Zoom F1-LP field recorder at DVinfo.net

Greg Miller · December 8th, 2019, 09:26 PM

Has anybody seen or used one of these?
https://www.zoom-na.com/products/fie...erlavalier-mic

It looks pretty interesting, but it seems to get mixed reviews with some negative comments about build quality.

Pete Cofrancesco · December 9th, 2019, 12:45 AM

Looks like a lesser version of the Tascam DR-10.

Seth Bloombaum · December 9th, 2019, 12:51 AM

I looked over the reviews for a friend a couple weeks ago, and recommended she consider the Tascam DR-10L instead. Mostly this was about the reported fragility of the Zoom.

Then I myself had a 2-voice interview last week, and used a pair of recent iPod Touch 32GB with smartphone lavs. Very much along the same lines as the Zoom or Tascam. The app was Voice Record Pro by Dayana Networks Ltd, which I’ve been using on iOS for a few years.

Offloaded via wifi to Google Drive. Synced in Premiere CC. The results were as expected, the $16 lavs don’t sound like $300, but do sound like all the other cheap lavs up to about $125. I’ve not hit post work yet beyond sync, but did listen to the original 16/48 wavs on good monitors.

They’re fine for my 1-person crew project. Coulda’ used a couple wireless lavs into a Zoom f4, but too much to manage for a very small gain!

Greg Miller · December 9th, 2019, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

I looked over the reviews for a friend a couple weeks ago, and recommended she consider the Tascam DR-10L instead. Mostly this was about the reported fragility of the Zoom.

Yes, the fragility is troubling, yet at the same time it looks clunky. On the plus side, the Zoom supports stereo mic or stereo line inputs. AFAIK the DR-10L supports only a mono input, although it does record a safety track.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

the $16 lavs don’t sound like $300, but do sound like all the other cheap lavs up to about $125.

There are a ton of cheap lavs out there now. Some vendors are even starting to put various branding on them, so you can get what is seemingly the same mic with a handful of different brand names. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of those names will be gone and forgotten a year from now. As Shakespeare wrote, "Cheap by any other name is still cheap."

December 8th, 2019, 09:26 PM	#1
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,786	Zoom F1-LP field recorder Has anybody seen or used one of these? https://www.zoom-na.com/products/fie...erlavalier-mic It looks pretty interesting, but it seems to get mixed reviews with some negative comments about build quality.

December 9th, 2019, 12:45 AM	#2
Pete Cofrancesco Inner Circle Join Date: May 2004 Location: USA Posts: 2,995	Re: Zoom F1-LP field recorder Looks like a lesser version of the Tascam DR-10.

December 9th, 2019, 12:51 AM	#3
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Re: Zoom F1-LP field recorder I looked over the reviews for a friend a couple weeks ago, and recommended she consider the Tascam DR-10L instead. Mostly this was about the reported fragility of the Zoom. Then I myself had a 2-voice interview last week, and used a pair of recent iPod Touch 32GB with smartphone lavs. Very much along the same lines as the Zoom or Tascam. The app was Voice Record Pro by Dayana Networks Ltd, which I’ve been using on iOS for a few years. Offloaded via wifi to Google Drive. Synced in Premiere CC. The results were as expected, the $16 lavs don’t sound like $300, but do sound like all the other cheap lavs up to about $125. I’ve not hit post work yet beyond sync, but did listen to the original 16/48 wavs on good monitors. They’re fine for my 1-person crew project. Coulda’ used a couple wireless lavs into a Zoom f4, but too much to manage for a very small gain! __________________ 30 years of pro media production. Vegas user since 1.0. Webcaster since 1997. Freelancer since 2000. College instructor since 2001.