With the present rebellion towards Adobe’s subscription mannequin, of us are taking a tough have a look at Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve Studio. And plenty of like what they see. It’s arguably extra highly effective than Adobe’s Premiere Professional, providing higher colour correction instruments together with built-in results and audio apps. Better of all, it’s free (although you possibly can pay $300 to improve to the Studio model).
To make it extra sensible for these modifying on the go, Blackmagic introduced an iPad version in late 2022 with the Minimize (modifying) and Shade pages, however no results or audio apps. The thought was to supply creators a method to edit or color-correct on the street, with all the things syncing up by way of Blackmagic Cloud. It was additionally choice for many who choose to work on cell gadgets.
Earlier this 12 months, Blackmagic launched the $509 Micro Shade Panel that gave customers tactile management for colour correction, similar to the extremely paid colorists in Hollywood. Higher nonetheless, it may be used with Resolve on iPad, so you possibly can click on, dial and roll in a exact method, quite than pawing inaccurately on a contact show.
I love control surfaces, so I used to be keen to check the Micro Shade Panel with my iPad Air M2 to see how they work collectively. On the identical time, I wished to check out Blackmagic’s Cloud to share initiatives on a number of gadgets.
You get two installs with DaVinci Resolve Studio, so I used my desktop key to put in it on my iPad Air M2. Blackmagic recommends an iPad with an M1 or later processor, and although it should work with earlier iPads, it’s possible you’ll be restricted to HD and options might be restricted.
Blackmagic offered me with a free trial of its Cloud service so I might switch initiatives from my desktop over to the iPad. That usually prices $5 per 30 days per library, which provides you 500GB of storage and limitless initiatives that may be shared with as much as 10 collaborators.
You possibly can simply share timelines, results, metadata and media. To switch information, you possibly can both join a USB-C drive or share full or proxy media (smaller variations of your video clips) on Blackmagic Cloud. That requires a quick connection — each to add and obtain — however as soon as that’s executed, they reside regionally in your iPad. Any new media information are robotically synced to the Cloud.
The draw back of DaVinci Resolve on an iPad is the clumsy touch-based interface, particularly for colour correction – however that’s the place the Micro Shade Panel is available in. Blackmagic has a wealthy historical past of building such controllers for skilled use, however the brand new mannequin is its smallest and least expensive thus far.
Although diminutive in comparison with the $859 model, the brand new Micro Panel nonetheless oozes high quality. Its black end can draw some mud however in any other case seems skilled. The buttons gentle up that will help you discover them in a darkish studio, however the labels on the dials don’t, to allow them to be onerous to learn.
The panel comes with its personal battery that provides you about 15 hours on a cost. Although you should use USB-C to connect with PCs or Macs, iPads solely help Bluetooth, with USB-C reserved for charging.
After pairing the Micro Management Panel to your iPad, it’s essential allow it in DaVinci Resolve’s preferences. Then, you possibly can slide your iPad into the slot on the again and also you’re able to work.
To be clear, the Micro Management Panel isn’t designed for modifying — it’s strictly for colour correction. To that finish, it mirrors the interface of DaVinci Resolve’s Shade Web page. The primary controls are for “Carry” (black ranges), “Gamma” (distinction) and “Acquire” (total brightness).
These wheels and dials provide good ranges of resistance and accuracy, in comparison with the Loupedeck+ and different varieties of management surfaces I’ve tried. They’re used for issues like shadows, highlights and saturation, whereas the buttons allow you to view the picture full display, transfer from clip to clip, add keyframes and extra.
The tactile expertise is a powerful promoting level of the Micro Management Panel, however there’s a catch-22 utilizing it with the iPad. At dwelling, I’d be probably to make use of it with my PC or Mac for extra pace and flexibility. After I’m on the street with my iPad, although, I’m unsure I’d take the Micro Management Panel with me, as a result of it’s too cumbersome.
So regardless of Blackmagic advertising this as an iPad accent, I’d say it’s presently higher for desktop DaVinci Resolve Studio customers who need extra tactile management. It’s nice for individuals who solely edit on iPad, however I’d think about that in a Venn diagram of these of us and those prepared to spend $508 on a colour correction panel, there may be solely a tiny overlap.
In sum, Blackmagic’s Micro Shade Panel is moveable, enticing, well-designed, good to make use of and fairly priced. Should you spend a number of time on colour correction, you’ll discover it to be a timesaver as soon as the controls develop into second nature. It’ll additionally make your modifying suite look extra skilled.
Although not but a fantastic match for the iPad, that might change. Apple lately launched the iPad Professional M4, together with a 13-inch mannequin that provides comparable efficiency to many MacBooks. On the identical time, Blackmagic Design has promised to convey the iPad model of DaVinci Resolve extra on par with the desktop variations. If that occurs, many Resolve customers might choose to make use of the iPad model solely — which might make the Micro Shade Panel extra fascinating.