New Zoom F8
 

I just found this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1140426-REG/zoom_zf8_f8_field_recorder.html
It looks like Zoom is going to a higher level of pro gear. If it is pro quality? This is ENG styled instead of DSLR style and has some features I wish were on my H6. But for three times the price I'm not sure I would have chosen it if it was available two months ago when I got the H6.

With the higher price I wonder if they improved the quality of the pre amps? That is what really matters.

If some one buys one I hope they will post about it when they ship.

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

I've gotten e-mails today from a number of shops offering pre-orders of the F8 as well.
"If it is pro quality?"
-- We'll have to wait and see, but based on Zoom's history, it will likely be another POS.. but with eight awful sounding preamps. You get what yo' pay fer, I will assume for now.
The TC?.. how accurate can it be at that low price? Each of my lock-boxes cost almost that. I'd like to try the F8 out though..

Re: New Zoom F8
 

The H6 works well enough for many requirements and is much quieter than the H4n, but is clearly not what would normally be regarded as pro audio gear. If the F8 is as good as or better than that, then all to the better, but that is not the only issue.

Before any piece of gear could be regarded as "pro quality" it needs to have "pro quality" service and support. That's what enabled Røde to establish their reputation as much as their actual products, in the early years at least. It's also what put me off Tascam products many years ago - I had some really bad experiences with noisy pots that were never resolved.

I'm not aware of there being any service and support for Zoom products in the UK. Perhaps there is, but if that is my impression as a fairly long term user then it doesn't say much for their advertising. Fortunately I have found the products reliable if not particularly robust, and the one issue I had with an original H2 went away after partial dismantling to inspect for obvious faults and subsequent reassembly. DIY or disposal seem to be the usual courses of action for malfunctioning Zoom products here at the moment, apart from replacement under statutory warranty.

I look forward to being corrected on this.

EDIT: After watching this video from B & H made at the time of the F8 appearance at NAB, I have discovered one interesting aside – Zoom will be making available an extension cable for utilising the H5/H6mic modules with the F8. I might well buy that to use with my H6. I hardly ever use the X/Y module (and the M/S never) but being able to use the mic off the recorder would encourage me to at least try it.

Official Zoom F8 page has full specs on the F8.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Agree...and you made me laugh it was so elegantly phrased. I don't consider my H6 "pro gear". I already have a post in this forum where I complained that the prosummer part of the H6 rears its ugly head in the limiter/compressor area by offering just three fixed presets and the manual does not even give you the specs on what the settings are for threshold / ratio etc. It gives you consumer names for them like vocals, studio, and concert. I had to find the real specs.

On the other hand I can't be super criticle because in the "You get what yo' pay fer" department I find it to be pretty amazing. The damn thing costs just $350.00. I am not a big gear head any more, been there done this for to many years. So I often come from the side of "wow, I can't believe this or that widget can do ALL that for just $350.00! And I don't even have to hire another crew member just to carry it around!"

And the H6 pre amps are not that bad, considering the cost. If you have a robust signal your OK. Like all cheap pre amps you get in trouble with them real fast when you ask them for some power.

I would love to have a kit full of Sound Devices gear but I don't. The reason for that is because I DO occasionally get gigs that require a SD level of quality. For those gigs I hire a guy that has a kit full of SD gear because I need the GUY that comes with the kit MORE than I need the gear ;-) ;-) ;-)

The F8 is a three times price increase over the H6 I am wondering if some of that cost went into better pre amps. One would hope, because these two units are not for the same user. And the guy that wants the F8 is going to want decent pre amps.

Zoom is claiming the TC is accurate to 2 frames every 24 hours.

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Steven,
O/T for the F8 I know, but the H6 compressor/limiter settings were posted here some time ago. Sorry I didn't see your post earlier this year.

Totally agree about the silly names and lack of detail when we could have done with the numbers, or even better a firmware upgrade to enable user access to control the settings.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Colin, Thank you! The specs I had previously were from Ty Fords review of the H5. The specs you just led me to are NOT the same as the H5. The thresholds are the same but several of the ratios are different. I will record the proper ones down.


The F8 has user selectable limits.

