An Overview and Review of Hardware, Installation and Functions
The Euphonic MC Color Controller is an affordable controller for half the price of its competitors. It is a great product, worth considering for those looking for good value for their money.
Keyword: Euphonix MC Color
Affordable hardware controllers are now available in the market. No longer restricted to professional studios, items such as the Euphonix MC Color Controller offers much of the same features of controllers that professional colorists have been using. What used to cost $15,000 can now be had at $1,500-$7,000, and offer much of the same features in controllers that colorists have been using for years.
I tested the Euphonic MC Color Controller using a Macbook Pro with 16GB of RAM, an ATI 4870 Graphics Card and an AJA Kona 3 Video Card. The Macbook Pro was hooked up to a 24” Dell Monitor, a 22” Viewsonic Monitor and an FSI 2450W Reference Monitor. Software used for the review was Final Cut Studio 3 with a Color 1.5.1 update.
The workmanship of the controller seemed solid and stable, with its matte rubber finish feeling very comfortable to touch. The buttons and controls were quiet when maneuvered and its size was small enough to be accommodated in my Anthro Fit Console. There was enough room to spare to house the keyboard and a Wacom tablet. The trackballs and trackwheels performed excellently, with extremely smooth control and feel. My only concern was that there is no locking device for the drop-in trackball, making it prone to loss and damage. The wrist panel is also a bit short, and might cause some wrist pain when used for long periods.
Installation was easy enough, and you should take note that an Ethernet connection is required for the controller to be connected to your computer. This proved to be a problem for me because of the setup of my studio, but was easily solved using a longer length of cable. The User Manual described operations simply enough, with lots of emphasis on utilizing less controls and buttons to execute more actions. There are less buttons, knobs and switches to worry about compared to other controllers I’ve previously used. It can get confusing using the same buttons for different actions, but if you use the controller often enough, you’ll get the hang of it pretty soon.
The Euphonix MC Color Controller offers a lot of action in such a small package. It’s well made, has excellent trackball and trackwheel performance and is a good price to boot. There are improvements that need to be made on its functions, and its design could afford to be made more user-friendly as colorists tend to work long hours. Another product to consider side by side with this is the Tangent Wave. All things aside, a product with great potential for a great price.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/656000-REG/Euphonix_947_10451_01_MC_Color_Color.html
No comments:
Post a Comment