Zoom F4 discontinued

IronFilm said:
Sadly I've never seen the crazy deal of US$350 for a new one repeated that they had a while back.
Very disappointed there is going to be no Zoom F4n! :-/ :-( As the Zoom F6 simply isn't the same thing!
The Zoom F4 was quite frankly the best starter field recorder for anybody starting out who couldn't stretch to the likes of a Zoom F8n or even an 833 etc
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I have to agree. Even more so for me as when I bought my F4 it was something like £400 but the same place had a bundle deal for the F4 and the larger Zoom F4/8 bag for £398...No brainer really!
So I convinced the Finance team that having saved the cost of a bag for the F4 they could spring for the ORCA harness for the bag :-) One happy bunny.

I can't see why they would ditch the F4 (you can get an adaptor to add 2 more XLR inputs) as the F6 is not the same thing. There is a reason why all the pro field recorders from other manufacturers have the same layout and form factor as an F4/F8
 
JAMedia said:
I can't see why they would ditch the F4 (you can get an adaptor to add 2 more XLR inputs) as the F6 is not the same thing. There is a reason why all the pro field recorders from other manufacturers have the same layout and form factor as an F4/F8
Click to expand...

I think instead of the F6, they should have gone even smaller and made an F3.
As that is the strength of the F6, the small size! Smaller even than the already very very small F4/F6.
Then the "Zoom F3" could compete more directly against the miniature MixPre3/6

And the Zoom F4 could have seen an update to the F4n with all the goodness the F8n got as well:
Pro line level out + line/mic switchable XLR inputs.

That's all they really need to do for the F4n!

But as a bonus I'd have liked to have seen one or more of these, ranked in importance to me (from most to least important):
2x TA3F instead of the proprietary Zoom accessory input. (and allow better control over Channel 5/6 via the 5/6 Shortcut Key & F Control, at the moment the F4 has "quirks" in that the 5/6 is treated as a pour cousin in the UI compared to the main Channels 1/2/3/4)
Higher resolution screen (color too?)
Bluetooth so the app can be used with the F4n (with an external antenna too for greater range? Like on my 833)
NoiseReduction
10pin Hirose output
AES I/O
32bit
 
IronFilm said:
I think instead of the F6, they should have gone even smaller and made an F3.
As that is the strength of the F6, the small size! Smaller even than the already very very small F4/F6.
Then the "Zoom F3" could compete more directly against the miniature MixPre3/6

And the Zoom F4 could have seen an update to the F4n with all the goodness the F8n got as well:
Pro line level out + line/mic switchable XLR inputs.

That's all they really need to do for the F4n!

But as a bonus I'd have liked to have seen one or more of these, ranked in importance to me (from most to least important):
2x TA3F instead of the proprietary Zoom accessory input. (and allow better control over Channel 5/6 via the 5/6 Shortcut Key & F Control, at the moment the F4 has "quirks" in that the 5/6 is treated as a pour cousin in the UI compared to the main Channels 1/2/3/4)
Higher resolution screen (color too?)
Bluetooth so the app can be used with the F4n (with an external antenna too for greater range? Like on my 833)
NoiseReduction
10pin Hirose output
AES I/O
32bit
Click to expand...

could have, should have, would have..... We have all been there :-)
I am happy with my F4 and don't need any more.
 
Woah. I'm a bit late to this news. Today someone asked me which recorder to get for their needs and I was considering recommending the F4. Out of habit I looked it up first, and lo and behold it was gone. What a bummer. It was the most appealing recorder in the F line for my needs. If no F4n is in the pipeline, I suppose this is good news for Sound Devices. Crazy.
 
This is not the first time a company has stopped a highly regarded, much loved and product that is on "everyone's short list" to replace it with something everyone thinks is distinctly "average" and not on everyone's short list.

I am not sure that "32bit float" will be enough to carry the F6. The form factor is all wrong.

