Lets review external sound card Behringer U-PHORIA UMC202, designed for professional use. It can work with sampling rates up to 192 kHz and 24 bits precision. Its frontal panel has : 2 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) microphone inputs, to which MIDAS preamplifiers are connected and +48 V phantom power can be connected; for each of them there are linear/Hi-Z work mode and PAD switches, amplification control knobs and signal and clip indicators; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones with volume control, Direct Monitor function switch, power and phantom power application indicators and main outputs volume control knob. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it is powered from computer and communicates with it; phantom power switch; Kensington Lock slot; and TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) linear outputs
It works in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer and Mac OS X operating systems, with support of ASIO and CoreAudio interfaces, with which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. After purchases there are free recording software and instruments and plug-ins are available for download from manufacturer’s web-site. Card is covered with 3 years manufacturer warranty. Package contains : audio card Behringer U-PHORIA UMC202 itself, USB cable, optical disk with drivers and user’s guide. To speak shortly : it is one of the best external sound cards in respect of value/price relation : support of 192 kHz and 24 bits, large amount of connectors and functions and high-quality hardware. So, if there is need to buy external audio interface, then this one is one of the main applicants for this role.
From the ShunuthShe-wolf mountain, or slag hills near Degtyarsk are visible, I rode to them for exploration. At the beginning of a day it was cloudy and cold on the streets. Polevskoy highway is still not prepared for winter : it is not cleared from snow and not covered with salt, so, I rode on it carefully and with small speed, without problems I arrived to turn to Degtyarsk and Revda near Kurganovo and rode on this road. Strong west wind with snow in the face blew above it, road is full of uphills and downhills, but even on downhills wind slowed down movement speed, snowy landscapes and few still not frozen rivers swept nearby. I arrived to Degtyarsk – it is small mining city with ore mining plants, slag hills and quarries in it. Roads are narrow and are covered with snow in it, heavy cars often move on them, so, often I rode on the roads sides. On the way, chain started to freeze in cold and on wind and acquired a wavy form, because of this it started to try to jump from 2nd gear to 3rd one on the frontal system, with periodical slipping and falling inside, this made ride harder and longer and there often was need to ride on the first one frontal gear. Quickly I rode through the city and came to road to Revda : this snowy day asphalt-laying machines stood on it. On the way there is turn to the East with block-post and fence near it, which leads uphill to some industrial quarry and near which heavy cargo cars often move.
Turn to the She-wolf mountain
Next, entrance to Revda city goes on, on which wind, no longer chained with forest and hills, shows his full strength and fury, almost fully stopping me with the bicycle on downhills : city is open and there are lakes near it, so wind gains high speed and strength above them. Quickly I rode to turn to the She-wold mountain, I did not ascend on it this day, otherwise I would completely miss concert in Yekaterinburg, so, I’ll ride to it next Spring, when roads will melt and will be more easily rideable. Maybe from She-wolf Fun mountains are visible, Konzhak unlikely visible from them, but I’ll look in that direction anyway and next I’ll find where to look.
She-wolf mountain
Road in this area periodically narrows and widens, giving ability to ride at high speed on a highway. Near Revda one of the drivers signaled to me in my support, I smiled in reply and rode further. Medicine and Emergency center with ready to take off helicopters is located near the road. All in all 40 km from Revda did not caused any difficulties, Sun even looked through the clouds and lit snowy landscape for a while. When I approached Yekaterinburg, it was already dark and city lighting appeared above horizon, on the entrance in city street and buildings lights met me : ride in the city at dark time with such lighting is one of the biggest pleasures in the life. I rotated pedals as I can, because DO and warmth waited me ahead. On the way to CK Ural I visited a couple of places for my own businesses and arrived to CK itself, I missed first part, but ride was worth it and 2nd and 3rd parts were interesting. This day Different Orchestra played “5 years” concerto, it turned so, I give my congratulations by the way, compositions of different genres and styles were played on the concert and orchestra prepared mix of a most, what it played before. Trip-hop, drum and bass and rap styles compositions were played and works of Depeche Mode and Sansara, Kurara and Ek-Playaz were performed, with participation of 2nd, 3rd and 4th ones. What was in a first part, I do not know for now, but soon videos will be uploaded and I’ll learn from them what I missed.
Snowfall near CK Ural in Yekaterinburg
After concert I dressed my hiking ammunition and went to my bicycle, snowfall started on the streets and it became warmer, horse cold, waiting for me, but I quickly heated him up, ride through the night city, still full of activity, and I’m on the Polevskoy highway in the company of periodically riding nearby cars. On the downhills on biggest frontal gear chain straightened and stopped attempts to jump to other gears and slip. Pedals rotating and Mountain Shield, railway bridge, Kurganovo and turn to Degtyarsk and Revda, on which I rode whole eternity ago, pass nearby. And so I arrived to Polevskoy ( Jupiter, Venus and Mars rose on the East ) and to my home, at last, ate food, warmed myself and went to sleep. This day I rode 160 snowy, windy and cold kilometers. In real Urals freezes I’ll ride on bicycle mostly in Polevskoy, because on such distances technics can not withstand. See you on the next bicycles adventures!
