Hey. My name is Matt Johnson,
and I recently made a review of the Tascam X8 audio recorder.
And in that review, I declared it to be the best new audio recorder
for wedding filmmakers.
But hold on to your beard because this is the new zoom
F3 audio recorder, and it offers some of the same features as the X8
but for an even cheaper price.
Today, I'm going to be comparing these two audio recorders in depth
until you which one I think you should buy.
Also, I want to give a huge shout out and thank you to this video sponsor,
Sweetwater.
Sweetwater was kind enough
to send over this X8 and F3 so I could make this comparison video.
But for the sake of ethics, I want you to know
that they have no say in this video, and the first time they see
it is the first time you see it when it's uploaded to YouTube.
Starting off the comparison now,
the first thing you will notice when you look at the X8 next to the F3
is the size difference with its microphones attached.
The X8 is approximately two and a half times larger than the F3.
The F3 is a bit thicker though, from the side due
to having metal bars that allow it to be strapped to a boom pole.
The increased size of the X8 does make it
significantly heavier than the EF three at approximately £1.
But the EF three is a surprisingly dense, smaller recorder,
and it comes in at a little over half a pound and weight.
Of course, the X8 is larger because it has significantly more features
than the EF three as well, with the most notable feature by far
being the massive full color touchscreen on the front.
With this touch screen,
you have access to many built in presets as well as the ability
to dove deep into nearly every imaginable setting you could want to tweak.
In comparison, the EF three takes me back to my childhood
when I got my first Gameboy, a Gameboy pocket with a black and white screen.
Thankfully, the screen on the F3 is backlit, unlike my original Gameboy.
And while it will not win any high resolution awards, it is still plenty high
resolution for all the text to be legible, which is really all that you need.
I do wish that it could play Pokémon though.
Anyways, you're going to find that this is going to be a running theme
of this video test.
Cam gives you everything in the kitchen sink with the X8 while zoom with the EF
three strips nearly everything away and gives you only what you need.
Keeping with that trend, let's talk audio inputs.
As the experts name implies, this recorder is capable of recording
eight tracks of audio.
Specifically, it has four combo SLR and quarter inch jacks and two detachable
microphones on the top that can be removed to reveal 23.5 millimeter mic jacks.
You're probably thinking out, Wait a second mat.
That's six inputs not eight.
And you'd be right, because those last two audio tracks that the X8 is capable of
recording are a stereo mix of all of the other audio tracks.
So it's really just a six input recorder with the ability to output eight tracks.
But I'm betting the task can figure that X8 sounds fancier than X six.
Regardless, this is still a very healthy amount of inputs, especially whenever
you compare the X8 to the EF three, which only has two SLR inputs.
Yes, just like test cam zoom gave this recorder
a letter and a number which is bigger than the amount of inputs that it has.
But then again,
the name F2 was already taken, but that recorder only has one input.
So these companies need to just call recorders by the number of inputs
that they actually have.
Anyways, as I said, the F3 only has two SLR
inputs, and I would be sure to notice that they're only SLR inputs,
not combo SLR and Quarter-Inch inputs like you would find on the test cam.
X8 While this is a bummer because the added
versatility of combo excellent quarter inch jacks is great.
Looking at the size of the X3, I think that it is actually
physically impossible for them to fit quarter-inch jacks
into this recorder and still have it be this size.
Personally, I probably would have taken a slightly larger recorder
if they had included that feature, but Zoom doesn't listen to my beard.
Regardless, you can by quarter inch two XL are input adapters
for about ten bucks on Amazon so this is not a big deal.
But what is a big deal is you need to decide
how many inputs you typically use when recording audio.
If you're someone that only uses one or two inputs,
I think the f three's dual SLR inputs are going to be plenty for you.
But if you commonly find yourself needing to record more sources of audio, that is
one area where the X8 is really going to give you everything that you want.
In addition, while we're talking about inputs,
if you're someone they commonly find yourself
needing a standalone audio recorder that has built in microphones.
The F3 unfortunately only has built in Excel or inputs.
There's no hidden internal microphone on this recorder somewhere.
In contrast, the X8 comes with those dual detachable
mics out of the box, which does make it more versatile.
Now, let's talk about the audio quality that both of these recorders
are capable of recording, as I said earlier.
These are both 32 bit float audio recorders.
They're record with incredibly high dynamic range,
meaning that anything that you record that is too quiet,
you'll be able to bring up the audio levels
without increasing the noise floor because the dynamic range is so good.
