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Zoom F8


Michael Panfeld

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  • 2 weeks later...

while I didn't read the whole review, the one thing missing from my recent trip with a b.u. rec'd (DR60 in this case) in an "unmanned" vehicle was a way to lock the level pots of the DR60.  I used tape, which sufficed.  But I wish devices like the Zoom and DR family had s method,soft or hard, to do so.

Inevitably, someone else is climbing in that vehicle after me, prod, camera whatever and may not be aware.

Call me paranoid, but auto-rec'd doesn't cut it.

 

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I'm working with this next week, so I'll try and post impressions.  I played with it at Location Sound a bit in preparation and it seemed like a really solid box.  No decent take naming is a bummer though. Gonna bring my iPad and try out the companion app - it'll be my first time using a touch-screen control surface so wish me luck!

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while I didn't read the whole review, the one thing missing from my recent trip with a b.u. rec'd (DR60 in this case) in an "unmanned" vehicle was a way to lock the level pots of the DR60.  I used tape, which sufficed.  But I wish devices like the Zoom and DR family had s method,soft or hard, to do so.

Inevitably, someone else is climbing in that vehicle after me, prod, camera whatever and may not be aware.

Call me paranoid, but auto-rec'd doesn't cut it.

 

Hello Fritz,

The F8 does have a software gain pot lock. Pressing the STOP button and any PFL button will lock all gain pots. This cannot be done during recording.

Thank you

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hello Everyone,

My name is Samuel. I'm a product specialist at Zoom North America. I am here to answer any questions anyone may have, and hear feedback about the new Zoom F8 Field Recorder.

Thank you

Hello Samuel

I'd like to know how much Zoom wants to invest in this product. I see a recent firmware update, but not so significant for semi-professional use. With all the feedbacks from all over the world, now Zoom knows that with little improvement that product could be great. But maybe Zoom doesnt want to?.
I'm not sure of buying this product. It has a lot of good features but lacks of few things.
The easiest to fix would be the numbering of scenes and takes and shortcuts.  Hardware mods also could be improved.
Id' like to know if Zoom wants to fix these lacks or not. Maybe a ZoomF8 v2 in the middle of 2016?
Thanks a lot

Davide

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Samuel

You've clearly designed an entirely different animal than previous products, and I am aware you're taking these markets seriously.  That's great and I hear you listen to end users.  Hence products like H4 to H4N etc. The F8's a pretty impressive machine so far. Not all manufacturers do (I remember the first Fostex PD-2 and the other monster from HHB, both boat anchors and the former used to commit hari-kiri).  Moving 20+ years ahead, I have several initial questions:

  1. Why no tape return to say a 3.5mm TRS?
  2. Why no other AUX outs, balanced and unbalanced, selectable-track(s) for IFB tx's?
  3. Why no menu option to switch from mic to line?  If you add that could it be switchable say 40 / 50 / 60dB?
  4. Option to record .wav (mono / poly) on first SD card (ten tracks) with second SD card .mp3 for transcription?
  5. In your opinion, if I ordered an F8 now and it didn't arrive until say March, might I get an F8N?  Sorry that's pretty subjective, but I do realise you guys are upfront here (and you wouldn't be able to kid my professional colleagues here anyway).  Just an opinion is OK.

Thanks

John

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Sound on Sound review seems to have become free for the whole article now -
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec15/articles/zoom-f8.htm

"the F8’s preamps proved very good indeed, being clean, quiet, and with good headroom margins."

"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!"

Edited by pindrop
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"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!"

Nagra VI the benchmark??Yep I argue with that Hugh Robjohns....
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well SOS has obviously sold out

 

Why have they sold out? SOS has always been mostly geared towards the aspiring home studio recordist. The F8 seems to fit that market. The commens about the other recorders... Well, they come from someone who is not working in the movie business at all, and never has afaik.

Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

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

'Overpriced.' They know their readers and market, who would be, if they were reading SOS, the same people who post on craigslist about having a great DP with a Red Camera and are offering $50 + Subway Tuna for a Sound Mixer. If you price an item for this crowd they will buy it without balancing out the pros and cons; there are more cons that negate the pros, than pros that would make it a very reasonable purchase--if it weren't for the cons. If it is a reasonable purchase, maybe the DPs with the Red Cam and no sound equipment should be pressured to have one along with some Sennheiser G3s to get through a shoot.

