One of my favorite pro-sumer level audio recorders is the Zoom F4 (affiliate link to B&H which helps support my reviews). It was a very good value when it was priced at $650 USD, but now it looks like it is (at least temporarily) priced at $500 USD over at B&H Photo. If you've been on the fence, now may be a good time to jump in.
Here's my most recent comparison episode which includes the Zoom F4:
And here's my original review of the Zoom F4:
Zoom disrupted the audio recorder market for enthusiast filmmakers with their F4 and F8 audio field recorders in 2015 and 2016. The quality of these recorders was unprecedented at their price points (now priced at $600 and $900 respectively) I like both of these recorders so much that I bought both of them!
But one thing that is difficult to do with them is to truly mix while recording. The controls are rather small and placed in close proximity to one another. And when working on a dark set, they’re nearly impossible to see. That’s where the Zoom F-Control makes a huge difference and simplifies the process of making a good mix.
Also, we talk a little bit about what a mix is and why you care if you’re a filmmaker or Vlogger.
If you’d like to learn how to record and post process your sound, be sure to have a look at my sound for video courses at http://school.learnlightandsound.com
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Gear used or mentioned in this episode:
Zoom F-Control Surface (FRC-8) for Zoom F4 and F8 Recorders
Zoom F4 Audio Field Recorder (Price recently reduced to $600 USD)
Zoom F8 Audio Field Recorder
Sony MDR-7506 Headphones (my new favorite headphones for recording, but not for post work)
Many of of you know that I am rather fond of the two Zoom F series recorders the F8 and F4. For me they strike a very good balance between price, quality, and feature set. The preamps are very impressive for the price, the build quality is good, and they have the features that independent filmmakers need.
And now, somehow, Zoom has managed to reduce the pricing on the F4 by $50 and the F8 by $100. The Value to price ratio just got even better. Nice work Zoom!
Earlier this month, they also announced the Zoom FRC-8, a control surface for the F4 and F8 which allows you to mix more effectively. Larger mixers/control surfaces like this make it much easier to manage the madness that can occur during production. I have one on order and will be reviewing it a few weeks after it arrives.
I expect that this will be a big improvement over the iPad app Zoom has for the F8. While the app is great for metadata entry and setting the gain before shooting, I did not find it to work well when in the heat of a recording. Smoothly moving the faders on a touch screen just wasn't the same because they would jump too suddenly. The FRC 8 also allows you to connect a USB keyboard making metadata entry even faster. Can't wait to try the FRC-8!
Last week we did an overview of the new Zoom F4 audio field recorder. This is an impressive prosumer audio recorder designed for independent and enthusiast filmmakers with 4 microphone inputs and 8 track recorder.
This week, we look a little more in depth at the F4’s limiters and timecode accuracy. Don’t worry if you don’t know what all that means, we’ll run through what they are and how they can help you make better sounding recordings with less effort.
Here's what I hope you'll take away from this: The Zoom F4 is a really impressive, reasonably priced recorder. While it's limiters are digital, it doesn't seem to need limiters in very many situations because it seems, subjectively, to have an incredible amount of dynamic range for a recorder in this price range. Also, the timecode clock seems really, really solid and accurate. Wow. Good show, Zoom!