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

"I need the GUY that comes with the kit MORE than I need the gear"
- For sure Steve, an experienced sound person can get superior results with a few pieces of cheap gear, than unskilled folks with a truckload of expensive gear.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Don't dismiss the Zoom F8 yet..... I think the industry is at a fork in the road, yes some of the early Zoom product was marginal, but so was Behringer product BUT just have a look at the success of the Behringer X32 now, many years ago broadcasters wouldn't touch Mackie, Allen & Heath or Tascam but they are now quite common place in studios.
Even car makers have over the years improved, anyone remember the Datsun 120Y or the early Toyota Corolla while some may no longer be around the others now produce some stunning cars.

I'm standing back and watching the F8, may suit my needs and for the expected price it fits there as well.
Yes I would like Sound Devices but from a business profit / loss / v $$$$ returned sometimes the numbers just don't stack up.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Looks like an amazing new product for less than £800 in the UK : https://www.zoom.co.jp/products/hand...field-recorder

Ok it ain't a sound devices but my pro tools is no where near my AMS Neve Logic and DFC kit that is now in the skip!

Re: New Zoom F8
 

"In the skip"???

Re: New Zoom F8
 

I want one. I picked up a Zoom H6 a couple months ago so I can't justify a F8 right now. Totally different devices. The H6 has consumer shortcomings. If the pre amps are any good Zoom is clearly trying to put out a pro level devise here.

B&H has then on pre order at $999.00 estimated to ship in Sept.

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Appologies a skip is a big trash can or dumpster in the UK! ;0)

I think I will be selling some of my location mixers and getting an F8 too!

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Finally got one one of these loaned to me. I'd have to say, the pre-amps on the Zoom F8 are not as bad as I thought they would be. While not Sound Devices great, they are better than most anything out there under the $1K mark. Tested here with the DPA 4018 super cardioid, the Schoeps CMIT-5U, and a good ole RODE NTG-2. The Sennheiser G3 wireless and the new Lectro SSM transmitter also make an appearance.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Sounds pretty good to me (apart from the NTG2 but I don't like them anyway), I start a new job this month so this is still high on my shopping list!

I would never run my inputs all the way up though as it is always good to leave some headroom and add gain in post rather than record noise from the analogue pre-amps!

Having said that all the recording sounds very clean.

Listened on my sony 7506 and the noise floor seems fine to me, the G3 sounds pretty good with the ME2 too and to me fuller than the Lectro. ;0)

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Link to Zoom F8 user manual in English. Not that I'm trying to tempt anyone...

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Thanks Colin and always good to read the manual before you buy.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Guy,

Like many other guys here I have a lot of interest in this device. But for those of us that can not test drive one the big question remains "how good are the preamps?".

Today's technology and even firmware enables manufacturers to make products feature rich. But features do not account for quality performance. Making high quality preamps costs money. We all know what sound devices preamp quality is and that is the big reason they are worth a kings ransom.

I want to know if Zoom produced a pro level product with the F8 or if, as someone else on this thread (who I respect) said "it will be a nice device with ten POS preamps". So lets not even try to compare it to Sound Devices, for a thousand bucks I don't expect that. But lets a take a Zoom H6 for example. It has POS preamps with audible noise at the setting of 5 and 7 is a desperate move as the noise ramps up quickly. Is the F8 just another prosummer Zoom device in that category or did they make a big improvement in the preamps?

A test recording where you ramp them up would be great if that is possible? Even your opinion on the difference will help.

I see you are a DVI sponsor. I appreciate that and try to support sponsors because otherwise this great forum would not exist!

Kind Regards,

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Well I listened to the demo and the various mic's being tested, I could not hear much noise and that is a pretty quiet studio!

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Guy was surprised by that too, but I assured him it was only due to my amazing voice.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Hi, Steve: I'm obviously not Guy, but I was in on the test and have some experience with the Zoom H6, as well as recording VO's with Sound Devices recorders. Unfortunately, we no longer have the test F8 and won't have stock in until late this month. I'm happy to do another test and post it when we get one in.

That being said, to my ears, the Zoom F8 preamps sound very close to those of the Sound Devices 633 I have sitting here on my desk. I'm not a professional sound guy, but I have been a video producer for over 15 years. I hope this is helpful in some degree.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Jason,

I have a ME2. The next time I need it to sound that good I will ether hire you for the VO or ask you who did the sweetening to make a ME2 sound that good! Mine never does.

