Kisaha Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 @IronFilm I mostly agree with you, it is just you can't have it all, and for so little money! It reminds me a guy on another forum that complains that there aren't great 120fps cameras with the A7sII high ISO performance for less than 800euros, and he goes on for a couple of years now. Recently he "demanded" in that price range 4K/60p (thanks God he doesn't even know what 10bit are, or else..). I am really skeptical about going 663 or Maxx, and Zaxnet is mostly excellent, to have NOT. To go all in Zaxcom is a thing though (their wireless solutions seem excellent and pretty straightforward), but I like ergonomically the 6 series by Sound Devices (dead serious design and usability, plus the battery solutions) while I haven't used any Maxx or Nomad. F4 in my opinion is too digital, and it doesn't excite me much, my comment about the Mixpre being "half a world" better is because of the analog circuitry. When I am working with top SD and Nagra devices, what I am hearing in the post is a completely different world than the usual Tascam and Zoom stuff. Even older top machines (Fostex anyone?!) have great sound, but lacking in features/portability/power management, but analog filters and limiters, together with Class A pre amplifiers (and excellent phone amplifiers, something that Zoom sucks) is a nuke against TNT bombs. Another issue I have with Zoom is their ergonomics, seems too Sony a600 to me(!), I wish Edirol/Roland had a great new machine to compete with F4/F8, I really loved working with those back in the day. All in all, I am waiting for the first MixPre reviews, but I feel those will be out of stock mostly instantly, and for a long long time! For my needs, it will be an excellent little recorder until I see truly the need for a better recorder (the few better jobs I have, I can always rent), and then it would be an excellent (and tiny and light) backup recorder, or audio interface. Or else, F4 will be just fine for most jobs anyway! A camera is more than a sensor with a lens mount. Cameras are also ergonomics, battery life, monitoring systems and a lot more, especially in the run and gun, and low budget market that you do not have 5 people on the camera department and 30.000$ just for the rigging of one, and that camera was certainly not a high budgeted one, I loved the idea though, seemed great on paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I was kinda joking about a camera being a sensor in a box with a lens mount. But it does have a grain of truth... which is why cameras can be broadly similar. Just like why a Samsung/iPhone/HTC smartphone are all broadly similar too. I think the F4/F8 criticism of their digital limiters is a tad overblown. Because when you dig into the details of how they work, it really isn't that bad. Plus limiters isn't something you should be relying upon on every take anyway. 5 hours ago, Kisaha said: I am really skeptical about going 663 or Maxx Why are you really skeptical about the 633?? 5 hours ago, Kisaha said: Another issue I have with Zoom is their ergonomics, seems too Sony a600 to me(!), I wish Edirol/Roland had a great new machine to compete with F4/F8, I really loved working with those back in the day. Tascam is meant to be bringing out a nrw top end machine this year perhaps, looking forward to that as I've liked the Tascams I've used in the past. 5 hours ago, Kisaha said: and Zaxnet is mostly excellent, to have NOT Ehh?? 5 hours ago, Kisaha said: To go all in Zaxcom is a thing though (their wireless solutions seem excellent and pretty straightforward) Going all in on Zaxcom gives you pretty darn incredible control over all your wireless TX units from your recorder itself while on the fly. 5 hours ago, Kisaha said: but I like ergonomically the 6 series by Sound Devices (dead serious design and usability, plus the battery solutions) while I haven't used any Maxx or Nomad. Sadly my experience with high end recorders is pretty limited. Own a Zoom F4 + Sound Devices 552 + 2x Tascam DR680 And played around a tiny bit with a Zoom F8, 788T, and a Zaxcom Maxx (happened to have them on various shoots, so played around with it but didn't trust to use it instead of my own equipment). And one shoot I did do with a 302/702 combo, and another done with a 302/H4n. Kisaha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kisaha Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 @IronFilm I love Tascam! DR680 not though, not really meant to be on the field, why do you have 2 of those?! One of the reasons I am skeptical with 633 is that I am waiting to see what Tascam will offer, and if I have to go full Zaxcom mode, and never look back. "Zaxnet is mostly excellent, to have NOT" means that is a great feature to NOT have, maybe we got a bit lost in translation here, but what I meant was that you have to go to Nomad 10/12 to have Zaxnet in build, and those are not cheap, so an investment I can not do. If I was going Zaxcom (as you said earlier) I would definitely wanted everything Zaxnet connected! If I go SD 663, then going Lectrosonics and the such.. It is not only the limiters, the phones pre amplifier is very bad in Zoom (worst than some similar Tascams) and most importantly, the low cut filters that I use all the time (I think), plus the mic pre amplifiers (while Zoom's are impressive, they are nowhere near SD/Nagra ones, we have to wait for the MixPre to listen to them though!). By the way, what bag are you using? I am torn between K-Tek and Orca at the moment!! Great talking some sound in this forum! Cheers. Similar tools look similar, a hummer is a hummer, a car is a vehicle with tyres and an engine, an airplane is a long thing with wings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted May 4, 2017 Super Members Share Posted May 4, 2017 I've been browsing across different news sources and YouTube channels and there were some interesting products outside of the usual main players. It was always this sort of stuff that I found more interesting when going to NAB. This slider is pretty cool. Supposed to going to be $2000 complete with all of the motorised stuff. More info here http://www.waterbird.at ---------------- If you've got an interest in iOS or Android mobile film making then this is a really nice dual channel wireless solution for it. And also has analog outputs so it can be used with an ordinary camera as well. $249 for a receiver and one transmitter or $349 with an additional transmitter is a decent price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I brought a Tascam DR680 because it was the best for its price for field recording. Kinda got a second one by accident... but a great back up situation to have two. Plus you can gang them together for a 14 track recorder. Or more!! My bags are: 552: Petrol DR680: Satchler F4: Zoom Kisaha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted May 5, 2017 Super Members Share Posted May 5, 2017 This had the air of what Arthur C Clarke meant when he said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Right up until the point in the demo where it had clearly gone a bit awry. Incredibly promising though and nowhere near as expensive as I thought it might have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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