Reviews | Imagination Works

Steinberg UR44 – very functional external USB audio interface with 192 kHz, 24 bits and 101 dB dynamic range for optimal price

Lets continue our reviews of external sound cards with relatively new and very functional device Steinberg UR44. It is connected to computer via USB port, it is powered via it and additional power adapter. It works with sound with 192 kHz sampling rate ( and also supports rates 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 and 176.4 kHz ) and 24 bits precision. It has 2 XLR/TRS combined inputs for microphone and Hi-Z input and 2 the same connectors for microphone and linear input ( for them card has phantom power +48 V switches and indicators, volume level controls and clip indicators ); 2 monitor headphones outputs with separate volume control. As well as overall device’s outputs volume control.

USB аудио интерфейс Steinberg UR44 ( задняя панель )

On back panel it has MIDI input and output, 2 main linear TRS outputs, 4 linear TRS outputs and 2 linear TRS inputs; USB port for connection to computer, power adapter input, power button and Class Compliant mode switch. For all microphone inputs audio card uses high quality Yamaha D-PRE Class-A preamplifiers; it has built in hardware VST 3 effects, their processing is handled by Yamaha SSP2 DSP. Steinberg UR44 can be switched into CC ( Class Compliant ) mode, in which it can work with Apple iPad devices version 2 or newer; this way there is ability to obtain high quality mobile recording solution.

Steinberg UR44 is powered from separate line adapter, plugged in through separate port; its mass is 1.6 kg and sizes are 252 ( width ) x 47 ( height ) x 159 ( depth ) mm, it is released only black-silver color variant with fully aluminum body. Audio interface is supplied with DAW Cubase AI and VST effects and processors set Basic FX Suite. Dynamic range of device is 101 dB ( A-Weighted ), working frequencies range 20 Hz – 22 kHz ( with +0.1/-0.2 dB deviation ) and THD+N is equal to 0.003%.

For installation of DAW Cubase AI there is need in connection to Internet for downloading of additional data with 500 MB size. Steinberg UR44 supports following DSP effects : Latency-free monitoring with FX ( dspMixFx ), True Integrated Monitoring with FX in Cubase, Guitar Amp Classics, REV-X Reverb, Sweet Spot Morphing Channel Strip, Phase switch per channel and High-Pass filter. Cubase AI – is a simplified version of professional DAW of Steinberg, it is based on the same audio engine with 32-bits float precision of calculations; can work simultaneously with 32 sound tracks, 48 MIDI tracks and 16 instrumental tracks with ability to record completed compositions to disk in WAV and AIFF formats, and in MP3 after purchsing of according module. For audio and MIDI editing in program following editors are built-in : Key, Score and Drum, pitch-shift instrument AudioWarp with support of ACID files format, which allows to use large amount of already created sounds samples, and Chord Track editor. 28 VST effects and processors are built into it for work with sounds, sampling synthesizer instrument HALion Sonic SE with 180 sound; mixing console with 4 Inserts and 4 Sends for each track and equalizer. DAW Cubase AI can work in 32 and 64 bits operating systems Windows and Mac OS X.

Sound card is supplied with DAW Cubase AI, with which it is closely integrated, because card and DAW has the same manufacturer. Wherein it can work with other DAWs : FL Studio, REAPER, Cackewalk Sonar and others through ASIO 2.0 and WDM or Core Audio for Windows ( XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8, 8.1 and 10 ) and Mac OS X, accordingly. Body of audio card is produced from metal, this makes it easier to use card for mobile recordings and on the open scenes and reduces electromagnetic interference on the card’s internals. Also in the package with Steinberg UR44 device itself there are : CD-ROM disk with drivers and programs, USB cable, power adapter, warranty card and user’s guide. On optical disk there are following programs : Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver, UR44 Extension ( for integration with DAW Cubase ), dspMixFx UR44 ( for integration with other DAWs ), Basic FX Suite ( Sweet Spot Morphing Channel Strip – compressor and equalizer, REV-X – reverberation, and Guitar Amp Classics – program emulator of electric guitar amplifier ) and electronic versions of user’s guides of device and programs.

