ZOOM H8 Audio Recorder Review: A Swiss Army Knife Audio Recorder
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2024
- In today’s episode, we have an in-depth look at the new ZOOM H8 audio recorder for field, video, music, and podcast recording. We’ll look at the ZOOM H8 from the perspective of a video/film creator and a podcaster. The H8 marks a substantial step ahead from the ZOOM H6, H5, and H4n Pro.
#ZOOM #H8 #Recorder
Index:
00:00 Intro
00:12 Summary
00:22 Recorded with H8
00:31 XLR/TRS inputs
00:45 XLR Inputs & Phantom Power
00:56 SD Cards
01:08 Line out for camera
01:40 Speaker
01:53 Bluetooth adapter and iOS app
02:20 Powering options
03:41 USB Audio interface
04:42 Pre-record
04:58 Color touch screen
05:29 XY Stereo microphone module
05:49 Interchangeable mic modules
06:13 Recording modes
07:24 Compressor, limiter, noise gate
07:47 1/4-20 Thread
07:57 Headphone output
08:24 Price
08:36 USB micro port
09:05 iOS only app
09:19 Some features disable others
09:55 Outdoor stereo sample
10:11 Podcast sample
11:22 Shure SM7B
12:17 Self noise performance
14:10 Who is the H8 for?
17:41 Wrap-up
17:57 Please buy my courses
If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at school.learnlightandsound.com including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. Our latest course is Sound for Live Streaming with the ATEM Mini.
Gear used or mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, Pictureline or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:
- ZOOM H8 audio recorder - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon - geni.us/M5Bq1kh
- ZOOM H6 audio recorder - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon - geni.us/eh0Fr0
- ZOOM F8n audio recorder for film/video - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon - geni.us/aXim
- ZOOM F6 audio recorder for film/video - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon - geni.us/pCFS
- ZOOM PodTrak P4 audio recorder for podcasts - B&H, Sweetwater - geni.us/BbGtUP
- ZOOM LiveTrak L-8 audio recorder for podcasts - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon - geni.us/81Wt0VO
- RODE NTG5 short shotgun microphone - B&H, Sweetwater, Pictureline, Amazon geni.us/LoGE7F4
- Garfield Softie Ear Pad Covers for Sony MDR-7506 - B&H geni.us/Qcpgd
- Sony MDR-7506 headphones - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/sonymdr7506CH
- Godox SL150W II LED light - Amazon geni.us/nBdQF
- Panasonic GH5 camera - B&H, Pictureline, Amazon geni.us/InspOl
- Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS II Lens - B&H, Pictureline, Amazon geni.us/gr47
- Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K - B&H, Pictureline geni.us/uK8UqB
- Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS ART Lens - B&H, Pictureline, Amazon geni.us/bhOWVlW
Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself: geni.us/G7by
Copyright 2020, Curtis Judd
I love Curtis's incredulity over the omission of a USB-C port. For those of you who don't know Curtis, this is the closest he will ever get to saying "What the actual f**k?"
Hahaha! Spot-on, Scott!
LOL.
I'm a bit behind - but what are the limitations of microUSB that people had them so much?
@@onocoffee USB has become a bit of a splintered challenge. I would be nice to be able to mainly just buy USB-C cables at this point. Most new devices have them at this point.
@@onocoffee They wear out and break the pins inside the port. They are then difficult to repair. Blue Yeti's use this port on most all models, and the actual port replacement, if you'd like to see the level of difficulty if you could obtain the correct port housing for the board the mic is using. Just tube yeti usb repair or replacement. I'm with Mr Judd on this one for this reason.
I like how Curtis puts the summary at the start. Dropped a Like at 23 seconds.
Thanks!
@@curtisjudd no, thank YOU for the great work you do :)
You offer the best, most detailed information in your reviews. I can’t thank you enough since I’m always looking for ways to improve my audio. You’re awesome!
Thanks Mchanga!
Thank you so much for another professional review, Curtis. Most of the stuff you review is way above my goals, means or money, but the experience and the approach you share and convey are incredible. It’s like having an incredibly patient mentor.
Thanks so much, MyO!
It is absolutely insane to think that we have reached a point where we can fit that much technology in a package that small
These zoom guys are incredible
Agreed!
