Zoom F1-SP

Decent recorder for the price. I will use for quick and easy urban recordings. The noise floor is somewhat noticeable and it might not be great for recording very quiet environments.

Also the gain control is very limited +/- and fiddly. But, for the price, features and suitability for certain recordings it's decent.

Update: I've now owned this recorder for a few months and can comment more based on my experience. I bought the SSH-6 microphone also and the XYH-6 stereo mic. There a few major drawbacks to this device. Firstly, no matter how carefully I handle it and with the shockmount attached, there is handling noise. The slightest movement of your hand or the headphone lead produces noise. Secondly, and more problematically, this device is very prone to RF interference. Walking around a suburban garden it is very noticeable. I am unsure of the exact cause, perhaps wifi networks? It is susceptible regardless of which mic is attached, and it seems the zoom h5 is also susceptible. I googled the problem and could only find a few other reports. A user suggested wrapping foil around the interface where the mic is connected to the recorder. I tried it and found it impractical. In the same recording scenarios my roland R-07 recorder does not exhibit this problem. So unfortunately I have to revoke my recommendation. If I do use this device in future it will be to place it on a mini tripod for gathering ambiance, during location radio doc recording sessions. The RF interference is a major downside.

I had been looking at the F1-SP for quite a few years, but I only bought it in a promo at a significantly discounted price. I have many other recorders, including the original H6 with some mic attachments, but not the SGH-6 shotgun. When I saw that the F1-SP including the microphone attachment, shockmount etc cost less than the mic itself and comes with a "free" recorder as a bonus, I jumped at it. I really like the small form factor. If you only want to record one mic attachment an no external sources , it is very convenient. Sound quality is decent, but a bit noisy. Handling, menu etc are easy, display looks quite similar to the H1n. Build quality is okay, but battery door is quite fragile and a pain in the... the SD slot is a bit difficult to reach. Battery life could be longer. It is an older generation device, a new version should come with 32bit float, longer battery life (maybe AA instead of AAA), include a thread for a tripod on the device itself, include time code... But it is a fun device, especially if you already have other Zoom mic attachments or 3.5mm terminated mics. I will use it as a very portable backup recorder.