Become a Site Supporter and Never see Ads again!

Author Topic: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)  (Read 50599 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline IronFilm

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 210
  • Sound Recordist for Film/TV in New Zealand
    • IronFilm
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #45 on: September 14, 2016, 07:03:25 PM »
IPS IBC 2016 Episode 20 Zoom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv4r4MMF0EE

Offline F.O.Bean

  • Team Schoeps Tapir that
  • Trade Count: (126)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 40690
  • Gender: Male
  • Taperus Maximus
    • MediaFire Recordings
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #46 on: September 15, 2016, 06:07:58 PM »
I agree with Volt! Sounds like there's just 1x 5v preamp per channel on the EXH-6, thus, the "2x 5v preamps" quote by Zoom!

Sounds like its just a PIP source that still might not be enough voltage to avoid distortion on tiny PIP mics!
Schoeps MK 4V & MK 41V ->
Schoeps 250|0 KCY's (x2) ->
Naiant +60v|Low Noise PFA's (x2) ->
DarkTrain Right Angle Stubby XLR's (x3) ->
Sound Devices MixPre-6 & MixPre-3

http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/diskobean
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/Bean420
http://bt.etree.org/mytorrents.php
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/j9eu80jpuaubz/Recordings

Offline robin0112358

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • Gender: Male
    • theatre of noise
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #47 on: September 20, 2016, 03:15:43 PM »
A bit late to the party since I haven't been on Tapersection for a couple months. I don't have an F4 but do own the F8. From that experience I posted this feature comparison, which I hope will be useful for some:

http://www.theatreofnoise.com/2016/09/zoom-f4f8-feature-comparison.html
Theatre of Noise contains info on recorders and mics. Plus rants about film, observations on politics, and other stuff.

Offline IronFilm

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 210
  • Sound Recordist for Film/TV in New Zealand
    • IronFilm
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #48 on: September 20, 2016, 08:32:47 PM »
A bit late to the party since I haven't been on Tapersection for a couple months. I don't have an F4 but do own the F8. From that experience I posted this feature comparison, which I hope will be useful for some:

http://www.theatreofnoise.com/2016/09/zoom-f4f8-feature-comparison.html

If only it had bluetooth (and I don't even own an iOS device yet! But would've happily got an old iPad Mini or even an iPod Touch, to enter in metadata quickly on the fly) then I think it would be a no brainer choice for me to get the F4 (if reviews are good and doesn't turn up any surprises).

But as it is now... rather tougher to decided between which is superior of an F4 or F8. :-/

Wonder if they left out bluetooth just to be cruel and force these tough decisions on us! :-P

Offline robin0112358

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • Gender: Male
    • theatre of noise
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #49 on: September 21, 2016, 10:22:23 AM »
Well, something had to be left out to bring the price down, especially as they actually added features to the F4. The larger trim knobs and two extra front-panel buttons make the decision even more cruel. Oh, and the stereo return and full-sized XLR outputs are handy too! So that's five improvements that I would actually notice and use.

Just in case it is not obvious, you can assign the trim knobs to be mix level instead, and mix on the front panel. That might be good enough for many applications.
Theatre of Noise contains info on recorders and mics. Plus rants about film, observations on politics, and other stuff.

Offline spyder9

  • Trade Count: (82)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 13195
  • Gender: Male
  • "Are you Zman?"
    • My Archived shows
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #50 on: September 21, 2016, 10:39:56 AM »
A bit late to the party since I haven't been on Tapersection for a couple months. I don't have an F4 but do own the F8. From that experience I posted this feature comparison, which I hope will be useful for some:

http://www.theatreofnoise.com/2016/09/zoom-f4f8-feature-comparison.html

Read your comparison.  Nice job.  One Question:  How do you know that the F8 and F4 have the same preamps?

Offline robin0112358

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • Gender: Male
    • theatre of noise
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #51 on: September 21, 2016, 01:34:38 PM »
Zoom themselves report the preamps are the same. Besides, I don't think it would make much financial sense to retool production for different circuits. Companies like Zoom make their profit off large volumes and must standardise production.
Theatre of Noise contains info on recorders and mics. Plus rants about film, observations on politics, and other stuff.

Offline spyder9

  • Trade Count: (82)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 13195
  • Gender: Male
  • "Are you Zman?"
    • My Archived shows
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #52 on: September 21, 2016, 04:54:03 PM »
Zoom themselves report the preamps are the same. Besides, I don't think it would make much financial sense to retool production for different circuits. Companies like Zoom make their profit off large volumes and must standardise production.

Link?   Thanks.

