swaneon
Well-known member
[h=3]Below is my first impressions of the Zoom F8. You can also visit bitly.com/zoomf8 for any ongoing updates to this.
I'm reposting since I didn't follow the rules of posting the full review below
But I do think this will be helping to people
INTRO[/h]This is my preliminary Zoom F8 impressions after having received it a few hours ago.
I preordered the Zoom at Adorama a few weeks ago, expecting it to ship in late September (at the earliest). I never expected my order would ship last week (August 14th) though!
The unit arrived earlier this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised at how big the box was.
Below you'll find my unpackaging photos. I like Zoom's package design for the F8—modern and clean.
[h=3]BUILD[/h]My initial thoughts on the build quality is that it's excellent! When I first held the F8, I was surprised at how much it weighs: more than all the other units. In fact, it's comparable to the Tascam + Marantz (both filled with batteries).
The unit uses 8 AA batteries. I haven't tested battery life, and therefore I can't give an indication at this moment.
The build itself feels very premium. Metal casing that sandwiches what feels like hardened plastic. In my opinion, it feels a lot better than the other units—more akin to the Mix Pre D and it's metal body.
I've added the photos below.
[h=3]COMPARISONS w/RECORDERS[/h]The recorders I currently own are the Marantz 661 v1 (no mod), Tascam dr-70d and the Sony PCM-10.
Normally I use the Marantz along with the Sound Devices Mix Pre-D via AES out (the comparison below was done with this setup).
Below are the photos comparing the F8 to the other recorders.
[h=3]SOUND QUALITY[/h]I'm not an expert in audio tech by any means. Rather I'm more versed in the video side. But to my ears it's essentially the F8 followed by the Marantz + Mix Pre D, then finally the Tascam DR-70D.
Personally I'd chose the Zoom F8 just because it's more convenient.
I've added the files here:
The microphone used was the Sanken CS3.
Dropbox for WAV Files
I'm reposting since I didn't follow the rules of posting the full review below
But I do think this will be helping to peopleINTRO[/h]This is my preliminary Zoom F8 impressions after having received it a few hours ago.
I preordered the Zoom at Adorama a few weeks ago, expecting it to ship in late September (at the earliest). I never expected my order would ship last week (August 14th) though!
The unit arrived earlier this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised at how big the box was.
Below you'll find my unpackaging photos. I like Zoom's package design for the F8—modern and clean.
[h=3]BUILD[/h]My initial thoughts on the build quality is that it's excellent! When I first held the F8, I was surprised at how much it weighs: more than all the other units. In fact, it's comparable to the Tascam + Marantz (both filled with batteries).
The unit uses 8 AA batteries. I haven't tested battery life, and therefore I can't give an indication at this moment.
The build itself feels very premium. Metal casing that sandwiches what feels like hardened plastic. In my opinion, it feels a lot better than the other units—more akin to the Mix Pre D and it's metal body.
I've added the photos below.
[h=3]COMPARISONS w/RECORDERS[/h]The recorders I currently own are the Marantz 661 v1 (no mod), Tascam dr-70d and the Sony PCM-10.
Normally I use the Marantz along with the Sound Devices Mix Pre-D via AES out (the comparison below was done with this setup).
Below are the photos comparing the F8 to the other recorders.
[h=3]SOUND QUALITY[/h]I'm not an expert in audio tech by any means. Rather I'm more versed in the video side. But to my ears it's essentially the F8 followed by the Marantz + Mix Pre D, then finally the Tascam DR-70D.
Personally I'd chose the Zoom F8 just because it's more convenient.
I've added the files here:
The microphone used was the Sanken CS3.
Dropbox for WAV Files