Curtis, can’t thank you enough for all the knowledge and testing you share.
Thanks Martin!
Curtis Judd Your deep dives into testing and reviewing audio equipment is an invaluable gift to the CZcams filmmaking community.
Not to mention the quality of light education you’ve given us all with SSI, CRI, etc. I selfishly can’t wait for a Lupo Dual Color 60 review at some point. 😃. I wish you continued boomerang-ing success for everything you generously offer us all. I can only imagine how much time it takes to run all these tests and edit it all together to create these pieces. Truly an act of humble service. Thank you, Sir!
Agreed. Always just such a pleasure to see a new Curtis Judd video and learn something new every time.
@@mcgreevs24 Wow, thanks so much Martin! Very much appreciate the kinds words.
@@RobbyHuang Thanks Robby.
Big appreciation for your professionalism and including a summary at the beginning of the video, you truly understand what people want.
Thanks, Liam. 🙏
I just picked this up yesterday - pretty happy with it so far. Not as big as I thought it was going to feel in hand. Best review of H8 that I've seen - nice work Curtis!
Thanks and happy recording!
**Update** V1.1 firmware was released on 31 August 2020 which fixes the slow boot-up issue.
Can you spot where I used the wrong cable?
0:43 I think.
I don’t know, at 2:25 it looked a bit like a USB micro A, but it’s hard to see.
Spot-on. That's a TRS cable, not the typical TS cable you'd use for a guitar or bass.
Stereo headphone 1/4
@@makatron Sharp eye there! Technically it was a 1/4" TRS to XLR cable, but the wrong cable regardless.
I was literally searching for your h8 review 6 hrs ago.
And here it is! Yay!
maaaaaaaaate.. i was searching for hours.. zoom need to pay this guy
YES! I was waiting until Curtis did his review. Thanks for taking the time to do these.
You bet, thanks Chris!
I love the little interviews you do with your family. I can only imagine the eye rolling when you say "honey I need to interview you again!"
Hahaha! They're good sports about it. 😀
@@curtisjudd I'm glad. Also very valuable in my opinion, not a lot of other reviewers manage to get female voice tests when trying microphones, and I think that's pretty important for us soundies.
Love the color grading and lighting!
Thanks Matt!
Great video as always. Super helpful info for making a purchase decision. Production value is a new high at this channel. and I guess we're not mentioning that the H8 looks very alien-y (especially with the weirder modules)?
Thanks for the feedback!
I have just purchased the H8 and my decision to buy as well as my ongoing education on how to use this unit have been guided by this great review. Much appreciated!
Thanks for the feedback, Richard. Happy recording!
Thank for all your videos! Based on your videos and recommendations via a short comment conversation a while ago, I got the NTG5 and F6 and I believe this is a monster combo 👍🏼
Hi EnforcerMan, congrats on the new recording setup - solid combination!
Doesn't look as "spidery" as I thought it would A great audio recorder thing for the price! p.s. I thought I already commented on this video but couldn't find it. So maybe you get two comments on this for the price of one. :)
What a bargain! Thanks pal!
Just really wish they'd release an F4 update with some of this stuff. Feels like they've neglected that part of the market. Would love to see F4 with dual card slots and real outputs get that color touch screen, 32 bit float and dual converters. Feels like a miss to have waited this long to update it!
I agree - would love to see an F4n with everything you listed.
It seems there is not enough demand, since the F4 was discontinued. In the same form factor you can get the F8n Pro, though obviously that's more expensive. Dual card slots is always a good feature. But a touchscreen is a negative for field work: it's too dim and you can't use it in hot (sweaty palms) or cold (gloves) climates.
Thank you for these summary in the beggining of every video. This is huge timesaver. You are saint man.
You're most welcome!
The quality of this review is outstanding! Very professional, balanced, and useful. Cheers.
Thanks Tynan Media.
Me, with my H6 looking at the micro-USB port thinking “I’m sure they’re going to fix this in the next recorder..” oh well.
*sigh*
My sentiments exactly.
Zero excuses for this. The amount of oversight required to make this decision would make giraffes jealous.
At the least, make it recessed or protected. Yeesh. Surface level micro USB is lazy and unacceptably crap design.
