After Windows 10 OS release Microsoft started to manufacture smartphones, based on it : Microsoft Lumia 550 – is one of them, having LTE ( 4G ) connections support and adequate for its technologies and functions price. Capacitive multi-touch display has 4.7″ size, HD 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and 24 bits ( 16 M colors ) precision; 4-cores Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor with 1100 MHz frequency is built into it, also 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of built-in memory ( OS and pre-installed programs take part of it ) and automatic files saving on OneDrive cloud servers; additionally there is ability to use MicroSD flash memory cards. Main 5 MP camera supports auto focus and 2x digital zoom, with 28 mm fixed focus, f/2.4 fixed aperture, 1/4″ sensor size, 0.1 m minimal focusing distance and LED flash. Frontal camera has 2 MP ( VGA 640 x 480 pixels ) resolution and f/2.8 aperture. Smartphone records video in HD 1280 x 720 30 mode and saves it in MP4 and H.264 formats with AAC LC, AMR-NB and GSM FR mono sound formats.
Smartphone Microsoft Lumia 550 ( side view )
Microsoft Lumia 550 supports following connections : GSM, EGPRS, WCDMA ( 3G ) and LTE ( 4G ); navigation includes GLONASS, GPS and Wi-Fi and A-BeiDou positioning; it has proximity, light and orientation sensors. One charge of its Li-ion battery is enough for 28 days of stand-by mode or 16 hours of talking; there are interchangeable back panels with white and black color variants. Sim-card is Nano SIM; smartphone has 3.5 mm mini-jack output for headset and Micro-USB 2.0 connector for data transfers, battery charging and remote devices plugging in; it supports Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi wireless connections for data transferring and communication with other devices. From other functions following can be noted : support of FM and internet radio, Internet and local connections encryption and support of DirectX 11 and Xbox. Its sizes are 136.1 ( height ) x 67.8 ( width ) x 9.9 ( depth ) mm and mass is 141.9 g.
Package contains : Microsoft Lumia 550 smartphone itself, USB cable, Li-ion battery, recharger, warranty card and user’s guide. This is a good smartphone with Windows 10 and 4G and adequate for its technologies and functions price point, so, in case of searching for such device, this one worth looking at.
Lets meet with new mirrorless photo camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 – first one with tiltable built-in electronic viewfinder. 4/3″ Live MOS sensor with 16 MP effective resolution is built into it, image is processed by Venus Engine, interchangeable lenses are attached via Micro Four Thirds mount, image stabilization is via sensor shifting. Camera makes photos with 4592 x 3448 pixels maximal resolution and saves them in JPEG ( DCF, Exif 2.3 ), RAW and MPO formats; supported video recording modes are Full HD 1920 × 1080 60fps ( signal from sensor comes with 60p frequency ), HD 1280 x 720 30fps ( 30 ) and VGA 640 x 480 30fps ( 30 ) with saving in AVCHD ( with Dolby Digital 2ch sound format ) and MP4 ( AAC 2ch ) formats. Camera records sound only via built-in microphones in stereo mode; external microphones can not be attached to it; ISO sensitivity levels are in 160 – 25600 range, color spaces are sRGB and Adobe RGB. Electronic tiltable LCD Live View viewfinder has 2.76 M dots resolution; it has built-in flash; tilting touch TFT LCD screen has 1.04 M dots resolution.
Photo camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 ( top view )
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 records video and photos on SD, SDHC and SDXC ( UHS-I ) flash memory cards; it supports Wi-Fi and NFC connections for remote data transfers and control. Camera allows manual and automatic control of focus, diaphragm and exposure, it can be used for astronomical photos making with use of T-mount adapter. Following connectors are placed on it : USB 2.0 for data transfers and Li-ion battery charging; HDMI Mini Type C; AV output; 2.5 mm input for remote control; and Hot Shoe; one charge of battery is enough for 320 photos making. Camera sizes are 122.6 ( width ) x 70.7 ( height ) x 54.6 ( depth ) mm and mass is 360 g ( only camera body without lens, memory card and battery ). Operating conditions are : temperature in 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius range and relative air humidity levels in 10 – 80 % range.
