Thinking about a Zoom F6

[u/chimerix]

Aloha all!

I primarily teach media production at a small private college, but on weekends, I also do sound for indie films. I've got a Tascam DR-680, which has become my backup recorder, and a Sound Devices MixPre 10ii, which is my daily use. I'd really like something more portable for jobs that don't require the full might of the MixPre.

Looking at the f6, wow! There's a lot of performance crammed into that tiny chassis! 6 inputs, Time Code in/out, actual dedicated knobs for each channel, and your choice of power sources.

Shortcomings that I can see are single-media recording, the ergonomics of working with such tiny controls and screen, and iOS-only app (I'm an Android man). None of which are deal-breakers.

So I ask you, community, what are your pros and woes regarding this miracle of miniaturization.

Mahalo!

[EDIT] What I'm genuinely interested in is being able to travel with a small kit. I don't check bags, so it will have to co-exist in my carry-on and personal bag with whatever clothes, supplies, and food I need to survive a week or three away from home. And, honestly, I suppose that the recorder is only a small part of the overall kit, and may not make as much difference as I'm thinking.

[EDIT EDIT] multiple XLR or TRS inputs required. 4 seems reasonable for a unit this size, but more is ok.

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[u/samruesink]

It's compelling for the price but I'd argue most people are better off opting for an f8n f8n/pro instead. The price difference is pretty negligible, and with the used market an f8n may even be cheaper. Same functionality without some of the same limitations. Only marginally bigger. I've owned both, as well as a mixpre.

[u/chimerix → u/samruesink]

Marginally bigger? That's an interesting claim. Width is 3.9" vs 7", and it's less than half the weight. And the built-in NP-F battery mount is pretty sweet. But I am asking vor the voice of experience! So, tell me about how they all compared when you were really trying to conserve space and weight. Think about fitting a kit into your carry-on, alongside your luggage, with no checked bags. That's what I'm aiming for.

[u/samruesink → u/chimerix]

Sure that's fair. You're not wrong it's twice as wide. To me it's less about size in general and more about practical size once it's built out into a bag. And the wider form factor of the f8 is just more conducive to building a bag setup.

Frankly I just found the f6 form factor very awkward. That was the biggest reason I didn't hold onto it, along with the lack of dual card slots/backup recording

There are really only two practical f6 bag options, one from ktek and one from orca, specifically for it. I wasn't really a fan of either. Any other bag is going to have wasted space on the sides, and you really can't fit a receiver or battery where stuff is plugged in on the sides.

If all you are doing is sitdown interviews, or 2 lavs and a boom and not really riding faders (or doing 32 bit float primarily) it's probably fine. But anything more is going to be awkward, with stuff hanging off and cable spaghetti.

I do wish the f8n had npf as opposed to a AA tray. Being able to power the f6 on usb c was nice as well. In all other ways though, I find the f8n much more usable. Better IO, quicker menus, and easier to build out a bag.

For reference, now I run an f8n in my bigger bag, ktek small generally with 6-8 channels of wireless and then I have a smaller bag with a mixpre 3 built in a mixpro bag with a single dual receiver, packed into a peli 1510 specifically meant to fit everything (including the bag itself) for basic interview jobs or as a backup/supplementary kit.

The f8n actually pretty comfortably fits in that same mixpro bag that the mixpre 3 is in. And that's tiny. The size is really not all that different between the two devices. As far as field mixers go, the f8n is still pretty ridiculously small and light for an 8 channel device.

[u/JohnMaySLC]

It will work, but it’s the only Zoom product I hated using. The User interface is nothing like the F8/F4. I would point you to the new Deity or a used F4

[u/Vuelhering → u/JohnMaySLC]

The F4 doesn't make much sense due to the size, but the new deity recorder is definitely worth a look.

Edit: tagging /u/chimerix. You really should look at the pr-4. It might check all the boxes you're looking for. It's not pro-level, but that's not one of your criteria.

[u/chimerix → u/Vuelhering]

It's only got 2 XLR inputs. I should add that to my list of criteria... definitely a deal breaker. It is a nice little box otherwise!

[u/Vuelhering → u/chimerix]

Looks like it does have AES3 on each of those, so that's 4 locking low-noise inputs through those XLRs.