Edited by Gerard-NYNY
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I see this as a recorder that I wish I had when I was fresh out of film school with hardly any money to my name and trying to piece together my first kit. This is not something that today is going to have me selling my Sound Devices gear and switching to a Zoom...

Might not be a bad investment though as a backup recorder to my main cart rig though.

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I see this as a recorder that I wish I had when I was fresh out of film school with hardly any money to my name and trying to piece together my first kit. This is not something that today is going to have me selling my Sound Devices gear and switching to a Zoom...

Might not be a bad investment though as a backup recorder to my main cart rig though.

Yes exactly agree. The price for what it is, is still very exceptional though. A company that has worked hard to come up with another useful tool (for certain circumstances) at a price that means business!

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Except that I have yet to see a single Beh X32 on a pro live sound job or install….  And the prices for the higher end digital boards (Avid, Yam, Digico etc etc) have gone up.  I think the F8 is a great achievement for the money.  Just don't confuse what is still an entry level product made by a company that's never made pro gear before with tools used by folks who, because of their experience and the penalties for failure inherent in their work situations don't look so much at price as at rep, support, reliability and usability of tools made by companies with long experience in this area.

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Except that I have yet to see a single Beh X32 on a pro live sound job or install….  And the prices for the higher end digital boards (Avid, Yam, Digico etc etc) have gone up.  I think the F8 is a great achievement for the money.  Just don't confuse what is still an entry level product made by a company that's never made pro gear before with tools used by folks who, because of their experience and the penalties for failure inherent in their work situations don't look so much at price as at rep, support, reliability and usability of tools made by companies with long experience in this area.

Yes agreed but with the advent of recording computers, running software, in firmware, we all live on a bit of knife edge, unless someone comes up with a ground breaking, game changing method, of thoroughly testing for bugs.........

I've had some very alarming things happen with major manufacturers gear eg. random total freezes accompanied by a nasty digital hash noise, and had to resort to backup strategies, whilst worrying about penalties for failure, like not being employed for the same again. Not quite as reliable as the Nagra where the only f*** up was likely to be tape transport, which was easy to deal with and happened very rarely.

As long as you know what the F8 is capable of in the context of what you need, it can be VERY cost effective.

Edited by pindrop
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Not quite as reliable as the Nagra where the only f*** up was likely to be tape transport, which was easy to deal with and happened very rarely.

 

So you didn't do a lot of work with the Nagra IV-s TC or the T-Audio, right?

Anyone who can make the F8 work for them should do so, beat the crap out of it and then report back here.

p

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Except that I have yet to see a single Beh X32 on a pro live sound job or install….  And the prices for the higher end digital boards (Avid, Yam, Digico etc etc) have gone up.  I think the F8 is a great achievement for the money.  Just don't confuse what is still an entry level product made by a company that's never made pro gear before with tools used by folks who, because of their experience and the penalties for failure inherent in their work situations don't look so much at price as at rep, support, reliability and usability of tools made by companies with long experience in this area.

I see dozens all over the Europe (Specially in installations replacing LS9, DM1000 or 01V and small companies), is sad, but is true.

My feeling is that the prices for the higher end digital boards have gone down, you only need to see the price of a PM1D or PM5D (When was released) and a new CL5/CL3, or the Midas XL8 and the Midas Pro X,……….

The X32 is a nice mixer for the money (I don't like it), but like the F8 in his market

 

Edited by ramallo
grammar
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Of course, Midas belongs to the same company as Behringer, so they are perhaps following the same rationale and drive prices down from the top.

 

But,.. Yamaha?

IMMO Midas still make the better live consoles. I been in Midas facilities (Manchester) two weeks ago, and I'm very impressed with the Pro X and the rest of Pro line (1 and 2).

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In the USA the X32 has a bad rep among live sound people--non-intuitive, and with a menu etc structure very unlike its competitors.  OK for small cheapo venues and bars maybe, but absolutely no venue of any size, standing or class that I've worked in uses the X32.  In a situation where your rep is really on the line all the time in front of people who are smart and experienced enough to notice the details of your work the low price of the X32 (and the F8) aren't really very attractive factors--in fact the price is a negative attribute.

Yes, Yamaha.  The CL5 is my current fave-it is a really great sounding console.

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