Photo camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 ( rear view )
Package contains : Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 camera itself, USB cable, Li-ion battery, recharger, CD-ROM disk with software ( PHOTOfunSTUDIO 9.2 PE, SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.1 SE and LoiLoScope 30-days trial version ), shoulder strap, body cap, warranty card and user’s guide; there are kits with included lens, blends and caps for them. This is a great mirrorless compact camera, packaged with modern technologies and giving excellent videos and RAW photos quality; from its minuses following can be mentioned : higher, than competitors, JPEG photos compression artifacts amount ( this is inherent to all Panasonic cameras with Venus Engine ) and very high price ( when new models will come out, it will go down, but even now its technologies and functions justify its price; although for such money there is ability to buy APS-C sensored Sony, Canon and Fujifilm cameras ).
Lets review today external studio-level sound card Focusrite Scarlett 6i6, working with 96 kHz maximal sampling rate and 24 bits precision; with ability to plug-in 2 Focusrite preamplifiers. On its frontal panel following connectors and controls are placed : 2 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, which are able to work in microphone, Hi-Z instrumental and linear modes; for each of them these work modes switches with backlight, PAD switches, amplification controls and common phantom power +48 V switch with backlight; 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs for monitor headphones, their volume controls, main card’s outputs volume control and USB and MIDI connections states indicators. Its back panel has : Kensington Lock slot; SPDIF digital RCA input and output; power switch; power adapter input ( for MIDI connection ); USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; MIDI input and output; 4 linear TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs; and 2 linear TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs.
Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 performs analogue to digital conversions with 109 dB dynamic range and vice a versa 106 dB; microphone inputs have THD -96 dB and -122 dB noise level; linear inputs on frontal panel has the same characteristics equal to -80 dB and -105 dB, accordingly; on back panel : –82 dB and -107 dB, accordingly; instrumental inputs noise level is -103 dB; THD of linear outputs is -100 dB. With card following software is supplied : DAWAbleton Live Lite, Scarlett MixControl ( 6×6 DSP mixer ), Scarlett Plug-in Suite ( containing VST/AU/RTAS versions of reverberation, compression, gating and equalizer plugins ), Novation Bass Station ( AU/VST versions of according software synthesizer ) and 1 GB of Loopmasters samples. Card sizes are 210 ( width ) x 180 ( depth ) x 50 ( height ) mm and mass is 1.18 kg; body of card is made of anodized aluminum and painted into beautiful maroon-scarlet color.
Ableton Live Lite – is a slightly simplified version of professional DAW of this branch; wherein its projects can be opened in advanced version and in it majority of instruments and utilities of more costly DAW are available. It allows to record and edit audio and MIDI on 8 tracks, has instruments Drum, Instrument and Effect, automatically recognizes large amount of hardware controllers ( for example, MIDI keyboards ), has large amount of built-in effects ( reverberation, compressor, equalizer, chorus, filters, delay and others ). Also Ableton Live Lite allows to plug in external VST/AU instruments and effects, supports Ableton Link technology, allowing to synchronize many DAW instances for cooperative work, has instrument Overhauled Simpler for work with audio, digital version of hardware devices ( which precisely enough simulate their work with sound ) and has large amount of other tools for professional work with sound in studios and on concerts. Program works in Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7 and newer operating systems, it requires multi-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, fast Internet connection for downloading of additional files and 3 GB of hard disk space. Among artists, using professional version of this DAW, there is ability to note : Armin Van Buuren, DJ Krush, Daft Punk, Dust Brothers, Meat Beat Manifesto, Sasha and others.
For it drivers are released for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7 and newer with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, allowing modern DAWs ( Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others ) to use its capabilities to their full extent. Package contains : Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software, warranty card and user’s guide. It is a good stuio sound card, allowing to work with sound on professional level; from its weak sides following can be noted : not maximal sampling rate for modern-day devices, lack of balanced inputs and outputs, and lack of Direct Monitor switch. So, when audio interface is being chosen ( from this one and of Steinberg, Behringer, Roland, ESI, M-Audio, Alesis and other manufacturers production ) there is need to look on prices of devices and accordance of their technical characteristics for specific use tasks.