All in all Steinberg UR44 is very functional sound card, which has very good characteristics and high quality hardware and costs the same amount of money or even less, than similar devices from other manufacturers; its price is around 250 USD. There is also ability to look on other audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, Roland, ESI, M-Audio, Alesis and other companies production, which can have better analogue characteristics.

Steinberg – is a German company – creator of DAWs, VST effects, processors and instruments and also of audio interfaces, being based in Hamburg. It was established in 1984 year and now is being owned by Yamaha Corporation from 2004 year. At current moment Steinberg is one of the leading audio equipment and programs manufacturers in the world, for example, its professional DAW, instruments and hardware are used by following musicians : Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL, Justice, Kraftwerk, New Order and others.

MC APO Telezenitar-M 2.8/135 teleobjective lens review

Lets continue our study of Russian-made photo objective lens with MC APO Telezenitar-M 2.8/135. As it follows from its name, it is apochromatic ( it has corrected spherical aberrations ( geometrical image distortions ) and chromatic aberrations ( color image distortions ) for 3 or more light waves lengths ); has 135 mm fixed focal distance and 1/2.8 – 1/22 diaphragm. They were developed in KMZ plant in the beginning of 1980ties and their industrial productions started in 1983 year; also, modifications of objective lens were produced by other companies. Field of view of objective lens is 18 degrees, frame sizes are 24 × 36 mm, and minimal focusing distance is 1.3 m. There are 5 lens elements in 4 groups set in it, all of them are covered with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. MC APO Telezenitar-M 2.8/135 attaches to camera via M42×1 mount, with use of adapters and converters it can be attached to modern cameras with other bayonets formats. Objective lens sizes are : 83 x 66.5 mm, and weight is : 430 g. All in all : it is very good objective lens; it has no automatic focusing and diaphragm control and they should be set manually via control rings, because of this this lens can be advised for experienced photographers or to those, who want to dive in this area. It has small amount of lens elements and because of this it is far more superior in image quality area, than zoom-objecte lenses with simillar characteristics. Also, it is light weight ( for tele-objective lens ) and it is convenient to shoot photos from hands with it and wear camera in trips. Currently these objective lenses are rare in shops and they can be bought via private ads in conditions from “new one” to “with marks of use”.

AudioTrak DR. DAC3 – external audio interface with support of 192 kHz/24 bits mode

Lets review external sound card AudioTrak DR. DAC3, which supports sound processing mode with 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits precision. It communicates with computer via USB port, through which it also receives power. Its digital to analogue converter ( DAC ) has 129 dB signal to noise ratio ( which is very good and provides very good sound quality, if all other sound card’s equipment supports audio processing with such high signal clearness ); it has unbalanced RCA outputs and monitor headphones outputs with separate volume level control and RCA inputs. Card supports digital optical S/PDIF input and output via TOS-LINK and RCA connectors. Sound card sizes are : 140 x 111 x 30 mm ( width x depth x height ), weight is : 400 g, and it consumes 3 – 5 W of energy, depending on workload level. There are drivers released for audio interface for Window XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer and Mac OS X operating systems with support of ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio, accordingly; through which it can work with all modern DAWs : FL Studio, REAPER, Cackewalk Sonar and others.

As it can be seen from AudioTrak DR. DAC3 printed circuit board ( PCB ), it has operational amplifiers ( OA ), which can be easily replaced with better ones, and film or ceramic capacitors of low-pass filters, which filter out high frequency noise after OA. Use of such capacitors is much more preferable in analogue part of sound cards, because they have much better and much more stable characteristics, than electrolytic capacitors, which can boil-up and explode after some time of use. Key outputs of card has gold-plated surface : it provides good contact, when gold-plated connectors are used ( there is need to remember, that nickel-plated connectors can not be used in such case, because otherwise areas of contact after some time of use will be covered with oxide film, that lowers contact quality ). Overall AudioTrak DR. DAC3 is very good sound card, which can be recommended for home or semi-professional small studio.

