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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Zoom F8 vs Sound Devices 744T

J

Jack Hents

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Outside of limiting and ergonomics, are there any tangible differences between these two recorders? To my ear, the Zoom's preamps are near-SD744 quality--and obviously for a fraction of the cost. Has four more inputs as well.

Obviously I'd be losing brand value when it comes to appeasing clients, but in terms of practical use would I really be missing much? I see no reason why a Zoom F8 couldn't provide broadcast/cinema quality recordings.
 
Having used Sound Devices for over 20 years and tried every other brand - ITS ALL ABOUT THE ANOLOG LIMITERS
 
I'm a big fan of sound devices, but I have to admit, this looks like a lot of bang for the buck. I'd want to test timecode accuracy, preamps, metadata handling, media stability, limiters, etc. but if that all checked out, this seems like an affordable alternative for the indie market.
 
I have the f8 in my sound kit, Its friggin amazing for the price. Brand names aside, It performs very well.
 
Ryan Sauve said:
I was excited about the F8 and ready to buy until I heard its limiters weren't analog. Maybe next time Zoom.
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The Sound Devices 788 and 688 both have digital limiters, and it's fine. Both have adjustable parameters, too, and you can engage them on the inputs or just on the mix channel, your choice.

To me, the F8 is a very tiny, light-duty, plasticky, hard-to-use device that works to a point. But I bet if I took a 788 and dropped it 3 feet to concrete, then did the same thing with a Zoom F8, only the Sound Devices would survive.
 
I'm currently using a Sound Devices 552 + Tascam DR680 combo, and I've been following news and reviews of the Zoom F8 very carefully. It is very impressive, and read many good things from the reviewers and users.

I've got almost no doubt that the F8 is what I will upgrade to in the future! (unless I get crazy lucky on a cheap secondhand 633?? Or Tascam responds to the F8 with their own model which is even better??)

But I'm in no rush, will keep on using my DR680/552 set up for a while longer, maybe get an F8 in 2017 once a few F8 units start showing up secondhand so I can find a bargain.
 
As a non-sound guy, I bought an F8 recently to have in the kit and used it the past two weekends. Really impressed with it. Nice to be able to spit out Comtek and send a nice feed to the Scarlet-W via A-Box.

Already paid for itself, very happy with it.
 
I have an SD 442 that I used direct to camera on my own projects or projects that didn't require a professional sound person such as interviews, etc. I'd been doing that with all my cameras but it seemed like a mess with the RED. Maybe it's the mic instead of line inputs. I don't know. My last two projects like that I had problems with S/N. I couldn't justify a 633. If I need the best, and there's a budget, I hire a soundy. I really wanted ISOs so I picked up an F8 and I love it. It's a fantastic recorder. It jams fine to the camera. I just re-jam if I shut down. Timecode syncing works great in RedCine-X and Davinci. Premiere pro - eh.

I had planned to use the 442 as a front end mixer to make use of the limiters but I'm finding that the limiters in the F8 work pretty well for dialog. Jury is still out on whether or not to unload the 442 but so far so good with the F8.
 
I have the Zoom F8 also.. It just works... I have it as the main timecode source and I uses the Ambient TC RX transmitter and receiver with the RED 3BNC cable thing and I am in HEAVEN - I am using it on an indie movie we are shooting... LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it
 
Have a F8, does what I need & more.

Question: are you guys mounting them or bagging them?
 
Ethan Cooper said:
Have a F8, does what I need & more.

Question: are you guys mounting them or bagging them?
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Depends on the shoot. Sometimes I don't have a sound person so I stick the F8 on the camera via a noga arm. Othertimes I just have a small Petrol mixer bag I stick it in.
 
I tossed and turned for weeks between F8 and SoundDevices 633 and the final thing that sold me on the F8 was the ability to control your mix on an iPad/iPhone via Bluetooth. I'm a Director/DP not a sound guy, but I prefer to work alone for documentary material whenever I can. I was really skeptical of how the bluetooth mixing would work until I tried it. The VU meters bounce on my iPad Pro 12.9" practically in realtime and you can instantly jump to the settings of each individual channel, as well as do quick take & slate metadata entry.

If you're interviewing a subject and trying to keep and eye on the framing as well as your audio - having the mix blown up on an iPad screen placed in your periphery is amazing. You won't see the iPad in the attached pic cause I had to use it as an autocue on that shoot - but I ran the dual-channel record on my lav & boom to provide safety tracks at -10db.

Obviously none of this is substitute for a quality sound recordist with you on location - but for a nigel like me it works really well :) I've mounted the F8 on the back of my handheld rig with timecode and reference audio running straight into the Weapon. But mostly I run it from the LEGENDARY Orca-30 bag and use Tentacles that I jam-sync to the F8 to keep my cameras in sync.
 

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Marc Wielage said:
You can control mixes on an iPad or iPhone via WiFi on all the Sound Devices 6-series mixer/recorders. The Wingman software is free:

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/mixers-with-integrated-recorders/633/6-series-wingman
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Marc -- Since I am not a sound person, I tend to trust my peers who are sound pros when it comes to these sorts of questions as one brand / product vs another. In this case, all of the sound pros I know swear by Sound Devices and are consistently dismissive about Zoom in general. I know you are a pro colorist and one whom I respect as well. But what's your take on Zoom and the Zoom F8? Cheers from China -NAS
 
Nicholas Austin Skinner said:
In this case, all of the sound pros I know swear by Sound Devices and are consistently dismissive about Zoom in general. I know you are a pro colorist and one whom I respect as well. But what's your take on Zoom and the Zoom F8?
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I wear different hats. I've done sound on some projects, but I've mainly been a colorist and post supervisor. I think if you put a Sound Devices product and a Zoom side by side, you're going to very quickly see and feel the differences in build quality and usability. That's pretty much where the extra money goes.

I've used the analogy before that if you were to drop the Sound Devices 3 feet onto concrete, you'd have a much better chance of that still working than a Zoom. With cameras, with lenses, with sound recorders, and with microphones, the sad truth is that you get what you pay for. I think the Sound Devices will hold its value better over time, and I also think it'll hold up better in terms of use and abuse. The sound quality is without peer, except perhaps recorders from Zaxcom and Nagra. For low-cost stuff, I would lean more towards Tascam, but even they're not great for durability.
 
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