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Heyday world! I would like to address the Sound Devices users and Zoom F4/Zoom F8 users especially. I need a new recorder...and possibly a good mic or a matched pair. I thought of a Zoom F4, but also considering a SD recorder/mixer. I'm about to embark on a loooong journey (years, possibly forever), in a van, all by myself, to capture and explore the beauty of our planet. (I will start in Europe and slowly drive to Asia). I will actively look for the most quiet/remote places, far from cities or traffic. I will record sound and picture (one man band for now) and create atmospheric observational documentaries... with personality Sound will be essential. Most likely I'll add my voice-over here and there. I will also interview interesting people along the way. I have the budget to sustain myself for about a year. I intend to sustain my journeys from this activity after this time...Living the dream:)) I will focus mostly on recording clear, isolated natural sounds (especially from the low end category) to complement my videos. I imagine distant sounds, or even low-input micro sounds. The more bassy and rhythmical the sound, the better :)). That's something I need to discover... But of course, I would also want to record crickets and frogs in the night or water drips in a big cave... I also compose soundtrack music and would love to create synth instruments using these sounds. I have good Logic/Pro Tools/FCPX knowledge for post. Audio equipment >> What I have already (not much...): ----------------------------------- 1 Rode NTG3 set, bling blips and all 1 Sennheiser G2 lavalier set 1 USB battery pack. ----------------------------------- I didn't include my previous recorder as it's useless (noisy) for what I want to do). My fixed budget for a recorder and possibly a new mic is around $1900 (£1600)...yes I know. Initially I wanted to get an used SD 7XX and 2X Line Audio CM3 and forget about it. But then Zoom F4 came to my attention... It's not SD quality of course, but because I don't have a dedicated low noise (high sens) mic for silent sources (MKH 30 40 50 or maybe a 8040), getting the SD recorder alone won't help me much. Besides, I'd love an audio interface when I record my voice. SD MixPre 2 / UsbPre 2 can offer this, but their preamps are a tiny bit noisier than a 7XX anyway, plus I'd need a high DR recorder on top of that. What would you do if you were in my shoes? At the moment, my plan is to get the F4 + a decent low noise, outdoors mic (or pair) for silent sources (under 16dbA) (aprox $1000). I've been intensely browsing the net for samples to hear the F4 + NTG3 cranked up to about 60db (75db would most likely be useless) compared to SD + NTG3 at its acceptable noise limit to hear what I'd miss. Or...samples of F4/SD with a stereo mic (up to $1k) at its maximal level of acceptable noise. There is no such thing on the internet, so it's difficult to take a decision. If I can't get acceptable results with Zoom F4, then I'll get the SD recorder and use the NTG3 (13DbA self noise) and CM3 (16DbA, lower sens) at their max capacity . I also considered taking a NT1 or NT2 instead .... all covered up in fluff to reduce the unwanted brightness). If you have such samples, or can make some please share! Silent environments with 1-2 main sound sources. From your experience with Z4/Z8 so far, will I be able to achieve what I have in mind with it? Will I be able to record silent sources at a level that would help me fund my future journeys and possibly upgrade to more pro equipment? What mic would you recommend in this case? Thanks!

I have been running around with the Zoom F4, and it's cool how much it does for the price point. Has anyone had some major issues with it out of the box? I'm a whole number behind with the firmware, but didn't read any of my issues in the known issues literature for the updates. A big one is getting the wrong channel PFL like it's bleeding through or routed improperly. But there is no way to re-route it the way it was working. Two tracks also shows up as a stereo track in Premiere even though they are both centered and should be recording polyphonic files. If I arm a third track that is blank it shows up properly as a three track poly. Anyway... that's not why I'm posting. With cameras I'm used to the free-run timecode mode to run for days on end even when powered on and off. The F4 resets the timecode to zero every time it's powered on. I usually jam with the camera once a day, which should be plenty. But I'll either have to let the F4 run all day or jam every time I power off. Am I missing a way around this--is there a way to have the timecode run even when powered off?