While it’s not at the same level of utility as the R3D RAW for serious videographers, I wouldn’t underestimate the value of the integrated 32-bit audio with the CLR hotshoe.
Right now, to achieve the same 32-audio sync on my Z8, I have to use a powerful but unwieldy (and power hungry) $400 Tascam Portacapture X8 (which has XLR jacks) + a $70 Tascam AT-BK1 Bluetooth Adapter to connect to the Z8 via an $180 Atomos Ultrasync Blue Bluetooth timecode generator (with a cryptic UI). A system fraught with multiple points of failure. Not to mention that I lose Bluetooth sync from my smartphone to the Z8, so I can no longer remotely control it with SnapBridge.
I agree with you that the audio features of the ZR are really nice, especially the upcoming Tascam module that lets you use phantom-powered XLR mics. 32-bit audio is nice too, but I think having proper audio inputs is more important.
If you were to redo your system, I'd recommend using Tentacle Sync Es rather than any kind of wireless timecode sync, and Atomos stuff in the past has been buggy so it's like a double whammy of unreliability. Yes, with the Tentacles, you lose your on-camera audio track since Nikon doesn't have a timecode input, but in return you get rock solid sync.
I'd also get a Tascam FR-AV2 instead of a Portacapture which cannot be jam-synced. The FR-AV2 has a temperature-compensated oscillator that can be jam-synced with the Tentacle, and then the Tentacle can be disconnected because the Tascam's oscillator will maintain a low level of drift over a long time. I've seen a test where it maintains sync to the frame for 24 hours.
A cheaper recorder option which has 32-bit audio, phantom powered XLRs, and can be jam synced is Zoom's M4 Mictrak. It's not clear how good its onboard oscillator is, but the preamps are claimed to be from their F series, so they're probably very good.
BTW, a big advantage of running your own recorder is that you are untethered from the camera and can place your mics anywhere, so the audio features in a ZR are not necessarily a clear win over an external, synced audio recorder.
My own setup has a Sync E with a Track E. At the beginning, I jam sync the Track E to the Sync E which consists of connecting both units with a cable, and waiting for a few seconds, after which they are synced and I can disconnect the cable.
The Track E has an on-board 1-channel 48 kHz 32-bit float recorder along with a 5V plug-in power so it can use the widest range of lavs and embeds its timecode in the audio metadata for later syncing. I then use the Track E as a body pack on my talent with a Sennheiser MKE2 Gold lav for really high quality sound. The Track E can literally run all day with its built-in battery and storage, so you can start it recording, and forget about it until the end of the day.
The syncing in post is trivial with Tentacle's utility which makes XML files that sync up all of your video and audio tracks that you can import into an editor. You just dump all of your files into it, and it sorts it all out. So even if the Track-E is continuously recording, and I start and stop the video on the camera, it will still pair up all the video fragments correctly. It's even easier if you use a camera that can embed timecode in video metadata since the video editor can directly sync those files.
BTW, an ironic thing is that on the same day that the ZR was announced, Blackmagic also announced the Camera Pro Dock which gives an iPhone far more professional video I/O than the ZR and only for $300:
- genlock input on BNC
- timecode input on BNC
- locking dedicated power input
- full size HDMI (to the extent that HDMI is a pro standard)
- locking USB-C ports
It really shows the paucity of options on the ZR, which was ostensibly designed for video work.
