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Zoom F8


Michael Panfeld

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On 12/9/2015 at 5:15 PM, Soundequip said:

The fact that the specs read 9-16VDC scares me.  If I take a 14.4V or 14.8V NP1 Li-Ion off the cooker the voltage can be 17+V (unloaded) for the first five minutes or so.  Any comment Samuel (from Zoom USA)?  Will it melt?

Hello,

If the battery will output 17V at any point then you cannot use it with the F8. Will it melt? I hope not.

It could cause damage though.

Thank you

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1 hour ago, ZoomOfficial said:

If the battery will output 17V at any point then you cannot use it with the F8. Will it melt? I hope not.

 

i thought most 14.4V Li-Ion batteries will peak slightly over 16V if fully charged?

seems a rather bit weird choice to put the cap on 16V, did Zoom assume everybody uses a regulated power distro or that people still use lead-acid batteries? ; )

chris

ps: on the plus side, i love how they list battery run times for typical scenarios on their web page, and from the bh website it also looks like people are happy with their unit in general.

 

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On 6 July 2015 at 1:07 AM, jrd456 said:

Question about F8----can you overdub on it? in other words,can you playback certain tracks while recording on the others?

 

                                                       J.D.

What for $999?

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Zoom's Xmas present for F8 owners :-)

New 2.0 firmware update for the F8 is available

 Function Updates

  1. Added Trim Knob option that enables adjusting fader/pan settings with input trim knobs.
  2. Added the function of moving the previously recorded take to the new FALSE TAKE folder.
  3. Expanded Function Shortcuts as well as Shortcut List Menu.
  4. Added the function of selecting alphabet letters for the scene number.
  5. Added Trim Link function for adjusting the input levels of multiple tracks simultaneously.
  6. Added the function of editing track name in Meta data.
  7. Added the function of showing track names on the level meters.
  8. Added the function that enables selecting “Scene_***” for the format of take name.
  9. Added the function of adjusting L/R track volume.
  10. Added SOLO function that enables monitoring signals of specific tracks only during playback.
  11. Added sound report function for exporting CSV format file including recorded take information etc.
  12. Changed the location of Next Take menu on MENU>REC>Next Take to MENU>META DATA (for next take).
  13. Added the function of applying edits of the selected card to the other card when two SD cards are inserted.
  14. Changed the track order of Poly WAV recorded files from Tr1, Tr2, …, Tr8, L, R to L, R, Tr1, Tr2, …, Tr8.

 

 Bug Fixes

  1. Audio clock is out of sync when stopping input of Time Code with Ext Audio Clock Sync turned ON.
  2. Time Code on recorded file is shifted when Pre Rec function is ready.
  3. Time Code is not recorded on Artist Name of ID3 field of MP3 recorded files.
  4. Improved the volume change rate of headphone knob.

.

https://zoom-na.com/news/f8-firmware-v200-update

Zoom is REALLY listening :-)

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Playing a bit with the new 2.00 firmware there are loads of improvements, that make this little machine very powerful now !

I've notice also that the machine is configured in Rec Priority mode, so that you can go in record mode from almost any screen on the menu, except from the FINDER, So for example if you are correcting Metadata info for previous takes and need to go into record, you need to exit first and go to the home screen which means a lot of pressings on the menu button (to exit) it would be nice if this could be changed somehow

Also entering Note Metadata but only for the NEXT take is a bit awkwards, how will you know that the next take will be good or bad ?  

It would be good also to have the ability maybe to edit Metadata while recording

Would be also nice to have a Edit Note shortcut for example : STOP +TR4 ( which is not used ?)

Thanks for listening Zoom ! 

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Sound On Sound just put up their review of the Zoom F8:

"Once in a while, a high-quality, affordable product comes along that makes the professional competition look overpriced..."

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec15/articles/zoom-f8.htm

Quote

 

Overall, then, I am deeply impressed with the F8. It offers excellent capability and versatility in a very compact package, with a design that is generally well thought out. The F8 unquestionably offers remarkable value for money, and nothing else with a comparable number of inputs and recording tracks, let alone the rest of its comprehensive facilities, comes anywhere close. .

Alternatives:

At around 8.5 times the price, the Nagra VI arguably sets the benchmark for eight-channel recorders (although it only has six analogue inputs), while the Sound Devices’ SD-788T (a shade under seven times the F8’s price) is a very popular alternative in the professional film and TV market. The Tascam HS-P82 (just under 4.5 times the F8’s price) forms a very attractive lower-cost option, but the closest direct competitor for the Zoom F8 is the Roland R88 — and even that costs almost exactly twice as much!

 

 

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Sound on sound seem to have lived under a rock for a while, since they've missed the 664, 633, Nomad and Maxx, and the Roland R8, the Cantar and Deva and the list goes on. Nagra the standard?

And oh yeah forgot to mention the myriad of other Tascam recorders and Sonosax.. I'm sure the F8 is a good enough recorder for the buck, but sound on sound is not the proper judge IMHO

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I think the sound on sound review seems to be rather accurate. Hugh Robjons has a good idea of how we work and has detailed a number of areas where the F8 may fall short in our line of work.  

