Company ZTE released new Android 5.1 smartphone Blade X3 with 4000 mAh battery and 4-cores Cortex-A53 processor, working on 1 GHz frequency, with 100 USD cost. It has 5″ multitouch IPS screen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution; 1 GB of RAM; 8 GB of built-in memory with ability to extend via flash memory cards with 32 GB max capacity; and 2 Micro SIM cards slots. Smartphone can work in GSM ( 900, 1800 and 1900 ), 3G and 4G LTE networks; supports GPS navigation and has acceleration, proximity and lighting sensors.
In ZTE Blade X3 two cameras are placed : 8 MP main one with autofocusing and flash and 5 MP frontal one; it supports wireless Wi-Fi ( 802.11 b/g/n ) and Bluetooth 4.0 connections for remote data transfers and communications with other devices, without NFC support. It has Micro USB port for connection with computer and Li-ion battery charging and 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output; device’s body is made from plastic; its sizes are 145 ( height ) х 71.5 ( width ) х 8.9 ( depth ) mm and mass is 160.9 g.
Package contains : ZTE Blade X3 smartphone itself, USB cable, recharger, headset, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all smartphone is very good : with powerful processor, 1 GB of RAM, capacious battery and 5″ IPS screen, costing around 100 USD at the same time. Wherein there is need to note, that there are Android tablet PCs with larger screens and more powerful processors with 2 SIM cards, which can be used as phones and cost 1.5 – 2 times less.
Among tablet PCs, produced in China and released by brand of this country, there is Aoson R83C – Windows 8.1 tablet PC with 8″ multitouch IPS screen with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution and metal back panel ( this makes it more wear resistant ). In tablet following are built in : 4-cores 64-bits processor Intel Atom Baytrail-T Z3735F, working on 1.83 GHz frequency; graphical chip Intel HD Graphics Gen7 4EU, integrated into CPU; 1 GB of RAM; and 16 GB of built-in memory with ability to extend via Micro SD/TF flash memory cards slot with 32 GB max capacity ( usually tablets support 64 and 128 GB cards, even if manufacturer tells about lower-capacity cards support ). Device has no built-in slots for SIM cards and ability to make phone calls and connect to internet, but it can do this via external USB modems; it has no satellite navigation and has only gravity and acceleration sensor.
In Aoson R83C two relatively weak cameras are placed : 2 MP main one and 0.3 MP frontal one; it supports wireless Wi-Fi ( 802.11b/g/n ) and Bluetooth 4.0 connections for remote data transfers and communications with other devices, it does not support NFC connections. On its body following are placed : Micro USB port for Li-ion battery charging and remote devices connection via OTG cable; 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output; memory cards slot; and mono speaker. Battery’s charge is 4000 mAh, this is enough for 170 hours of stand-by or 6 hours of work; back panel of device is made from metal, rest is plastic; device sizes are 207 ( width ) x 121 ( height ) x 9.6 ( depth ) mm and mass is 610 g.
Package contains : Aoson R83C tablet PC itself, Micro USB cable ( OTG cable is not included and there is need to buy it separately ), battery recharger, protective film for screen, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all tablet is good : having 8″ IPS screen, powerful processor with integrated graphical chip, metal back panel and other characteristics. There are device variants with already installed Windows 10 OS. However there is need to note, that there is ability to buy for slightly larger sum tablet PCOnda V820w with 2 GB of RAM and 2 operating systems, but with plastic back panel.
Among products of Focusrite company there is external USB audio interface Forte, having 117 – 118 dB real dynamic ranges. It can work with sampling rates up to 192 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision; to its microphone inputs Focusrite preamplifiers are connected. Its top side has LCD display and work indicators and combined knob-button control; frontal side has TRS 1/4″ jack headphones output. Its back panel has : power adapter input, USB port for communication with computer and powering, loom socket ( allowing to use different kinds of inputs connectors ) and analogue balanced left and right TRS 1/4″ jack linear outputs. Loom connector has XLR and TRS 1/4″ jack inputs for microphones and other signals sources; one of the device sides has Kensington Lock slot. To microphone inputs +48 V phantom power can be separately connected, it is available only with power adapter use; they also can work in instrumental Hi-Z mode.
