Zoom F1 vs F2 vs F3
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- Опубликовано: 2 ноя 2024
- The battle of the small Zoom field recorders, F1 vs F2 vs F3
The Zoom F1 is a small recorder compatible with the capsules from H5 and H5.
The Zoom F2 is a tiny recorder with a 3.5mm input and 32 bit float audio
The Zoom F3 is a two-XLR phantom powering 32 bit float audio recorder
Zoom F2 amzn.to/3S5Wtib (US), amzn.to/3xvfBhw (UK)
Zoom F3 amzn.to/3LjPEr2 (US), amzn.to/3djuJaZ (UK)
Zoom F1 amzn.to/3BnGuoJ (US), amzn.to/3UgFL1d (UK)
How do they compare? Let's find out.
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![[Eng Sub] Why are Zoom F2 and Zoom F2-BT recorders better than radio mic kits?](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wFjGhhUFUwY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Sony FX3 / FX30 Rig with 32 Bit Float Audio?? [Zoom F3]](/img/1.gif)
That’s a nice breakdown. Short and to the point, covers what I wanted to know.
I'm glad it served its purpose! 👍🏼😊
And the comment is much appreciated!
Spot on, thanks Roger. You answered all my questions and covered some that I hadn't thought about.
Happy to help!
I purchased the f1 and H5 + all the capsules when they first came out. I'm not an audio wizard but I really appreciated the versatility and ease of use. I also picked up the extension cable that allows me to position the capsule(s) where I need at the same time I can adjust settings with the recorder next to me. I do wish the F1 and H5 had 32 bit float but when I look at the versatility that I have with this kit I'm not willing to ditch it just to rebuild another kit that has 32 bit although I have added tentacle sync and track E lav recorder's and love the 32 bit float. I'll keep using the F1 and H5 till they no longer work then see whats out there. Cheers.
Makes sense to keep using the equipment that works for you 👍🏼👍🏼
Myself, after trying 32bit float, I don't think I'll be going back 😊👍🏼
I am so sad that I sold the XY that came with my H5 (never realised that the 3.5 external is on the XY module, wtf Zoom), now it's a pain in the ass going with XLR to 3.5 converters, already tried Rode and Boya and they introduce too much noise X_x
Nice review! Can you use any of the Sennheiser lav mics with the F3? I think they need phantom power so would need a 3.5 to XLR adapter. Have you tried this?
Thanks! No I haven't used any of the Sennheiser lavs. I'd assume that if they need phantom power they'd be the ones with mini-XLR though.
Sennheiser lav microphones like me 2 etc do not require phantom power, so you cannot use them with F3 until you will buy an adopter, which resists or stops phantom power if using Me 2, this adopter must be xlr to trs and secondly must stop the phantom power like expensive adopter from rode
The need for an adapter has nothing to do with phantom power, but different connectors, and in the F3 you can turn on or off the phantom power depending on the need.
@@RogerinFinland Thank you so much for the correction my dear, it is great hear to that Zoom have setting, where we can turn or or off phantom power depending on our needs
@@RogerinFinland so may I use xlr to trs converter to use me2 with this F3
This was what i wanted!! Thanks !
Awesome! Glad to be helpful, and thanks so much for stopping by and commenting! 👍🏼😊
excellent overview of these devices!
Thanks! And the comment is also much appreciated 👍🏼😌
I have the h6 and am not happy with it. If you plug it in to power there is a horrendous buzz. I am not sure if the buzz actually gets recorded, but it is just unable with headphones on. If I did it over, I would get the f3.
Since I usually use the F3 to record myself I don't know whether it has or not a headphone buzz.
And for me, unless I would need the extra tracks or "H capsule system" the F3 is a no brainer 😊
Hello, thankyou for your video, this video you say is recorded with the f3 I can notice the pre amp noise on this video can it be removed ? Also more important is the f2 as good as the f3 for pre amp Sound the background hiss ? Thankyou
Fairlight in Davinci Resolve is pretty good at that, but when I made this video I wasn't using it much.
And probably the F2 (I no longer have it) is not as good as the F3.
Honestly, with the flimsy built and lack of on board controls, unless it does exactly what you need, I'd skip the F2 and get something else.
@RogerinFinland Thankyou very much for your help, I really have been struggling to remove this sound. I have had a quick look I see it's free or you can pay, is this an automated process or do you need to be an expert to conquer this task ? Also is this function part of the free version. Thanks for any more help you can give with this.
Well, the easy route is just to activate voice isolation for the audio track and there's just a knob that goes from 0% to 100%.
I only have the Studio version, so no idea if the free version has everything.
