Zoom F2 Body-Pack Field Recorder

An Absolute Piece of Junk!

Do not buy this mic. It is poorly made, flimsy and absolute garbage!! I bought it thinking they made it to resolve the battery door issue on the F1 but instead it’s a completely stripped down version with no functionality. When I was putting in the batteries it completely broke apart! When I contacted zoom they told me that it would cost $90 to replace which is a joke. I’ve had others zoom mics in the past but will never buy zoom again. I’ll throw the mic away and be out $190 which is a total rip off for this piece of junk!!

Cannot be trusted for any serious production (1-year review)

I have 3 of these Zoom F2 recorders that I have used over the past year, on commercials, short films, video, interviews, YouTube etc.

Every single Zoom F2 has had issues with recording audio properly at some point - I have lost audio on every one of these at various points. Now I'm throwing them in the drawer forever and writing this review to warn others.

I have worked with these recorders using a variety of batteries and at least 3 different kinds of SD cards. The recorders are easy to operate, however sometimes the indicator lights will say it's all good, but the recorder won't record - and you'll only find out once you plug into your SD card reader.

I have 2 of the old version and 1 of the new version of the F2, tested both with new and old firmware, two of them had recording issues, one would just stop working at times.

The mic that comes with it is decent, but the windscreen falls off easily. Battery life is good, 32-bit float is great to have, but NONE OF THIS MATTERS if the recorder cannot be trusted in the field to do its job.

I wouldn't even trust these for low-end production or even backup audio, as there are better and equally priced alternatives out there.

TheBasicPilot

May 2, 2023

Don't buy this for the bluetooth, unless you are using an ultra Sync Blue for timecode!

They have the F2 Control app for IOS. It can now do some additional things on the F2, very handy to have instead of always having to connect to your computer to make changes in the settings for the F2 as there is no display. Not very convenient when you are on location somewhere.

That's if the one thing that you paid extra for (the Bluetooth) works. Well it works perfectly with the Ultra Sync Blue for timecode. But if you just want it so that the F2 Control app can make changes to your settings including formatting, don't even both. You will just get the screen shot that I posted.

Oh I'm not the only one with this issue, you can do a google search and find plenty of others. Why haven't they fixed this issue, you got me!

Captain Spanky Of Nazareth

April 12, 2022

GET THE F2 WITHOUT BT!

The BLUETOOTH is useless garbage. It does not allow you to monitor the audio. We only needed it to do one thing and that is solve the monitoring problem. Those of us who are professional documentarians and journalists have had a problem with pocket recorders for years: you start them recording lock them and place them in the pocket of the talent but you cannot trust that they did not have a rustle or wind sound because there is no wire running to you. — Bluetooth is a wireless audio protocol which could solve it immediately and comfortably.

This app does not do monitoring all it does is give you a remote to start and stop the recording of files and that is it.

Save the money get them on without Bluetooth.

Zoom is either shady or incompetent.

I ordered an F2-BT from the Zoom store. After struggling with trying to connect via bluetooth, I realized the recorder only said "F2" on it; not "F2-BT." I looked at the box, and it said "F2." I looked at the sticker on the bottom of the box and it said, "F2-BT." They ARE NOT interchangeable. I'm used to dealing with Tascam, Sound Devices, etc. I've never had a Zoom product. And after this letdown (or deliberate attempt to foist off an undesirable product on an unsuspecting buyer?) it's doubtful I ever will. A tiny 32 bit float recorder would be great for us -we deal with a lot of race cars, so levels can be all over the place. Too bad Zoom failed a professional customer in this manner. If you've been waiting for an F2-BT to get in stock, this isn't your answer unless you want to get screwed.

No App support for Google Pixel 5

Not a good sign that the F2 Control app is still version 1.0.0 and does not have support for the latest Android phones.

I Love 32-bit, but functionality needs some help

First of all, I’m very happy with the price. Getting 32 bit float in a unit like this for this price is fantastic. However it does come at some cost. The build quality leaves something to be desired (have fun with the sd card slot) and there is some very sloppy feature implementation.

Due to the size, the unit understandably has limited functionality when it comes to changing settings without the app, but it would be nice if there were a few button combinations that would trigger basic features, like card formatting and disabling 32 bit float (which luckily was set by default)

The app connects quick and is intuitive, but you can’t format the card with the app, which makes no sense to me. In order to format the card you have to connect it to a computer. That’s a big inconvenience for my workflow.

The other big issue I have is, when connected to the app, recording can only be enabled or disabled by the app. Hitting record or stop on the unit does nothing at all. This is completely idiotic to me. I’d like to connect to the app to change settings, and maybe check levels (in non 32-bit mode) and then put the unit on the talent and trigger recording, but I can’t. I either have to not use the app, or use the app and control recording with my phone, which I’m hesitant to do because we all know how spotty app connections can be. I could always connect to the app, change settings, disconnect from the app, and then physically hit the record button on the unit, but that would totally subtract from the convenience this unit is supposed to provide. Also, there is some delay when hitting record on the app.

The included lav works well, and it’s nice that it’s included, but don’t expect much from it. Expect middle of the road when it comes to the lav. A better lav can be purchased which can solve that issue so it doesn’t bother me much.

Overall I’m glad I purchased this product, I just hope they add some functionality to the app and perhaps the unit itself.