While simultaneously, if you have anything that is too loud
that would normally be peaking and blown out with any other audio recorder.
You can simply drag down your audio levels
in post and recover all that missing audio.
It's pretty magical.
And in my audio comparisons between these two recorders,
trying to speak very quietly and test the noise floor, then
shouting very loudly into the microphone to see if they would peak.
I found that the audio quality from both of them is virtually identical,
in case you want to hear exactly how these two recorders compare, though.
Here is me talking into the Zoom F three.
And as you can hear for yourself, I think it sounds pretty good.
Now, here's me speaking into the exact same microphone using the test cam.
X8 As you can hear, it sounds very similar.
I'm sure there are differences if you do very in-depth testing,
but for the vast majority of recording scenarios,
I would not be choosing one of these recorders over the other
based on the sound quality because they're so similar.
That said, though, both recorders do have some settings
that will give you some degree of control over the audio quality.
They record with a Zoom F three because it keeps things simple.
You actually cannot set the audio to record at any bitrate
lower than 32 bit float.
Some basically says, Hey, what you need is 32 bit float
so you're started to add float.
The only tweak that you're able to make to your audio quality on the F three
is that you can change the sample rate that your audio is recorded it
it will still be 32 bit float but you can set your sample rate anywhere
between 44.1 kilohertz and 192 kilohertz.
In addition, whenever you are setting your audio levels
that you want to record at using,
the three zoom is also dramatically simplified this as well.
Instead of dialing in your audio levels
and making sure that they hit a peak of -12, for example,
with the F three, you have a scrolling waveform of your audio levels,
but you do not have any specific way to tell the actual decibel level
that your audio is hitting
It's all very abstracted, which can be terrifying,
but you have to remember that with 32 bit for audio,
even if your audio is too loud or too soft, you should be able to bring it back
to a level that sounds good.
So with the F three, you're really getting your audio
into the ballpark of where you want it to be with the X8.
On the other hand, you have dramatically more control over your audio quality,
where you have a traditional decibel meter that's telling you the exact level
that your audio is hitting, plus a red peaking light
that will warn you if your audio speaking this is such a significantly larger
amount of information than with the F three with the X8
You can also set your audio sample rate just like with the F three.
But in addition
you can also lower the bit depth all the way down to 16 bit if you want.
You can even set the recorder to dual record where it will record one
track at 24 bit and a backup track a 32 bit float.
If you want that, incidentally,
the F three does not support recording a backup track at all
because it only records in 32 bit float and a backup track really isn't necessary.
Back to the X8.
Of course, if you're not recording a 32 bit float, you do not get all the benefits
that comes with it.
But if you're recording in a situation where you do not need it
and you want to save space on your memory card, this is one way to do it.
Speaking of memory cards, both the X8 and F3 three record,
two micro SD cards, but surprise early.
This is an area where the F3 solidly beats the X8 With the X8,
you can use memory cards up to 512 gigabytes in size,
but with the F3 on the other hand, it takes cards up to one terabyte in size.
In addition, the F3 also comes with a very helpful
memory card speed test, which will check your memory card
and ensure that it's fast enough to work with the recorder.
I really like this feature, and considering
how many other features the X8 has, I'm kind of surprised it doesn't match the F3,
both in memory card size support and that cool memory card benchmark test.
There is one small area where I we give the edge to task him over Zoom
whenever it comes to memory cards for these recorders though,
and that is while Zoom
has made great strides to improve the quality of their SD card DAW.
The X8 has a wonderful rubberized SD card door
that very solidly covers the memory card and it just feels more premium.
I realize that's weird for me to be talking about SD card doors,
but I did tell you this is going to be an in-depth comparison,
keeping up with the theme of where the F3 beats the X8 though.
Let's talk about one more feature that it has, and that is timecode support.
If you are someone that uses TIMECODE, I'm pleased to tell you that the F3 has time
code built in and you can access it in the menu with no need for anything extra.
In contrast, the X8 unfortunately does not support Timecode out of the box,
but Tarsem has said they're going to be adding
timecode support to the X8 via Bluetooth Bluetooth mat.
These recorders support Bluetooth Well, kind of.
While both zoom and test cam advertise the Bluetooth capabilities
of these recorders, both the X3 and X8 have a slot on the side
that you can insert a Bluetooth adapter into.
And I assure you that both zoom and test cam are more than happy to sell you
this adapter for an extra fee.
