In July last year we looked at the Loupedeck + editing console and then in May this year, the latest from the Finnish company arrived, the Loupedeck CT.
We liked the Loupedeck + very much but lamented the fact it wasn’t as customisable as we’d like; for example getting it to be useful in Vegas Pro was almost an impossibility. If however, you were an Adobe user, then 7th heaven awaited.
All this has changed though with the Loupedeck CT. We had a quick look in May and can now safely say that after an extended play, we find it hard to see how we ever worked without it.
Built in Presets
Out of the box (and the packaging is superb by the way, almost “gift box” level), built in are templates for:
- Adobe Lightroom Classic
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Premier Pro
- Capture One Pro
- Streamlabs
- Final Cut Pro X
- Ableton Live
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Audition
… but herein lies the difference between the Loupedeck + and the CT. With the Loupedeck CT, you can also create custom profiles for virtually any piece of software via its ability to record user actions and adjustments and mapping them.
Custom Profiles
Already available from the Loupedeck website are custom profiles for:
- DaVinci Resolve (hurray!)
- Cinema 4D
- AVID Pro Tools
- Apple Logic Pro
- Photomechanic
- Pixologic ZBrush
- Blender
- Serato DJ Pro
- Steinberg CuBase
- Izotope RX7
- Spotify
- Firefox
- MS Outlook
- MS Excel
- Autodesk 3DS Max
- Screenflow
Just in the short time we have been evaluating the Loupedeck CT this list has grown for the original 4 or 5 that were available, and no doubt there will be many more in the near future as its popularity grows.
Indeed, I am creating one for Vegas Pro as we speak (and writing a simultaneous video tutorial to show the process). I’d also like to write one for Adobe InDesign if I get the time and inclination.
So what does the Loupedeck CT actually consist of?
Physically it is a panel approx. 15cm square dominated by a 4 x 3 matrix of soft touch buttons at the top, a large LCD dial in bottom centre and various other touch panels and physical buttons around the edges.
All are LCD based meaning they change according to what template is loaded – which is an automatic process sensed by the unit itself via its USB connection to the PC and associated installed drivers.
(There was an earlier glitch that sometimes the USB connection would drop causing the Loupedeck CT to freeze, but a later driver, for us anyway, seems to have corrected that issue which was known to the company).
One major benefit of the Loupedeck CT is its portability letting you take it with you and / or easily switch between computers – Mac or PC – by the way.
If you create your own presets or custom layouts, there is 8GB of internal memory for storage of them too.
Conclusion
Usage and the value of any device whether it be a keyboard, mouse or a surface control unit such as the Loupedeck CT is very personal. Some will love it, some will find little or no benefit and others will simply hate it.
At the price AUD$899 it is not an inexpensive purchase that you can try before you buy (that we are aware of anyway), so I suggest as well as this one, if you have any interest, read some other reviews on their author’s thoughts – we couldn’t find a bad one out of interest.
Yes, the Loupedeck CT does take some getting used to, and your software of choice is not on the available template / profile list, you’ll need to make your own (or wait for someone else to), but I think that long term the Loupedeck CT is worth both the price and the effort.
In short, in one package, the developers have brought together a device that combines the control of your photo, video, design and music software together.
And the build quality, as you might expect from the Finns, is superb as you might expect from the people who brought us the wearable heart rate monitor, the sauna and the web browser!
For more information (and to purchase if you wish), go to the Loupedeck website at https://loupedeck.com/en/’