Todays audio part will be dedicated to professional MIDI keyboard Novation Launchkey 49. It has 49 velocity-sensitive keys; 16 drum-pads with RGB backlight, which are also velocity-sensitive; 8 knobs; 9 sliders; pitch bend and modulation wheels; 2 octave/transpose buttons; 1 LED display; 2 Track/MIDI Channel buttons; 8 mute/solo tracks buttons; 3 InControl buttons; 2 RGB backlit buttons; 6.3 mm ( 1/4” ) TRS jack input for sustain pedal; and Kensington Lock port. Keyboard can be connected to computer via USB or MIDI port. In first case it receives power only from this connection; in the second – it requires additional power adapter input ( which is not supplied with device ). MIDI keyboard tightly integrates with DAWs Ableton Live and FL Studio, wherein it can work with other modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Steinberg Cubase, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. It is automatically set up, when connected to Windows or Mac OS based computers via Plug In and Play function. Novation Launchkey 49 package contains following software : DAW Ableton Live Lite, virtual instruments Novation Bass Station and Novation V-Station, and 1 GB of Loopmasters samples. For connection to iOS devices MIDI keyboard requires power adapter and camera connection kit, or special iOS USB camera adapter. Device sizes are : 775 ( length ) x 270 ( depth ) x 90 ( height ) mm.
Photo-objective lens attachment Opteka 10x High Definition II Professional Macro Lens
Lets look on photo-objective lens attachment Opteka 10x High Definition II Professional Macro Lens. When it is added to photo-objective lens, it receives macro functions ( allows to make magnified photos of objects ) and its zoom is increased 10x times. It is attached to photo-lens via 52 or 46 mm thread, there is ability to attach 52 mm optical filters to it on frontal side. Wherein there are variations of this lens with different diameters : 55, 58, 62, 67, 72 and 77 mm. Attachment contains 4 lens elements, that are made of low-dispersion glass, all of them are coated with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. Its body is made of metal to increase its durability. It supports auto-focusing of objective lens and does not cause problems for infra-red shooting. There is need to note, that attachment’s lens elements has 40 mm diameter and on photo-lenses with large frontal glass it can obstruct part of scene; in this case there is need to reduce lens diaphragm, so that it will not produce image artifacts. Package contains : Opteka 10x High Definition II Professional Macro Lens attachment itself, frontal and rear caps, carrying and storage pouch and 5-years warranty card. In general, it is interesting solution, which costs much less, than specialized macro photo lens; but before its purchasing there is need to read in Internet information about how it works with given photo-lenses models. It has 4 lens elements and together with photo-lens this can produce large amount of optical surfaces, this increases light dispersion and internal reflections, so it is desirable, that base photo lens would have small amount of optical elements.
Today among audio devices we will look on MIDI keyboard M-Audio Keystation 49 II USB. It is DAW parameters controller and MIDI notes recording instrument. Overall process looks like so : human plays on this instrument and controls various parameters, they are recorded by DAW in MIDI editor, then they are played by software synthesizer. Keyboard has 49 full-size keys, which react on press velocity ( it is very useful, because many synthesizing parameters can be controlled with press velocity, this allows to perform these actions faster and more creatively ); has USB and MIDI connectors for communications with computer; is powered from 1 USB port; has different buttons and knobs for DAW parameters controlling; has small weight ( this is useful for its use on concerts ); and can be plugged to iOS devices via Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit adapter ( which is not bundled with MIDI keyboard ). With M-Audio Keystation 49 II USB controller following software is supplied : SONiVOX Eighty-Eight Ensemble – sample based synthesizer-emulator of piano 9-foot CD327 Steinway ( it has in itself recorded samples of this instrument, from which it can synthesize different sounds of this instrument ); DAW Ableton Live Lite; and multi-functional AIR Music Tech Xpand!2 synthesizer. Keyboard can work with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 and Mac OS X 10.5 and newer operating systems; it integrates very well with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others.
Attachment lens for photo-objective lens Polaroid Studio Series .43x High Definition Wide Angle Lens With Macro
Lets review attachment lens for photo-objective lens Polaroid Studio Series .43x High Definition Wide Angle Lens With Macro, when it is added to photo lens, it receives wide angle and macro characteristics. It is attached at frontal side of lens into 58 mm thread, there is ability to add to attachment itself 62 mm optical filters to its frontal side. It works with zoom objective lenses and can be used for photos shooting in infrared range. Attachment minificates image by 0.43x times. There is need to note that lens is quite big and can obstruct built-in flash of camera. All in all : it is good solution for optimal price and allows to receive wide angle lens with macro with small amount of lens elements, if main objective lens have their small amount. Wherein specialized wide angle macro lenses are engineered to reduce amount of geometrical and chromatic distortions and usually produce better image, than photo-objective lenses with such attachment. But there is possibility, that photo lens and attachment will fit together very well and will not produce noticeable amount of distortions : this depends solely on them.