As always excellent review - Howewer, It does not look to be especially handy for cable management.
Thanks JOS.
Love your addition of a simple summary table with the pros and cons for those of us who remember how to read. Keep up the good work. Subscribed.
👍
Just found out your channel couple weeks ago. I want to say thank you so much for always explaining technical information as I'm just learning about sound recording. : )
👍
"However, if you if you need a recorder for a specific situation Zoom has other options better suited..." whew. I thought for a moment I'd want to get his over the Podtrak P4. Thanks for keeping the device greed at bay. 😅
👍 I have to confess, for me the PodTrak P4 makes more sense for most of what I do.
@@curtisjudd H8 looks so cool though... :))
for reference,
I just recorded live with the zoom H8 using all of it's ports as well as the included XY mic attachment
on full battery power (4 AA Activ energy alkaline) the zoom was able to manage 30-40(ish) mins with 5 Mics using +48V
This is a rough estimate as i was unwilling to let the zoom die mid-song so was forced to change batteries when the zoom displayed 1/3 power left
Thanks for. sharing, Zonga Pat.
This is my experience too. Using all XLR inputs with phantom power is battery hungry.
I am so impressed by your reviews, without a fail :) Thanks for all the good stuff.
Thanks!
Thanks Curtis, we really appreciate you sharing all your knowledge and detailed reviews, it makes a difference!
Thanks M Santana!
What are its Kessel run specifications?
23 parsecs, not bad.
@Sasuntidictous Rhoireiphapos No quite but pretty good for $399 USD 😂
The design seems awkward. Did you find you needed to place it flat on a table to use comfortably? Bag might be prohibitive.
Yes, but that was true of the H6, H5, H4n as well, generally. And this is a bit bigger than all of those.
It looks like a spider top down when you plug the cords in
@@josephyang3260 Yes, it does.
I love the light on your face its so soft and clean, thanks for all those infos
Thanks Sadek.
Another awesome review by the best in this arena. You’re the best, Judd! Thanks much!!
Thanks! 👍
Zoom's insistence to create 'unique' bevels/angles packaging design is creating obnoxious product cabling and portable packaging use. With all wires installed it looks like an octopus, is very non-bag-friendly placing undue strain on plugs/jacks, and nooks/crannies are dirt/dust magnets hard to clean. The Engineering keeps getting better with Zoom but their Marketing staff has allowed the final user's need to drift. Not good thinking.
Thomas Breithaupt Well I Thinking they have different configurations and trying to find what innovation sticks. I have a zoom H6 and I dont like that when Im podcasting with 3-4 people the cables run weridly to the sides before actually going the way I want to. I feel this design works with a round table of people podcasting. Im not saying its the best design, but I kinda get it. Plus cudos for trying imo
Definitely not made for bags. That "Swiss army knife" approach definitely results in several compromises. Not the right recorder for specialists. But could be a good choice for some. I didn't find the ports to be particularly problematic, but I do generally prefer to have all inputs on one side, all outputs on the other.
Yeah, no bags, but it does have strap loops which is how you'd want to carry it if doing field recording.
I'm actually surprised the difficult shape wasn't on the "cons" list.
@@chakerian It isn't a con for me but I see how it could be for others. For field recording with the in-built mic module, it is big, but not unmanageable. For podcasting, I didn't see the form factor as an issue for me.
Plug in all the cables and you've activated arachnophobia mode for your viewers...
Oh no! A spider!
I can't believe how well this compares to my old H-4. Incredibly detailed professional-level video.
Thanks muchotone.
Awesome review Curtis. Subscribed right away, and having owned and pumped the life out of my h2n and h4n for years, I think this is the device for my short films. Purchasing this based on your endorsement. Thanks again.
Happy recording!
Got mine today! Can’t wait to use it!
Congrats and happy recording!
This is the best and detailed information from a reviewer have to beeeee. Thank you Curtis you're the best !
Thanks Irvan.
Super good video, the best reviews I've seen ever!
Thanks Leonardo!
Thank you Curtis! Just got my H8 a few days ago.
You're welcome and happy recording!
Another great review! Thank you, Curtis.
Thanks R. S.!
