Given the current rebellion against Adobe’s subscription model, people are taking a close look at Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve Studio. And many like what they see. It’s arguably more powerful than Adobe Premiere Pro, and offers better color correction tools as well as built-in effects and audio apps. And best of all, it’s free (though you have to pay $300 to upgrade to the Studio version).
To make it more convenient for those editing on the go, Blackmagic introduced an iPad version in late 2022 with the Cut and Color pages, but no effects or audio apps. The idea was to give creatives a way to edit or color correct on the go, with everything synced via the Blackmagic Cloud. It was also a good option for those who prefer to work on mobile devices.
Earlier this year, Blackmagic introduced the $509 Micro Color Panel, which gave users tactile control over color grading, just like the high-paid colorists in Hollywood. And even better, it can be used with Resolve on the iPad, so you can click, select and roll with precision instead of tapping imprecisely on a touchscreen.
I love control surfaces and was keen to try out the Micro Color Panel with my iPad Air M2 to see how they work together. At the same time, I wanted to try out Blackmagic’s Cloud for sharing projects across multiple devices.
DaVinci Resolve Studio is available for two installations. I used my desktop key to install it on my iPad Air M2. Blackmagic recommends an iPad with an M1 processor or higher. Although it will work with earlier iPads, you may be limited to HD and features will be limited.
Blackmagic gave me a free trial of their cloud service so I could transfer projects from my desktop to the iPad. It normally costs $5 per month per library, which gives you 500GB of storage and unlimited projects that can be shared with up to 10 collaborators.
You can easily share timelines, effects, metadata and media. To transfer files, you can either connect a USB-C drive or share full or proxy media (smaller versions of your video clips) to the Blackmagic Cloud. This requires a fast connection – both for uploading and downloading – but once it’s done, the files are local to your iPad. Any new media files are automatically synced to the cloud.
The downside to using DaVinci Resolve on an iPad is the clunky touch-based interface, especially when color grading – but that’s where the Micro Color Panel comes in. Blackmagic has a long history of building such controllers for professional use, but the new model is the smallest and cheapest yet.
Although the new Micro Panel is smaller compared to the $859 version, it still oozes quality. Its black finish does attract some dust, but otherwise looks professional. The buttons light up to make them easier to find in a dark studio, but the labels on the dials aren’t illuminated, so they can be difficult to read.
The panel has its own battery that lasts about 15 hours on a single charge. Although you can use USB-C to connect to PCs or Macs, iPads only support Bluetooth, with USB-C reserved for charging.
Once you’ve paired the Micro Control Panel with your iPad, you’ll need to enable it in DaVinci Resolve’s preferences. Then you can slide your iPad into the slot on the back and you’re ready to go.
To be clear, the Micro Control Panel is not intended for editing, but purely for color correction. For that purpose, it mirrors the interface of DaVinci Resolve’s Color Page. The main controls are Lift (black levels), Gamma (contrast), and Gain (overall brightness).
These wheels and dials offer a nice level of resistance and precision compared to the Loupedeck+ and other types of control surfaces I’ve tried. They’re used for things like shadows, highlights, and saturation, while the buttons let you view the image in full screen, switch from clip to clip, add keyframes, and more.
The tactile experience is a strong selling point for the Micro Control Panel, but there is a catch when using it with the iPad. At home, I would probably use it with my PC or Mac for more speed and versatility. If I’m traveling with my iPad, however, I’m not sure I would take the Micro Control Panel with me because it’s too bulky.
Although Blackmagic is marketing this as an iPad accessory, I’d say it’s currently better suited to desktop users of DaVinci Resolve Studio who want more tactile control. It’s great for people who only edit on the iPad, but I’d imagine there’s only a tiny overlap in a Venn diagram between those people and those willing to spend $508 on a color grading panel.
In summary, the Blackmagic Micro Color Panel is portable, attractive, well designed, enjoyable to use and reasonably priced. If you spend a lot of time color grading, you’ll find it saves you a lot of time once you get the hang of the controls, and it will give your edit suite a more professional look.
While it’s not yet a major addition to the iPad, that could change. Apple recently launched the iPad Pro M4, including a 13-inch model that offers similar performance to many MacBooks. At the same time, Blackmagic Design has promised to bring the iPad version of DaVinci Resolve more on par with the desktop versions. When that happens, many Resolve users may decide to use the iPad version exclusively – which would make the Micro Color Panel more attractive.