@RogerinFinland Thankyou very much for your help. Sorry I haven't replied I didn't notice you had messaged back. .. only just found how to look at comments, I thought you had to go back and find the video then look for your initial comment !! I'm learning ... slowly
Hi Roger, thanks for the video. I bought the F2 , for mainly field recording (nature, birds sounds). I have a Zoom H1N that is pretty good, but very large comparatively speaking. One thing not many people mentions in the reviews (and I wish I had caught it) is that the F2 records in Mono, while the H1N records in stereo. For the field, there is a neat trick I saw in one of the reviews of the H1N, that allows for the use of a splitter, that allows for 2 microphones to be connected to the H1N. I tried that with the F2 and it doesn't work. Other than that issue, I love the F2 so far, very simple to use for field recording, am actually hooking it op on top of the shock mount of the mic. Simple and elegant.
Good to know about the mono/splitter not working thing!
As even more compact solution Zoom released some microphones with 32bit float integrated recorder.
I ended up getting rid of my F2 because of the flimsiness of the battery door and I felt I had less control as it doesn't have any screen or much controls on the device itself.
On the other hand, the H1n is not going anywhere 😅
@@RogerinFinland However, the H1n is not very pocket-friendly. On the other hand, it is a handy recorder. In my opinion, using a lavalier microphone is uncomfortable because the microphone jack is located on the side rather than on the top or bottom.
Obviously is not ideal, but the H1n might be the only recorder some people have and then a lav is an option that can be made work.
Would some fancy Sennheiser 500€ lav mic with a 500€ transmitter be better? Well, but that's not the point at all. The point is getting the most of what you have, and for some folks that would be the H1n.
F2 bt owner here. Great small device to have better audio foe action camera videos
Excellent use case! Thanks for sharing 👍🏼😊
Do you use the original included lav mic? Heard it’s not so good as Rode or other lav mics
@@DaLucaciShow yes, you are absolutely right, not as good as professional lavalier microphones such as rode, Shure , Sennheiser, sony etc
That would be a fairly obvious statement. Also, those brands make huge ranges of microphones, from consumer (comparable to the one with the Zoom) to professional stuff.
@@AttaulLatifKhawaja Tried it and i am very happy,the included lavaliere is awesome,no need for expensive one
Bravo, bravissimo. Great assessment, great idea
Grazie mille!
And thank you so much for your comment 👍🏼😊
Just got a F2 for when I use my GoPro; the battery cover Zoom should really improve.
100% agree!
And it's a pity looking at their other products because they know how to make a battery door. Even the cheap and economical H1n feels better built.
I am keeping the F2 because of the lav+32bit combo which is awesome.
Have you tried the F2 with a dynamic mic? Just curious. I can use some high output dynamic mics with my F1 reasonably well via an xlr to 3.5mm cable. Just wondering about noise etc. Thanks!
I don't have any XLR dynamic mic so I can't comment on it.
It works well with things like the Rode VideoMicro or Deity D3 Pro, but I'm not sure if that's comparable with XLR dynamic mics.
With that said, if it worked with the F1 the F2 should be better because of the 32bit float and not caring about gain.
Unless I'm wrong, of course 😅
I was long considering the F1, but never bought it when it was available. I currently use the H1n, the H6 and occassionally a Tascam DR-10X. I was thinking about the F2 as well, but now that I have the Rode Wireless Go 2 which also acts like a tiny field recorder, I am not sure if I really need that :)
While the F1 certainly has its strengths, it is my least favourite of all the H or F recorders from zoom.
About the F2, it's just a different device than most. The Wireless Go 2 is, well, a wireless device and recorder if need be now? But with the F2 you get 32bit float, which I'm not sure I can't live without anymore 😅
Fortunately there's so much choice in the market that we all seem to find what fits us best 👍🏻
Please keep at it, don't listen to the trolls. Wonderful job!
Thanks for watching, commenting and the support! 👍🏼😊
Thanks for the concise and informative video. As a H5 and F2 owner, I didn't even know the F1 existed, but I don't think I want or need one. Although I am now considering my lack of an F3.
Just recently bought an F2 for filming weddings, documentary footage, monologues etc. Looking forward to using it a lot and most likely will buy a few of them for hassle free 'wireless' recording. Really loving my first purchase into the world of 32 bit float. It's amazing!
One question just out of curiosity. You mentioned the F1 doesn't provide phantom power, and that it can host all of the H- capsules. Will it still be able to record using the H5-XY mic? I'm assuming the XY capsule needs phantom power.
The H5 XY capsule doesn't need phantom power and can be used with the F1 with no problems.