Chips of Focusrite Forte, handling digital to analogue and analogue to digital conversions work with 120 dB dynamic range; accounting analogue part values for them go down to 118 and 117 dB accordingly, these are very good characteristics for audio interfaces. Card’s ports have following characteristics : microphone inputs ( THD+N 0.0007 %, noise level -128 dB ); linear inputs ( SNR -116 dB, THD+N 0.003 % ); instrumental inputs ( SNR -111 dB, THD+N 0.003 % ); analogue outputs ( THD+N 0.0008 % ); headphones output ( SNR 116 dB, THD+N 0.0008 % ); channels isolation is 90 dB. Device is bundled with Focusrite Midnight plugins suite, having VST instruments and effects, and Forte Control application; for it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, accordingly, via which device can work with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. Device body is made from aluminum, its sizes are 170 ( depth ) x 116 ( width ) x 36 ( height ) mm and mass is 476 g.
Package contains : Focusrite Forte sound card itself, USB cable, loom connector, power adapter, warranty card and user’s guide. Audio interface is great : it has high sampling rates, precision and dynamic ranges and compact analogue inputs connection; before purchase there is need to look on prices of this device and close audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite itself, Roland, M-Audio, ESI and other manufacturers production, choosing the most appropriate one for specific tasks.
Company Roland released compact audio interface Super UA for recording and playback of sound with support of 352.8 kHz sampling rate and 32 bits per sample precision. With such frequencies it communicates with computer, internal digital to analogue and analogue to digital conversions are performed with sampling rates up to 192 kHz. On its frontal panel 1/4″ jack and 1/8″ mini-jack headphones outputs are placed; on top side : buttons for microphone inputs 1 and 2, linear input, headphones outputs and linear outputs work modes control, volume control knob and signal levels indicators. On device’s back panel there are : power adapter input, ground connector, USB port for communication with computer and powering, additional module connector, left and right TRS 1/4″ jack linear outputs and the same type left and right linear inputs. On additional module there are : 2 XLR microphone inputs with +48 V phantom power indicators and 2 XLR linear outputs. Analogue inputs and outputs of device are balanced.
Ports of Roland Super UA have following characteristics : maximal headphones output power 200 mW + 200 mW for 40 Ohms headphones and 65 mW + 65 mW for 300 Ohms headphones; analogue connectors noise level is -96 dB; linear inputs have 112 dB dynamic range, microphone inputs 111 dB and linear outputs 118 dB. Maximal current draw by device is 1000 mA; sizes of main module are 115 ( width ) x 161 ( depth ) x 44 ( height ) mm and mass is 490 g, of additional module 136 ( width ) x 65 ( depth ) x 42 ( height ) mm and 360 g. For sound card drivers are released for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.8 and newer operating systems with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, accordingly, through which it can work with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others; device can also work in DSD mode.
Package contains : Roland Super UA external sound card itself, power adapter, USB cable, warranty card and user’s guide. Audio interface is very good : high sampling rates and precision, balanced inputs and outputs and large amount of connectors; here is need to look on its price, quite possible, that audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, M-Audio, ESI and other manufacturers production are better money investment, because for small and medium sized studios 96 – 192 kHz sampling rates and 24 bits per sample precision are enough.
These days most of the electronics and their parts are manufactured in China and its citizens started to export it under their own brands, creating very good devices with very attractive prices. Among these devices there is Dual Boot tablet PC Onda V820w, having 2 operating systems Windows 8.1 ( with ability to upgradet to 10 version ) and Android 4.4 ( also with ability to upgrade to newer versions ) and 2 GB of DDR3L RAM ( this is a fully functional office computer and PC for other tasks, that load system not intensively ). Wherein it costs around 80 – 90 USD : even cheaper, than office desktop computers. Also it has : 8″ multi-touch IPS screen with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution; 4-cores 64-bits processor Intel BayTrail-T Z3735F, working on 1.83 GHz frequency; Intel HD Graphics Gen7 graphical chip, built into CPU; 32 GB of built-in memory ( it is divided on 16 GB for Windows and 16 GB for Android ) with ability to extend via Micro SD flash cards with 128 GB max capacity. It has no SIM cards slots and support of built in 3G or 4G connections ( they can be added via external modem ), as well as ability to make a phone calls; it has no satellite navigation and has only gravitation and acceleration sensor.
In Onda V820w two weak cameras are placed : 2 MP main one and 0.3 MP frontal one; it supports wireless Wi-Fi ( 802.11 b/g/n ) and Bluetooth ( 4.0 ) connections for remote data transfers and communications with other devices, it has no NFC connections support. Outer panels of tablet has : Micro USB 2.0 for battery charging and external devices connection via OTG; Micro HDMI port for monitor connection; 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output; built-in microphone; memory cards slot; and mono speaker. Li-ion battery has 4200 mAh charge, which is enough for 6 hours of work or 170 hours in stand-by mode; body is made from plastic; device sizes are 205 ( width ) x 120 ( height ) x 9 ( depth ) mm and mass is 331 g.
