Shuttle Pro V2.0 Review Blog Post

Back Story

You can’t have a blog post without some back story.

I edit and put together videos during the giant pumpkin growing season.

Over the years, I’ve upgraded my gear. From a simple, handy cam to a mirrorless camera.

I like to think I’ve got better over time, but I’m not a video editor. I do some editing.

Sometimes the results vary. It depends on how much of a rush I am, and how much I actually planned.

Always plan.

My evolution for software has been:

I also have a bunch of online editing tools too, but for longer stuff, they are a pain in the ass.

Davinci Resolve is pretty epic. The free version has so much.

I recently got the version 17 update, and after updating the driver of my graphics card, it was all ready.

I never understood the Cut page in Davinci. But after watching some videos, I like it.

Now my ~~flatmate~~ old flatmate Diego, he’s a clever dude. He takes awesome photos, and shoots video, and edits other people’s work.

He uses both Premiere Pro and Davinci Resolve. He said he was upgrading to the Studio version of Davinci. For it’s better noise reduction ability.

When you upgrade, they give you their speed editor for free. Or the other way around. It’s a nice-looking piece of gear.

And it should be. It cost at the time of writing over $500 to get the studio license with the free controller.

Being the good guy he is, Diego let me borrow it for a couple of days. Man I love playing with new gear. I wish there was a store with an enormous range of stuff, all set up, so you could play around with it.

The speed controller works with the cut page in Davinci, that is its main purpose. It feels nice and gives you this extra control. Now people will say it doesn’t replace keyboard shortcuts.

They might be right, but everyone is different.

It’s a big unit. Its key feature is that it works with the cut page in Davinci resolve. You can use it in a limited way with other parts of the program.

But I’m not sure if it would work with anything else.

After that little play with the Speed Editor. I thought, why not have a look at what other things are out there? This is when I started looking at the Shuttle Pro V2.0 as an alternative tool.

Who is Contour

I love hearing about companies’ origin stories. So it was good to read about Contour Design and how long they have been around.

While they might not be a household name, I bet the people that use their products know who they are.

Their primary aim is to help people with a variety of ailments. By making products that help them use technology.

They make a lot of different products, like:

Shuttle Pro V2.0 Controller and Why I Picked It

I liked the idea of it. After watching as many videos as I could, it seemed like it would help speed up my editing.

There are other options out there. The shuttle pro V2.0 seemed so much better.

I could access everything from one hand, and it seemed to make sense to me.

Being able to use it with many programs with it knowing which program I am in, and changing the settings is great.

If it was only for video editing and note, I would have passed on it. Price-wise, it’s found a sweet spot. It’s the right price for what it is.

If it was more expensive, it might feel like it was lacking something. Any cheaper, it might not have the same build quality.

How Much

There appeared to be only one retailer selling these in New Zealand. Rubber Monkey. At the time of writing, it cost me $189 plus shipping.

I contemplated getting it from an overseas retailer. Which would have made it cheaper. But I wanted to support local. And I didn’t want to wait for shipping.

That price might come across as expensive to you. The way I’m looking at it is that it is a specialized tool that works well. Works across many programs and there isn’t anything else quite like it.

Build Quality

The Shuttle Pro V2.0 build quality is good. It feels solid as it needs to be. The buttons have a nice click to them, allowing you to know you have pressed it.

The outer dial wheel has a slight rubber feel to it. The inner wheel, with its 3 indentations, feels to be some sort of alloy.

The area they could have done better would be where the cable comes out of the top of the Shuttle Pro. While I’m sure it is fine, it comes straight out to the hole.
Something to be mindful of if you think you will move it around a lot, or pack it into a bag.

It would be good if it had one of those grommet type things that come out of the hole and down the cable. Helping protect it from bending or any pulls on it.

What I Like

I’m finding there is a lot to like about the Shuttle Pro V2.0

I like how many buttons it has, allowing me to access all the common buttons with one hand.

The size and shape of the unit is good for my large hands. It’s comfortable to have my hand resting there while working.

It works with a lot of different programs. The list is extensive, which is great to see. You can customise all the buttons. You can even setup the default mode when you aren’t in a program.

The software to do the customising is nice and simple to work with.

It comes with a 2 year warranty that gets extended to 3 years when you register online.

You can add labels to the top 9 buttons if you’d like. This can help you know what they do.

What Could be Better

I had to think about what I’d want to improve on the Shuttle Pro V2.0.

Without trying other similar products out there. It’s hard to know if I am missing out on much.

But I would like there to be a wireless version of this. With great battery life. With replaceable batteries.

Conclusion

I like the Shuttle Pro V2.0.

It’s been around for a while. But when you have a good product that works well, do you need to be updating it all the time?

You might not come across one of these in the wild often. But if you do, have a play with one. See how it feels.

There is the shuttle express as well. A smaller version with fewer buttons. This could be ideal for people that need something when they travel.

And yes, people sometimes love using keyboard shortcuts for everything. Great, if that is you.

For me, I find the Shuttle Pro V2.0 speeds up my editing. Both for video and audio. (I also use it in Audacity) and I enjoy using it. I have one hand on the Shuttle and the other on the mouse.

I need to experiment with it more in combination with other programs and the computer in general.

More people need to know about the Shuttles and see if they can be a great addition to their workflow.