Among photo-lenses for Fujifilm X mount there is novelty appeared – Fujifilm FUJINON LENS XF35mmF2 R WR, it is protected from dust, water splashes and low temperatures ( can work at temperatures higher than -10 degrees on Celsius ) and has quick auto-focusing ( 0.08 s ). Its 35 mm focus is fixed; diaphragm can be set in f/2 – f/16 range via 9 diaphragm blades; field of view is 44.2 degrees; it is designed for APS-C sensors; and its minimal focusing distance is 0.35 m. Lens does not support optical image stabilization ( camera can perform it by itself via sensor shifting or digitally, if it supports it ). 9 glasses ( 2 of them are aspherical for geometric and chromatic distortions reduction ) in 6 groups are built into it ( it is relatively high amount of lens elements for fixed lens ), all of them are covered with protective and anti-reflective Nano-GI multi-coating. 43 mm optical filters can be attached to it, its sizes are 60 ( diameter ) x 45.9 ( length ) mm, and mass is 170 g. Package contains : Fujifilm FUJINON LENS XF35mmF2 R WR itself, frontal and rear caps, carrying and storage wrapping cloth and users guide. In a whole, this is a good photo-lens with interesting functions ( auto-focusing, protection from dust, water splashes and low temperatures, built-in aspherical lens elements and others ), which is useful for photos and videos making ( especially if camera supports image stabilization ). Wherein, if there is no need in auto-focusing, then there is ability to buy cheaper lenses with better optical characteristics, including lenses for other mounts, which can be used via adapters and converters.
Lets review external sound card AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE, which is designed for recording and playback of already completed audio signal. It supports 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision; MUSES 8920 operational amplifiers are built into it, they can be replaced with others, if needed, and WIMA film capacitors in its analogue part; it supports 123 dB dynamic range of digital to analogue conversion. Its frontal panel has : switch button and power indicator; 2 TRS 1/4″ jack headphones outputs with activity indicator; chosen sampling rate indicators; digital input switch ( USB/SPDIF ), source switch ( analogue/digital ), outputs switch ( headphones/linear outputs ) and outputs volume control. Its back panel has : 2 linear unbalanced RCA-outputs and 2 linear unbalanced RCA inputs; power adapter input ( for SPDIF connection ); optical digital input; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; and digital optical and coaxial inputs.
PCB of sound card AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE
Drivers are released for it for Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X ( they can be downloaded via Internet from manufacturer’s website ). Package contains : AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE sound card itself, 2 RCA cables, USB cable and user’s guide. It is good sound card, that is mainly designed for playback of audio signal from digital and analogue sources; it can be used for sounds recording, but it is not its main use. If audio interface will be bought only for high-quality sound playback, then there is ability to choose between this interface or AV receiver, taking into account functionality, built-in hardware, price and power consumption; but if it will be used for wider spectrum of audio tasks, then it is better to buy device with wider functions and connectors amount, for example of these manufacturers : Steinberg, Behringer, ESI and others.
Lets meet with new compact photo camera Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1RM2, which will be available in shops from 25th November of this year. Its ZEISS Sonnar T* lens is mounted and have fixed focus, this is compensated with 35 mm full-frame Exmor R CMOS optical sensor with 42.4 MP effective resolution : there is ability to take parts of photo with big enough resolution or use digital zoom. Camera can shoot photos with 7952 x 5304 pixels maximal resolution in sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces with ISO 50 – 102400 levels and save them in JPEG and RAW ( with 14 bits precision ) formats. It can record videos in Full HD 1920 x 1080 60/50/30/25/24 and HD 1280 x 720 120 modes ( with ISO 100 – 25600 levels ) and save them in XAVC S ( with LPCM 2ch sound encoding ), AVCHD format Ver.2.0 compatible ( Dolby Digital (AC-3) 2ch ( Dolby Digital Stereo Creator ) ) and MP4 ( MPEG-4 AAC-LC 2ch ) formats. It supports automatic and manual focusing, digital image stabilization and variable low-pass filter. It has digital OLED viewfinder with 0.39″ size and 2.36 M dots resolution; its main tilt-able TFT LCD display has 3″ size and 1.23 M dots resolution.