I really wish this was a feature that was included out of the box,
but I hope and possibly foolishly want to believe
that this is a way for these company
to cut the cost of these recorders and give them to us for a cheaper price.
And not a way for them to nickel and dime filmmakers.
It's probably foolish, but I can hope at the time
of making this video, both of these
Bluetooth adapters for both recorders cost approximately 40 bucks,
and they both work with phone apps that are available on iOS and Android.
Unfortunately, my Bluetooth adapter for
the F3 is still backordered, but I do have one here for the X8,
and I can tell you that it does exactly what Cam says it will do.
Namely, you can connect it to the recorder,
check your audio levels and start and stop recording.
Notice here that I did not say
that you were able to monitor your audio levels, only check them. Yes.
Unfortunately, both test came and Zoom.
Do not allow you to monitor your audio levels remotely.
There's no way for you to have the audio transmitted from these recorders
via Bluetooth to your phone to be able to monitor it.
This is a big bummer and I'm not sure why, but it would definitely be a big win
if either of these companies wanted to enable that.
But by the time I'm making this video, they haven't done it.
Regardless if you want wireless control these recorders and only wireless control,
I think that the Bluetooth adapters are a good purchase for both of them.
Talking battery life for a bit now, the F3 is powered by two
AA batteries, while the X8 is powered by four batteries.
You may think that the X8 gets better battery life than the X3 because of more
batteries, but you need to keep in mind that the X8 also has this big
and beautiful color screen on the front that's sucking down power all the time.
So in my battery test where I loaded up the F3 and X8 with brand
new Amazon rechargeable batteries, I found that the X8 recorded
for 5 hours and 54 minutes before dying while the F3 recorded
for almost an hour longer at 6 hours and 47 minutes before dying.
Now, this recording time for both of these recorders
is actually less than both test cam and Zoom claim.
You'll get with them.
But I want you to keep in mind that to keep this test fair,
I had to use shotgun microphones that required phantom power for both recorders,
so they would both be consuming a similar amount of power without phantom power.
Whenever I tested the X8 using its internal microphones.
I found that it was able to last for 8 hours and 38 minutes
so I would expect both recorders
to be capable of running for longer than I showed in this test.
If they are not using phantom power, keep in mind that both of these recorders
also support rechargeable and lithium batteries with lithium batteries,
especially being able to typically record for dramatically longer.
Also, if you're wondering about start up times for these recorders,
I'm pleased to tell you that both of them start up very quickly with the F
three powering on and being ready to record in approximately 3 seconds
while the X8 is powered on right to record in approximately 10 seconds.
They have three definitely wins, but whenever you compare it to my old Zoom H4,
they would take one minute.
Plus if it had a large memory card inside Both
these recorders are fast enough starting up that it shouldn't be an issue.
Wrapping up now, let's talk about the price
and which one of these recorders you should buy Looking at the numbers,
the S3 comes in at 349 bucks at the time making this video
which is $150 cheaper than the X8 at four 99.
If you're on a budget
and especially if you are a new filmmaker who wants an extremely simple
and easy to use audio recorder that also has a very small size
the F three is definitely going to be my recommendation.
But if you're a more experienced filmmaker and you want more features
and more fine tune control, or if you oftentimes
find yourself using more than two audio inputs or heck,
if you're somebody that doesn't
like bringing extra audio cables that have different adapters
and you want those fancy combo excellent quarter inch inputs,
the extra 150 bucks for the X8 is a no brainer.
And actually it's only 140 bucks extra if you have to buy
those extra two quarter inch adapter cables with the F three.
With that, thank you so much for watching this
comparison between the Zoom S3 and Test Cam x8 and I want to give another big
thank you to my friends at Sweetwater for sending over these recorders
so I could make this comparison.
Regardless of which recorder you end up buying,
Sweetwater is a great company to buy from, and I will link to where you can buy
both of these recorders at Sweetwater down below.
Also, if you are a wedding filmmaker, which there's probably a good chance
that you are considering,
this is a comparison of two audio recorders for wedding filmmakers
If you upload your wedding films to YouTube, which I assume
that you do, considering the you're watching me on YouTube right now,
I have created a guide called YouTube Tips for Wedding Filmmakers.
It's completely free, and it will walk you through some practical things
that you can do to dramatically increase the amount of views,
likes and bookings you get from couples on YouTube.
You can download for free at the link down below.
Thanks so much for watching and have a great day