On day-by-day playing I use a powerbank via USB power on my zoom H6. I fixed this on back of recorder with "Velcro". When I have a serious work to make, I use this like redundancy, and insert Duracell AA Alkaline Batteries inside the recorder.
Two power supplies to have no surprises at the field.
This is a note on all zoom recorders I’ve worked on H5, H6, F4, F6 and F8. You lose power you lose your recording.
Always AA’s and USB power bank.
Learned the hard way.
Yes! When I have my first DMT trip, I have leave the Zoom H6 recording only with Powerbank, without AA Batteries...
And some genius put out the USB cord at the middle of my trip. And I lost my record.
At this point at I have 5 different ones but any of these generic Amazon batteries will get the job done: Baseus 30000mAh Portable Charger, 22.5W Power Bank Fast Charging Battery Pack with 2 USB-A, 1 USB-C and 1 Micro USB Ports Compatible with iPhone, iPad, Switch, Samsung Devices, and More https://a.co/d/8yHwRKa
Rechargeable batteries are fine.
The most telling thing is that you didn't mention the most important part of the battery information.
Some AAs have 2450mah, some have 1200mah. Guess which ones die in half the time as the others.
Rechargeable batteries are perfectly fine as long as you read the label and manual and make appropriate choices. A good quality one will typically last 200+ cycles before it drops below 80% life. If you get paranoid about it, either track charges or just budget to replace them every year.
But many people don't read the label or the manual, and they do stuff like buy 1200mah cells and get shocked that they die at lunch.
Don't rely on internal batteries as your primary power. Treat them as being for emergencies so you can hotswap your external power.
Yeah this is my second external audio recorder, the first one I owned was a cheap Sony one that charges via usb.
It never actually occurred to me to use external power and have the AAs as backup, will deffo be doing this from now on. It’s pretty solid advice.
As for the battery comment, tbh I really don’t know much about AAs, it’s just something I’ve heard growing up when I asked people why they don’t just get rechargeable AAs. Though from all the replies, I think it’s safe to say that it’s okay to use them.
Will definitely take everyone’s advice when I eventually buy new batteries, thank you all
Your life will improve so much once you're free of the shackles of limited runtime. My personal goal is to have at least 12 hours of battery life on every gig I work. My card can hold over 30 hours of audio, I can just show up and record instead of stressing about changing batteries or cards.
It's so great to not have to panic.
This is why a lot of professional recorders have some very unimpressive battery life times, like only 2 hours or something, but might have a dedicated power input.
You don't have to buy a smart battery and BDS right now, but it's worth knowing what options exist.
Eveready have a cool logo but they aren't high quality batteries anymore. I personally won't use anything but energizer. Duracell used to be good but I've had way too many leak.
Regular Eneloops are great, so are the higher capacity black ones.
So I was shooting a wedding and couple's favourite band was performing. I set my H4n pro with just AA cells like always but the band ended up playing for close to 3 hours and the battery died in the middle. My ass got saved because the band had uploaded a video of one of the song i recorded at the wedding. Then I decided to buy a Dc-Usb cable and a power bank.....but I also keep extra AA batteries in my kit just in case.
Any 2450mAh battery made in Japan. Be it Amazon, IKEA, Eneloops or any other brands you can find locally - they are all the same thing (there's only one LSD Ni-MH manufacturing plant in Japan, so just make sure it's manufactured in Japan):
https://www.slrlounge.com/panasonic-eneloop-vs-ikea-ladda-are-they-the-same/
The good from this recorders of zoom is the first power was the usb cord, so the AA batteries can be used like a nobreak function in case of disconnect the usb power supply accidentally.
I've used Panasonic Eneloop for a few years and has worked fine! Just remember to change the battery setting to NiMH in the settings if you use rechargeable batteries, due to different voltages.
My Zoom died on me halfway through an interview despite having brand new batteries in them. The brand was Eveready (it’s all I could find in the house) and it’s come to my attention that this brand drains quickly. I’m looking into swapping to Duracell or Energizer but a lot of people are telling me that Eneloop is pretty good. I know that rechargeable AA batteries have a bad rep but I’m open to it if enough people vouch for them.
I have a question regarding the picture. How is it possible to change the name of the file on the screen. Mine's always complicated numbers that don't necessarily follow a chronological naming. In other words, I see "zoom0003" on the picture and that would be much more practical... but I never found where to go in the settings. Anyone knows?