Focusrite – is a British company, founded in 1985 year, it produces USB, FireWire and Thunderboltaudio interfaces, microphone amplifiers, analogue equalizers and other hardware, as well as different VST/AU instruments, effects and processors, which can be connected to modern DAWs. Many of its devices currently are manufactured in China, company is one of the world leaders in production of high-quality audio devices with good digital part and often exceprional analogue part, to which many other manufacturers have a long way to go, wherein it sets optimal prices for its equipment and makes it one of the best goods in value/price ratio terms.
Today we will talk about compact mirrorless camera OLYMPUS PEN mini E-PM2 with 16.05 MP Live MOS 4/3″ sensor – the same, as used in top level Olympus OMD E-M5, and Micro Four Thirds mount for interchangeable lenses. It makes photos with 4608 x 3456 pixels maximal resolution and saves them in JPEG, RAW ( with 12 bits per channel precision and lossless compression ), RAW+JPEG and MPO; records video in Full HD 1920 x 1080 30p, HD 1280 x 720 30p and SD 640 x 480 30 modes, saving it in MOV ( with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 image encoding ) or AVI ( Motion JPEG ) with sound recording in WAVE Stereo Linear PCM 16 bits and 48 kHz, recorded via built-in or external microphones. ISO levels are in 200 – 25600 range, color spaces are sRGB and AdobeRGB. Image stabilization is via sensor shifting, pictures are processed by TruePic VI graphical engine; it has no built-in flash and viewfinder, there is ability to attach external ones, its 3″ touch LCD screen has 460 K dots resolution.
Photo camera OLYMPUS PEN mini E-PM2 ( top view )
Camera saves photos and video on SD, SDHC, SDXC ( UHS-I ), Eye-Fi and Flash Air flash memory cards; it can be controlled remotely. OLYMPUS PEN mini E-PM2 supports automatic and manual focus, exposure and diaphragm settings, it can be used for astronomical shooting. It has following connectors : combined USB 2.0/AV output/remote control input, HDMI Micro Type D, Hot Shoe and Accessory Port 2; one charge of Li-ion battery is enough for 360 photos making. Camera sizes are 109.8 ( width ) x 64.2 ( height ) x 33.8 ( depth ) mm and mass is 223 g ( only camera body without lens, memory card and battery ); it can work in 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius range and relative air humidity levels in 30 – 90 % range.
Photo camera OLYMPUS PEN mini E-PM2 ( rear view )
Package contains : OLYMPUS PEN mini E-PM2 camera itself, USB cable for battery charging and data transfers, AV cable, Li-ion battery, recharger, external flash, strap on hand, CD-ROM disk with Olympus Viewer 2/ib software, 1-year warranty card and user’s guide. This is a great camera : Olympus accounted experience of previous camera from this family and made more convenient protruding parts for better grip, made touchscreen, which made it easier to work with camera, and increased amount of shots, that can be taken from one battery charge. From its minuses following can be mentioned : lack of built-in flash, noise on high ISO levels ( it is present in all semi-professional cameras ) and small amount of specialized controls, but this is mainly cavils, than real weaknesses.
Lets review professional external sound card M-Audio M-Track Quad, which is able to work with sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits precision. Its frontal panel has : 4 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, which can work in mictophone ( there is ability to switch phantom power +48 V for them ), linear and instrumental Hi-Z modes; volume controls for each of them and linear/microphone and instrumental work mode and phantom power switches; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones, Direct Monitor switch, their volume control knob and Direct Monitor source switch ( all channels or only 1st and 2nd ones ); stereo/mono Direct Monitor switch, outputs volume control knob and power and work indicator. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer, and another 3 ports for external devices plugging in hub mode; 4 analogue TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs; MIDI input and output, power adapter input and power switch button; and 4 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) insert inputs for effects.
M-Audio M-Track Quad is bundled with AIR Music Technology Ignite software, containing Smart MIDI Chord and Phrase players with 275 sound samples. For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7.5 and newer operating systems, with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, which allow it to work tightly with modern DAWs : Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools and others. Its body is made from metal; sizes are 333 ( width ) x 89 ( height ) x 156 ( depth ) mm. Package contains : M-Audio M-Track Quad sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software, warranty card and user’s guide. From one side : this is a good professional sound card, which allows to work with sound on studio-grade level; from the other : supported maximal sampling rate is not the highest and it does not support balanced inputs and outputs. So, when external audio interface is compared with other similar models ( Behringer, Steinberg, Roland, Focusrite, ESI and other manufacturers ), there is need to look on prices of devices and accordance of technical characteristics to specific task, for which device will be used.