Yet again another brilliant straightforward explanation of the pros and cons of the zoom h8 handheld device.
Thanks NikCan.
@@curtisjudd more than welcome
Outstanding review! This video finalized my decision in purchasing the H8. Thank you!
You're welcome and happy recording!
Thank you for your helpful explanation, Bro. Love your review approach, Curtis.
Thanks 🙏
Thanks for the video. Your content is straight to the point, very informative and honest reviews. You seem like an awesome educator. Keep up the great work! you got my subscription, like, and comment lol.
Thanks Lee!
Thank you Curtis.
You´re the man.
Top of the line reviews and tutorials about sound recording.
Regards J O
Thanks J O!
This was great! Awesome overview Curtis. Subscribed!! Happy Holidays.
Thanks Patrick!
Informative and beautifully presented as always. Many thanks.
Thanks Edward.
Such a crazy looking thing. Thanks again Curtis!
Thanks for stopping by, Kreigh!
Thank u soooo much Curtis! I really love your reviews. So much work in there. Thanks! Cheers from Chile 😃
Thanks Antonio!
Super helpful overview, thanks!
🙏
Can’t wait to receive mine... Great video!
👍 Happy recording!
Extremely nice review of the product. Thank you ++ :)
Thanks Benoit.
Solid content, as always. Thanks for covering so much.
Thanks, Blakely Studio.
Thank you for the review.
I was thinking of buying this as a back up of my TASCAM DR-44WL and saw it being sold at a retail store in Tokyo.
👍
Great content, he's the man when I want a detailed review!
Thanks Andrew!
Excellent video. And you present as a level headed, friendly sort of person.Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, spoonido.
Another full and incredibly helpful review. An unexpected bonus for me was to see a use for the Edelkrone FlexTilt style heads. I bought one quite some time ago and found no use for it, dismissing it as the most pointless thing that I had ever purchased. Now I see that using it with a field recorder can work rather well (once the thick layer of dust had been removed), so thanks for that as well.
Hi John, glad to have sparked an idea!
“I came up with no reason for the micro USB port....I am sorry for the ios only app, even though I don't know why I am apologizing for zoom...” that made my day! A good job always~~~
😀
Thanks! Great job on this video. Very detailed. I just bought one of these so I may be reaching out to you with a bunch of questions. Thank you
Happy recording!
Curtis...thank you for another in depth, honest video! Kudos!
Thanks!
I received mine this weekend. So far, I am very happy with it. The main downside for me as you mentioned was only being able to use one processor at a time for each channel, but not a deal-breaker at all. Hopefully, a firmware update will fix this.
Congrats, Phillip! Happy recording!
When it comes to audio recording, I go to you, Curtis Judd, before I make any final decisions on purchasing audio gear. Thanks for all the hard work you put into your reviews.
Thanks Todd!
I bought mine today. Thanks Curtis. Your review was very helpful for a beginner like me. I didn't want to give more for a Tascam X8 or Zoom F3 + a capable shotgun mic.
Glad it was helpful. Happy recording!
Thank you soo much for this.. I almost died of boredom trying to read the manual
LOL! Glad this helped.
Thank you for good information. Your video helped me a lot in purchasing the zoom h8. Now all that's left is to put some good sound in it. thank you.
👍 Happy recording!
Curtis your channel is fantastic! Thank you for sharing!!!!!
Thanks Andre!
Awesome as always!!
Thanks Casey!
Great review! Thanks.
You're welcome.
Fantastic review
Thanks!
Thank you again for your videos, you're the best and we learn so much from you ,i appreciate it
Thanks Peshraw!
Thanks for detailed and easy to understand explanation
You're most welcome!
Great review. Thank you!
👍
Excellent review!
Thanks!
Hi Curtis! Great review as always and I just received the H8 as well. Regarding the headphone for podcasting, we just a simple headphone splitter to connect several headphones. That would do the trick.
👍
Thanks Curtis, loving your reviews 👍
Thanks 50450720 👍
谢谢 分享，刚刚买入一个H8。学习中
恭喜你，录制愉快！
I love this thing!
I do H8 the fact that it only uses iOS for its app... And uses micro USB.
I figured this would be worth a lot more than 399...that's a surprise to me.
