Jeremy, I've been using the Zoom H4 for some time for recording dances as well as a number of other situations, and am extremely pleased with it. The H4 costs more than the H2, but the H4 has the advantage of having two input jacks that accept both XLR and 1/4" phone plug connections. I regularly use this ability to record from the "Tape/CD Out" jacks on the sound board. When that's not possible the Zoom devices (either one) do a fabulous job with their external mikes. You can record at various sampling rates including MP3, standard CD quality WAV files, plus two levels above that, and it has a built-in limiter and compressor which I've found quite useful. Using NiMH 2700mAh rechargeable batteries, I get 6-7 hours of recording time. And, recording at the CD standard 44.1Khz rate to a WAV file, I can easily fit a long evening of music on a 4GB SD card with room to spare. The Zoom H2 is smaller, has four built-in mikes that you can use in twos or all four for 90 degree, 120 degree or almost 360 degree recording and it has a standard tripod mount. But, the H2 doesn't have the same inputs and input control as the H4 (though it might accept a mini stereo mike input...). The H4 has a clumsy wrap on tripod mount but I've gotten used to it. Both devices suffer from a WAY too small screen, somewhat awkward controls and the inability to skip ahead quickly when checking a large file (which is what I always wind up with at a dance - a 1GB+ file for each half of the dance. If you are on a Mac and just getting started with sound editing, I highly recommend the shareware editing program "Fission" by http://rogueamoeba.com Will on 11/16/09 11:25 AM, J L Korr at jeremykorr(a)hotmail.com wrote: -- William M. Loving Dedication Technologies, Inc. 7 Coach Lane Amherst, MA 01002-3304 USA will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com Tel: +1 413 253-7223 (GMT ­5) Fax: +1 206 202-0476