In audio part lets review MIDI keyboard Korg Taktile 49 wih drumpads and arpreggiator. It is high quality keyboard, which has 49 full-size velocity-sensitive keys, 16 velocity-sensitive drumpads, arpreggiator module, 8 of each type programmable switches, sliders and knobs, 7 transport control buttons, pitch-bend and assignable wheels, and touchpad and OEL display. It communicates with computer and receives power via 1 USB port and has MIDI input-output, optional peal can be connected to it. It is supported by Windows 7 and newer and Mac OS X version 10.6.8 Snow Leopard and newer operating systems, 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. Its sizes are 750 ( width ) x 290 ( depth ) x 83 ( height ) mm, and mass is 3.8 kg. Package contains : MIDI keyboard Korg Taktile 49 itself, USB cable, user’s guide and card with PIN code for licensed software downloading and discounts receiving on various applications. It is high-quality MIDI keyboard with full spectrum of functions for home studio and professional use and it worth its money, especially, if it is bought with discount.
Lets review fixed wide angle photo-lens Pentax HD DA 21mm f/3.2 ED AL for Pentax K mounts. Its focus equals to 21 mm, diaphragm can be set in f/3.2 – f/22 range ( it is middle light strength lens ) with use of 7 diaphragm blades, it is designed for APS-C sensors and gives 68 degrees field of view with them. Minimal focusing distance is 0.2 m with auto-focusing support and without support of optical image stabilization ( which camera can perform itself via sensor shifting, if it has such function ). 8 lens elements in 5 groups are built into it ( it is relatively big their amount for fixed lens ), they all are covered with protective and anti-reflective multi-coating Pentax HD. 49 mm optical filters can be attached to it, its sizes are 63.5 ( diameter ) x 25.4 ( length ) mm, and mass is 119 g, it is released in 2 color variants : black and silver. Package contains : Pentax HD DA 21mm f/3.2 ED AL photo-lens itself, frontal and rear caps, carrying and storage case, 1 year warranty card and user’s guide. From one side : it is good lens with average glasses amount, average light strength, wide field of view and auto-focusing support, but from the other side : its price is quite big ( 390 USD in the middle of Autumn 2015 ). So, it should be bought only for auto-focusing with such focal distance, but if it is not needed, then it is better to buy other lens and use it via adapter or converter.
Lets meet in audio part with external studio audio interface ESI MAYA22 USB, which is oriented on professional recording of analogue sound. Card can work with 96 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits precision and has 102 dB range of analogue to digital conversion and 108 dB range of digital to analogue conversion. Frontal panel of card contains : microphone XLR input, to which +48 V phantom power can be connected; phantom power switch; instrumental TRS ( 1/4″, 6.3 mm jack ) Hi-Z input; and the same type headphones output; 2nd and 3rd connectors are gold-plated. Rear panel contains : USB port, through which it communicates with computer; linear analogue balanced TRS ( 1/4″, 6.3 mm jack ) inputs ( this allows to neutralize all noise, which is added to signal in cables ); and linear analogue RCA inputs; they all are covered with nickel coating. Card can simultaneously record microphone and instrumental inputs.
External sound card ESI MAYA22 USB ( rear view )
It can work in operating systems Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.1 and newer via special drivers with support of ASIO 2.0, MME, WDM and DirectSound interfaces and DirectWIRE; and Mac OS X 10.4 and newer without additional drivers installation with support of CoreAudio interface. In them it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. Package contains : ESI MAYA22 USB external sound card itself, optical disks with drivers and software, USB cable and user’s guide. It is good sound card with high sampling rate and precision, which is oriented on professional recording of microphone and instrumental inputs and completed signal transmittance. So it is good device for home studio. Wherein there is need to note, that if card will be used for work with MIDI instruments and digital signal transmittance, then it is better to buy card, that has corresponding connectors.
Lets meet in optics part today with compact standard photo-lens Sony SEL-20F28 for Sony E mounts. Its 20 mm focus is fixed, diaphragm can be set in f/2.8 – f/16 range ( it is relatively light lens ) with use of 7 diaphragm blades. It is designed for APS-C sensors and gives 70 degrees field of view with them, minimal focusing distance is 0.2 m, it does not support automatic focusing and optical image stabilization ( which camera can perform by itself via sensor shifting, if it supports such function ). 6 lens elements in 6 groups are built into it, among them 3 are aspherical for chromatic and geometric distortions reduction, they all are coated with protective and anti-reflective multi-coating. 49 mm optical filters can be attached to it, its sizes are 62.6 ( diameter ) x 20.4 ( length ) mm, and mass is 69 g.