Great video as always, Curtis. Thanks again!
Thanks Dave.
I'm a musician and use the H8 to record my performances and create amateur content such as short videos and interviews. I find the touch screen quite good and the user interface very intuitive. Preamps sound similar to the H5 and H6 which I've owned in the past, not amazing but good enough for people like me. I don't bother with the "musician" or "podcast" sections of the device and just operate in "field" mode for all my work whether it's performance or interview recordings. The thing that I came to appreciate the most is recording small classical music ensembles where you realise quickly the luxury of having up to 6 xlr and a 3.5mm input. Love your reviews Curtis!
Thanks for sharing your experience with the H8, Hoang! Happy recording!
Awesome review as usual
Thanks lem.
Very informative! Thank you
You're welcome, Victor.
Thank you Mr. Curtis Judd for all your wonderful videos ! X🤘🏻X
Thank you!
Very informative piece of content... Thank you sir!
Thanks John.
Very informative video. Thanks for posting it.
Thanks Mark.
When I first saw the H8 during Zoom’s pre-release marketing, I was immediately impressed with its capabilities. Though what immediately struck me was it’s singular aesthetics. It looks like a device Bruce Wayne might use in the Dark Knight.
And he’d capture some pretty good sound! 😉
As always, another amazing vid. A big thanks! I just bought rode nt mini usb to have something more pratical than the rodecaster pro and your review help me do that choice. Well, perhaps Im gonna keep my H5 for some more time :)
Thanks João, happy recording!
Excellent, informative video. Thanks for the time you put into this to help intermediate level folks make a well-informed buying decision.
Thanks 🙏
Great presentation. And I like your laughing.
Thanks.
So helpful!! Thanks! Thinking of getting the H8 or the P8 for podcasting. However would also use this for recording audio for videos. So appreciate the indepth look.
👍
absolute class video. Thank You sir.
🙏
I'll leave this man a like cause he was very thorough.
Thanks Richard.
I bought the zoom h2 which I had for like ten days before it was lost accidentally on a job. Thought it was amazing, used the money my friend paid out to me from losing the device to get a H4 model. Thought it was just brilliant, but then for some stupid reason I got rid of it when I wasn't using it for a while. Deeply regretted that decision. Picked up a zoom H5 shortly afterwards and couldn't be happier with it. I have done dozens of professional audio projects on it and during lockdown, it has been my go-to device for my audio work for television and radio commercials which I voice. It certainly isn't a criticism of my H5 unit, but I could do with a few more XLR inputs for the podcasts I have been recording. I have no doubt that the H8 is a beast. I think I will buy myself one as a treat in due course. Zoom is a brand that I have complete confidence in. whether you are shooting video or singing along with your guitar. It is intuitive and great value. Get one. You will not regret it.
Thanks for sharing, Martin!
I love the lighting!
Thanks!
Superb, thank you!
Thanks Kit!
I love this recorder and use it all the time (mostly for music but occasionally for weddings). After extensive testing and running all 6 main inputs + 2 additional (EXH-6 capsule) this recorder has to be plugged in to bank power or a power supply at all times (it annihilates AA batteries). Curtis also mentions this recorder not being the greatest for podcasts but in 2022 Zoom has an answer to that problem via ZHA-4. This unit allows four people to hear the H8 mix all at once! Also Zoom finally released the EXH-8 which is adds 4 additional XLR inputs- I usually record my bands practices and I can mic the whole drum kit, both guitars, the bass, and all three vocals- it's one of the most fun "toys" I have!
Thanks for sharing your experience with the H8. Nice!
Great video Curtis. I enjoyed watching this. I have a Zoom H5 but rarely use it since the pre amps in the c200’s and c500 Mark ii is usually sufficient for my uses. The one thing I’m not wild about on this recorder is the form factor. I think it is nice they are trying something different but it seems like it isn’t quite the perfect setup for any use case.
Thanks Griffin, yes, not a great form factor for film except for effects recording.
I love that design quite futuristic.
👍
I am the second guy to watch this.
Thanks Curtis.
Love from India.
Thanks Rango, congrats!
Super explanation 👌
Thanks Khurram.
I just picked up the last one on sale for $260. waiting for it to arrive!
Happy recording!