Microsoft Surface Pro 4 - One Year Review by An Artist
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- 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 bhpho.to/2NjFz2R
Amazon amzn.to/31YEoZd
Newegg bit.ly/2iyhV0H
Here are the other accessories that I show in the video:
Battery bank amzn.to/31XGQzd
Screen Protector amzn.to/2KPWFCn
Ruggard bag bhpho.to/2NlDGCR
Microsoft Bluetooth mouse amzn.to/2NplqqJ
3-Port Portable USB 3.0 Hub & card reader 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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This channel and the accompanying website CaptainReview.com are dedicated to finding products and services that are not only great, but also well worth their price.
Captain Review is the creation of Lukasz Antos and Tom Antos
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Pretty professional video for a channel this new!!!!
Great review. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you very much for the video!! Great one!
it really helped me and thanks for providing the links of your accessories
Great review!
Great review! Keep it up!
Does this model still hold up for you in 2023? I have access to a i7 1tb ssd 16gb of ram model for pretty cheap and was wondering if its a good purchase still.
fantastic review 🤘
I find it really hard to get comfortable when drawing on my pro, which is really frustrating. Also the pen point registration is always off, which messes up my line work. Other than that I love it
youve tried recalibrating?
2:00 i believe tilt is added by now.
Hey, thanks for the great rundown of the surface pro 4! Very helpful. But if I may be a pain, would you be willing to do a review of the newest Surface tablet. It looks like they are just calling it the 'Surface Pro', even though they already have a 4. The battery life is at least 13 hours I saw.
Yes, Nice Video Dude! I am an artist aswell and I am interested in buying a Microsoft Surface Pro for my work and life style, this video has helped me a lot!
how does mirco ssd work could you add programs on it ? also what brand is the extended battery pack ?
I'm pretty happy with my Surface Pro 4 except one thing: It keeps freezing for 3-8 seconds once in a while, really annoying.
is it your pro 4 had flickering? since everyone know since surface pro 3- 4- 2017 had issue on throttling-flickering
how about for the surface pen?
Thanks for the video it really help ! But I wanna now something: for example if you wanna have a game, how is going to work?
my acer switch alpha 12 no longer works... considering switching to this
Hi,
A bit off topic question, wondering if you know about the pen used for similar purposes (drawing comics) on Dell XPS 2 in 1s?
I have not found any reviews on that and your video is the closest to that because Dell XPS originally runs Windows 10 (so a related operating system).
how about now 2022? 😊
battery probably bloated by now (very common issue on Surface Pro 4)
they now go by the name 2in1!
How much work it can handle in Photoshop? Because i sometimes need to make about 30 to 35 layers in one project
what apps did you use for drawing and to create videos?
Do you still use this because I am thinking about buying one but I don't have that much money to buy surface pro X ?
What do you think should I buy this ?
which software you use for drawing?
Any problems with flickergate?
Still not bad alternative for someone who want to try surface taglet but ipad user can see some compromise.... glas on front is much more better than this plastic thig in my opinion. And heh no procreate :/ But still 7/10 vs ipad pro becouse of price
Do you still have the unit, sir?
why are you commenting that on every surface pro 4 review 😭
How does the screen feel like? Did you get a paper texture screen protector or something? That´s a point I´m worried about because I thought about getting the device for photoshop renderings on the go and stuff (I´m a designer).
its smooth but the pen has a nice rubber tip that has just enough resistance to make it feel like drawing with a pencil
Can you use AutoCAD on that device?
Hi :) Did you still use the surface pro 4? i think about buying one, because i don't have so much money to buy the last one :/
what do you think i should do? (i'm photographer, using ps and lr)
I still use mine
What art programs do you recommend for the surface pro 4?
I heard him mention sketchable
check out the Asus transformer mini.
How much did you paid?
is it still good in dec 2017? is it has any problem, please let me know. i wanna buy one .
yes I am still using mine right now to type this comment and to do a lot of my work. Works great!
It's not good for art because the lines it makes are kinda jagged. But it is compatible with mostly everything thing though.
How is/was the battery life?
Eryse Ayliid have a reply
I can tell you... It's the biggest problem trying to use this like a tablet. It just doesn't last.
I will draw on mine for a good six/seven hours before it starts to die, and I've had my SP4 for two years now.
@@Crappy9922 It doesn't last more than 6 hours and it sucks when running art programs (I use sketchbook pro and photoshop), but the newer surface pros have great battery life.
@@soundninja99 I think you're replying to the wrong person. Also since you're an artist have you tried Clip Studio Paint on surface? It's pretty great.
Nice review but what i noticed the problem the surface pro is an expancive device after couple of years it will be die, while wacome mobile studio after years you can use it like tablet 🤔
Just buy a big Cintiq if you want longevity. Something like a second hand 24HD or 27QHD. People sell them all the time.
Keep in mind as well that, provided it works the same as the Cintiq Companion 2, the Mobilestudio Pro's Cintiq capabilities are linked to the gpu of the computer so it's not exactly the same as buying a stand alone Cintiq in terms of reliability.
JayJapanB is it ok if 22HD second hand? Is it the same with the 24HD and 27QHD?
Call it a surface pro...
John Doe thnx
okay sooo... am i the only one suffering from a flickering screen in the surface pro 4??????????
No... Seems to be a common problem . I have the same problem since month ago. Its awful, im still searching about what to do.
@@lizag3792 Oh wow I shouldn't be glad to be the only one but let's go also I feel like its an ageing problem you know cause I had my surface for like 4 years and it has been working smoothly until since last year when it started flickering and I wasn't even doing nothing wrong i deleted most of my apps, And unnecessary things and done and i still face it smh so then I like reset the whole thing and it looked promising but it wasn't it still was there and it happens mostly on apps like Chrome and internet so now i use a monitor cause I low-key dislike the surfaceeee 🤮🤮 also the common solution is to use a monitor for the flickering screen cause I do and like ew
@@me3474 Yeah I'm a victim of flickergate too. Unfortunately most people only start running into issues after the 3 year replacement period that Microsoft introduced in response to this issue. It's a hardware problem so a factory reset won't fix the issue. What some people have done though, is replace the display with a surface pro 5 display (it's compatible with the sp4) as Microsoft started sourcing their displays from LG, which don't have the flicker problem.
I'm waiting on my replacement screen to arrive and will be doing the replacement myself. My warranty is over anyway.
Jonathan Lee thats nice the thing is my warranty was already gone so now I’m looking for third party shops to fix my annoying surface pro 4 so for now i just have to connect this with some monitor because thats what the best option is and Im sure as hell that after i do get a replacement the thing will start flickering again tbh Im just disappointed at the surface pro 4 kinda wish i had a heads up before buying it you know.
@@me3474 Yeah I relate. If you o manage to find a shop that'll replace the screen for you, make sure they're using the new LG displays, and not the older Samsung displays, as you'll most likely run into the same issue again with the Samsung display