POV: Zoom IQ7 Microphone

I've returned from almost three weeks traveling to Vietnam, which may explain the long silence on this blog. The purpose of my trip was to add to my personal project's inventory of images, and glean further information on the subject by way of interviews.

Before traveling, I had seen some reviews on the Zoom IQ7; a compact but full-featured mid-side stereo condenser mic, which was designed to fit with all Lightning-equipped iOS devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod.  The microphone retails for $100.

Seeing that I was trying to minimize my load as much as possible, I decided to give it a try as it weighed next to nothing compared to my other stand alone recording devices; the Marantz PMD620 and the bulkier TASCAM DR-40, and it would take no space at all. I also decided to add the ShoulderPod S1 to it as well.

I was comfortable in using the Zoom IQ7 whilst conducting interviews in Hanoi. Affixed to my iPhone 6, it was unobtrusive and unthreatening, even when fitted with its foam windscreen. I suppose the interviewees saw that it was nothing but a small attachment to an iPhone, and were not as intimidated by it as a standard recording device.

I also liked the free Zoom's free Handy Recorder app, which is super easy to use as well. It offers some editing functions (that I haven't used because I'll do the sound edits on Audacity), and allows me to save the audio files in either linear PCM or AAC file formats. I chose the latter format for the interviews and was very pleased with the results. The app also allowed me to email the audio files I created, and/or to upload it to SoundCloud if I wanted to.

Interviewing various mediums, such as Ms Dieu Hoa, using the Zoom IQ7 was a cinch. The controls are easy to adjust, and from the app itself I was able to quickly email the audio files for translation into English to one of my contacts in Hanoi.

This is not a tech review by any means, but is just my experience with this newly launched product. None of the manufacturers mentioned in this post have any relationship with me, beyond being a consumer.