With a $500 budget, you might want to consider:
$176.12 Tascam DR-60D - better form factor than the Zooms, fits under your camera instead of taking up a shoe mount or hanging off your rig
$66.95 Rolling boom - for occasions when you're shooting solo
$15 Kindle copy of Ric Viers' The Location Sound Bible - investing in this book will save you a lot of time and money in the long run
I have the DR-60D - it's a great recorder - and mounting it below the camera makes a whole lot of sense.
For $500, this may be the best value for money setup you can buy.
Hope this is helpful and good luck!
I use something like this (https://www.amazon.com/Eggsnow-Microphone-Universal-Senheisser-Audio-Technica/dp/B00KXQIU5S/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=shock+hand+mount&qid=1661660447&sr=8-4) combined with this (https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Tripod-Stand-Adapter-Recorders/dp/B0032D0P84/ref=sr_1_16?crid=UF0OYVGZZSH1&keywords=mic+grip&qid=1661660536&sprefix=mic+grip+%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-16) to look like this (https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaLx8Gy2SP6LLuq4mvVIOCfwzCI7ZSKcYSmLj1cu6RqrRYsL_NiQMDRZ3DIBEdMaQwsDc&usqp=CAU)