One question: Mic's

I asked about mic's here once before, but I have a slightly different question this time.

I have a wedding coming up, and I have the Zoom H4n. Would I be better off using it, or buying a Rode Videomic?

I will try to run through the board, but I want one of these recorders/mic's to use in case I am unable to get the feed from the audio board.
Thanks in advance!

PS: I could probably put the mic up on a stand in front of the preacher/bride/groom to record with.

The Videomic is a compromise as it feeds audio to the camera and is located on the camera. Good audio is all about getting close to the sound source. As you already have a digital recorder with xlr sockets that will provide phantom power it seems a backward step not to use it. Rather than buy a Videomic, which I'll always be a compromise, why not spend the money on a mic you can plug into your Zoom?

Any good suggestions? I wonder how fast Phantom would run the Zoom's batteries. Would you auto-level at all, or just attempt to run levels near where it should be? We're running short on people.


Also: Is about 10 minutes to boot up when a new card is inserted normal on the H4N?

I don't have direct experience with the H4N but, while Phantom power is 48v its amperage is negligible.
If you consider the Rode NTG 1 and NTG 2 are identical but the NTG 1 needs Phantom power and the NTG 2 can work with either Phantom power or 1 AA battery it gives some indication of the sort of power being consumed. My NTG 2 will run all day on 1 battery. The only down side with the NTG 2 is, as there is no battery level indication, a great many batteries get thrown out when I replace them with new "just in case". That aside, I have no problem in recommending the NTG 2.