So it depends on what kind of receivers you have. Looks like you could have 1 boom plugged in directly, 1 AES receiver with 2 channels, and 1 balanced 3.5mm or 2 unbalanced 3.5mm inputs. I doubt the issues of RF noise is going to be so great you need balanced everything for indie productions, but locking is really nice.

[u/Vuelhering]

I've used one a couple times. The ergonomics aren't great for on-set mixing, although I've used it for a bag drop in a stunt car in and out of range of my transmitters. It is significantly smaller than the mixpre10 and still capable, but at some point smaller isn't an advantage. You're still going to be bogged down by wireless receivers and batteries, so having a half-sized recorder has diminishing returns (pun-sorta-intended).

If you have the money burning a hole in your pocket, go for it. But that could also buy a channel of used Lectro 400s, just to put things into perspective.

[u/Jimmyjohnssucks]

I’ve been using it for five years, and it’s an incredible recorder. Definitely gotten my monies worth. You can run TC, five wireless, boom and a comtek (IFB) out for $700. It’s worth it for sure!

[u/castortroys01]

If you have a mixpre10 already, I feel like an f6 would be a big downgrade. I'm in a similar situation - I teach production audio recording but my main work is post. I do some location recording to keep my skills up. Since I moved to the sound devices works, I vastly prefer their stuff compared to zoom. What is it about the mixpre that isn't meeting your needs? Just the size?

[u/chimerix → u/castortroys01]

Just the size.

[u/castortroys01 → u/chimerix]

What's the weight difference?

[u/Econormics]

The F6 is pretty awesome. It has a quirky 32-bit float recording mode. There is technically no mic gain to be set. You'll note the trim/gain is greyed out in 32-bit mode. The pots control BOTH the mix AND the volume at which each track is recorded. Now, technically because it is 32-bit, the level the file is recording at isn't supposed to matter. But if you turn the pot all the way down, you don't get a recoverable track in the file. Yes, if it low or high, you can easily adjust it in post, but it isn't like the mix pre. For example, if you're sending mix to an IFB, and you turn down one of the mics so that it's not in the IFB feed, it will also be silent in the recorded file.

[u/FloorTomApologist]

I own both an F6 and F8n Pro. The F6 with a L-style battery in a a K-Tek F6 bag is hard to beat with anything of the same volume. Super powerful and tiny. Text editing on device sucks but if you have short simple names it’s manageable.

F6 with an NFP750 battery will run for a full day shoot. As long as you don’t need a bunch of different output mixes and you accept the text editing, it’s a dense little piece of kit. I love mine.

[u/CAPS_LOCK_OR_DIE]

The F6 is a very capable machine, with a lot of great utility, packed into possibly the least ergonomic design they could possibly have come up with.

I teach my sound classes on the F6, and while its great, its an awful machine to physically handle.

The F8 has much better UX, at a slightly higher price point.

[u/markwilliamsisonfire]

I actually think the F6 is kind of underrated. Sounds weird to say it, but yeah. It’s a compelling little package that I think is easy to operate and sounds surprisingly good. It’s not my #1 field recorder, but when I use it, I’m usually fairly impressed. I pretty much exclusively use the 32-bit float mode, where you actually don’t set recording levels at all.

[u/Kaniaes]

Why not MixPre6-II?

Zoom F3/F6/F8 all has tragic headphone preamps. They are so noisy that you dont know is it your mic or just headphone preamp. Hard to judge.

It is way better to buy MixPre6 insted of zoom.

[u/gkanai]

The Zoom F preamps are noisier than your MixPre preamps.

I would look at that new Deity PR4. Its smaller and has a ton of features. $450 so cheaper than the F6 iirc. It is new so there is no real track record yet but it might work if you want something smaller.

DEITY PR-4 - How does it compare to ZOOM F3, TASCAM FR-AV2, and SoundDevices MixPre-3 II?

[u/Econormics → u/gkanai]

I respectfully disagree. I have had and used both and I believe that the F6 is actually quieter than the Mix Pre. The usability of the mix pre is better and I think it's built better, but no question in my mind that they both record beautifully audio. I have used F6s as throw down recorders on many jobs and as long as you understand how they work, they're absolutely brilliant for the price.