NAB 2018 sneak peak: Zoom F8n

[David Peterson]

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

[David Peterson]

Zoom F8n: NAB 2018 - YouTube

Zoom F8n Audio Recorder - YouTube

[David Peterson]

I have written a very detailed (and LONG!) blog post about my thoughts and hopes for the upcoming Zoom F8n:

What I’d like to see in the new Zoom F8n – David Peterson


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/IamTheOppos...type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/IamTheOppos...type=3&theater

[Boyd Ostroff]

Thanks for these posts David! I got a demo F8 a few weeks ago for $720 - would never have known it wasn't new. Really enjoying playing around with it, very impressive device. Will put it through its paces more thoroughly in about a month recording 8 track audio at a fun shoot with my musical family. For my limited use, it would make no sense to spend $1200 for an updated unit.

I agree about needing an illuminated stop button - all the transport buttons should be illuminated IMO. Your other suggestions are good, but wouldn't make much difference to me personally.

The F8 control app is cool, and a major reason I got the F8, although it's a bit rough around the edges. My biggest complaint would be very easy for them to fix. There should be a setting to prevent your phone/tablet from going to sleep (auto-locking) while the app is running. I have to remember to set my phone to never auto-lock, otherwise it times out and then takes awhile to reconnect to bluetooth again.

I also wish they supported a larger feature set on the app. One annoyance is that there is no way to delete a file when the app is running. The Finder menu is greyed out on the device and there's no delete option in the app's menu.

I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been much discussion of the F8 here at DVinfo.

[David Peterson]

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

Thanks for these posts David! I got a demo F8 a few weeks ago for $720 - would never have known it wasn't new. Really enjoying playing around with it, very impressive device. Will put it through its paces more thoroughly in about a month recording 8 track audio at a fun shoot with my musical family. For my limited use, it would make no sense to spend $1200 for an updated unit.

Agreed, for you I think you got a steal on the F8, no point in waiting for the F8n.

But for me who uses it every week, sometimes even every day, then the extra bit for the F8n is totally going to be worth it!

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

The F8 control app is cool, and a major reason I got the F8, although it's a bit rough around the edges. My biggest complaint would be very easy for them to fix. There should be a setting to prevent your phone/tablet from going to sleep (auto-locking) while the app is running. I have to remember to set my phone to never auto-lock, otherwise it times out and then takes awhile to reconnect to bluetooth again.

I also wish they supported a larger feature set on the app. One annoyance is that there is no way to delete a file when the app is running. The Finder menu is greyed out on the device and there's no delete option in the app's menu.

Yes, the fight for control between the app vs the machine sometimes annoys me when I have used the F8 myself. I wish both would just keep the full functionality at once!

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been much discussion of the F8 here at DVinfo.

I guess DVinfo has gone a bit quiet, and in general people tend to talk less about audio than "exciting" stuff such as cameras/lights/lenses/etc :-/

[Boyd Ostroff]

Just a couple days ago I found what appears to be a major bug with the F8 control app. If you press the PFL button on a channel you can select a value between 10 and 240 Hz when you choose HPF. However in the F8 Control app, the lowest value I can select is 80 Hz (the menu just doesn't go any lower than that).

But it's actually much worse than that. If you have chosen a value less than 80 while using the PFL button on the device, as soon as you connect with the F8 control app, the value is permanently changed to 80 hz. So, for example, I had channels 1 and 2 set for 20 Hz and they are both changed to 80 Hz by just opening the app (without even pushing any buttons).

Seems like this is quite a major bug for a product that's been around fo so long. I am running Firmware 4.10 on the F8 (newest version) and the current version of F8 Control from the App Store. Using an iPhone 6s Plus with the app. Perhaps this behaves differently with the iPad version?

[David Peterson]

I think this might be because initially the F8 only supported down to 80Hz.

And the iOS app has not been updated in a long long looooong time. Thus the conflict. :-/

Anyway........ GOOD NEWS:

Price Drop: Gotham Sound and Communications, Inc. has stated that the launch price will be US$999! :-o


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBTj...28118314039355

[David Peterson]

Have been reading the manual, and this confirms the F8n can supply power to the FRC-8:

https://www.zoom-na.com/sites/defaul...pdfs/E_F8n.pdf

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

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by David Peterson

I think this might be because initially the F8 only supported down to 80Hz.

And the iOS app has not been updated in a long long looooong time. Thus the conflict. :-/

Well that explains it. But shame on Zoom for introducing a new model without fixing a major bug like this in the existing product. I wonder if the F8n have its own app, or if they will update the F8 app to also work with the F8n?

[David Peterson]

Good news Boyd, I just heard the new F8n app will be updated for the F8 as well, thus we can cross our fingers that will mean app bug fixes are coming along soon for F8 users:

The F8 will be compatible with the F8n app which will include some updates!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtIf...28212173721520

[Boyd Ostroff]

Thanks.... fingers crossed! :-)

[David Peterson]

Zoom F8n Audio Recorder: Initial Impressions - YouTube

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

My biggest complaint would be very easy for them to fix. There should be a setting to prevent your phone/tablet from going to sleep (auto-locking) while the app is running.

Three years with no updates to the F8 Control App, and within less than a month since posting this... I got my wish! Just a coincidence no doubt. ;-)

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/f8-c...014945716?mt=8

Version History

2.0.0 Jun 14, 2018
Improved not to put iOS device in sleep mode while using F8 Control.
The F8n has been added as a supported device.

[David Peterson]

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

The F8n has been added as a supported device

Yikes, I hope Zoom is going to do a *lot* more than just that for the app! After 3 long years of nothing, a lot more is needed.

I mean, the version history is going from v1.1 to v2.0, so that *must* indicate some very large improvements over the old app? Any one with an F8 and an iOS device who can confirm this? (Android and F4 user here....)

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

Three years with no updates to the F8 Control App, and within less than a month since posting this... I got my wish! Just a coincidence no doubt. ;-)

Yes, a total coincidence, as they had to update the app anyway for compatibility with the F8n.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by David Peterson

Yikes, I hope Zoom is going to do a *lot* more than just that for the app! After 3 long years of nothing, a lot more is needed.

Totally agree there. Just used the app for awhile this evening, Works fine but the only change is that it won't auto-lock now. But that's actually a big usability improvement, since I had to change the phone/iPad setting to never sleep, then remember to change it back every time.

Unfortunately the HPF bug is still there: you cannot set the level below 80hz and if you had previously set a lower level on the device itself, it is changed to 80 hz as soon as you open the app.