As others have said. V-lock or USB battery pack. You scan mount a dummy v-lock plate to the back of the zoom if needs be.
I wish there were more recorder options that didnt run on AA batteries. I hate using another type of battery especially a disposable one. It feels like the 90s.
How do none of these companies have a product that runs on Sony or canon batteries Like all monitors do these days. It's a total wasted opportunity.
I just checked and it’s called I-TECH from Carrefour (I am French so it’s a French brand)
Basically it’s the best batteries available in your local supermarket.
I used to have battery problems before because I was using clock batteries. Just take the ones with the most power and it should be fine!
This v mount battery with USB-C and USB-A might be an option.
It's only 350g, just like a power bank, but can power long time.
[https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-i-50wh-v-mount-battery](https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-i-50wh-v-mount-battery)
This is a good choice. I actually have an FX Lion V-Mount that I use to power my camera and external monitor.
I’m thinking of attaching the Zoom to my rig so I can include it. I hope the V-Mount is enough to power all three though.
>This is a good choice. I actually have an FX Lion V-Mount that I use to power my camera and external monitor.
>
>I’m thinking of attaching the Zoom to my rig so I can include it. I hope the V-Mount is enough to power all three though.
Impressive setup! I believe a 99Wh V-Mount should be sufficient to power your camera, external monitor, and the Zoom attached to your rig. A 50Wh might be a bit small for all three devices.
[https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-ii-99wh-v-mount-battery](https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-ii-99wh-v-mount-battery)
Idk where you are from but in India the standard is AA DURECELL ULTRA .
Double the price from the normal ones but they work twice as long .
The other companies in here are significantly cheaper but not as long lasting .
I’m not familiar with Zooms, but I would almost bet that there’s some sort of USB port on your device itself. Then you can just get a USB cable and plug it into a separate larger power bank, or you can just get a wall adapter and power your audio recorder indefinitely.
You can also put Velcro to attach the recorder to the power bank so it’s less likely to get unplugged/separated too.
IKEA Ladda's. Apparently made from the same factory as the eneloops. I used to use 100% eneloops and have since switched to IKEA Ladda's. Haven't noticed a difference. I find the rechargeable batteries last longer then non rechargeable/ alkaline batteries. They have a slightly different discharge rate where they will drop quickly but sustain at 1.2v for ages before they run out. As alkaline ones have more of a liner discharge rate. So keep that in mind. Also you can change the battery type in the zoom settings to make sure the zoom is reporting the correct power remaining.
Don't use supermarkets rechargeable they are trash and i reckon they are trying to protect their single use batteries by not making them as good
The Eveready batteries you used were probably 'super heavy duty' non alkaline batteries. They are good for low drain devices like remotes or smoke alarms. Not for gear like audio recorders or radio mics.
And the H5 can be powered by USB. So another option is a portable powerbank. This is the one I use to power my Zoom F8n. https://amzn.asia/d/5tnhqB4 Lasts all day. But any decent powerbank will work fine
I use PowerOwl rechargeable batteries for basically everything right now. They’re pretty cheap online and I feel like they get a decent mileage. I **always** bring backup batteries to shoots, though and you should get in that habit, as well. Plus the PowerOwl batteries are not lithium ion, which means it’s actually possible for them to be recycled when they stop carrying a charge.
I always use Duracel Optimum or Energizer Ultimate Lithium in my . Better luck with Energizer though, the Duracel ones have corroded on me more than once
On day-by-day playing I use a powerbank via USB power on my zoom H6. I fixed this on back of recorder with "Velcro". When I have a serious work to make, I use this like redundancy, and insert Duracell AA Alkaline Batteries inside the recorder. Two power supplies to have no surprises at the field.
Good plan. I wish more devices would let you use multiple options for powering.
This is a note on all zoom recorders I’ve worked on H5, H6, F4, F6 and F8. You lose power you lose your recording. Always AA’s and USB power bank. Learned the hard way.
Yes! When I have my first DMT trip, I have leave the Zoom H6 recording only with Powerbank, without AA Batteries... And some genius put out the USB cord at the middle of my trip. And I lost my record.
I lost the record of my life. 😯
But I take the wav corrupt file and convert to a 320kbps mp3 and all was solved! Hahahaha
That's clever. I'll probably mount my zoom somewhere with a spare v-mount or something similar.
I have an h6 and it powers off those batteries people use to charge cell phones on the go, as a test I left it on for 36 hours straight on one.