Package contains : Onda V820w tablet PC itself, recharger, Micro USB cable ( OTG cable is not included, there is need to buy it separately ), warranty card and user’s guide. All in all tablet is great : 2 OSes, 32 GB of built-in memory, 2 GB of RAM and Micro HDMI output – this is a fully functional computer in compact body, which can be taken into long trips and to which external devices can be connected. Especially accounting its low price, with which only other Chinese tablets can make competition to it; there is only need to look on reliability of seller to replace or repair tablet, in case of breakage.
Company Pioneer released new monitor headphones SE-MJ751i, able to reproduce sounds in 8 Hz – 28 kHz frequencies range and having 2 drivers in each cup : 30 mm for high frequencies and 40 mm for middle and low frequencies. They have 104 dB sensitivity, 16 Ohms impedance and 1000 mW max power input; manufacturer does not tell which magnets are used for membranes movement, but the most probable neodymium. 1.2 m wire is detachable and connects only to one cup; in its volume control module microphone and phone control buttons, supported by Apple iPhone devices, are built; cable connects to sound source via 1/8″ mini-jack connector. Device’s mass is 200 g; package contains : Pioneer SE-MJ751i headphones themselves, warranty card and user’s guide. Headphones are very good and there is need to look on their price, at launch time they will cost 129 USD – this is big price for headphones and for smaller sum there is ability to buy high-quality devices; so, probably, they will be worth buying after some time after release, when their price will go down.
Among Windowstablet PCs there are also relatively affordable devices, for example, Prestigio MultiPad Visconte Quad 3G PMP881TD, working on fully functional 8.1 Microsoft OS, with 8″ multi touch IPS screen with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution and 189 PPI density and 3G networks support; wherein it costs around 60 – 70 USD. In it following are built in : 4-cores Intel Atom Z3735G 1830 processor, working on 1.83 MHz frequency; Intel HD Graphics ( Bay Trail ) graphical chip, working on 311 MHz frequency; 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of built-in memory with ability to extend via Micro SDHC flash cards with 32 GB max capacity. It can work in 2G and 3G networks, but only for data transferring without phone calls support; only one SIM card can be installed into it. Tablet has no satellite navigation support ( however it can be added via external GPS, GLONASS or combined receiver ); it has only gravity and acceleration sensor.
In Prestigio MultiPad PMP881TD, as in most other not expensive tablets models, 2 trlatively weak cameras are placed : 2 MP main one and 0.3 MP frontal one, very functional cameras not needed very much for such devices, because they will not give high-quality photos and videos due to small sensors and lens. Tablet has Wi-Fi ( IEEE 802.11b/g/n ) and Bluetooth ( 4.0 ) connections support for remote data transferring and communications with other devices; it does not support NFC connections. Following can be found on its external panels : Micro USB 2.0 port for external devices connection via OTG ( it cannot be used for connections to other computers ), 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output, power switch and volume control buttons and mono speaker. Li-ion battery with 4000 mAh capacity is built into it, which is enough for 170 h in stand-by mode or for 6 hours of work; body of the device is made from plastic; its sizes are 208.9 ( width ) x 123.6 ( height ) x 10.6 ( depth ) mm and mass is 365 g.
Package contains : Prestigio MultiPad Visconte Quad 3G PMP881TD tablet itself, recharger, USB cable, OTG cable, 1-year warranty card and user’s guide. In practice, this is a fully functional Windows computer in compact body, external devices can be connected to it and used far from home and different desktop applications can be used on it ( except, those, which have high system requirements ) – basically it can be used for most tasks, for which usual PCs are used. There is also ability to update its OS to 10 version. There is ability to wish for satellite navigation and phone calls support, but they are not built into entry-level Windows tablet PCs.
Company Supra recently released new tablet PC M74NG, having 7″ multitouch IPS screen ( with 1024 x 600 pixels resolution and 170 PPI density ), support of 3G connections, satellite navigation, Android 5.1 OS and other modern functions and costing around 50 USD. In it following is built in : 4-cores MT 8321 processor, working on 1.3 GHz frequency; 512 MB of RAM; 8 GB of built in memory with ability to extend via Micro SDHC flash cards with capacity up to 32 GB; and ability to use as cell-phone with 2 SIM cards. Tablet can work in 2G and 3G networks, without 4G support; GPS navigation, without GLONASS support and acceleration sensors are built into it.
