YouTube videos), and a large one that is cut off. The sound, recorded in a small low-gain club, is nice and clear, and I don't think it's too bright (although my test was a musical orchestra with lots of direct bass), but it's low enough that I turn had to open it. my iMac's external speakers to hear the spoken portions of the performance. I wish Samson would add two more pad settings to this thing. It's still better than my camcorder (stereo but distorted on show). Until then, I'll have to amplify the audio in a video editing program, but that's starting to feel like a chore. I might get better results with practice, but it doesn't have to be rocket surgery. I've compared the Zoom head to head with the Flip Ultra HD (which has a stereo mic) and between the two the Zoom sound is significantly better. The Flip Ultra HD was a lot better than my iPhone and old Aiptek camcorder, but it still underperformed and lacked some low-end. Video was better on the Flip, although with Zoom's updated firmware, the low-light video wasn't much different. That definitely makes the Zoom my music venue camera. I'd love to see a firmware update that allows users to set levels manually - or at least a few more pad settings. I would add at least one star for more writing flexibility. But overall, it's really a better choice than other consumer mini portable camcorders. The software is great. You'll need a card reader (on a Mac at least) to install it on new SD cards, as the new card needs to be in zoom for the software to decompress it from the old card, but it's very useful for quick editing . from whole shows.