Blackmagic Design has once again expanded the boundaries of mobile video editing with the unveiling of their new DaVinci Resolve Micro Color Panel for iPad Pro. This dedicated control surface promises to bring professional-grade color grading capabilities to Apple‘s powerful tablets, empowering editors to wield granular control over their footage’s look from virtually anywhere.

When Blackmagic Design first debuted DaVinci Resolve for iPadOS in 2021, it shattered preconceptions of what mobile editing could achieve. The full-fledged video editing suite, long revered in Hollywood production houses, could now run natively on iPad Pro hardware, leveraging the tablet’s portable form factor, touchscreen interface, and impressive performance. However, precise color work remained a challenge relegated to trackpad, mouse, or Apple Pencil input.

The Micro Color Panel elegantly solves this shortcoming. At just 7.18 x 14.33 inches, the compact control surface packs an array of professional editing tools into a supremely portable housing designed to accompany iPad Pro users wherever creativity strikes. A cleverly integrated slot at the front allows users to dock their tablet, connecting it via Bluetooth or USB-C for seamless operation.

The controls themselves are indeed impressive for such a compact surface. Three weighted trackballs offer smooth interaction for adjusting circle shapes and vignettes or tracking specific windows. Twelve control dials make light work of tweaking parameters like lift, gamma, gain, and saturation across individual hue curves. Meanwhile, 27 buttons enable swift switching between modes and application of effects like PowerGrades and LUTs.

In the hands of a skilled colorist, this versatile array of inputs translates to incredibly nuanced grade adjustment. Shadows can be subtly lifted while preserving anamorphic widescreen characteristics. Skies can be drastically blown out for stylized contrast. Entire scenes can undergo seamless touch-up work across limitless nodes. All the fine-tuning capabilities professionals demand, now available in a portable, iPad-centric package.

Petty proudly stated that the new Micro Color Panel represents the culmination of years of customer feedback and reasonable pricing requests. “The previous DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel model proved incredibly popular amongst customers craving a compact, cost-effective grading solution. With this new iPad version, we’ve raised the bar for what mobile colorists can achieve while maintaining our commitment to accessibility.”

Indeed, at $509, the panel emerges as a compelling investment for working video professionals alongside aspiring editors hungering to elevate their portable DaVinci Resolve setups. With pre-orders open now, the democratization of elite-level color grading has never felt so attainable nor portable.