Seriously though, under controlled circumstances in a quiet studio you can make almost any preamp sound good. In the real world I need to ask my preamps to provide some power once in a while. That's why I keep wondering if you can drive these?

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

"I have a ME2. The next time I need it to sound that good I will ether hire you for the VO or ask you who did the sweetening to make a ME2 sound that good! Mine never does"

- If you can make a POS ME2 sound 'good', "You're a better man than I am Gunga Din!"
(exceptions may vary though)

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Jason,

Your post and mine above hit at the same time. If the preamps on the Zoom F8 sound even close to your SD 633 that would be incredible. That would make this an amazing field recorder.

Rick,

I knew you would chime in about the ME2. But that was the non serious part of my post. Like I said, my ME2 is a POS. What do you think about the preamps being "almost as good as a SD 633"?

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

For the record, all the audio in that video is untouched, straight from the recorder, with the exception of a slight level boost to the DPA 4018 track.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

BTW, a NYC dealer has sent me a F8 to use on a 20 day indie feature film shoot (King Cobra), staring Christian Bale & James Franco) [ you did not hear it from me]. I will report my findings as time permits. Naturally, I will record in tandem with my SD 744.. but I will need more tracks in some scenes.. the F8 will be recording concurrency.. TC and otherwise.. Naturally, my boom op/mic will still be the key.
Don't expect any YT reviews.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Would never expect a YT review from you for anything. As long as you can give us your opinion here it will be worth a million bucks, OK a thousand dollars. I will look forward to your input considering your glowing support of Zoom so far ;-) ;-) ;-) Gunga Din!

Steve

Rick, Do you know James Wirth? I hired him and his crew three times for some of my NYC gigs. It has been a while, I think the last time was in 2007. We rented a studio in the theater district and created a talk show type set. Peter Salvo MD of PBS was the host but it was a totally commercial shoot. James is a great guy and it was a professional production working with him every time I hired him.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

I look forward to reading about you practical experiences as you are a top man.

P.S I have two ME2 mic's with my G2 systems and have always found them to be fine, I wonder if some people have duds or different models?

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Hey Rick,

How are you getting along with the F8? When you have time I would like to hear your thoughts.

Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

There was a scheduling change (and a delay of new product.. my LI USA Zoom contact stated 'it's not built in the same place, or by the same entity/folks that build the other Zoom products' (crap), so I only had the one for a few days and never actually used it on set. I was impressed by the solid build/feel of it, multiple/mixable outputs, ect. The file naming architecture could cause problems for a PSM. It seems a bit complicated and overkill for a OMB shooter. The preamps are of 'questionable' quality.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Thanks for the F8 update Rick. Did you see the quote below when I posted it above? Just curious. NY is a big city, but it is a small industry we work in.


Steve

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Where's the beef? Looks beefy.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Having had my hands on it, I'd have to say the controls are too small to do any real mixing. It's sort of like the mini-me version of a SD or Zax box. If that doesn't matter to you, fine.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Re: New Zoom F8
 

With the current firmware, the F8's front knobs are gain/trim for channel/tracks. It does have a software mixer for the outputs, but it's not very good for mixing on the fly... ok for a static mix though. I haven't tried the phone/pad wireless interface. And I suspect the zipper artifact would be audible on sustained material.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

If the preamps are of questionable quality then solid build or not doesn't matter.

Re: New Zoom F8
 

Pardon me for resurrecting this thread from 2015 and quoting myself:

So now I am happy to correct myself :-)

In short, I took up a clearance offer on a Zoom F8 having followed the comments elsewhere on DVinfo about the v5 firmware update. The unit that came was new and unopened but had a screen defect. As this was the last F8 that the supplier (Pinknoise) had in stock, that might have been a problem, but they arranged with Zoom UK to have it replaced by express courier. Uplifting the problem unit/delivering the replacement happened the next morning.

Now Pinknoise have excellent customer service, but in this case Zoom UK must have moved pretty fas as well.

For the record, I am now aware of support in the UK for Zoom products and am happy to correct the above post.