Sony SEL-20F28 photo-lens optical scheme
Package contains : Sony SEL-20F28 photo-lens itself, frontal and rear caps, protective and carrying case and user’s guide. All in all, this is a good fixed photo-lens with small glasses amount, aspherical lens elements, relatively high light strength and big field of view; it is more oriented to photos making, because it does not support automatic focusing and optical image stabilization ( which camera can perform by itself, if it supports it ), but experienced photographers can use it for videos recording also.
Lets review fixed light photo-lens Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D for Nikon F mounts. Its 85 mm focus is fixed, diaphragm is set in f/1.8 – f/16 range with use of 9 diaphragm blades, it is designed for 35 mm full-frame ( with 28 degrees 30 minutes field of view ) and APS-C ( with 18 degrees 50 minutes field of view ) sensors, minimal focusing distance is 0.85 m. It supports automatic focusing and does not support optical image stabilization ( which can be performed by camera itself via sensor shifting, if it supports it ). 6 lens elements in 6 groups are built into it ( it is adequate amount for fixed lens ), they all are coated with protective and anti-reflective Super Integrated Coating. 62 mm Screw-on optical filters can be attached to it, lens sizes are 71.5 ( length ) x 58.5 ( diameter ) mm, and its mass is 380 g. Package contains : Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D photo-lens itself, frontal and rear caps, carrying and storage case and user’s guide. It is good fixed light photo-lens with small lens elements amount ( for light dispersion and internal reflections on optical surfaces amount reduction ), it supports auto-focusing and is useful for photos making and videos recording ( especially if camera supports optical image stabilization ) by novice and experienced photographers.
Lets review standard light lens Yongnuo EF YN 50mm F/1.8 for Canon EF mounts. Its 50 mm focus is fixed, diaphragm can be set in f/1.8 – f/22 range with use of 7 diaphragm blades, its field of view is 46 degrees and minimal focusing distance is 0.45 m. It supports automatic and manual focusing and does not support image stabilization ( which can be performed by camera itself, if it supports it ). 6 lens elements in 5 groups are mounted into it, they all are covered with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. There is ability to attach 52 mm optical filters to it, its sizes are 73 ( diameter ) x 55 ( length ) mm, and mass is 120 g. Package contains : Yongnuo EF YN 50mm F/1.8 photo-lens itself, frontal and rear caps, 52 mm thread frontal cap and user’s guide. It is good standard photo-lens with adequate lens elements amount, high light strength and automatic focusing support, which costs much less, than Canon prime lenses. It will be useful for photos and videos making ( especially if camera supports image stabilization ) by novice and experienced photographers.
Lets meet in audio part with mini MIDI keyboard chord Micro MU Control Station with functions, that are inherent to high-level keyboards. It has : 25 velocity-sensitive mini-keys, 8 velocity-sensitive drumpads, 4 programmable sliders, 4 programmable knobs and 8 customizable buttons. Wherein its sizes are 320 ( width ) x 35 ( height ) x 190 ( depth ) mm and mass is 750 g. It is powered from 1 USB port and works without additional drivers in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer and Mac OS X operating systems via Plug and Play technology, in which it integrates with modern DAWs, their instruments and VST plugins : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Package contains : chord Micro MU Control Station MIDI keyboard itself, USB cable and user’s guide. Overall, it is mini keyboard with very rich functions, which costs approximately 60 USD at the middle of Autumn 2015; pitch-bend and modulation control wheels ( programmable sliders, knobs and even buttons can perform their functions ), pedals inputs and specialized transport control buttons ( programmable buttons can act as they ) can be wished, but with such price it has quite adequate functions.
Lets review in optics area compact prime photo-lens Pentax HD Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 for Pentax K mounts. It is notable by its small sizes and mass and small amount of lens elements. Its 40 mm focus is fixed ( with support of automatic and manual focusing ); diaphragm can be set in f/2.8 – f/22 range with use of 9 diaphragm blades, it is controlled by camera or manually; it is designed for Pentax APS-C optical sensors, with them it has 39 degrees field of view. Minimal focusing distance is 0.4 m, there is ability to attach 49 mm optical filters to it and it does not support optical image stabilization ( which camera perform by itself by sensor shifting, if it supports such function ). It has 5 lens elements in 4 groups, they all are covered with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. Its sizes are 63.5 ( diameter ) x 15.24 ( length ) mm, mass is 88 g, it is produced in 2 color variants : black and silver. Package contains : Pentax HD Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 photo lens itself, frontal and rear caps, storage and carrying case and user’s guide. All in all, this a good photo lens with compact sizes, small mass, small glasses amount, automatic focusing and electronic diaphragm control ability, so it is good fit for videos recording ( especially if camera can perform image stabilization ) and photos making by novice and experienced photographers.