The lack of phantom power with the F1 becomes evident when using the EHX-6 (I think) capsule with 2 XLR inputs. Some might think "hey, I get to use my great condenser mics with the tiny F1!" But not really because of the lack of phantom power.
Actually, the H5 provides phantom power from the built in XLRs but not from the EHX capsule either.
If you have the H5 and F2, I'd definitely skip the F1. The F3 though... It's hard to not recommend that one 😁
which one is bet in 2023 if your goal is to make suer you can et the best sound for a little bit odd cameras like the Black Magic pocket Orignal camera that does not really have any good sound recording on its' own? which one should I choose now in 2023? thanks!
It depends on what you need. If 1 lav microphone, then I'd get the F2. For more versatility and everything else, F3.
This is a really good sounding video. I'd love to see a video going over the setup, equipment, positioning, processing, room treatment, etc that you use.
Thanks!
It will be a quick one:
- t.Bone EM700 boomed above me, just out of frame (about 25-30cm from my mouth) straight into the Zoom F3
- Zero treatment for the room, and it mostly has reflective walls
- Zero post processing other than adjusting the levels
Can you confirm about EIN of Zoom F2?
On website F3 EIN is -127 but F2 EIN is not written. Zoom customer service also not saying anything about it.
I can't say. I tried to check online and didn't find anything either.
I saw some comment that you are interested in using the F2 with a Sennheiser mke600. For that I'd definitely go with the F3 and use the XLR inputs.
The F2 is great for lav mics, and maybe microphones with the 3.5mm jack. For XLR mics is pushing it.
I mean, it does work with the Rode NTG4+ but it feels like a stretch.
The battery door on my f1 broke the first month that i got it. And ever since i have been doing hacks so that it does not turn off while recording
Mine broke too. I use a hack I saw which involves a zip-tie.
Maybe a dumb question, but if you are using the exact same mic and same setup with all three devices, will the audio recording quality be the same as well?
Not a dumb question 👍🏼
The preamps of each device are likely different, so that will make a difference. Some preamps can have inherent (nasty) noise floor, and some are cleaner.
And then there's the fact that the F3 is 32bit float, so there's less (none) likelihood to screw something up with the gain.
Thanks man!
Since the F2 and F3 both have 32 bit float, have you experienced any noticeable difference in the preamp quality?
Not sure if I can answer. Because of the input difference (3.5mm in the F2 Vs XLR in the F3) you will rarely plug the same microphone into both, and if you do there will be some adapter in the between making the comparison pointless.
With all that said, unless your use case is and only is lav mic with the recorder in the pocket (which the the F2 is the correct choice) I'd get the F3 for sure.
@@RogerinFinland this makes sense, thanks!
Very nice review! The F1 can record stereo signals, but can it also record a stereo line signal from the line/mic input? Thanks in advance!
Yes, it can. But not at the same time than recording from the capsule thing.
Something useful to add is that the F2 records only mono
What does that mean? Does that mean if I ever want to listen to that recording it’ll only play in one side of my headphones? Is there a way to fix that in GarageBand?
Bardzo przydatny test
?
should I get the F2 with or without Bluetooth??
That's totally up to you. Bluetooth will allow you to control the device and change the settings from your phone.
Because the device is pretty simple, if I need to change anything I do it by plugging it to the computer.
I realize this is old, but the question now is the F3 vs the H1 XLR. Given that H1 XLR is literally half the price of the F3, and is almost half and inch thinner in two dimension while being a bout an inch longer in the last dimension means it would likely fit in many pockets more comfortably while still offering identical XLR inputs, plus the H1 XLR has a non locking 3.5mm as well, I'm sure the plastic of the H1 xlr is cheap feeling, but I think the big question on most peoples minds should be if the F3 offers something worth almost double the price in 2024.
I'm a big fan of the H1n, so the idea of the H1 XLR is brilliant.
If I would have had the choice I'm quite sure I'd gone for the H1 XLR.
Tascam is coming out with a new double XLR recorder that also has 3.5mm input and the XLR are combo and supports SMTPE timecode.... I think it is anstrong competitor agains the F3. At least I am thinking of selling my F3 and getting that. But the H1XLR looks to be a fair alternative at half the price. Personally I am covered with the recorders I have, but if I can upgrade this or that, that is fine. The F3 is one I like but I feel it lacks a few things.
@@ww1www "What a time to be alive" as they say 😊. The H1 essential (105€) and the H1 XLR (160€) are insane value for money and 32bit float.
For my silly simple use the H1 XLR would definitely be in arsenal (if I didn't already have the F3).
