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Prem vs FCPX – Panels
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[Gabe Strong] “Yeah, they are doing some great stuff. That $995 panel is going to get them
a whole new crop of people jumping into color correction, in a ‘test out the waters’
manner. “For a self-professed cheapskate I’m surprised to hear you say that $1000 falls into the ‘just testing the water’ category. ????
Especially for a narrowly focused piece of hardware the only drives one application (which was most likely downloaded for free by the majority of the user base). I think a ‘test the waters’ panel is more like the Ripple at $350. To me BM’s new panels are going after people that already color on a regular basis and are looking to up their game. It’s a shame that they only work with Resolve though.
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[Andrew Kimery] “For a self-professed cheapskate I’m surprised to hear you say that $1000 falls into the ‘just testing the water’ category. ????
Especially for a narrowly focused piece of hardware the only drives one application (which was most likely downloaded for free by the majority of the user base). I think a ‘test the waters’ panel is more like the Ripple at $350.”
Wow, not sure how I missed that one! $350 for a panel, I didn’t know you could get one
that cheap! I will say, I use a Mac computer so I obviously will pay money for some things ☺
When I bought it, in 2009, I’m sure it was more expensive than a PC. Course I’m still using
it so maybe the ‘Apple Tax’ was worth it after all.Gabe Strong
G-Force Productions
http://www.gforcevideo.com -
[Gabe Strong] “I will say, I use a Mac computer so I obviously will pay money for some things ☺
When I bought it, in 2009, I’m sure it was more expensive than a PC. Course I’m still using
it so maybe the ‘Apple Tax’ was worth it after all.”I think it depends on who you buy your PCs from… they’re not all the same. ☺ I have two SuperMicro kits assembled by an integrator 8 years ago and they’re still chugging right along after years of doing 10+ hour 3D renders.
Shawn
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[Shawn Miller] “I think it depends on who you buy your PCs from… they’re not all the same. ☺ I have two SuperMicro kits assembled by an integrator 8 years ago and they’re still chugging right along after years of doing 10+ hour 3D renders.”
Shawn, I totally agree. There’s a ton of options out there on the PC side. The one’s that I helped
my clients put together for their ‘in house’ production team, were still running last I knew.
Of course, they cost similar to a MacPro to instead of the ‘Costco special’ price on whichever
PC was on sale.Gabe Strong
G-Force Productions
http://www.gforcevideo.com -
[Gabe Strong] “Wow, not sure how I missed that one! $350 for a panel, I didn’t know you could get one
that cheap! I will say, I use a Mac computer so I obviously will pay money for some things ☺
When I bought it, in 2009, I’m sure it was more expensive than a PC. Course I’m still using
it so maybe the ‘Apple Tax’ was worth it after all.”The Ripple is really only balls, rings and reset buttons so it doesn’t really compare to the Micro in terms of features, but it is only $350 vs $995. For someone spending a lot of time coloring in Resolve the Micro is probably the better value. I mostly do quick grades these days so I grabbed the Ripple a while back. If I ever go back to being more of a colorist (as opposed to an editor that can color) then I’ll probably upgrade to the Mini (assuming I go w/BM’s panels).
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[Andrew Kimery] “For someone spending a lot of time coloring in Resolve the Micro is probably the better value. “
DEFINITELY the better value.
I know this sounds naughty, but when you run your fingers across those balls, there’s no question. None. Tangent is “nice”. DaVinci’s balls feel smmmmooooooooth.
????????????
Kidding aside, there’s simply no comparison. Plus the functionality. It’s not just providing a physical interface for three onscreen color wheels, which Tangent and others do just fine. It’s that DaVinci hardware+software was always developed as ONE THING. This isn’t ADDING a panel. It’s RESTORING the MISSING HALF OF THE INTERFACE.
THAT’s one reason why Blackmagic has put on at least 2 massive pre-NAB events (who knows if that’s all?), and will STILL have the largest booth at the show. Nobody who touches these panels is going to hesitate to pull the trigger. Especially considering how inexpensive the software is to start with (even at $1000), it’s going to be a no-brainer for thousands of people, I have no doubt whatsoever.
I also think it’s going to create NEW customers, because so much of the special goodness of DaVinci is tied to the parts of the interface that are BEST accessed through the panel. They’re too easy to miss when they’re buried in menus, but when they’re right at the tips of your fingers? Magic.
I really do hope you get to take one for a spin. I think you won’t have any problems finding new excuses to use it. ????
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[Tim Wilson] ” They’re too easy to miss when they’re buried in menus, but when they’re right at the tips of your fingers? Magic. “
100% agree with that. Everything is so much faster with a control panel once you get it down. My analogy has always been playing a piano with your hands on the keys vs playing a piano on your computer screen with a mouse.
[Tim Wilson] “I really do hope you get to take one for a spin. I think you won’t have any problems finding new excuses to use it. ????”
Sight unseen obviously, but the only thing really making me hesitate is that it’s not cross-platform and there is a surprising amount you can do in Adobe’s Lumetri panel. The vender lock-in really grinds my gears, but, like I said, if I go back to doing a lot more Resolve work I’ll make the investment because it’ll be worth it (even though I’ll end up with two panels).
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[Andrew Kimery] “100% agree with that. Everything is so much faster with a control panel once you get it down. My analogy has always been playing a piano with your hands on the keys vs playing a piano on your computer screen with a mouse.”
I’ve been testing the Mini panel for an upcoming review. It’s love at first sight. ☺ But, you really have to do a lot of Resolve work to justify it. The Micro panel makes more sense for the editor who does some color correction and sticks with Resolve for that. Naturally, Grant’s pitch is that the editing would be done in Resolve, too.
But don’t forget that DITs are also a bit demographic for these two portable panels. If you are a DIT and do a lot of color correction on set, then Resolve is the obvious choice and these panels play into that strategy. Although these panels aren’t cheap, but they are less costly than a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. And they work with the free version of Resolve.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Oliver Peters] “I’ve been testing the Mini panel for an upcoming review. It’s love at first sight. ☺ But, you really have to do a lot of Resolve work to justify it. “
Yeah, the Mini would be if I go back to being a colorist first and an editor second. I used the JL Cooper panels with Apple Color and once you get used to using a panel it’s really frustrating to grade w/o them.
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[Andrew Kimery] “Yeah, the Mini would be if I go back to being a colorist first and an editor second. I used the JL Cooper panels with Apple Color and once you get used to using a panel it’s really frustrating to grade w/o them.”
I’ve been using the AVID Artist Color with Resolve for quite a while now, and I’d certainly second your point about the difference a panel (even a lower-end one) makes to the speed and accuracy of the process.
Although I am sure the new Resolve panels are going to be much nicer to use and better mapped to the strengths of Resolve, there is an amazing amount of control that you can get with the Artist Color. Of course, is was optimised for use with Apple Color back in the day but that’s another story.
There’s a bit of banking to do sometimes to get where you want (the same on most panels except for the huge ones), but all the functions that you’d want knobs for are essentially available. The trackballs and rings are very nicely engineered for this price point. In addition to the obvious speed and accuracy you get with these, I really appreciate how much faster and easier it is to set up windows and keys using the knobs.
My only slight gripe is that the EuCon protocol can sometimes make for a slightly imprecise feel to some of the knobs and that’s presumably where the new Resolve panels will score heavily in terms of responsiveness.
I think though that Resolve have probably just killed off the market for the Artist Color for Resolve users so this could be yet another AVID casualty.
Simon Ubsdell
tokyo productions
hawaiki
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