Just for the check in SUPRA M74NG two cameras are placed : 0.3 MP frontal one and 2 MP main one; it can establish Wi-Fi ( IEEE 802.11 b/g/n ) and Bluetooth wireless connections for remote data transferring and communications with other devices. On external panels of tablet following modules can be found : USB port for connection with computer and other devices plugging via OTG; TRS 1/8″ mini-jack output for headphones; power switch and volume control buttons; and speaker, playing mono sound. It is bundled with Li-ion battery with 2600 mAh charge, which is enough for 4 hours of work; its body is made from plastic; device sizes are 188 ( width ) x 108 ( height ) x 10 ( depth ) mm and mass is 270 g.
Package contains : SUPRA M74NG tablet PC itself, USB cable, USB-OTG cable, recharger ( 2A and 5V ), 1-year warranty card and user’s guide. All in all for such money tablet is great; there is ability to wish for 4G, GLONASS support, larger RAM size and other functions, but price will increase accordingly with them. Manufacturer does not tell which graphical chip is used, if used at all ( maybe devices uses software rendering on its 4-cores CPU ), otherwise tablet is great for such money.
Among Behringer audio devices there is dock-station iStudio iS202 for Apple iPad ( 1, 2 and 3 generations ) with advanced audio recording and playback functions. Device can work from 2 A and 12 V power adapter or 8 AA batteries; on its top panel following controls are placed : buttons for phantom power +12 V switching for microphone inputs, Hi-Z mode switch for input 2 and AUX mode switch for inputs; separate knobs for amplification control of 1, 2 and AUX inputs; monitor mode switch for headphones ( 1, 2 and AUX inputs, signal from iPad ); volume control knobs of main outputs and headphones. On its frontal panel 1/8″ mini-jack output for headphones is located; on back panel there are : power switch button; power adapter input; composite video output; USB port ( probably, device can be used as external USB audio card without connection to iPad ); MIDI input and output; two TRS 1/4″ jack inputs for expression and foot switch pedals; 2 TRS 1/4″ jack main balanced outputs; ground connector; 2 RCA linear/AUX outputs; combined XLR/TRS 1/4″ jack output, which can work in microphone ( balanced ), linear and instrumental Hi-Z modes; another one such input, which can work only in microphone ( balanced ) and linear modes. On bottom side of Behringer iStudio iS202 there are batteries compartment and panel and holes for connection to instrumental stands.
Behringer iStudio iS202 connectors have following properties : microphone inputs ( gain in 25 – 55 dB range, maximal input signal level -7 dB, 2.6 kOhms impedance ); linear inputs ( gain in 0 – 30 dB range, maximal input signal 16 dB, impedance 40 kOhms balanced and 20 kOhms unbalanced ); instrumental input ( gain in 0 – 30 dB range, maximal input signal 16 dB, 16 MOhms impedance ); AUX input ( linear mode : amplification -infinity – 0 dB, +22 dB maximal input signal; phono mode : amplification -infinity – 52 dB, -40 dB maximal input signal; both modes : 47 kOhms impedance ); main outputs ( signal level -infinity – 6 dB, maximal output level 13 dB, impedance 240 Ohms balanced and 120 Ohms unbalanced ); headphones output ( signal level -infinity – 6 dB, maximal output level 16 dB, impedance 150 Ohms ). Device sizes are 305 ( width ) x 216 ( depth ) x 75 ( height ) mm and mass is 1 kg ( without power adapter, batteries and iPad ).
Package contains : Behringer iStudio iS202 dock-station itself, power adapter, 3-year warranty card and user’s guide. All in all device is interesting and has lots of audio connectors, part of inputs and outputs are balanced; however here is need to look on dock-station and external studio-level USB audio interfaces : it is possible, that such interface with similar ports sets of Steinberg, Behringer itself, Focusrite, Roland, M-Audio, ESI and other manufacturers production cost less. Their purchase is more suitable, because they can tightly integrate with modern DAWs ( FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others ) via specialized drivers with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio support.