KMZ Mir-20 – wide angle objective lens for M42x1 mounts

Lets review wide angle objective lens KMZ Mir-20, it was produced by KMZ plant from 1973 year to 1992 year and by other plants, now it can be bought through private ads in conditions from “new” to “with marks of use”. It has 20 mm fixed focus and field of view 96 degrees; 1/3.5 – 1/16 diaphragm; 24 × 36 mm frame size; and minimal focusing distance 0.18 m. Objective lens has 9 lens elements in 8 groups with enlightened optics or with protective and anti-reflective multi-coating, depending on objective lens modification. KMZ Mir-20 is attached to camera via M42×1 mount, using different adapters and converters it can be attached to cameras with different mounts standards. It has no automatic focusing and diaphragm control, so they should be set manually with use of control rings. Because of this it most suitable for experienced photographers, who know which settings to use in different situations. Optical filters can be attached to objective lens from back side with use of M28×0.75 mount. All in all it is very good objective lens, accounting its low lens elements amount and their high quality ( in USSR and in Russia optics production takes its roots in military area and quality of production is very high ), it is far more superior, than zoom objective lenses with similar characteristics; and taking into account its low price ( especially when it is bought through private ads ) it is very competitive with other fixed focus wide angle lenses.

M-Audio M-Track Plus – portable audio interface with low power consumption

M-Audio M-Track Plus external sound card

M-Audio released external sound card M-Audio M-Track Plus with low power consumption, that is designed for use with laptops and other mobile devices. Card works with 48 kHz sampling rate ( which is not much for modern semi-professional audio interfaces, which able to work with 96 – 192 kHz sampling rate ) and 24 bits precision. It has large amount of hardware indicators and knobs, which allow to view sound parameters and control them directly without delays of signal sending to computer and its processing. Card has digital coaxial S/PDIF input-output and MIDI input-output; 2 XLR inputs with ability to switch on phantom power +48 V for them, 2 balanced 6.3 mm jack inputs, 2 TRS inserts and main 6.3 mm jack output. Also, there is ability to plug in monitor headphones to it with separate volume level control. Card is powered with 1 USB port, through which data is also transferred. Its body is produced from aluminum, its sizes are : 165 x 119 x 57 mm ( width x depth x height ) and its weight is 0.68 kg. M-Audio M-Track Plus is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7 and newer ( 32 and 64 bits ) and Mac OS X operating systems. Sound card is supplied with DAW AIR Ignite, which allows to record audio, arrange and edit tracks, apply effects, switch musical instruments for MIDI notes and export tracks for use with more advanced DAWs like FL Studio, REAPER, Cackewalk Sonar and others.

Review of extra-wide angle lens Zenitar 2,8/16

Lets review extra-wide angle objective lens ( “fish eye” ) Zenitar 2,8/16, that is produced in Russia. It was developed and now is manufactured by «Krasnogorskiy Plant of S.A. Zverev» for following bayonets : M42×1, Nikon, Pentax and Canon, it also can be used with other mounts via adapters and converters. It has 180 degrees field of view, 16 mm focal length, maximal and minimal apertures : f/2,8 – f/22 ( with 6 diaphragm blades ), frame size : 24 × 36 mm, and minimal focusing distance is 0.3 m. To obtain optimal results, there is need to use full-frame cameras, otherwise field of view will be cut near the edges. It has 11 lens elements in 7 groups, all of them are coated with multilayer protective and anti-reflective coating. Objective lens does not have automatic focusing and image stabilization; they would not work any way with adapters and converters; so, this lens is appropriate for experienced photographers, which know which settings to use for different scenes. It has great picture quality at the center and strong geometrical distortions at the edges ( they are inherent for all objective lens of this type ). Zenitar 2,8/16 has fixed focus and small amount of lens elements, so by image clarity, sharpness and lightness it is far more superior, than standard zoom objective lens of cameras. Wherein it has much smaller price, than other competing extra-wide angle objective lens.

Infrasonic UAX2 – external audio interface with hardware parameters monitoring and control

Lets continue our reviews of semi-professional external sound cards with Infrasonic UAX2. It supports 1 microphone XLR/TRS input with +48 V phantom power for condenser microphones and 1 Hi-Z input ( both are unbalanced ), 2 balanced outputs, 1 linear input-output and 1 MIDI input-output. Card works with 24 bits precision and 96 kHz sampling rate; it is powered from 1 USB 2.0 port, through which data is transfered to computer. Microphone input has pre amplifier with level indicator and gain control. Most of recording sounds parameters can be monitored and controlled via hardware indicators and knobs. Sound card supports following interfaces : ASIO 2.0 and WDM for Windows ( XP/VISTA/Win7 and newer; 32 and 64 bits ) and Core Audio for MAC OS 10.5 and newer, with which it can work with all modern DAWs : FL Studio, REAPER, Cackewalk Sonar and others. Audio card is supplied with Native Instruments KOMPLETE ELEMENTS software, which contains 3 GB of production ready effects and sounds. Package contains : Infrasonic UAX2 sound card itself, DVD disks with drivers and sotware, USB cable and user’s guide.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR – telephoto zoom objective lens with low-dispersion lens elements

