Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse for DaVinci Resolve
I'm late to the game on experiencing this mouse first hand because I've been in love with the G600 MMO gaming mouse, which has tons of programable buttons, but it doesn't work on my new M1 Max MacBook pro, so I've joined the MX master club and wish I'd tried this out sooner!
Logitech Options Software
Instead of using the Logitech Gaming Hub software, the MX Master 3 mouse uses the Logi Options software to control all the customization. I'm not sure why they removed tech from their name, but oh well. Once you download, install and open it. Go ahead and also open up Resolve if you haven't already because that makes it easier to add as a new application.
While you're on the mouse tab,
Go to the upper right where it says "ALL APPLICATIONS." Click It
Then turn on the switch for "application-specific settings."
The app is smart enough to know what software is being used and changes the button behavior based on that.
Since DaVinci Resolve doesn't have any Logitech defaults,
Click the plus icon to add an application
And then, of course, choose DaVinci Resolve
To see the current settings for each button, hover the cursor over the circles, and then to change them, just give it a click.
There are built-in recommendations and what we're looking for is "keystroke assignment ."Keystroke assignment lets you enter any video editing shortcut key you'd like.
Scroll Wheel Tips
But for the scroll wheels, I keep these as the defaults.
And that's because a middle click is integral to working in DaVinci Resolve.
If you're on the color page, middle-clicking is how you can copy and paste color correction from one clip to another.
Also, after zooming into a viewer with the wheel, you can middle-mouse click and hold to pan around the image to get a closer look. Oh, and a quick tip to zoom back out to fit, you just tap Z on the keyboard to see the entire image again.
You also use the middle mouse button to pan around in the Fusion node graphs. And the two modifiers I use with the scroll wheel all the time are the default option on a mac or alt on a pc with scroll to zoom into the timeline or shift while scrolling to change the track height.
Now over here on the horizontal scroll wheel, this is the only other default I have. The idea here is to scroll left and right on a zoomed-in timeline. This sounds great, and I do use it on occasion, but I can't seem to change the gearing on it with a Resolve timeline, so more often than not, I use the main top scroll wheel and hold the keyboard modifier command on a mac or control on a pc to get a faster response.
Keyboard Shortcut Mapping
I set the wheel mode shift button, the one right in front of the scroll wheel, with the keystroke assignment set to the delete forward button, also known as shift backspace. This quickly lets me ripple delete any segment from my timeline, and it automatically closes up the gap it would have left behind if I had only chosen regular backspace.
Then I set the gesture button to option on a mac or alt on a pc, with "Y." Option or Alt Y selects everything forward on a timeline from the playhead position, which is a quick way to open up a timeline gap for when a moment needs some space to breathe and give it a beat. After making the selection, you can click and drag all the clips together.
And now my two favorite buttons, which by default are the forward and back buttons when you browse the web, but in DaVinci resolve, I set these to Shift Left Bracket and Shift Right Bracket. Shift right and left brackets are hands down one of the best ways to speed up your video editing because they perform so many trimming functions with one single click.
Avid calls this tops and tails, but what it does, is if you move your playhead over a clip (need to click and select it), and you want to make it shorter, just click the trim start button, and it removes all of that clip up to the point of the playhead.
On the flip side of that, go to the end of a clip and shorten it with the playhead position parked where you want it to end. Click trim end and see. That's awesome, right?
But wait, there's more! If you come from using Final Cut Pro and love the magnetic timeline, which is really just a default ripple timeline, you can use trim start and trim end, so they don't leave gaps behind by clicking into trim mode first, which is this button (or hit t on the keyboard). And now position your playhead, click trim start, and everything will tidy up to close the gap. And if you want to go back to leaving gaps behind, maybe to maintain timing for a music track? Go back to regular selection mode or tap A on the keyboard.
There's more to the rippling behavior you'll want to know for trim start and trim end regarding the auto-track selector button, but there's so much to auto-select, so here is a link to a tutorial on using auto-select.
The Good and The Bad
I love that this mouse can be used while charging it with a USB cable. The charging port is NOTE positioned at the dumbest designed place for a mouse ever, eh hem apple. On top of that, I RARELY have to charge this thing. I guess they say it can last 70 days, which seems to probably be pretty accurate. So if you're concerned about needing to charge it often, don't. It's like the energizer bunny.
Another concern I had was with it being Bluetooth that it wouldn't be responsive like my previous gaming mice: the Logitech G600 and Razer Naga. I guess Bluetooth has improved a lot because it feels as good as a wired connection, but without the extra cable on my desk. For what it's worth, this is the mac version of the MX Master 3, which doesn't come with the unified USB dongle.
The last couple of things you just need to experience to understand, but it's the ergonomics. To me, the mouse looks like it's trying too hard, but seriously just place your hand on it, and you'll realize what I'm saying. Maybe I have been skewed by less ergonomic MMO mice, but this one just feels like it was molded for me, and I can work all day with no wrist problems at all.
And then the crown jewel is the smooth free-spinning scroll wheel. When I was a kid, I loved to rollerblade, and this is like when you went from some crappy Abec 3 bearings to nicer Abec 5 or 7 bearings. It's smooth as silk with just a flick of your middle finger. But when you need slower precision, you can change it back to a traditional line-by-line clicking action. In Premiere Pro, you can use this to navigate step by step a single frame at a time through source footage.
Now for my criticisms, I first say that I wish the horizontal scroll would behave as dynamically as the main scroll wheel on a Resolve timeline. It could also be positioned slightly lower, so it's not as much of a reach. I also wish it had maybe just 2 or 3 more buttons? They could be slim like my trim start and trim end buttons, which would be super helpful to add a couple more shortcuts.
Then the cost is another thing. This is not the cheapest mouse on the block. The price constantly fluctuates, so you can see the current price is with an affiliate link in the description of this video, but there are older models that might save you a few bucks.
Since this was something I was going to travel with, I also picked up this inexpensive case to help give me confidence that I could keep using the MX Master 3 for a very long time. In terms of filmmaking-specific gear, it's not a ton of money, but for mice, yeah, it's up there, and I wish it was less expensive.
