Setting up the ZOOM F8

EQUIPMENT

Zoom F8 Recorder

NTG 2 or 4 Shotgun Microphone

Sennheiser G3 Radio Microphone kit

NOTE: Phantom power can blow up equipment

Adjust phantom power settings before plugging in radio microphones.

1. POWER: Connect the v-lock battery to the Zoom F8 with the power cable and switch on the zoom recorder.

2. FACTORY RESET: Perform a factory reset to delete any weird settings other users have left behind.

- - Press 'MENU', select ‘SYSTEM’, select ‘FACTORY RESET’, and select ‘YES’.

3. DATE/TIME: Set the date and time correctly (this helps you line up files when syncing in post).

Press 'MENU', select ‘SYSTEM’, select ‘DATE/TIME’, and set the date and time.

4. FORMAT SD: Press 'MENU', select ‘SD CARD’, select ‘FORMAT’, select ‘SD1’, select ‘Yes’. Repeat SD2

5. RECORD FORMAT: 48kHz 24 bit Wav poly

- - Press 'MENU', select ‘REC’, select ‘REC TO SD1’ and choose ‘Tr1-8 (Poly)’
  - Select ‘SAMPLE RATE’ and choose ‘48kHz’
  - Select ‘WAV Bit Depth’ and choose ‘24’

6. PHANTOM POWER: Shotgun: ON (Input 1) Radio Microphones: OFF (Inputs 2-8)

- - Press 'MENU', select ‘INPUT’, select ‘PHANTOM’, set the phantom correctly for each input

7. HPF: 80Hz Turn on your high pass filters (HPF) for all radio mics and boom (if you are only recording voice).

- - Press 'MENU', select ‘INPUT’, select ‘HPF’, select ‘ALL’, select 80Hz.

8. Input Limiters: Use soft limiters on all channels to protect against distortion

- - Press 'MENU', select ‘INPUT’, select ‘INPUT LIMITER’, select ‘ALL’, select ‘ON’, select 'Advanced'.

9. PEAK + VU METERS: Set your meters up to be most useful.

- - Press 'MENU', select ‘SYSTEM’, select ‘LEVEL METER’, select 'TYPE', ‘PEAK + VU’.

10. Dual Channel Record: If desired you can record an input simultaneously on two channels (to record one at a lower level as a backup incase of distortion).

Press 'MENU', select 'RECORD', select 'Dual Channel Rec', select 'Input1/2/3/4' (depending on which input you would like to dual record), select 'On'.
You will notice the channel underneath will turn on eg. channel 1 and 5 will both be on and if you listen, you will hear the same microphone source on both.
Adjust the gain knob for both channels and set the second channel at a lower level for safety.

11. I recommend using this display so you can see all inputs.

- Use the scroll wheel to cycle through different displays until you get to the one that looks like the screen below.

12. BOOM OP MONITOR (or director's headset): You can plug a radio mic transmitter into the sub out on the zoom F8 to give the boom op or your director a feed.

- - Plug the radio mic transmitter into the sub output (3.5mm jack) on the side of the zoom f8.
  - Activate tone using the tone switch on the zoom f8. Adjust the "sensitivity" of the transmitter so that levels are somewhere in the middle of the level meter on the transmitter.
  - Give your boom op or director the radio mic receiver. They can control their volume with the 'AF OUT' setting in the menu on the receiver (this will be different depending on the headphones used).
  - On the zoom F8, press 'MENU', select ‘OUTPUT’, select ‘SUB OUT ROUTING’.
  - For a boom operator who only wants to listen to the boom (not the radio mics) - set the routing to 'POSTFADER' for ch 1 on both the L and R output (see the picture to the right). For a director you can send whatever they want to listen to (the default L R mix is probably ok)

13. HEADPHONE ROUTING: You can create presets to listen to different groups of channels (eg. a headphone setting to listen to all the radio mics but not the boom).

- - Press 'MENU', select ‘OUTPUT’, select ‘HEADPHONE’, select 'HEADPHONE ROUTING'.
  - Keep 'Setting 1' as the left and right mix as you will likely want to come back to this setting (don't change setting 1).
  - Press the >> fast forward button (next to the play button) to cycle to 'Setting 2'.
  - Choose which tracks you want to listen to by scrolling to them and turning them on so that the box has a red triangle - if creating a radio mic setting, this will likely be channel 2, 3, 4.
  - When you exit the menu, whichever setting you were on will be the active setting. To change back to the left right mix, come back into the menu and switch to setting 1.

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