I love optics, now I have 2 photo lenses : Mir-1V and Helios 44M-7 both are made in Russia and have M42 mounts for attachment to camera ( it has 45.5 mm work segment, with according adapters lenses can be easily used with all modern cameras, except of mirrored Nikon cameras, which have larger operating segment and require lens adjustments or mount thread modifications ); lets test first one of them to learn its strong and weak sides, optimal photos and videos making conditions and the most optimal settings for different environments. Lets begin with technical characteristics : it has 37 mm fixed focus distance, f/2.8 – f/16 diaphragm ( this is a middle light strength lens ), it is designed for 24 x 36 mm film or full-frame sensors, field of view is 60 degrees, minimal focusing distance is 0.7 m, 6 lens elements in 5 groups are built into it, they have yellow coating. My lens has 10 diaphragm blades ( 8 and 10 bladed variants were manufactured ), opening form is closer to circle, than of Helios 44M-7; standardized resolution is 45/23 lines/mm ( center/sides ). Lens length is 56 mm, maximal diameter is 59 mm, mass is 200 g; 49 mm optical filters and attachments can be screwed to it. It is copied from Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm F2.8 lens; different modifications of Mir-1V were produced from end of 1950-ies.
On Micro Four Thirds sensor with crop-factor 2 field of view is reduced 2 times ( only central part of light beam is used ) : from one side this reduces field of view, from the other side this allows to use only central part of lens with lowest amount of aberrations and highest resolution and gives tele photo lenses in compact body. Photos, made with Mir-1V lens can be seen on this page : test photos of Mir-1V lens. Test video with counter and side lighting without YouTube recompression can be seen here : test video of Mir-1V lens.
Lens has diaphragm presetting ring, so that minimal diaphragm can be limited; however on sensor with crop-factor 2 there is no big need in diaphragming it. Diaphragm control ring made slightly unlogical in accordance to presetting ring : when mark is on minimal diaphragm value, it is fully open, when it is on maximal value, it is maximally closed; probably, this way it is easier to implement such mechanism; but there is ability to accommodate to it very fast and remember in which direction diaphragm opens and in which closes. Focusing ring has smooth and tight movement : everything is ok in this respect; lens can be screwed by its mini-blend and unscrewed by its focusing ring ( after setting it on minimal 0.7 m macro focusing distance ). Frontal glass is located deeply enough and closed by small blend on the sides, so on nature lens can be used without attachment blend.
Helios 44M-7 has small depth of field ( DoF ) and it is easy to focus it on object, even focusing on camera display; Mir-1V has larger DoF and it is harder to focus it on the object, it is better to use it with tripod. Also it has middle light strength and requires longer expositions, so, when photos are made from hands they can be blurred in motion, here tripod is also useful. Mir-1V has quite peculiar color reproduction : indoor and at cloudy weather it is even slightly “brutal” ( colors intensity is decreased further and dark parts become even darker ); at sunny weather color reproduction is natural. On sensor with crop-factor 2 it has no chromatic aberrations at all, even at sides; and it is good in counter and side lighting, however attachment blend is useful, when Sun is close to the border of frame.
There is need to learn to use this lens, it requires more work to be precisely focused and longer expositions; it should be used with tripod or there is need to learn to hold camera in hands so, that its shaking will be minimal. The other advantage : it has no electronics at all and its body is made from metal ( aluminum ), so it is much more resistant to shaking. All in all Mir-1V lens is very good, when used properly, and gives much better photos quality, than bundled kit zoom lenses wit large glasses amount of cameras; especially taking into account price, for which it can be bought.
Additional photos, made with this lens, can be seen in White Stone in December article. Here I just started to learn to use it and many of photos are blurred in motion, due to camera shaking. On the next week I’ll print test image, made its photos and add them to article with testing description and results. But even now there is ability to say, that lens will produce sharp photos even on open diaphragm, because it is used on sensor with crop-factor 2; the same way as it gives chromatic aberrations free image with such sensor. In January or February I’ll order macro rings and will test this lens in more macro mode with larger magnifications and on closer distances. If you have other propositions on this lens testing, then share them in the comments to this article, I’ll perform them, if they will allow to better unfold technical abilities of Mir-1V. In the next article I’ll test monster of soviet optics : Helios 44M-7 with 50 lines/mm resolution and aperture 2.
Update from 16.1.10 : here are photos of test mira for lens sharpness and geometrical distortions determination ( in article there are PNG parts of these images, originals are in album with rest of test photos ); mira is slightly rotated around lens optical axis and its right side is closer to camera, but there is ability to make conclusions. Firs of all, diaphragm 2.8 of lens is not usable at all, because even on sensor with crop factor 2 there is lots of soap even close to the center of image; diaphragms 4 – 5.6 give sharp images and are working values for lens, down to diaphragm 8 image is good, this value also can be used with tripod. Second, diaphragms 11 – 16 are also not usable due to very long exposures required and blurring, this time due to diffraction. So, here are additional conclusions : even on Micro Four Thirds sensors with crop factor 2 there is need to close diaphragm to 4 – 5.6 – 8 values and use these ones to obtain sharp images and videos without diffraction.