@@RogerinFinlandSure. I was considering to replace the F3 with the H1XLR, I even put one on preorder when it was announced. Now that info and pictures were leaked about Tascam's F3 competitor, I kind of lean towards that one. I have a good number of recorders, including the H1n, H6, DR10x, F2BT, F3, Tascam X8 and F8nPro, I somehow feel that the F3, although a very good concept, has a few annoying things and some limitations. Maybe this new small Tascam or the H1XLR would be what I would like to have in a device this size.
@@ww1wwwI’m looking for a small pocket recorder to mic up our high school football coach. Something that fits in his pocket that we can click record on, and let it record continuously for 2.5-3 hours and record all his audio. It needs to save to an SD card so we can retrieve audio after the game. I just want good quality audio, and ease of use. Nobody in this circle are audio people. We want the audio (on playback) to play through both sides of the headphones/speakers. Any recommendations?
How do you efficiently sync F2 with video?
With any external audio I do rely on the auto synch by waveform feature in Davinci Resolve. Works great for me 👍🏼
A sound quality test would be have extremely useful.
It's pretty challenging to make them comparable though. The F2 has only the 3.5mm jack, the F3 only XLRs, the F1 has 3.5mm jack, and can get XLR but without phantom power.
In practice it means that you'd either test different microphone, or microphones in different conditions.
How much do you want for it?
If you mean the F1, I sold it already, and the F2 and F3 will be staying with me 👍🏼
I was really looking forward to hearing about the F3 compared to the F2. Oh well...
I might try to do that in the future, but because they are so different devices with different inputs it will be way more dependent on the microphone than the recorder itself.
The only XLR microphone i can plug to the F2 is an NTG4+, with an adapter, and to plug 3.5mm mics to the F3 again I need to mess with some adapters.
Is there some type of microphone that you are more interested in hearing than others?
@@RogerinFinland Thank you for your quick reply. And yes, if you can test it using your existing mic just to hear if there is any sound quality difference or not between the F3 and F2. Here's my basic setup. I'm currently using the Zoom F2-BT for basic voice over dialogue (outside). I was hoping is to test how much better the F3 would sound using the same lav mic (LMF-2) with the F3. Now I know you'll need a voltage XLR adapter. I already have one (the RODE VXLR Pro). So attaching that to the F3 and testing it. I just was looking to see if the F3 would sound better than the F2. That's all. I already ordered the F3 and should be receiving it in a couple of more days to test it out. The one main thing that I like about the F3 is you can increase the sound level before you record your audio (which is something that you can't do with the F2). I know I can do that in post, but I was desiring to see if doing it on the F3 would make it sound better. Let me know if it will make any difference or not. Thank you.
I do like the feature in the F3 of setting what level is the file, so that there's less to do in the NLE.
I would say that this feature doesn't make one sound better than the other. I'll do some tests but I think you'll receive your F3 before I'm done with the tests and publishing them 😊
I have videos scheduled for the next three weeks and a very busy time coming up at work. I'll still do it because it is a good suggestion.
@@RogerinFinland Thank you and I look forward to watching it when it comes out. Again, thanks!
@@RogerinFinland Just to let you know, I received my F3 today and I can say that even though the recorded audio was much louder, taking the lower sounding F2 recording and boosting the volume, it sounds almost identical to the F3. Also, I noticed a little more background noise using the F3 with the RODE VXLR Pro XLR adapter and ZOOM LMF-2 Lav Mic. Maybe it could have been the VXLR or maybe it was just more sensitive to background sound. Either way, when I did boost the volume on the F2 recording, it didn't have as much background noise. So I think when it comes to using either 32 bit float device, the F2 works better with the LMF-2 Lav Mic and the F3 would work better with a XLR connected mic or mics. Good test though. Hope this helps.
Still trying to sell it?
It's gone 👍🏼
😳🤩👍🏻😎😀👌🏻
👍🏼😊
Speek slower and more pronounced, and never give away that you do not know the product intimately from a professional perspective.
The speaker slower feedback comes time to time, I try to keep it in mind but sometimes I slip into speed 😅
The pronunciation I do what I can... English is my third language but I try, believe me.
And I'm not sure I'd I agree or understand the last statement. I am not a professional, and I don't hide that. I feel it wouldn't be fair or honest. That's my opinion of course 👍🏼👍🏼
The Dudes commenting is just a picky muppet I thought it was more then fine don’t worry
Much appreciated.
@@RogerinFinland meh, I have some people asking to talk faster, others to talk slower in my reviews. Funny that I can understand pretty much any thick accent, while the "first language" crowd seems to be struggling or saying that they are.
Personally I can't imagine you really going much slower, as your pace is beyond reasonable, I would even say adding dramatic stops :D
Much appreciated! I'll keep trying to add the dramatic pauses 😁