Professional objective lens Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH
Today we will look on professional objective lens Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH with built in Optical Image Stabilization ( OIS ). It is designed for Micro Four Thirds mounts ( it can be attached to Panasonic and Olympus cameras ), has 35 – 100 mm focus distances range, f/2.8 – f/22 aperture in all focal range ( it is controlled via 7 diaphragm blades ), 34 – 12 degrees field of view and 0.85 m minimal focusing distance. Objective lens is mainly designed for video recording, for this purpose it has : built-in OIS, silent Power Zoom focusing motor and constant aperture. It has 18 lens elements in 13 groups, among them 2 are made of ED glass and 1 is made of UED glass; all lens elements are coated with protective and anti-reflective Nano Surface Coating. There is ability to attach 58 mm optical filters to objective lens, its sizes are : 67.4 mm ( diameter ) x 99.9 mm ( length ), and weight is : 360 g. Package contains : Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 35-100mm F2.8 ASPH objective lens itself, frontal and rear lens caps, carrying and storage bag and user’s guide. Lens is produced only in black color variant. It is mainly oriented to videos recording, because it allows to change automatically many recording parameters without degrading picture quality. But, if there is need in photos-only objective lens, then there is ability to find better-suited and cheaper ones models ( with less amount of lens elements and more adapted for specific types of scenes ).
Lets review new studio monitor headphones KRK KNS 6400. They have closed-back architecture and their 40 mm membranes are powered by neodymium magnets. They can absorb outer sounds with 26 dB max volume. They can reproduce sounds in 10 – 22000 Hz frequencies range, their sensitivity is 95 dB, impedance is 36 Ohms and maximal power input is 1000 mW. Headphones are equipped with 2.5 m pluggable cable with 3.5 mm ( 1/8″ ) gold-plated mini-jack connector, it has no built-in volume control unit. Wing and earcups are made of plastic, cushions from leatherette; which provide comfortable long-time use in studio conditions. Head and ears cushions can be replaced in case of damage. Headphones weight 210 g. Package contains : KRK KNS 6400 headphones themselves, pluggable cable, screw-on 6.3 mm ( 1/4″ ) jack converter, storage and carrying case and user’s guide. These are good studio-level quality headphones for optimal price, which can be used for professional work and for in-home use for music listening.
Today we will review Panasonic Lumix G Micro 4/3 LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 ASPH objective lens with 25 mm fixed focal length and aperture in f/1.4 – f/16 range, that is controlled by 7 diaphragm blades. It is very light and is well suited for photos taking in dark conditions : in the rooms, in a cloudy weather and at night time. It is attached to camera via Micro Four Thirds mounts and it can be used with Panasonic and Olympus devices. Field of view is 47 degrees on diagonal, minimal focusing distance is 0.3 m, lens does not support image stabilization, but it can be performed by camera by sensor shifting. Objective lens has 9 lens elements in 7 groups, 2 of them are aspherical for spherical and chromatic aberrations reduction, 1 lens element is made of UHR ( Ultra High Refractive Index ) glass. All of them are coated with protective and anti-reflective Nano Surface Coating. There is ability to attach 46 mm optical filters to it; its sizes are 63 mm ( diameter ) x 54.5 mm ( length ), its weight is 200 g. Its base is made of metal, which increases its durability. Package contains : Panasonic Lumix G Micro 4/3 LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 ASPH objective lens itself, frontal and rear caps and protective and carrying case. All in all it is very good light objective lens, which is superior in this respect to many other objective lenses with similar parameters. But there is need to note, that there is ability to find among M42x1 objective lenses similar or even better lenses for much smaller price and use them with modern camera with use of adapters and converters.
Lets continue our acquaintance with DAW REAPER : today we will learn VST ( Virtual Studio Technology – is a technology for plugins creation, which act as instruments, effects and processors, and for their unified connection to different DAWs and other programs ), work with recorded sounds and rhythm of composition. For this purpose we will create simple example, for rhythm we will use recorded sounds of snares and hats; simple melody we will create with use of VST synthesizer Genobazz 2, which was created by TEK’IT Audio. You should already have installed DAW REAPER, if you have some difficulties, you can write about them in comments, I’ll answer to you as soon as I’ll have free time. VST Genobazz 2 can be downloaded from Internet, it is a free plugin; you can find links to it in Google. It is distributed in form of executable installer; create somewhere VSTs folder, in which you’ll install plugins, they can be used by other DAWs also, so it is better to place it on path, that is accessible by all programs. Then install Genobazz 2 in this folder; then open options page in DAW REAPER Options -> Preferences ( this window can be seen on upper image ); choose VST in left list, add path to you VSTs folder in according field and press Clear cache/Rescan, so that DAW will find and install this plugin. Then download archive with project example and open it in REAPER.