Nikon released new telephoto zoom objective lens Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR. It has Nikon F-Bayonet mount and 200 – 500 mm minimal and maximal focal distances with minimal and maximal apertures of f/5.6 and f/32, accordingly. Its minimal and maximal fields of view for DX and FX sensors are : 8 degrees and 3 degrees 10 minutes and 12 degrees 20 minutes and 5 degrees, accordingly. Minimal focus distance is 2.2 m with automatic, manual and semi-automatic focusing with internal focusing mechanism. It is powered by AF-S ( Silent Wave Motor ). Image stabilization is performed by Vibration Reduction technology. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR has 19 built-in lens elements in 12 groups, among them 3 are low-dispersion lens elements from ED glass. All lens are coated with protective and anti-reflective Super Integrated Coating. Diaphragm is controlled with use of Electromagnetic Diaphragm Mechanism, there are 9 diaphragm blades in objective lens. There is ability to attach to it 95 mm optical filters of Screw-on standard. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR objective lens sizes are : 108 x 267.5 mm, and its weight is : 2300 g.

Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 – external semi-professional audio card with 6 channels

Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 external sound card

Lets continue our reviews of sound cards with Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 device. It supports 4 analogue inputs ( 2 are balanced XLR and 2 are balanced TRS ) and 4 analogue outputs ( all 4 are balanced TRS ) and 2 digital channels ( SPDIF and coaxial ). It also has MIDI port for keyboard connection, separate monitor headphones output and USB port for card powering and data transmission. Card can send phantom power 48 V for condenser microphones and active DI boxes, if they require it. Card can work with sound with 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz samplin rate and 16 or 24 bits precision. Drivers are released for it for Windows 7, 8 and 10 and for Mac OS X 10.8 and newer operating systems. It supports following audio interfaces : ASIO, Core Audio, DirectSound and WASAPI, with which it can work with different DAWs ( FL Studio, REAPER, Cackewalk Sonar and others ) and with recording and music and sounds playback software. KOMPLETE AUDIO 6 is supplied with following software : KOMPLETE ELEMENTS, TRAKTOR LE and CUBASE LE, and with 25 USD discount for purchasing of any KOMPLETE effects or instruments in Native Instruments online store. Card sizes are : 52 x 159 x 122 mm ( height x width x depth ), and weight is : 850 g.

AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR – new zoom objective lens from Nikon

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR zoom objective lens

Nikon announced new zoom objective lens Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR. As it follows from its name : it has 24 – 70 mm focal distances and Nikon F bayonet mount. It can magnify up to 2.9 times and its maximal and minimal apertures are : f/2.8 и f/22, accordingly; it is developed for large FX ( 35 mm ) sensors. Its maximal and minimal fields of view are : 61 degrees and 22 degrees 50 seconds for DX format sensors and 84 degrees and 34 degrees 20 seconds for FX format sensors, accordingly. It has 20 lens elements in 16 groups; 1 is High Refractive Index lens element ( which works as many usual lens and reduce field curvature and spherical aberrations ), 2 lens elements are produced from ED low disperse glass and 3 are aspherical lens elements, which reduce color aberrations.

All lens are coated with Fluorine Coat, Super Integrated Coating and Nano Crystal Coat anti-reflective and protective coatings. There is ability to attach to it 82 mm optical filters of Screw-on standard. Objective lens supports manual, automatic and semi-automatic focusing with internal focusing functions. It has built-in Vibration Reduction image stabiliztion mechanism and AF-S ( Silent Wave Motor ). Minimal focusing distances are 38 – 41 cm, depending on selected optical zoom level. Objective lens sizes are : 88 x 154.5 mm, and its weight is : 1070 g. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR will be available in shops from 24th October of this year.

Category: Reviews