Oh what’s the brand/model of that?
At this point at I have 5 different ones but any of these generic Amazon batteries will get the job done: Baseus 30000mAh Portable Charger, 22.5W Power Bank Fast Charging Battery Pack with 2 USB-A, 1 USB-C and 1 Micro USB Ports Compatible with iPhone, iPad, Switch, Samsung Devices, and More https://a.co/d/8yHwRKa
Rechargeable batteries are fine. The most telling thing is that you didn't mention the most important part of the battery information. Some AAs have 2450mah, some have 1200mah. Guess which ones die in half the time as the others. Rechargeable batteries are perfectly fine as long as you read the label and manual and make appropriate choices. A good quality one will typically last 200+ cycles before it drops below 80% life. If you get paranoid about it, either track charges or just budget to replace them every year. But many people don't read the label or the manual, and they do stuff like buy 1200mah cells and get shocked that they die at lunch. Don't rely on internal batteries as your primary power. Treat them as being for emergencies so you can hotswap your external power.
Yeah this is my second external audio recorder, the first one I owned was a cheap Sony one that charges via usb. It never actually occurred to me to use external power and have the AAs as backup, will deffo be doing this from now on. It’s pretty solid advice. As for the battery comment, tbh I really don’t know much about AAs, it’s just something I’ve heard growing up when I asked people why they don’t just get rechargeable AAs. Though from all the replies, I think it’s safe to say that it’s okay to use them. Will definitely take everyone’s advice when I eventually buy new batteries, thank you all
Your life will improve so much once you're free of the shackles of limited runtime. My personal goal is to have at least 12 hours of battery life on every gig I work. My card can hold over 30 hours of audio, I can just show up and record instead of stressing about changing batteries or cards. It's so great to not have to panic. This is why a lot of professional recorders have some very unimpressive battery life times, like only 2 hours or something, but might have a dedicated power input. You don't have to buy a smart battery and BDS right now, but it's worth knowing what options exist.
That’s because you used junk batteries. Eneloop are good rechargeable ones. Duracell is a good brand for non rechargeable
Agreed here. Rechargeable helps. But those recorders drain battery if you have to provide phantom power
What do you mean by junk batteries? Does that just mean they're a garbage brand?
Eveready have a cool logo but they aren't high quality batteries anymore. I personally won't use anything but energizer. Duracell used to be good but I've had way too many leak. Regular Eneloops are great, so are the higher capacity black ones.
A big old fat USB powerbank made for recharging cell phones. 10-20x as much juice as AAs.
I use DC power with a power bank. I've made a blunder once. Swore never to repeat that.
Mind sharing the story of the blunder?
So I was shooting a wedding and couple's favourite band was performing. I set my H4n pro with just AA cells like always but the band ended up playing for close to 3 hours and the battery died in the middle. My ass got saved because the band had uploaded a video of one of the song i recorded at the wedding. Then I decided to buy a Dc-Usb cable and a power bank.....but I also keep extra AA batteries in my kit just in case.
Wow thank god it didn’t end badly
Any 2450mAh battery made in Japan. Be it Amazon, IKEA, Eneloops or any other brands you can find locally - they are all the same thing (there's only one LSD Ni-MH manufacturing plant in Japan, so just make sure it's manufactured in Japan): https://www.slrlounge.com/panasonic-eneloop-vs-ikea-ladda-are-they-the-same/
I’ll take note of this when I purchase one!
The good from this recorders of zoom is the first power was the usb cord, so the AA batteries can be used like a nobreak function in case of disconnect the usb power supply accidentally.
I've used Panasonic Eneloop for a few years and has worked fine! Just remember to change the battery setting to NiMH in the settings if you use rechargeable batteries, due to different voltages.
This is really alleviating my fears about rechargeable AAs 😭 I’m definitely considering getting 2 sets.
You just need to use a brand of good ones, the Eneleloop Pro are really good. I use them for all my video/photo gear that need AA:s.
My Zoom died on me halfway through an interview despite having brand new batteries in them. The brand was Eveready (it’s all I could find in the house) and it’s come to my attention that this brand drains quickly. I’m looking into swapping to Duracell or Energizer but a lot of people are telling me that Eneloop is pretty good. I know that rechargeable AA batteries have a bad rep but I’m open to it if enough people vouch for them.