Camera can save photos and videos on SD, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo ( High Speed ) and Memory Stick PRO HG-Duo flash memory cards; it has : USB port for data transmitting and Li-ion battery recharging, Micro HDMI connector, microphone 3.5 mm mini-jack stereo input and Multi Interface Shoe connector; it supports NFC and Wi-Fi connections for data transmitting and remote control. One charge of its Li-ion battery is enough for 220 photos. Its lens apperture can be set in f/2 – f/22 range with use of 9 diaphragm blades; it can focus on 0.24 m – infinity distances in normal mode and on 0.19 – 0.29 m in macro mode; 49 mm optical filters can be attached to it. 8 glasses in 7 groups are built into lens, 3 of them are aspherical; they all are covered with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. Camera sizes are 113.3 ( width ) x 65.4 ( height ) x 72 ( depth ) mm, and mass is 507 g ( with battery and memory card ). Package contains : Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1RM2 camera itself, USB cable, power adapter for battery recharging, optical disks with software and user’s guide. It is very specialized camera, that is mainly designed for macro-photos making with very big resolution;, because its lens is mounted and fixed; wherein it costs 3.3 thousands USD; so, if there is no need in its specialized functions, then it is better to buy semi-professional camera with interchangeable lenses for much smaller price and receive high-quality photos and videos.
Lets review new monitor headphones Sennheiser HD 598. Manufacturer does not tell information about diameter of their drivers, but, judging by their view, it is 40 mm, they are driven with neodymium magnets and can reproduce sounds with 12 – 38500 Hz frequencies, thier impedance is 50 Ohms; manufacturer does not tell information about their sensitivity and signal to noise ratio. Package contains : Sennheiser HD 598 headphones themselves, TRS 6.3 mm jack – 3.5 mm mini-jack adapter and user’s guide. Overall, they are too overpriced ( 250 USD at the end of Autumn 2015 ) : in the technical details ( which not all are disclosed ) they are not better and in some respects even weaker, than top-level monitor headphones of Sony and Philips and cost much more, than they are; and for less than half of this sum professional studio monitor headphones can be bought, which are far superior in sound quality respect, than this handcraft. So, this is a classical example of marketing money pumping from customers with use of loud claims and names, which mean not much in technical respect; so, these headphones are not recommended for purchasing, it is better to buy top-level monitor headphones of other manufacturers with known technical details or professional studio headphones for much smaller price.
Lets review new flying bot EHANG GHOST DRONE 2.0 for photos and videos recording, which will be available in shops from 31st December of this year. It will be supplied in 4 variants : Ghost Drone 2.0, Aerial, Aerial+ and VR; first one have no camera and gimbal, second one has gimbal, compatible with GoPro Hero cameras, third one adds 4K camera and fourth one has virtual reality goggles, which allow to control it and see via its “eyes”. Bot can be controlled from Android or iOS smartphone with use of special device G-Box ( which is included in package ), it connects with smartphone via Bluetooth connection and allows to control it via special application. Transmitter range is 1000 m, in case of connection lost or low battery charge it will return to starting point. One battery charge is enough for 30 minutes of flying, it fully recharges in 60 minutes; it supports following flight modes : Waypoint Mode, Companion Mode, Avatar Mode and Fly Planning. Mainly bot is designed for minimal flight control experience of operator and performs stabilization in air in automatic mode. This is interesting drone model for photos and videos recording from air, but its price is too big, in comparison with competitors, which for the same money offer bots with similar or better flight characteristics and camera in package. So, for this price this model is not recommended for purchasing, maybe, after some time after release, manufacturer will lower its price under competitors pressure and for lower price this bot can be quite competitive.
Lets review external sound card M-Audio M-Track Plus II, which is designed for professional studio work. Its frontal panel has : combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, which can work in microphone, linear and instrumental Hi-Z modes ( first 2 can work in balanced mode, instrumental is unbalanced ), there is ability to switch +48 V phantom power for them; amplification level control knobs, linear/instrumental modes switches and level indicators with clip indication for these inputs; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones with volume control knob and Direct Monitor function switch; phantom power switch with backlight indication and volume control knob for main sound card outputs. Its rear panel has : Kensington Lock slot; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; and main analogue balanced TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs.
