Loupedeck - anyone tried one?

Hi all

Comfortably my least favoured - and least competently undertaken - photography task is photo editing, partly as I find sitting in front of a computer a bit too reminiscent of my day job and partly as I'm hopeless with lightroom.

I'm tempted by a loupedeck, which for those who haven't seen it is a keyboard-like console which has the majority of functions for lightroom controlled by dedicated dials, sliders etc.

I'd be interested in hearing others' experiences with it, as I'm not convinced it's not a bit to faddy (and I know it's not going to improve my fundamental lack of skill in editing) but it might actually prove quite intuitive and enjoyable to use.

link

I'll need to upgrade lightroom from version 5 to 6, if I understand the technical requirements correctly, but suspect this was due anyway.

I'll admit to not being that patient with most matters computing, but hoping novelty factor might get me over the hump!

Did you find the controllers gave decent fine control? I'm concerned that I might end up bouncing around between too much and too little - I find this can be a problem with some controls on lightroom through the UI, which can lead to both loud cursing and a loss of train of thought.

I'm also after a decent lightroom training course, as I'm not getting the most out of it - I've not managed to find a convenient one local to me (Edinburgh) but I'd be interested in seeing if they have a controller to try out when I eventually sign up to one.

I have the Loupedeck which I bought at this years Photography Show so I'm pretty gutted they have now released a newer improved version just three months later.

It speeds up editing, the original does have some issues mainly around the quality of the buttons which are very clunky, the new version has replaced these. You soon get used to the dial layout however it doesn't completely remove mouse and keyboard use.

They do seem quick to release bug fixes as of yet I haven't tried the latest software release.

A cheaper alternative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5pwbY3_-Ek

I had no issues with sensitivity, from what I have read Loupedeck has sensitivity settings. So while offering dials instead of slider, it should not really be a problem. If you do end up buying one, do share your thoughts!

I find the standard sensitivity settings fine for my needs, i like a good twist to go from centre point to the end point of the slider.