Offline acidjack

  • Site Supporter
  • Trade Count: (37)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *
  • Posts: 5845
  • Gender: Male
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #53 on: September 21, 2016, 05:20:05 PM »
This also doesn't have the bluetooth/app control, does it? Sorry if I missed that scrolling through..
Mics: Schoeps MK4V, MK41V, MK5, MK22> CMC6, KCY 250/5, KC5, NBob; MBHO MBP603/KA200N, AT 3031, DPA 4061 w/ d:vice, Naiant X-X, AT 853c, shotgun, Nak300
Pres/Power: Aerco MP2, tinybox v2  [KCY], CA-UBB
Decks: Sound Devices MixPre 6, Zoom F8, M10, D50

My recordings on nyctaper.com: http://www.nyctaper.com/?tag=acidjack | LMA: http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/acidjack | twitter: http://www.twitter.com/acidjacknyc | Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/acidjacknyc

Offline robin0112358

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • Gender: Male
    • theatre of noise
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #54 on: September 21, 2016, 07:32:26 PM »
Zoom themselves report the preamps are the same. Besides, I don't think it would make much financial sense to retool production for different circuits. Companies like Zoom make their profit off large volumes and must standardise production.

Link?   Thanks.

Normally I don't reply to something that can be easily Googled. Just go to the F4 product description page. It says this:

"The F4 is equipped with our highest-quality mic preamps. Like the F8, the F4’s mic preamps enable pristine recording and playback at resolutions up to 24-bit/192 kHz. Its impressive audio specs include an extremely low noise floor (-127 dBu EIN) and high gain (up to 75 dB), with +4 dB line-level inputs."

Then if you check out the specs, you will see that all eight items pertaining to the mic pres are identical between the recorders.
Theatre of Noise contains info on recorders and mics. Plus rants about film, observations on politics, and other stuff.

Offline spyder9

  • Trade Count: (82)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 13195
  • Gender: Male
  • "Are you Zman?"
    • My Archived shows
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #55 on: September 21, 2016, 08:41:27 PM »
Thank you for your time, Robin.  You've convinced me to buy one.  Cheers!   :cheers: 

Some Youtube videos I found.  First video from IBC 2016, the Zoom Rep does claim the F4 has the same preamps as the F8 (go to 1:45 mark).

IBC 2016 - Zoom Rep interview w/ F4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVoKa6oPTO8

Gotham Sound overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMFJCt3sfYg

B & H Photo overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g-7wTzEQzM

Zoom F4 Promo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaLSlvMu2v0

Preamp sound comparison: Zoom F8 vs Sound Devices 688
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM6VOEYpm4g#t=342.264926
 
« Last Edit: September 21, 2016, 09:35:46 PM by spyder9 »

Offline LIVEMUSIC752

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 17
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #56 on: October 02, 2016, 07:31:31 PM »
To me that suggests the pre-amps are H6 quality. Agreed?

Regards, Christine

The EXT-6 first came out as an accessory when the H6 was released, and it also connects to the H5 and Q8 (and now the F8 and F4 as well).  Given that it does not pass P48, who knows what other differences there are compared to the built-in H6 preamps? 

Since the EXT-6 has been out for a quite a while as an accessory for those other units, we can safely assume that it doesn't have the new higher-quality preamps of the F4 / F8.  Zoom does not publish block diagrams for these accessories, so unless someone opens one up it's unclear exactly what's going on in there.  So that means its preamps are certainly not going to be higher quality than those in the H6, and they might actually be lower. 

This attachment is only going to be useful for mics that don't need phantom, unless you're using an external preamp or power supply in which case the its effects on the sound are going to be minimized.
not using phantom V48 so you could use dynamic microphones then with that option?

Offline refrain

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 84
  • Gender: Male
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #57 on: October 31, 2016, 08:29:51 PM »
First unboxing video, nothing concrete yet, no tests, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p55ibOVdRok
Mics: 2x Oktava MK-012 Card (XY, ORTF), AT BP4025 (STEREO XY), DIY Primo 172 48v matched stereo, Sony ECM 55B (Lav), DIY piezo mics
Audio Recorders: Sound Devices Mixpre6
Assorted audio acessories: Motu Ultralite MKIII, Echofire2 interface, Mackie 802 VLZ3 mixer, Rode Blimp II, sennheiser hd25
Audio Monitors: Yamaha HS7

Offline Mike Stranks

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 16
  • Gender: Male
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #58 on: November 01, 2016, 12:53:31 PM »
First unboxing video, nothing concrete yet, no tests, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p55ibOVdRok

Good stuff!  None have landed in the UK yet... I have one on pre-order....
The older I get the better I used to be

Offline IronFilm

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 210
  • Sound Recordist for Film/TV in New Zealand
    • IronFilm
Re: Zoom F4 with six inputs and eight tracks (is like a new low priced F8!)
« Reply #59 on: November 02, 2016, 09:18:22 PM »
John Rowley soundequip.com.au just said that by tomorrow they'll have F4 kits available to rent from their Melbourne and Sydney locations.

 

RSS | Mobile
Page created in 0.102 seconds with 40 queries.
© 2002-2024 Taperssection.com
Powered by SMF