Zoom F4 Limiters and Timecode Accuracy
Last week we did an overview of the new Zoom F4 audio field recorder. This is an impressive prosumer audio recorder designed for independent and enthusiast filmmakers with 4 microphone inputs and 8 track recorder.
This week, we look a little more in depth at the F4’s limiters and timecode accuracy. Don’t worry if you don’t know what all that means, we’ll run through what they are and how they can help you make better sounding recordings with less effort.
Here's what I hope you'll take away from this: The Zoom F4 is a really impressive, reasonably priced recorder. While it's limiters are digital, it doesn't seem to need limiters in very many situations because it seems, subjectively, to have an incredible amount of dynamic range for a recorder in this price range. Also, the timecode clock seems really, really solid and accurate. Wow. Good show, Zoom!
Zoom F4 Audio Recorder First Impressions
Last year Zoom took their first step into more professional filmmaker field recorders with the Zoom F8. And now they have just released a younger sibling, the Zoom F4. The F4, at the time of release, sells for $650 USD, has 4 microphone/line inputs, and records 8 tracks simultaneously. The preamplifiers seem very, very impressive in my first tests and there’s a lot more to cover so grab your favorite beverage and let’s have a look at the Zoom F4!
How to Improve Your Sound Featuring The Basic Filmmaker Part 1
My friend, The Basic Filmmaker, asked if I would help him improve the sound of his videos. I was flattered that he’d ask! Yes, of course!
So he recorded a short clip, sent it over to me, and in this episode I have my first two suggestions for him on how to reduce the reverb in his room when recording and how to remove mouth clicks using Adobe Audition. The next step is for him to apply these things and we’ll see where we end up. Maybe there’s even more we can do in Audition to make his sound even better.
There are a few bonuses with using sound blankets. First and most important, If you use sound blankets effectively, you shouldn’t have to do any de-reverb work in post. Yay! Save all that time and money to make more videos! Additionally, the Producer’s Choice blankets are black on one side, white on the other. This means that not only do they absorb sound, they also either reflect light or absorb it (depending on which side you have facing the light. This makes them very useful lighting tools in addition to solving the sound/reverb issue.
If you’d like to learn how to record and post process your sound, be sure to have a look at my sound for video courses at http://school.learnlightandsound.com My Dialogue Sound Post Processing with Adobe Audition course just launched at the end of August 2016.
Visit us at http://learnlightandsound.com for more updates on how to improve your lighting and sound for video. Also be sure to subscribe to get new episodes every week!
Links:
The Basic Filmmaker
Original Audio Clip he sent to me:
His channel which is worth subscribing to.
The Basic Filmmaker University - free and paid courses on video production
Sound Blanket Episode:
Reducing Reverb in Audition with Acon DeVerberate Plugin:
Acon Digital DeVerberate Plugin for Adobe Audition (VST)
Izotope RX Audio Editor - State of the art reverb reduction processing
RODE Stereo VideoMic Pro: Redesigned for 2016
RODE first shipped their Stereo VideoMic Pro in 2012. Now in 2016, they have updated the Stereo VideoMic Pro with the Rycote Lyre suspension system, redesigned the microphone capsules, updated the cable with kevlar reinforcement, increased the density of the foam wind cover, and added RF shielding. Let's have a listen and discuss when you might choose the Stereo VideoMic Pro vs the mono VideoMic Pro.
RODE was kind enough to send us the Stereo VideoMic Pro for review. Full disclosure: This microphone was given to me for this review, I did not purchase it with my money. I was not paid to do this review.
RODE Stereo VideoMic Pro with Rycote Suspension - Better for recording ambience
RODE (mono) VideoMic Pro with Rycote Suspension - Better for recording dialogue
Zoom F4: Coming Soon
Zoom has been coming on strongly for the last few years and their pace only seems to be picking up.