As noted above an F4n or F4-plus with 32bit float would have done it. I can only assume Zoom are looking to capture the DSLR/Mirror-less-DSLR* market with the F6 form factor. Tascam also have a couple that bolt under a DSLR type camera. Does anyone use them like that?




* What can we call them? they are not DSLR's and all video cameras are "mirrorless"
 
All wrong for sound work. Very awkward, way too small a front panel. It's going to be an octopus once cables are attached. That also makes it very problematic for handheld use. About the only thing I can think it would work for is a camera mount or cage mount, pray that the 32 bit saves you but because it's going to be a set it and forget it setup. I could also see it as a SFX recorder for things like cars where you want a bunch of coverage and size is often an issue. But for general field work naw, for real production work (crew not OMB) it's not going to work well. And for a OMB and camera mount you don't need all the inputs so it's overkill.

I gues also for the folks who are into VR sound you could mount it up to a mic array, but that stuff is pretty useless for film.
 
I got mine mainly for Ambisonic recording and SFX gathering. It's a small package that's way lighter than my Sound Devices mixer / recorder bag full of Lectrosonics.
But I have also been using it on small local shoots. Here it is setup with 3 Sennheiser G4 500 wireless units in a very portable bag.
I can pull the mixer panel and keyboard out on my backpack when I need greater control, or inputting metadata.
 

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Have to say I'm more interested in the rack porn... I have some really vintage rack gear that I love to use except that I rarely do anymore.

Anyway I didn't mean to imply that the F6 had no uses, in fact I think I even talked my self into one if I was still doing a lot of auto ads. But from decades of field recording I find even the F4/8 a bit too small. Weight is an issue when hauling a bag around all day but they could have put it in a bigger box like say the size of the old HHB DAT and it would be a lot easier to deal with. For me in any situation where you need to actually be able to see and adjust while working you need dedicated controls that you can find by feel so you can keep your eyes on what you are recording. I guess ironically I would be happier using it where I had a boom op and I could be in a fixed position. Menus are killers when it's hopping and when you reduce the realestate it forces you to put more and more in menus. The "ancient" Marantz PMD671 could be run completely by feel. There was about zero chance of hitting the wrong button because of the layout. One quick glance could confirm you were rolling and you were golden. I have to pay a lot more attention to the F4.

But on car shoots where we used to strap in two or three seperate recorders to get all the tracks I can see this as a great tool.
 
The one piece of vintage gear I still use a lot is a packed E4 sampler. Great for quick and dirty mock Foley on projects that don't have the budget. Also nice for creating libraries of things like creature sounds.

I did use the harmonizer last halloween... Creaped out the kids.
 
This is not the first time a company has stopped a highly regarded, much loved and product that is on "everyone's short list" to replace it with something everyone thinks is distinctly "average" and not on everyone's short list.

I am not sure that "32bit float" will be enough to carry the F6. The form factor is all wrong.

As noted above an F4n or F4-plus with 32bit float would have done it. I can only assume Zoom are looking to capture the DSLR/Mirror-less-DSLR* market with the F6 form factor. Tascam also have a couple that bolt under a DSLR type camera. Does anyone use them like that? [/QUOTE]

The Zoom F6 form factor would have been better if had been flatter/wider, rather than its current stack height which can make a Hybrid Stills Camera a bit top heavy.

The MixPre/DR701D still recorders are slimmer, which keeps the center of gravity of the entire rig lower.

JAMedia said:
* What can we call them? they are not DSLR's and all video cameras are "mirrorless"
Click to expand...

"Hybrid Camera" (does stills/video)
 
IronFilm said:
That is where the iPad App and the Sound Guys Solutions TM1 tablet mount comes to save you:

https://www.sound-guys.com/#TABLET MOUNTS
Click to expand...

IF you are in a fixed position. SFX is closer to OMB operations, you generally need to be looking at what you are recording, whether it's avoiding getting run over or taking an animal into talking to you. The devices I mentioned are set up so you do not have to look to know you are on the right button/ switch. For what I do an app is not much use 99% of the time.
 
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