Today in the optics part we will talk about compact mirrorless camera Sony Alpha NEX-5N with Sony E mount for interchangeable lenses and 16.1 MP CMOS APS-C sensor. Camera shoots photos with 4912 x 3264 pixels maximal resolution and saves them in JPEG, RAW and Multi Picture Object formats; supported video recording modes are Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p and 1440 x 1080 30p with saving in AVCHD ( with AAC sound encoding ) and H.264 formats with stereo sound recording via built in or external microphone. ISO sensitivity levels are in 100 – 25600 range; image is processed by graphical processor BionZ; stabilization is optical with lenses, that support it. It has no built in viewfinder and flash, they can be attached to it, its 3″ LCD screen can be tilted and has 921 K dots resolution.
Photo camera Sony Alpha NEX-5N ( rear view )
Camera saves photos and videos on Memory Stick PRO HG-Duo, SD, SDHC and SDXC ( UHS-I ) flash memory cards; it supports Eye-Fi cards for remote data transferring via Wi-Fi connections; optional infrared remote control unit is released for it and can be bought separately. Sony Alpha NEX-5N supports automatic and manual focus, exposure and diaphragm settings and can be used for astronomical photos making. Following connectors are placed on camera : USB 2.0 for data transferring and Li-ion battery charging, HDMI Mini Type-C, AV output and Smart Accessory Terminal 2; 1 charge of battery is enough for 430 photos.
Photo camera Alpha NEX-5N ( back view )
Camera sizes are 111 ( width ) x 59 ( height ) x 38 ( depth ) mm and mass is 210 g ( only camera without lens, memory card and battery ). Package contains : Sony Alpha NEX-5N camera itself, USB cable, Li-ion battery, strap on hand, recharger, external flash, CD-ROM disk with software, 1-year warranty card and users guide; there are also kits with bundled lenses. This is a good camera with large sensor and compact sizes and small mass, which gives great videos and photos quality; its minuses are : too small body, which makes good grip harder, not always convenient menu and high cost ( Sony products are always priced very high, but in majority of cases they worth this ). Wherein APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sensored cameras of other manufacturers also produce great photos and videos, if used properly, so, when camera is being chosen, there is need to look on the price, technical characteristics and personal taste.
Lets review MIDI keyboard MIDIPlus Origin 62 with 4 drumpads and 125 USD price ( for MIDI keyboards with such functions it is one of the lowest prices ). It has : 62 velocity-sensitive full size keys ( with ability to choose one of the 8 sensitivity response curves ), 8 knobs, 8 sliders with 40 mm size, 6 transport control buttons and pitch bend and modulation control wheels. Its side has : TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) input for sustain pedal, MIDI input and output, USB port, from which it is powered and via which it communicates with computer, and USB/power adapter switch ( seems like it has input for this adapter on one of its other sides ). It works in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X without additional drivers and tightly integrates in them with modern DAWs ( FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others ), their instruments and VST plugins.
MIDI keyboard MIDIPlus Origin 62 ( side view )
Keyboard sizes are 919 ( width ) x 120 ( depth ) x 76 ( height ) mm and mass is 3.99 kg. Package contains : MIDIPlus Origin 62 MIDI keyboard itself, USB cable and user’s guide. It is functional keyboard with optimal price for such devices; taking into account its low price, there is need to look on manufacturing quality, if it is good, then it is one of the best keyboards in value/price ratio respect.
Lets meet in audio part with MIDI keyboard Roland A-300PRO, designed for professional work. It has : 32 velocity-sensitive keys with aftertouch; 8 drumpads; LCD screen, which shows keyboard states; 13 buttons; 9 knobs; 9 sliders; pitch bend and modulation control lever; and TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs for hold and expression pedals. Its left side also has : power adapter input, power switch, USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer, MIDI input and output and their work mode switch and Kensington Lock slot.