External sound card M-Audio M-Track Plus II ( rear view )
Card can work with sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision; its body is made of metal; and its connectors have following characteristics : microphone inputs ( dynamic range 104 dB, signal to noise ratio 104 dB, perceived frequencies 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -53 dB sensitivity ), linear inputs ( perceived frequencies 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -43 dB sensitivity ), instrumental inputs ( frequencies range 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -47 dB sensitivity ) and main card’s outputs ( frequencies 20 Hz – 20 kHz and dynamic range and signal/noise 102 dB ). Sound card is bundled with DAWsAbleton Live Lite and Cubase LEWaves plugins package ( AudioTrack, Eddie Kramer Effect Channel and TrueVerb ). Its sizes are 238.76 ( width ) x 52.58 ( height ) x 123.19 ( depth ) mm and mass is 1.04 kg. For it drivers are released for Windows 7, 8 and 10, in Mac OS X 10.7.5 and newer it works without additional drivers, and supports ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces, accordingly, via which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Package contains : M-Audio M-Track Plus II, USB cable, optical disk with drivers ( software can be downloaded via Internet from manufacturer’s site ) and user’s guide. It is good sound card with professional functions, in some respects Steinberg and Behringer cards are better, than it, for example, in 192 kHz sampling frequency, in some respects it is better, than them : balanced inputs and outputs. So, when card is being chosen, there is need to look on specific task, for which it is being bought, and on prices of devices.
Lets review external professional sound cardBehringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD. It is designed for studio work and has everything, that is needed for this. Its frontal panel has : combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs for microphone, instrumental Hi-Z or linear work modes ( +48 V phantom power can be switched for them ); amplification level controls, instrumental/linear and Pad switches and clip indicators; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones, their volume control, Direct Monitor switch, stereo and mono switch, main outputs volume control, card work modes selector and input, output, power and phantom power indicators. Its back panel has : USB Type B port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; MIDI input and output; Kensington Lock slot and phantom power switch; 4 RCA outputs; 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs; and 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inserts.
Inputs of Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD have following characteristics : frequency response is 10 Hz – 50 kHz ( 0 / -3 dB ); impedance of microphone inputs is 3 kOhms, of instrumental Hi-Z – 1 MOhm; maximal level of input signal of microphone connectors is -4 dB, of linear is 20 dB and instrumental is -3 dB. Outputs have following characteristics : frequency response 10 Hz – 43 kHz ( 0 / 3 dB ); maximal volume level of signal is 3 dB; dynamic range is 110 dB ( A-weighted ). Inserts specifications are : 100 Ohms Send and 10 kOhms Return impedance; maximal input signal level is 3 dB. All connectors of audio interface are unbalanced.
MIDAS preamplifiers are connected to card’s inputs; it can work with sampling rates up to 192 kHz and with 24 bits per sample precision ( it also supports 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 and 176.4 kHz frequencies ); card’s body is made from metal and it is eligible to 3-year manufacturer warranty. Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD is bundled with codes for DAWTracktion 4 and different effects and plug-ins downloading. All functions of DAW are located on 1 screen : for sounds recording, tracks editing and mixing; from advanced functions it supports dynamic automation, unlimited tracks amount for work, MIDI signal recording and connection of VST/AU plugins of instruments and effects.
For it drivers for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer are released, in Mac OS X it works without additional drivers, with support of ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces. Via which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio and others. Device sizes are 46.45 x 185 x 130 mm and mass is 0.6 kg; it is powered only from USB port without additional power adapter input; maximum it draws 2.5 W of energy.
