Microsoft Surface Pro 4 - One Year Review by An Artist

My name is Tom Antos, and I am a film director, cinematographer and visual artist. Today, I wanted to talk about my one year of experience with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (late-2015): how it works now versus when I first got it; and what are the good and bad things about this strange device.

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I use the Surface Pro to edit on occasion. Even though this device only has two CPU cores (like most ultrabooks), it still has handled 4K footage from the Panasonic GH4, G85, Sony a6300 and a6500.

The trick, though, is that I have to reduce the video playback to one-fourth of the resolution. And if I apply effects, I sometimes have to render a preview. Also, when rendering the final video, it takes much longer than on a desktop or good laptop. So, you don’t want such a device as your main editing machine.

Still, considering the amazing portability of this tablet-sized device, it’s great to know that in a pinch, I can even edit 4K video.

My Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is a late-2015 model that comes with the Intel i7-6650U CPU, 256 GB SSD and 8 GB RAM.

You can find the Surface Pro on:
B&H https://bhpho.to/2NjFz2R
Amazon https://amzn.to/31YEoZd
Newegg http://bit.ly/2iyhV0H

Here are the other accessories that I show in the video:

Battery bank https://amzn.to/31XGQzd
Screen Protector https://amzn.to/2KPWFCn
Ruggard bag https://bhpho.to/2NlDGCR
Microsoft Bluetooth mouse https://amzn.to/2NplqqJ
3-Port Portable USB 3.0 Hub & card reader https://amzn.to/2HnPv63

I call the Surface Pro a strange device because I am not quite sure what to call it. It’s not really a tablet, although you can use it like an iPad. It’s also not quite a laptop, even though it does run a full version of Windows 10 Pro.

My Microsoft Surface Pro is a late-2015 model. It’s not a top-of-the-line model anymore, but when I got it (November 2016) it also was not the best. I have tested out the 2016 version for two weeks, but did not see much of an improvement over my Surface Pro.

So why did I get the Surface Pro? First of all, I got it because I needed something that I could use to draw artwork on, and do storyboards for films. I also needed something for photo retouching.

Before, I relied on a Wacom tablet to draw and paint in Adobe Photoshop. However, I really wanted something that would let me draw directly on the screen. Something that felt as real as drawing or painting on paper.

The pen that the Surface comes with is great. It feels really well when drawing, and it is as sensitive to pressure as any other stylus I’ve used. The one advantage of pens you can get for the Wacom tablet or iPad is that they can measure the angle of the pen to the surface. The Surface Pro doesn’t do that, but honestly, for the kind of artwork I do, I never really used that feature on my Wacom tablet.

I think that unless you are planning on doing fine art or digital painting, the functionality of the Surface Pro is all you need.

The pen magnetically attaches to either side of the screen.

Another thing I like about the Surface Pro is its size and weight. The screen is just perfect for drawing. It’s about the size of a normal sheet of paper, yet it’s thin.

Even the power supply it comes with is tiny. The power plug uses magnets, so it attaches easily and stays in place. But if you yank on the cord by accident, it won’t pull the whole device with it.

Surface Pro starts up quickly and allows me to sign in without having to type anything, since the front facing camera works amazingly well with facial recognition. It recognizes me or my wife and signs into our accounts right away. This feature has spoiled me, because now I wish all my phones and PCs would do the same.

So, am I happy with my purchase of the Microsoft Surface Pro? Yes! Would I recommend it to other artists? Definitely.

Not only that. I think the Surface Pro is a great all-around laptop for anyone who needs to do general computing, but doesn’t want to carry around a heavy laptop. I can fit my Surface Pro along with all the accessories in a small bag (as shown in the video). In fact, this is how I’ve been carrying my Surface Pro for the last eight months.

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