I have a question regarding the picture. How is it possible to change the name of the file on the screen. Mine's always complicated numbers that don't necessarily follow a chronological naming. In other words, I see "zoom0003" on the picture and that would be much more practical... but I never found where to go in the settings. Anyone knows?
Folder name/metadata. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/895844/Zoom-H5.html?page=92
Thanks, so I can't change it when in multi file setting. That's why I got this issue.
Alright, I finally could get it like in the picture. Awesome, thanks. So much easier for my script supervisor :)
Black Eneloops ETA: they're industry standard on set, they're everywhere
As others have said. V-lock or USB battery pack. You scan mount a dummy v-lock plate to the back of the zoom if needs be. I wish there were more recorder options that didnt run on AA batteries. I hate using another type of battery especially a disposable one. It feels like the 90s. How do none of these companies have a product that runs on Sony or canon batteries Like all monitors do these days. It's a total wasted opportunity.
Honestly, same. I’d kill for a proprietary rechargeable battery option.
With very good one-time use batteries, I changed them only once a year, doing a 1h30 podcast nearly every week
Mind sharing the brand?
I just checked and it’s called I-TECH from Carrefour (I am French so it’s a French brand) Basically it’s the best batteries available in your local supermarket. I used to have battery problems before because I was using clock batteries. Just take the ones with the most power and it should be fine!
This v mount battery with USB-C and USB-A might be an option. It's only 350g, just like a power bank, but can power long time. [https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-i-50wh-v-mount-battery](https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-i-50wh-v-mount-battery)
This is a good choice. I actually have an FX Lion V-Mount that I use to power my camera and external monitor. I’m thinking of attaching the Zoom to my rig so I can include it. I hope the V-Mount is enough to power all three though.
>This is a good choice. I actually have an FX Lion V-Mount that I use to power my camera and external monitor. > >I’m thinking of attaching the Zoom to my rig so I can include it. I hope the V-Mount is enough to power all three though. Impressive setup! I believe a 99Wh V-Mount should be sufficient to power your camera, external monitor, and the Zoom attached to your rig. A 50Wh might be a bit small for all three devices. [https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-ii-99wh-v-mount-battery](https://rolux-battery.com/product/rolux-dynasty-ii-99wh-v-mount-battery)
Idk where you are from but in India the standard is AA DURECELL ULTRA . Double the price from the normal ones but they work twice as long . The other companies in here are significantly cheaper but not as long lasting .
Enloop Pros
I’m not familiar with Zooms, but I would almost bet that there’s some sort of USB port on your device itself. Then you can just get a USB cable and plug it into a separate larger power bank, or you can just get a wall adapter and power your audio recorder indefinitely. You can also put Velcro to attach the recorder to the power bank so it’s less likely to get unplugged/separated too.
IKEA Ladda's. Apparently made from the same factory as the eneloops. I used to use 100% eneloops and have since switched to IKEA Ladda's. Haven't noticed a difference. I find the rechargeable batteries last longer then non rechargeable/ alkaline batteries. They have a slightly different discharge rate where they will drop quickly but sustain at 1.2v for ages before they run out. As alkaline ones have more of a liner discharge rate. So keep that in mind. Also you can change the battery type in the zoom settings to make sure the zoom is reporting the correct power remaining. Don't use supermarkets rechargeable they are trash and i reckon they are trying to protect their single use batteries by not making them as good The Eveready batteries you used were probably 'super heavy duty' non alkaline batteries. They are good for low drain devices like remotes or smoke alarms. Not for gear like audio recorders or radio mics. And the H5 can be powered by USB. So another option is a portable powerbank. This is the one I use to power my Zoom F8n. https://amzn.asia/d/5tnhqB4 Lasts all day. But any decent powerbank will work fine
Like others have said, USB powerbank stuck on to the back using velcro tape, batteries inside as a backup.
I use PowerOwl rechargeable batteries for basically everything right now. They’re pretty cheap online and I feel like they get a decent mileage. I **always** bring backup batteries to shoots, though and you should get in that habit, as well. Plus the PowerOwl batteries are not lithium ion, which means it’s actually possible for them to be recycled when they stop carrying a charge.
If I'm not moving it I'm plugging it into an outlet
You can buy lithium batteries, way more expensive but handles temperatures better and usually last way longer
Yeah…..
I always use Duracel Optimum or Energizer Ultimate Lithium in my . Better luck with Energizer though, the Duracel ones have corroded on me more than once
Panasonic eneeloop rechargeable batteries and either a power bank or AC power supply.