"Although surprisingly versatile and configurable, the F8 doesn’t yet satisfy all the peculiar requirements of professional film and TV shoots, but that could easily change with software updates and must be balanced against the fact that the F8 costs around 85-percent less than the high-end location recorders!"

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But it's still a weird comparison and a bit deceptive and /or misinformed. Not really a big deal, but it doesn't come off as too serious when the machine is clearly aimed at our business, meaning a lot of people in our business will be reading this review, and the writer brings up the nagra as the standard. Sure, we know what he means but. Yeah you get my point I hope.

I haven't tried the machine myself and I'm sure it's a fine cheap piece of equipment, just wanted to point it out that this review is weird in that way

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Haven't had a chance to test file compatibility or TC accuracy on the H8 but I did have one reported anomaly in the metadata in the H8 that may cause problems in some players.  It lists the TC framerate in BEXT metadata without the leading zero unlike the format of all other reocorders.

Most have an entry like "Speed=025.000ND" in the SD and Zaxcom and AATON machines.

The F8 shows the framerate entry as "Speed=25.000ND"   When BWF-Widget Pro parses the speed field it removes the first 7 characters to show the framerate assuming there will be a leading zero.  So the F8 will erroniously show the speed as 5.000ND frames per second.

the speed is correct in the iXML metadata but for programs that parse the BEXT metadata first it may be confused by the missing leading zero place holder in the Speed metadata field.  Hopefully Zoom can fix this in their next update of the firmware.

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And an HS-p82 is not even close to 4.5 times the price.  It is about 1.7 times the price now.  So how biased is this reviewer?

Exactly. It seems biased, that's the word I was looking for.

To me, the 633 is the closest competitor to the F8 in terms of size, channels and features (given that the F8 has more physical inputs). The 633 is not the much more expensive, and has that Workhorse feeling.

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31 minutes ago, Olle Sjostrom said:

Exactly. It seems biased, that's the word I was looking for.

To me, the 633 is the closest competitor to the F8 in terms of size, channels and features (given that the F8 has more physical inputs). The 633 is not the much more expensive, and has that Workhorse feeling.

I look at as somewhere in between the 744t and the 633. Its a 4 channel if you want the safety tracks(compensate for the limiters). I would chose a 633 over it however I personally think its better than a 744t. Now what we need is someone to develop taller knobs that would attach to the F8 knobs. Seems like there could be a market there.

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49 minutes ago, greyfoxx said:

I look at as somewhere in between the 744t and the 633. Its a 4 channel if you want the safety tracks(compensate for the limiters). I would chose a 633 over it however I personally think its better than a 744t. Now what we need is someone to develop taller knobs that would attach to the F8 knobs. Seems like there could be a market there.

These may already exist.  Anyone know what the shaft type is?  D-flat?  6mm?

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16 hours ago, Jeff Wexler said:

+ 1 Olle, I approved this post from a new member but it seemed to miss the boat altogether (rather, it seemed to not even be aware of ANY of the boats that have been in our waters for years!).

Don't fear, I'm not a plant from SoS coming here to pimp out their site! ;-) I've just been looking up info about the F8 (though probably leaning towards an SD552 for sure it seems instead), which meant I read the article (which I thought was interesting/informative) and naturally lead to reading this thread as well :-)

8 hours ago, AB said:

And an HS-p82 is not even close to 4.5 times the price.  It is about 1.7 times the price now.  So how biased is this reviewer?

I did find that rather weird calling it x4.5 the price. Although where is it x1.7 in price??? Amazon / B&H lists it as costing 2.4x as much.

I wonder if SoS was incorrectly thinking of its long past price (for instance its release RRP was about $7K for the Tascam HS-P82??).

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in the USA, tascam and SD have much lower prices then here in europe while zoom is pretty much equal on both sides of the pond, so tho probably accounts for the different opinion on the value.

i agree that for a established working professional it makes no sense to go for a cheap machine, but for student or other no budget work it makes a huge difference if a recorder is 1000EUR or 3000EUR (for a lot of those even 1000EUR will be over the limit).

so if you need 8 channels (or 8 preamps) and only have 1000EUR to spare then the F8 looks like the greatest thing ever (specially if you want something light).

if you need less channels (and preamps) or have 3000+ set aside then obviously there are other options which might be more suitable.

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On 12/29/2015 at 3:25 AM, IronFilm said:

There are ebay sellers letting them go for about $1700.  Sometimes an open box unit.  You have to inquire of those sellers off of ebay though (Ebay takes 7 or 10 percent away.)   A used one in mint condition went for about $1400.  Would have been nice for 16 channels!

 

 

=======================

I did find that rather weird calling it x4.5 the price. Although where is it x1.7 in price??? Amazon / B&H lists it as costing 2.4x as much.

I wonder if SoS was incorrectly thinking of its long past price (for instance its release RRP was about $7K for the Tascam HS-P82??).

 

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