The H4 and H4n are almost true 4 tracks. They can run in stereo, 4 track (which is really a dual stereo mode), or multi-track mode, which is almost a true 4-track (2 mono tracks and one stereo track). Stereo mode can run in 24bit/96kHz, or bizzillions of other WAV/MP3 formats. In multitrack mode, it only runs 16bit/44.1kHz. So- for most stuff I do on the Zoom, I record in stereo, then take either the left or right track, pan it to wherever I want it in Pro Tools, and delete the other track-or just use both tracks. Generally, I have no need to run things *back* to the Zoom once they are in a real computer. I can just mix it there, and I can either use the Zoom or, more likely, the Digi002 to add any additional tracks I want. The Digi002 likes 24bit/48kHz, so I can either dither the tracks down in the box, or just record it that way in the first place.
And as far as I understand it, the H2 is not a 4-track recorder. It is a stereo recorder with 4 mics, a 90 degree X-Y pair in the front, and a 120 degree X-Y pair in the back. You can record with all 4 mics simultaneously, and adjust balance from front to back or left to right, but in the end, it ends up on 2 exportable tracks. The H4 and H4n have 2 onboard stereo mics, and 2 XLR inputs with phantom power. In multitrack mode, they export what is essentially 2 mono tracks and one stereo track. However, you can export a larger number of mono or stereo tracks to a computer, and do the mixing and post production there. From the H2 manual, I don't see how you would get 4 separate and distinct tracks without some pretty complex synching operations. On the H4n, you can just record another mono (or stereo) track, and dump it into the computer. By doing that, you can build up as many tracks as your software can handle. It's called H*2* because there are only 2 tracks, regardless of how many mics were used to create them. It can also, like the H4/H4n, be tweaked to export surround sound, but that is still built out of 2 tracks.-Richie