I'm a fan of their Zoom F8 recorder which they released in late 2015. The quality of the recorder is top notch both in terms of build and in terms of the audio quality it records. The preamplifiers are powerful and clean with a nice neutral sound. The screen is great. The main encoder/dial is great and the menus are good. Overall ergonomics are good though the overall unit is quite small which makes for very small channel potentiometers/knobs. Since the knobs serve double duty as gain trim and faders and as mentioned, are quite small, mixing can be tricky. There's a bluetooth iOS app which allows you to enter metadata and mix, but the mixing capabilities are still a little rough because the on-screen fader is a little too jumpy. But for the price, the F8 is a GREAT recorder. This is accessible to some enthusiast filmmakers and with it, they can produce sound every bit as good as professional productions.
Once Zoom begins shipping the F4, there will be an even lower cost recorder ($650 vs the F8 at $999) which makes this audio quality even more accessible.
Several have asked and yes, I plan to review this as soon as I am able to get my hands on one. I'm very excited about the F4.
From the specs, it looks like the F4 has the same great preamplifiers as the F8. That's a very good start. Also, the F4 looks to have the same form-factor and solid metal build. Same battery configuration and hirose input for external batteries. Dual SD cards which allow backup or recording to different formats simultaneously.
But there are some changes, some look very good and some which are sacrifices which come with a lower priced unit:
- Gain/Fader knobs (potentiometers) are larger on the F4 simply because there's more room for them. This is good!
- The screen looks to be similar to the lower resolution screen on the H4n Pro or perhaps the H5. This is not nearly as nice as the F8, but still potentially workable. It should be viewable in direct sunlight.
- Main outputs are full size XLR. This is an improvement over the F8's TA3 connectors which will generally need to be adapted for monitors, outs to camera, or wireless hops to camera or director.
- Bluetooth: F4 does not appear to be Bluetooth enabled so there's no iOS app for metadata entry or mixing
- SD Card slots have moved from the left side to the battery compartment on the back.
Overall, this looks like it may be a great choice for those who want very good quality audio at a price well under $1000. Should have an initial impressions piece up in October and a final review in November if the units ship on schedule in October.
Sound for Video Session: Line Level Inputs, Zoom F8, Limiters, and Brighter Sound
In this week's sound for video session, we talked through several questions:
- How do you feed a microphone into the line level inputs on the Sound Devices 633?
- Zoom F8 - file naming issues, limiters
- Which mics can you use outdoors? Sanken CS3e
- Do you blend lav and boom mics?
- How do I make sound "Brighter" in post?
- Recommendations for starter boom mic and recorder kit?
- How do I send audio from my recorder to my camera?
- Can an Orca OR-30 sound bag hold a Zoom F4 or F8 plus three or four microphones?
Links:
Small preamps to feed line level inputs on your recorder: http://mozegear.com
My recent meta-review of several audio recorders:
Which Audio Recorders for Filmmaking do I Use?
We have reviewed several recorders over the last several years at various price points and with different feature sets. While I attempted to be very thorough in those reviews, nothing can replace the experience of working with a recorder over a longer period of time. Now that I have more experience with each of these audio mixers/recorders, let’s talk about what I’ve found since I posted the reviews.
Recorders Covered:
3.5mm Audio Plugs, iPhone 7 and the Impact to Audio People
I'm an iPhone customer. I'm on the "upgrade every 2 years" plan with phones. I've been pretty happy with my iPhone 6+.
I have an iPhone 7 on order which should arrive later this week. You are probably aware that Apple removed the 3.5mm TRRS jack used for audio accessories starting with iPhone 7. Instead, they offer Bluetooth for wireless audio input and output or the proprietary lightning connector for wired audio input and output.
The first question that came to my mind was, "Ok, does that mean that the lightning connector feeds a digital signal or can it send an analogue audio signal? Is there still an digital to analogue converter in the iPhone? Or are the separate headphones, speakers, or microphones responsible for conversion from now on?"
Why does it matter which device does the conversion?
Digital to analogue and analogue to digital conversion is easy to do but it is difficult to do really well. The iPhone's converters have historically been quite good for a consumer device.
For wireless audio, the iPhone will, of course, send a digital signal. So any wireless audio devices will need to do the analogue to digital or digital to analogue conversion (A/D D/A) themselves, always communicating back to the phone with a digital signal.
