NAB 2018 sneak peak: Zoom F8n

I

IronFilm

Veteran
A Zoom rep is here in this video talking about the Zoom F8n, a "sneak peak":


https://www.facebook.com/productionsoundsolutions/videos/1594817170571774/

The recorder is still a few months away ("July"), and details are not yet concrete (price is looking to be twelve hundred dollars).*

But some specs we can expect:
Updated GUI
Selectable line/mic input
New battery slot
Look ahead limiters
Better headphone Amp!
Improved voltage range for Hirose inputs
Anticipated July delivery with pricing around US$1200
 
OzGizmo said:
Looking forward 10 years...... 'What ever happened to the company called 'Sound Devices'?
Click to expand...

Kind of sums up the downside to the "new" consumer economy. Just because software now pretty much has to change every year or it's "so last year" and nobody will buy it that is not true with hardware. I don't think even Zoom would compare themselves with Sound Devices. There is a certain amount of crossover of customer base but not a huge amount. Case in point. I can send my 20+ year old MixPre back in to have the hardware upgrades they did to the second version, Zoom doesn't do repairs. It's a different tier of tool. Not knocking Zoom, it will probably be my next recorder , but there is a difference with SD gear. I am relatively gentle on gear so it fits my needs, and I personally don't like the UI of the SD recorders. A lot of people love them so...

The companies I would be more inclined to think might be gone are folks like Nagra, who haven't found a product that really puts them back on top since their RtoR machines were the gold standard.
 
Personally I would not use a “food truck” recorder. I would use the real thing. The f8 is not something I would bet my dinner on. If the SD 6 series is brick and mortar fine restaurant, the f8 is a food truck.
 
I have written a very detailed (and LONG!) blog post about my thoughts and hopes for the upcoming Zoom F8n:

http://ironfilm.co.nz/what-id-like-to-see-in-the-new-zoom-f8n/


Waaaay too long list to list it all again here, but a few random points selected:

Audio waveforms
Metadata edit/shortcut via the PFL key
Linked safety track (thus as you adjust gain on the main track, the safety does this automatically as well)
Show the diff of external vs internal TC when compared together
An updated Zoom EXH-6 with locking XLR connections (and the F8n being able to use the Zoom EXH-6 to record 10 channels in total, rather than lose tracks 1/2 to it).
Integration with Timecode Systems :wave
Able to use a USB keyboard without needing the Zoom FRC-8 as all at the same time, or even better, use bluetooth keyboards?
Automatic clearing of peak indicators (so I don't need to do this myself after every slating).
B format decoding for the new Rode NT-SF1







==============


Saw these shared on Facebook from AES Milan 2018, shows a brief hands on with the F8n, the day is very near indeed to when we will be able to buy an F8n ourselves:


https://www.facebook.com/IamTheOppo...98646016779/10209898633776473/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/IamTheOppo...98646016779/10209898634416489/?type=3&theater
 
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I wish they would use fully round knobs on the faders like the menu knobs instead of the slotted knobs, which are more difficult to use.
 
Just got a F8n pre-order e-mail from LSC (Location Sound Corp.), same price.
David, Do you know anything about the Zoom AutoMix™ software? Is it installed in the F8 and mixes to the stereo tracks or a post application for Mac, PC or smart phones (Android/iOS?
Oh never mind, just saw the YT video link over on the JW group.
 
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Have been reading the manual, and this confirms the F8n can supply power to the FRC-8:

https://www.zoom-na.com/sites/default/files/products/downloads/pdfs/E_F8n.pdf

Which is nice, as the F4 could do this but the original F8 could not.*

And yes Rick, this is software built into the F8n itself! Like the Sound Devices 633/688 and other similar high end recorders can do.

Hopefully this doesn't get applied to the gain, but rather to the mix fader, so that the ISOs are left untouched. As it is after all an autoMIX, with emphasis on the mix part. It is how I assume this would be working.

Interestingly, I see that Zoom is also launching a new PCF-8n bag alongside the new F8n as well. This is a good thing, as I feel the original F8 bag was a flawed product, that even the F4 bag was an improvement upon. (but even the F4 bag wasn't perfect, and is why I upgraded from it) You can see a hint of what the new bag is in this pic here (for instance that zipper and velcro to split the two segments apart is new):

34368017_10155804940912909_7481122831019802624_o.jpg
 
Reports are rolling of the earliest pre orderers getting their deliveries! Any one in this forum got their delivery yet?

Mine is scheduled to arrive at my reshipper in Oregon USA tomorrow, but then will take a bit longer to get from there to New Zealand :-/

However I'm getting ready for that day! Having now purchased an iPad Mini 2 and iPod Touch 6th Gen (wonder if I can use both together at once? That would be the dream! But using either one at a time is the plan at the moment). Currently hunting down research for the next part of the jigsaw puzzle which is how to mount these best to my Orca OR30​​​​​​​ bag.
 
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