Skip to main content

Blackmagic Design announces new, lower-cost DaVinci Resolve control panels

While Blackmagic Design has offered a free version of DaVinci Resolve for some time, only the highest-end users had access to a bespoke hardware interface — the $30,000 Advanced Panel. Now, Blackmagic Design is bringing the best parts of the Advanced Panel to a broader range of users with the Micro and Mini control panels.

The Micro Panel costs $995 but is made to the same degree of quality as the Advanced Panel. The casing is machined aluminum, and the control surfaces, while slightly smaller, are made in the exact same way as those of the larger panel. The Micro Panel features three trackballs for smooth changes and a number of nobs with 4,096 levels of sensitivity for making fine adjustments. The panel offers a collection of preset hotkeys for navigating Resolve more quickly.

Related Videos

The Micro Panel is Blackmagic Design’s solution to users who both edit and color in DaVinci Resolve and is designed to be used in conjunction with a mouse and keyboard. It can easily fit on a desk beside a keyboard, allowing users to jump between the two as they go from editing to coloring. It is also conveniently powered by a single USB-C cable.

The $2,995 Mini Panel builds on the Micro Panel by adding more nobs, more buttons, and two LCD screens for displaying menus. It makes it possible to control virtually every aspect of DaVinci Resolve without having to reach for the mouse or keyboard. This puts it more in line with the Advanced Panel, but it is also portable, giving colorists the ability to work on location with the same level of control they have in the studio.

While Thursday’s announcements, which also included the new Ursa Mini Pro cinema camera, offer plenty of excitement for both amateur and professional filmmakers, what is perhaps even more amazing is that each product is already en route to storefronts. (B&H lists availability as March 9 for the Micro Panel). Blackmagic Design has previously been notorious in the past for its inability to deliver products on time. Interested customers should probably still get their orders in as soon as possible –we wouldn’t be surprised if demand shortly outstripped supply.

Editors' Recommendations

DJI’s 2022 drone contest offers record prize pool
A photo taken from a drone.

Leading drone maker DJI has teamed up with the SkyPixel online community for its eighth annual photo and video contest.

Whether you’re an experienced drone pilot or an absolute beginner still finding your way, the contest is the perfect opportunity to send your machine skyward in a test of your creative skills.

Read more
How $80 of photo processing software magically saved me thousands
photo editing topaz labs denoise ai phil camera

It's a good time to be a photographer, whether you're just starting out and really don't have any idea what you're doing, or if you're a seasoned pro looking to try something new.

The gear is better than ever, making even entry-level bodies better than what the previous generation started out with. Software options make cataloging and processing your photos faster and less destructive, so you can revisit things for years and give old pics new life.

Read more
Sony A7 III mirorless camera is $300 off for Black Friday
Sony Alpha a7 III Mirrorless front view.

There are a lot of great Best Buy Black Friday deals going on right now, and whether you're looking for TVs, laptops, or even headphones, there's a little something for everybody. Of course, many folks may not realize that Best Buy has some fantastic deals on high-end photography gear, such as this Sony Alpha a7 III mirrorless camera. While it usually goes for a whopping $2,200, Best Buy had brought it down to $1,900, and while that relatively doesn't seem like much, you could always spend the $300 savings on a new lens.

Why you should buy the Sony Alpha a7 III
The Sony Alpha a7 III is a camera with so much tech that it might as well be three different cameras. It has excellent dynamic range, low-light performance, and high-speed performance, and the full-frame sensors make the images look absolutely stunning. Interestingly, the a7 III manages to do an excellent job at both low and high ISOs, the latter of which can go as high as 51,200 non-boosted, which, granted, adds a lot of noise, but noise reduction helps with that. As for the video, well, sadly, it's not as impressive, at least in terms of advancements in image quality, and while it can do 8-bit 4K at 30 frames per second, it's no longer ahead of the pack in that regard, like the Panasonic Lumix GH5 is with its 400Mbps 10-bit codec and 60-fps 4K.

Read more