MIDI keyboard Roland A-300PRO ( side view )
It is bundled with Cakewalk Production Plus Pack software, including 3 instruments and production software. For Roland A-300PRO drivers are released for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard and newer operating systems, in which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs ( Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others ), their instruments and VST plugins. Its sizes are 605.9 ( width ) x 250.8 ( depth ) x 91.4 ( height ) mm and mass is 2.9 kg. Package contains : MIDI keyboard Roland A-300PRO itself, USB cable, CD-ROM disk with software and drivers and user’s guide; after purchase there is ability to download newer drivers and additional software from manufacturer’s web-site. From one side : this is a good MIDI keyboard with all functions, that are needed for professional music creation; from the other : for the same money there is ability to buy keyboard with larger amount of keys, velocity and pressure sensitive drumpads and roughly the same controllers; so, here is need to look on manufacturing quality and discounts on these devices.
Lets review compact mirrorless photo camera Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1, which has semi-professional functions and Micro Four Thirds mount for interchangeable lenses. 16 MP Live MOS sensor with 4/3″ size is built into it, image is processed by graphical Venus Engine FHD, image stabilization is optical with lenses, that support it. Camera makes photos with ISO 160 – 12800 sensitivity levels and saves them in JPEG, RAW and MPO formats; supported video recording modes are Full HD 1920 х 1080 and HD 1280 х 720 with saving in MP4 ( AVCHD image encoding ) and MOV ( Motion JPEG ) with Dolby Digital Stereo Creator sound recording. Wherein microphones are located very close to each other and stereo channels separation, the most probably, is low. It has no built-in viewfinder, has built-in flash, its 3″ touch LCD screen has 460 K dots resolution.
Photo-camera Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 ( top view )
Camera saves photos and videos on SD, SDHC and SDXC ( UHS-I ) flash memory cards; it has no Wi-Fi connections support for remote data transferring and control. It supports automatic and manual focus, exposure and diaphragm control and can be used for astronomical objects shooting. Following connectors are located on Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 : USB 2.0 for data transferring and Li-ion battery charging; HDMI Mini Type C; AV output; Hot Shoe; and remote wired control port; one charge of battery is enough for 310 photos making. Camera sizes are 116.3 ( width ) x 67.8 ( height ) x 39.4 ( depth ) mm and mass is 318 g ( without lens and with battery and memory card ); its body is made from metal with rubberized insets for better and more convenient grip.
Package contains : Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 camera itself, USB cable, Li-ion battery, strap on hand, mount cap, optical disks with software ( PHOTOfunSTUDIO 7.0 HD Edition, SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.1 SE and LoiLoScope ), warranty card and user’s guide; there are also kits with bundled lenses. Overall, this is a great camera with interchangeable lenses, which gives very good RAW photos quality; JPEG photos of Panasonic cameras with Venus Engine FHD can give higher amount of compression artifacts, in comparison with competitors. Its other minus is weak stereo channels separation, this is a consequence of its primary design for still photos making.
Lets review new wireless monitor headphones Plantronics BackBeat PRO+ with active noise-canceling. Manufacturer tells almost nothing about their audio technical specifications, there is no information about : used magnets, reproduceable sounds frequencies range, impedance, signal/noise ratio and maximal power input – this already rises suspicion. 40 mm drivers are built into them ( this is relatively small diameter for high-quality basses reproduction ), Bluetooth connection has 100 m range ( there is ability to use 3.5 mm mini-jack connector and USB connection for battery recharging ), one charge of battery is enough for 24 hours of work and there are buttons for phone, playback and volume control. Active noise-canceling can be disabled, if needed, to hear what’s going on around; price, that manufacturer asks for this device, is 300 USD ( for such money there is ability to buy semiprofessional photo camera kit with bundled lens, is there something in these headphones, that is equal to such high-tech device? ). Package contains : Plantronics BackBeat PRO+ headphones themselves, wireless receiver-transmitter, 3.5 mm mini-jack cable, USB cable for battery recharging and user’s guide. Overall, manufacturer tells almost nothing about about their sound technical characteristics and asks very high price for them; there is ability to buy more than 3 times cheaper professional studio monitor headphones with known very good technical details, which this model does not have; and there is ability to buy much cheaper consumer-grade wireless active noise canceling headphones with known very good technical audio details of other manufacturers. So, this model Plantronics BackBeat PRO+ is not recommended for purchasing and it is better to look on other devices.
