Apple iPad Air – Preview

Apple iPad Air – Preview

Until recently, if you wanted to use a tablet for high end video editing and music production, the iPad Pro was the only game in town. However, despite being a formidable machine, its price tag puts it out of reach of many a starving artist/musician/filmmaker. Clearly Apple get this, because its just announced iPad Air offers almost as much power as an iPad Pro for almost as little money as an iPad, making it a no brainer for creatives, on paper at least. Although we haven’t got our hands on one yet, we hope to bring you a full review in due course. In the meantime, here’s a quick look at what the new iPad Air has to offer.

The new iPad Air is based around Apple’s custom A12 Bionic chipset, which is also found in its iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Whilst not quite as powerful as the A12X Bionic chipset found in its current iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9, it’s certainly no slouch. Indeed it is more powerful than the A11 chipset that powered the last iteration of Apple’s iPad Pros!

Unlike the iPad Pros which offer four capacities (64GB, 256GB, 512GB & 1TB), the iPad Air offers just two – 64GB & 256GB. For general use, drawing and illustration (the iPad Air is compatible with Apple’s 1st, but not its second, generation Pencil) the $499/£479 64GB model is probably adequate. For pro video, audio and photography, we reckon that paying the extra $149/£150 for the 256GB model is likely to prove a good investment.

The most obvious difference between the iPad Air and the iPad Pro is that the former has the larger bezels and home button of the iPad. Compared to the iPad Pro 11, the iPad Air’s case is 3mm taller, 4.4mm less wide, 0.2mm deeper and has a 10.5″ instead of an 11″ screen.

The screens on both models are laminated, anti reflective & anti fingerprint-resistant coated LED-backlit 264 PPI IPS wide colour (P3) True Tone Retina displays, though the iPad Pro’s is a liquid retina display that offers ProMotion technology (which the iPad Air does not).

The other main differences are that the iPad Air has a lightening connector instead of USB-C, uses touch ID instead of face ID and has two speakers instead of 4.

There are some differences between the rear cameras on the iPad Air & iPad Pro (for example the iPad Air has an 8-megapixel f2.4 camera, whereas the iPad Pro has a 12-megapixel f1.8 camera) and video recording abilities (the iPad Pro can record 4K at up to 60FPS, 1080p at 120 fps and 720p at 240 FPS, whereas the iPad Air is restricted to 1080p HD standard and 720p 120 fps recording). However, if you are a creative, the chances are that you are shooting/editing content that was originated on a dedicated camera, so these differences are hardly likely to be a deal breaker.

Like the iPad Pro, the iPad Air is compatible with Apple’s smart keyboard (which cleverly doubles as a cover) for 2-in-1 functionality; and third party bluetooth keyboards.

All in all, at $499/£479 for the 64GB model & $649/£629 for the 256GB model, the iPad Air feels like it could be the iPad Pro for the creative masses. We look forward to testing it with apps such as Korg Gadget and Adobe Lightroom CC, in due course.

More info: https://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/

© 2019, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Full-Frame Ahead

Sony A7III

Until recently if you wanted a full frame mirrorless camera, there was the Sony A7 series and…well, actually that was about it…unless you had the means to buy a Leica. However, in the past few days it seems there has been something of a revolution.

Nikon Z7

To be fair, the recently announced Canon EOS R, Nikon Z7 & Z6 weren’t exactly unexpected. Both companies have been making full frame SLRs for years. Indeed Canon, who some inaccurately malign as conservative, were, in fact, first to market with a full frame DSLR, way back in 2002, whilst Nikon finally released their first full-frame DSLR, the excellent D3, in 2007. However, in recent years Sony’s full-frame mirrorless A7 series has presented Canon & Nikon with an increasingly serious challenge, so it was only a matter of time before they took the plunge.

Canon EOS R

Like the Canon EOS R and Nikon Z7 & Z6, the Zeiss’ ZX1 had been rumoured for a while. Whilst its fixed 35mm Zeiss lens was anticipated, other aspects, such as its half Gigabyte of storage, Adobe Lightroom inside, and the ability to upload photos direct to the net, come as a pleasant surprise; and its minimal interface, consisting, as it does, of just shutter speed and ISO dials on the top plate, an aperture ring around the lens and a touch screen at the rear, offers a lesson in ergonomics to all manufacturers except for Leica. Prima facie the ZX1 looks like it could be the perfect reportage camera for real photographers.

What was unexpected was that half-frame heavyweights, Panasonic, would form a strategic partnership with Leica & Sigma and announce that they will be releasing not one, but two full-frame mirrorless cameras in early 2019.

Panasonic S1r

What was even more unexpected was that Sigma would announce that in 2019, they too will release a full-frame mirrorless camera, featuring a Foveon sensor (let that sink in).

What was so unexpected that a render farm of psychics couldn’t have predicted it was that Zenit…yes that Zenit…the one that sold 35mm Russian SLRs to the West for £50 a pop during the ’80s, will release a full-frame mirrorless camera based on the Leica M Type 240 with a Russian made Zenitar 35 mm f/1.0 lens.

Zenit

So have we reached a tipping point? Not quite, but like Theresa May on a cliff edge, we’re teetering on the brink of one. Come 2019 there will be at least 25 full-frame mirrorless cameras on the market from 8 different manufacturers – Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Zeiss, Leica, Sigma…and Zenit.

More full-frame mirrorless cameras in the market place means more competition, which should result in more innovation, and progressively better value for money as wider ownership and greater economies of scale go hand in hand to drive prices down.

It may seem pie in the sky to imagine a future where full-frame mirrorless cameras are the new normal, but cast your minds back to the days of film and you might recall that as recently as the noughties full-frame analogue 35mm cameras were the norm…and could be had for as little as £100 brand new.

So it’s full-frame ahead!

© 2018, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Canon XF305 & XF300 – Hands On Preview

Canon XF305

Canon recently gave me hands on access to their newly announced and yet to be released XF305 & XF300. Although I haven’t had a chance to shoot with them yet, I have seen ungraded footage from a couple of shoots on which they’ve been used and am extremely impressed with both the cameras themselves and the results they are capable of delivering. Continue reading “Canon XF305 & XF300 – Hands On Preview”

© 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

NAB 2010

NAB 2010

A week might be a long time in politics, but 24 hours is even longer in technology, as evidenced by this year’s NAB, which, regardless of the non attendance of some high profile companies, will go down in history as one of the most significant NABs ever. Continue reading “NAB 2010”

© 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.