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Zoom F4


Levente Udud

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5 hours ago, AnuarYahya said:

Ill definitely take a 633 or 688 over any zoom any day.. but the 744t or 788t are beginning to look more like dinosaurs. 

I've never used any of the 6 series, nor the 788t but I have a 744t and the build quality, the sound quality and Sound Device's commitment to their customers all inspire confidence. The only thing that is antiquated for me on the 744t is the firewire functionality, but it doesn't bother me either.

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They might look like dinosaurs and not have all the bells and whistles (good if you actually use 'em, useless if your main usage is telling people you got 'em) of the 6 series but when I use my 788 giving my 633 a break, I still get that high class sound and build quality the 7 series accustomed me to.


 

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Finally a bag recorder running MS-DOS!!

 

This is something some people I know have waited for very long: Camera assistants who do professional direct-to-camera ENG jobs (with no special demands: just small boom or Reporter mic or one lav). I heard them say often: We need a 302-style mixer with a recording option. They helped themselves out with plugging a zoom (!) recorder to their 302. Sound Devices never delivered an alternative.

So the F4 makes much more sense. If it's that reliable. We will see.

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Hahaha! dinosaurs and MS-DOS now... :D!

Like with the F8; the F4 is a nice alternative to have a 4 track option using Line ins with say, a Cooper 104, SD 442 or SQN mixer which all got great preamps. Good as a backup rig, good as a simple multi-track for those who might need it. And good to give a second life to those great pieces of gear we don't use quite often anymore since the "mixer-recorder" overtake of the market.

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26 minutes ago, Constantin said:


I always thought that the 633 was kind of that and more. Although it did get a bit bigger

+1, 633 is a mature product, nice size, lots of features, easy to use, proven capability in the production environment. If F4 works as a standalone (mixer_recorder) for shoots with dslr/fs5/7/eos etc I can see it being included in a lot of camera kits, given you can buy 5 for the price of a 633 or a follow-focus or the cost of the cables to run boom, radios and camera send. They'll be bagged up in fanny-packs with a couple of g3s and a camera mic on the end of a pole :-(

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On the Zoom group on FB there is a constant stream of freeze problem complaints and the quick fix for the F8 is to take ALL the power off it and leave for approx 30 minutes. Not really confidence inspiring is it. Zoom appear to be very backwards in coming forward with answers so I won't be considering the F8 or F4 until these problems are addressed

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7 minutes ago, Malcolm Davies Amps CAS said:

On the Zoom group on FB there is a constant stream of freeze problem complaints...

Interesting. Do you think those might be related to unqualified (or just not fast enough) media, rather than something inherent in the recorder?

Zoom has this list of approved media:

https://www.zoom-na.com/sites/default/files/products/downloads/pdfs/ZoomF8_compatible-SD-cards.pdf

But considering the number of people using SD 6xxx mixer/recorders using offlist media and then having problems, I could see even more Zoom customers, because of the price point appealing to a broader audience, choosing media that's not up to the tasks at hand.

Or Malcolm, do the complaints seem to be more than just media related?

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When I bought an F8 I bought cards specifically for it. Weren't on the "approved" list but I did the "extensive testing" (not just the "quick test") and my cards passed ok. Even if it was the same card model for my 4 cards, I tested each and every card. Unfortunately, these cards didn't passed my 633 tests. Never had a freezing problem in 3 weeks of use with the F8. Cards: transcend 64gb 600x ckass10 U1 SDXC 90mb/s. Underneath the cards I got 2 different numbers: 9181aa 64g 07qd1 and 9181aa 64g 09qd1 (probably "batch numbers"?)

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2 hours ago, Jim Feeley said:

Interesting. Do you think those might be related to unqualified (or just not fast enough) media, rather than something inherent in the recorder?

Zoom has this list of approved media:

https://www.zoom-na.com/sites/default/files/products/downloads/pdfs/ZoomF8_compatible-SD-cards.pdf

But considering the number of people using SD 6xxx mixer/recorders using offlist media and then having problems, I could see even more Zoom customers, because of the price point appealing to a broader audience, choosing media that's not up to the tasks at hand.

Or Malcolm, do the complaints seem to be more than just media related?

Jim, frozen white screen seems to be the predominant fault that no doubt could be media based but no one has come back and said " when I changed the media it cured it". This powering down completely and leaving for 30 minutes is totally unacceptable to me even if the machine is for a back up. It's zoom's apparent lack of feedback that worries me, even a published we are working on it would help. I'm convinced that the machine will get someone the sack.

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Wow, so many people here are angry about a screen. And some calling it cheap without having used it. If it works, fills a need and sounds good then so be it. There are some out there who need a more capable recorder and don't want to spend the cash. This doesn't mean it's a cheap product - it fills a price point / per feature set.

The equipment you have is the stuff that gets used. Better to be recording than discussing the finer merits of cost / value / brand

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On 9/12/2016 at 9:29 PM, Jim Feeley said:

Oh bummer. Thanks for the followup, Malcolm.

@ZoomOfficial, any thoughts about all this? Easily addressable user error? Unapproved media? Something else?

This issue is hardware related and only affects early serial numbers. It was addressed early on in production. If anyone experiences this issue we are more then happy to replace the unit with a new one. We can even send out an advanced replacement

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On 9/11/2016 at 10:55 AM, Constantin said:


744 yes, but 788 is not lacking at all. What's really missing?

Still hootin' with the dinosaurs here!  Pure profit potential on paid-off gear  that sounds as good (or better ) than anything that's come along since!   If you plan to toss your 744 send it to me instead!

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2 hours ago, ZoomOfficial said:

This issue is hardware related and only affects early serial numbers. It was addressed early on in production. If anyone experiences this issue we are more then happy to replace the unit with a new one. We can even send out an advanced replacement

Thanks for the response; good to know, Mr. Official. Or can I call you Zoom? Or perhaps you also go by another name? :-)

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