H4 recorder in the field

["Robin Carter" graykingbird]

Today I took my new Zoom H-4 recorder to Congaree National Park and tried it
out. I got the H-4 as a backup to my Marantz PMD 660. I do a lot of birding
and I wanted to have a small recorder with decent built-in mics to carry
with me in a pocket of my photographer's vest while primarily birding rather
than sound recording. I wanted something like the point-and-shoot camera
that a serious amateur photographer might take along in a pocket when he is
not lugging most of his field gear. A point-and-shoot recorder, that's it.

Accordingly today I used only the built-in mics of the H-4, although I could
have lugged along any of the mics that I use with the PMD 660, since the H-4
has XLR connections and phantom power.

Here is what I learned.