Hey guys “AB” from B&H. Today we're taking a quick look at Zoom’s new F8n. Which is
an update to the very popular F8 multi-track field recorder. If you have any knowledge
or experience of the F8, you know that it's a very rugged box. Versatile, used everywhere
we have one in the studio. It's built like a tank you can probably run it over with your
car and nothing's going to happen it.
I'm not telling you to do that. I'm just saying. I’m just saying. There is a mic cable here,
this is the cable coming from my microphone we're going into input 1 and all the audio you
hear right now is coming from the microphone and the Zoom itself.
Any ambient noise might happen to hear is probably coming from the room because this
is not a treated room. It's not acoustically perfect so there is a lot of ambient sound
in here. But we wanted to let you know that we're using the box, so you can hear what
it sounds like.
What makes this different than the F8? Because if you look at this and you’ve seen an F8.
They look pretty similar. And of course, on the outside they are almost identical.
Let's go over the features to see what really separates the F8n from its predecessor. Starting
with the front panel, everything on the F8n is pretty much exactly like the F8. The only
thing is that the screen has been improved on the F8n and it's a bit easier to read.
Even at maximum brightness I compared both and there's a little bit more clarity with
the F8n. Otherwise everything else that you see here is what you would see on the F8.
Same thing with the side panels. 8 XLR/TRS combo inputs located in the same places. 2
SD card slots letting you record simultaneously for redundant backup.
And of course, we have the USB port so if you're using the F8n as an audio interface
and you want to record audio or playback audio. You would obviously plug this in to your computer
and away you go. Another improvement is that the F8n’s USB port will now provide bus
power for Zooms FRC-8 remote control. Which is handy.
Of course, the FRC-8 can be paired with the F8 Control App to turn your iPad into a nice
monitoring device with greater visibility.
We all have the 4 pin Hirose connector so if you need extra power in-the-field, with
an extra battery pack you do have that option.
On the opposite side of the F8n we have the other 4 XLR/TRS combo jacks, we have the SUB
OUT 1/2 jack. We have the headphone output jack and we have the two MAIN OUT jacks which
allow for selectable + 4db output.
Once we get to the back of F8n, that's where things change. The placement of the battery
compartment is different on this unit than it is on the original F8. On the original
F8 the batteries come out of a sled in the back of the unit. And you open multiple doors
and you sort of replace your batteries and you slide it back in and then you close it
up and you're done. This is even easier. The battery compartment
is on the undercarriage. Essentially you open it up and right away you put the batteries
in or you take the batteries out. It makes it, much simpler and it's definitely a faster
process.
The only possible issue I see with the battery compartment be on the bottom, is that it's
very close to ¼-20 mount. So, if you happen to be using this box on a stand, you’re
going to have a very hard time accessing that compartment. You’re going to have to take
it off of the stand, remove the batteries and then put it back on. Because there’s
not enough clearance.
I suspect the most people going to use this on a tabletop, or by their computer or in
a bag. But just in case you're using stands when you shoot, keep that in mind.
As I mentioned before, most of the changes to the F8n are happening Inside the box. The
F8n has an Advanced look ahead hybrid limiter. Which looks ahead while you're recording and
prevents any signal from overloading. The cool thing is that if you're recording to
8 channels simultaneously, you can apply the limiter to all 8 channels and maintain that
nice level of recording.
Zoom has also included Auto Mix with the F8n. Which allows you to remove a lot of the ambient
noise in your recordings to give you a better mix.
The F8n also has improved timecode for the syncing of audio and video. It even has the
ability to record timecode when the unit is off.
You also have the ability to route audio to either headphone of choice. For example, left
only or right only. You can even listen in mono. You can even program alert tones in
your headphones for Start/Stop functions or low battery indication.
Well guys, there you have it. The new Zoom F8n multitrack field recorder. For more information,
check out bhphoto.com. And if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe. I’m “AB”, see you next time.