A mini review for a mini color panel. This is an unsolicited review…Tangent didn’t ask me to do it. I wasn’t supplied with a review unit. I rushed out and pre-ordered it from Flanders Scientific (where I get my broadcast monitors)…and then anxiously awaited it’s arrival for a couple months.

It arrived late June in a classy little box.

When I unpacked it, I noted that it was nice and light. Not too light, but not too heavy. Some might think that it feels cheap and plastic, but it really isn’t. The plastic is solid and the balls are pretty hefty…cheap build is NOT how I’d describe it.  Lightweight. Has a Wacom lightness to it. The construction of it is part of what keeps the cost down. Yes, it’s plastic, but it doesn’t feel like toy plastic. It’s very solidly built.

One thing I noted is that it didn’t ship with any software. No big thing, the booklet enclosed gives directions to download and install the minor plugin it needs.  The unit plugs in via USB, and that’s the only cord on the device, getting power from it as well as using it for connectivity.

For the test run, using Resolve, I brought some test footage from my BMPCC that I shot in order to test out lenses. In the preferences I chose the TANGENT WAVE setting, as the instructions stated to do. And that’s all I needed to do. I was ready to go.

The unit is very simple, and has only the most basic controls. Which is fine by me, I’m a basic colorist. I am more of an online editor, and my focus is documentary work, leaning towards historic docs with old footage. A few interviews thrown in, or decent b-roll, but my main goal in color grading is to simply make the footage look good. I don’t do commercials, or scripted TV or feature films, where one does a lot of work on each shot, perhaps using 5-10 nodes and all sorts of power windows. For that work I would tend to recommend the larger color panels. But for what I do, the controls this unit offered were perfect.

Here’s what you have… the knobs adjust the brightness level of the blacks, mids and highlights. The balls allow you to adjust the color.  The buttons are mappable with the TANGENT MAPPER app. By default, the A button is empty, the B button bypasses the grade, so you can, with one click, see what the footage looks like graded and ungraded…and buttons next to the balls are reset buttons. But the mapper app will allow you to map what you want to those buttons.

Using those controls in my little test was a great experience. The responsiveness is just what I want, not too sensative. I had issues with another panel I used, I couldn’t seem to get it just right. This was just right out of the box.  I took to it right away.

As I said, it’s a simple control surface, but I’m a simple colorist, without the need of complex controls. To that end, the Ripple is just what I needed for all my professional, and family video, needs. In short, I really really like it.

(For a more in-depth review, check out what Scott Simmons has to say over at ProVideo Coalition)