DAW REAPER : Rhythm and basses
As it can be seen from the image, rhythm is created with use of recorded sounds ( they are located in project archive ). All sound files can be inserted into tracks by dragging and dropping them from Explorer into DAW, it will import and setup them by itself. Basses are synthesized with use of MIDI notes, for them I selected two sounds presets ( preset sound synthesis parameters ) of Genobazz 2 : Defaul and Acid Tweet Arp. VST plugins can be added to track by clicking on FX button; then on Add add button and by selection of VST ( for effects and processors ) or VSTi ( for instruments ). REAPER also supports other plugins formats and its own scripting language for sounds processing. Order of plugins matters, because sound signal is passed from current plugin to next one, this way sounds processing chains can be created, for example : synthesizer receives MIDI notes and generates sound, which later is processed by effects, so that needed sound will be obtained. VST plugins can be added to MIDI tracks and to tracks with recorded sounds. MIDI notes can be edited by double clicking on their panels in track; to the left on their editing windows musical keyboard is located, at the bottom part there is area in which other notes parameters can be edited, for example, velocity of keys pressing ( whether these additional parameters will be accounted by synthesizer : depends solely on itself ).
DAW REAPER VST Genobazz 2
This project example is very simple and there is ability to experiment with it, creating composition, which you like. For example, there is disabled track, which can be used to create rhythm with kicks and receive House music rythm; all in all, here is ability to unleash your imagination. That is it for today; if you have any questions, you can ask them in the comments, I’ll answer to them as soon as I’ll have free time for this. See you in the next article about DAW REAPER.
Lets review Audio-Technica ATH-R70x novelty, these are the professional studio monitor headphones with according characteristics. They have : 45 mm drivers, powerful magnets with fully metal housing ( which provides construction stability and provides clear high frequencies reproduction ), 5 – 40000 Hz sounds frequencies reproduction range, 1000 mW maximal power input, 99 dB sensitivity and 470 Ohms impedance ( such high impedance requires powerful signal, which makes all cable noise signals very week in comparison with it, and also it does not allow all noise signals to go to electric coil near magnet ). They had open back architecture with aluminum honeycomb mesh housing and composite resin and plastic materials for construction rigidity, which make sound reproduction more clear. They weight 210 g and have cozy pads and wing, which make their long use comfortable, which is important with their use in studio. Cable of headphones is pluggable, wherein, it does not matter how it is attached to pads, because right signal is automatically chosen for each pad. Package contains : Audio-Technica ATH-R70x headphones themselves, pluggable cable, protective carrying pouch and user’s guide. All in all : these are the very interesting headphones, but they are not suited for home use, because they cost very much and their high characteristics are not needed for home use. But, if there is choosing : buy too branded audiophile headphones, for which 2/3 of cost are costs for brand name and marketing expenses, and these ones, then it is better to buy these ones.
Yesterday small bicycles ride in direction to Krasniy village near Yekaterinburg was held on. At morning there was no rain and there was hope for dry day. Start was located near Carnival trade center in Yekaterinburg, I rode to it from Polevskoy. Wherein, for the first time I rode to Yekaterinburg in less than 2 hours : at 9:20 a.m. I went from home and at 11:11 I made a phone call to other tour participants from Ceramics station in Yekaterinburg, distance between these points is 40 km. Most of the way to city it was dry and ride was a pleasure itself, but on the entrance into Yekaterinburg it started to rain and there was hope, that it will be weak. On the start point I met and became acquainted with other adventurers, we talked for a while and hit the road.
On the road to Krasniy village
We rode near railway and made small stops, on which Dmitriy ( on the left side of upper photo ) told to us story of this railway. 10 years ago it was used also for passengers transportation, but now only different technical tasks are performed on it. On the way rain amplified to downpour and puddles started to form on the road, after riding through which shoes and pants became wet. Despite the weather it is beautiful in these places : there are birch forest to the sides of railway and Shuvakish lake, that can be seen between trees. After around 10 km of a way, we decided, that riding under heavy rainfall with +4 – +6 degrees temperature is not very interesting and on one of the road turns we navigated to Yekaterinburg; after small ride on the unpaved suburbs roads we set our wheels on the asphalt road and headed in the direction of the start point. In some areas road looked like river stream and there was need to wade through it with 1/3 of wheels in water and with shoes going into it with pedals, but that had no matter anymore, because our clothes and shoes was already wet. Near the start point we asked woman, that walked near us, to make “after ride” photo; then said good by to each other, other adventurers went to warm and dry off themselves, I navigated in the south direction to Polevskoy highway. On the way to it rain weakened, but on the whole ride to Polevskoy it went to downpour again; heavy cars left water dust walls after them, at some places cars made shower from the puddles to me, bit this had no matter anymore, because clothes drenched already. I rode to home not so fast and way took 2 – 3 hours. On the entrance to Polevskoy I was wet, froze, hungry, with my strengths left in the adventure and satisfied with the ride of that day; 2 or 3 times I even went to near sleep state, but quickly activated myself and drove myself to conscious state. All in all it was great ride : for a long time I had no such pleasures from activations of myself and movements of the body, mind and soul into survival and difficulties overcoming mode. At home I hardly unbuttoned my wet clothes with frozen hands and hung them out to dry, washed myself, warmed up and ate food, but pleasure remained. See you on the next bicycles ride!