But what about devices connected to the Lightning connector? I suspect that the Lightning port can actually provide an analogue audio signal and that the iPhone 7 still has an A/D D/A converter. I assume this because the little adapter Apple includes with the phone and will sell separately is priced at $9.99 USD. This likely means that it does not include a converter. It would likely be impossible for Apple to sell the adapter at that price if it did. And I expect that if it did include a converter, Apple would want more than the entry level, lower quality converters it would have to use to keep the costs down low enough to sell the dongle for $9.99.
Hopefully I'm right because I have two devices for which I rely on the iPhone: Tentacle Sync timecode clock and the RODE VideoMic Me.
Of the two, the Tentacle Sync has become critical to my workflow. I connect it to my phone to change the settings such as framerate, output level (line vs. mic level), and set user bits. Without the phone, things could get dicey. On the job, you've got to double check that these things are set correctly. I hope and pray that this will still work with the adapter dongle included with the iPhone 7.
**Edit 2 October 2016: The iPhone 7+ arrived and I tested and confirm that the Tentacle sync works without any problem with the phone's included lightning to 3.5mm adapter.
The RODE VideoMic Me was my go-to, inexpensive mic for corporate video projects where we could send individuals off with their phones to shoot little insert shots and hope to get better audio than they would with just their phones. Because this relies on the 3.5mm port on the iPhone to hold the mic in place, this one pretty much becomes obsolete with Apple's change. Yes, you could hook it up via the dongle, but since it no longer has the jack to hold the mic in place, it isn't really useful for the purpose it was originally designed (unless you rig up some other way to keep it in place).
Is this decision to remove the 3.5mm headset port a good idea?
There's plenty of debate about that. My stance is that yes, it makes sense at some level, but I'm not 100% convinced that what Apple is suggesting, wireless audio, is a better replacement. I'm not convinced that a wireless future is the best option for all people and all circumstances, not because Bluetooth is flaky, though in many cases, it is. That will improve. I'm pretty confident of that.
I have some concerns about all of the radiation we already subject ourselves to and adding more, particularly right into our heads, is especially concerning. Maybe it is fine, I don't know, but it isn't a risk I want to add to my daily routine until we have a little more scientific evidence on that question.
I understand why Apple removed the floppy drives and later, the optical drives, from its computers. That all makes sense, especially in retrospect. Same with Adobe Flash being left off of iPhones and iPads. That was perhaps controversial at the time, but makes a fair bit more sense today. And perhaps wireless audio isn't a risk to our health. Maybe I'll say, in 10 years from now, "Wow, Apple really had it right again..."
But for now, it looks like I'll be using a dongle to connect my timecode clock, headsets and headphones to my phone. Hopefully it all works well.
Sound for Video Session: Sync Sound, Mic Placement, Reverb, and Orca Audio Harness
In this week's sound for video session we cover a number of questions including the following:
- Sound sync issues between audio recorder and camera or HDMI recorder
- Where to place a microphone if you can only mic a live event with one
- How to manage reverb in rooms with hard walls and floor
- Ease booming with an audio bag harness (Orca OR-40)
Sound for Video Session: Managing Reverb, Live Music, Zoom F8 and F4, Blimp Covers and More
We covered a lot of questions submitted by our little community today including items on audio to video sync, managing reverse with reflection filters, recording live music, battery life of the Zoom F8, the Zoom F4, wind covers/blimps, and several others.
One reflection filter I have experience with is the sE Electronics Reflexion Filter Pro. I'm not in a position to say this is the ultimate reflection filter to manage reverberant rooms, but it works pretty decently.
We discussed the Rycote Cyclone wind cover for recording outdoors. This is the medium model which fits most short shotgun mics like the RODE NTG2 - 4, Sennheiser MKH416, Schoeps CMIT5U and most other 28cm long shotgun mics.
A more budget friendly option which costs less than half the price is the RODE Blimp. It is a bit heavier, needs a furry cover in lighter wind than the cyclone, and takes a little longer to open but gets the job done nicely.