Package contains : Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD sound card itself, USB cable, optical disk with drivers, 3-years warranty card and user’s guide. After purchase there is ability to register it on Behringer site for applications and plugins downloading and support receiving in case of device breakings; if nearby from you there is no authorized service-center, then you can directly call manufacturer for audio interface repair or replacement. There is ability to connect to Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD microphone and analogue instrument or linear signal, MIDI device and work with them in DAW, which opens wide possibilities for studio music creation and its playback on small concerts and lessons on master-classes. Audio interface’s price is around 80 USD.
As usual : sound cards of Steinberg and Behringer have no competitors and, if professional studio sound card is needed, then there is need to look on devices of these manufacturers. However among other audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, Roland, ESI, M-Audio, Alesis and other companies there are also good devices, which worth attention, when required interface is being chosen.
Behringer – is a company, which was founded in Germany in 1989 year, currently its offices are located in many countries of the world and it is a multinational corporation; main production facilities of Behringer are located in China. Currently it is one of the leading world manufacturers of audio interfaces, microphones, loudspeakers, instruments and other sound devices.
Today we will look on functional MIDI keyboard with interesting design M-Audio Code 49, which controllers are assignable. It has : 49 velocity-sensitive full-size keys with aftertouch function and 4 assignable sensitivity curve areas; assignable XY pad, which allows to control many instrument’s parameters simultaneously; 16 velocity-sensitive drumpads with back-light; 8 assignable knobs; 9 programmable sliders; 9 programmable buttons; and specialized transport control buttons. Also, it has pitch-bend and modulation control wheels, LCD display; inputs for sustain and volume control pedals; USB port for communication with computer and powering; and MIDI input and output with power adapter input, which is used with this kind of connection.
MIDI keyboard M-Audio Code 49 ( rear view )
Keyboard is bundled with DAWAbleton Live Lite and AIR Music Technology Hybrid 3.0 and Loom software. It works in Windows 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7.5 and newer without additional drivers via Plug and Play technology, in which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs, their instruments and VST plugins : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. There are also modifications of this keyboard with 25 and 61 keys. Package contains : MIDI keyboard M-Audio Code 49 itself, USB cable, optical disks with software and user’s guide. This is good MIDI keyboard, with wide range of assignable controllers and stylish design, which is worth its money, especially if it will be bought with discount.
Lets review external studio audio interface Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, that is designed for semi-professional work. Its frontal panel has : 2 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) connectors, which can be switched between linear and Hi-Z modes, switches themselves and amplification level control knobs with back-light; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs for headphones, their volume control, Direct Monitor switch, volume control of main outputs of sound card, USB connection indicator and phantom power +48 V switch for its inputs. Its back panel has : Kensington Lock slot, USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer, and 2 linear balanced TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs.
Card can work with 96 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits precision; analogue to digital and digital to analogue dynamic ranges are 105 and 104 dB, accordingly; noise level of microphone input is -127 dB, linear input is -104 dB and instrumental is -87 dB. It is bundled with DAWAbleton Live Lite and Focusrite plugins package, its body is made of anodized aluminum. For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer with ASIO 2.0 interface support and Mac OS X with Core Audio interface support, with which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. Package contains : Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. All in all, this is a good sound card with semi-professional functions, but for the same price there is ability to buy much better Steinberg and Behringer devices, so, this sound card is recommended for purchase only with big discount.
Lets review new Beats Powerbeats2 In-Ear Headphones. Manufacturer tells nothing about their technical details, so this already rises suspicion. Judging by their view, 8 or 10 mm drivers are built into them, tips have additional hooks for better weight distribution and better fixing on ears, cable length is 119 cm and mass is 26.7 g. They are protected from sweat and moisture, volume control unit with microphone and phone remote control buttons is attached to cable. Package contains : Beats Powerbeats2 In-Ear Headphones themselves, carrying and storage case, 4 interchangeable tips of different sizes for comfortable wearing by different people, cable fixing clip and user’s guide. All in all, taking into account lack of technical information ( frequencies range, drivers diameter, magnets, impedance, sensitivity and maximal input power ) and very hight price ( 199 USD at the end of Autumn 2015 – for half of this sum there is ability to buy profession studio monitor headphones and for much smaller money amount there is ability to buy very good in-ear headphones with known technical details ), these headphones are not recommended for purchase.
