An reasonably priced entry level into edit panels

Final yr, Logitech leaped into the content material creator market by buying Loupedeck, which makes management surfaces for apps like Adobe Lightroom. Now, the corporate has unveiled its first Logitech-branded management panel, the MX Artistic Console, a $200 system that features a keypad, dialpad and plugins for widespread Adobe apps like Premiere Professional.

Logitech is preventing rivals just like the TourBox Elite controller and even its personal Loupedeck CT, however its new providing is cheaper than the latter and sleeker than the previous. The MX Artistic Console includes a fashionable design and a pair of slick management dials, together with dynamic show keys that change relying on the app and web page you’re .

I’ve examined a lot of management panels going again to the unique Loupedeck in 2017. To me, it at all times comes down to at least one essential factor: Is that this simpler and quicker than simply utilizing a keyboard and mouse? After over per week with the MX Artistic Console, I discovered it to be highly effective in some circumstances and too restricted in others.

{Hardware}

The console is available in both pale grey or darker graphite and takes up little or no house in your desk (3.8 x 3.1 inches for the keypad and three.6 x 3.7 inches for the dialpad). A stand that angles the keypad or dialpad about 45 levels towards you can also be included. I choose it flat on the desk for velocity, however the stand makes it simpler to see the controls. The keypad has 9 show keys, with the content material altering based mostly on the web page and app you’re utilizing. There are two common buttons under to alter the pages and a USB-C port on the underside.

In the meantime, the dialpad’s centerpiece is a big “contextual dial” since its perform adjustments relying on the motion chosen. Plus, there’s a scroll wheel in the correct prime nook, two buttons on the highest left and two buttons on the underside in every nook. The underside proper button prompts the dialpad’s “Actions Ring,” an on-screen round show that provides you one other technique to tweak issues like colours and textual content.

The keys require a lightweight contact and have a clean, clickless really feel. The wheel on the dialpad has a pleasant quantity of friction for exact work and allows you to simply transfer frame-by-frame in Premiere Professional, or shuttle rapidly via a timeline. It doesn’t have any haptic suggestions, although, just like the TourBox Elite. There’s a Bluetooth pairing change on the underside and an influence change on the again. It might connect with your pc both through LT Bluetooth or Logitech’s Bolt dongle additionally used on its mice and keyboards (not included).

Logitech says that the merchandise are made with 72 % post-consumer recycled plastics, low-carbon aluminum, micro textures as an alternative of paint and FSC-certified accountable packaging. Nonetheless, the dialpad makes use of AAA cells, both disposable or rechargeable. They’ll final a few months, in response to Logitech, but it surely’s an odd alternative for a product meant to be environmentally pleasant.

Setup

The MX Artistic Console is plug and play for Adobe apps so you can begin twiddling the dials out of the field. It’s additionally customizable, letting you tweak settings inside apps, create customized profiles and extra. To set it up, I put in the Logi Choices+ app on my PC (and Mac, I examined it with each), then linked the keypad through USB-C. I put in the dialpad individually by connecting it to my computer systems over Bluetooth.

As soon as the units are acknowledged, clicking on “All Actions” installs the Adobe plugins. It additionally has direct help for apps together with VLC media participant, Spotify Premium, Seize One and Ableton. You’ll be able to even use it to manage apps with out plugins like your browser for system quantity, YouTube movies, emojis, screenshots and extra. I discovered this handy only for the system quantity alone (whats up, horrible Home windows 11 audio management).

Altering the default settings is about as simple because it will get. Once you open the customization web page, it exhibits the units to the left (dialpad, keypad and Actions Ring), whereas all of the potential settings are to the correct. To alter or add a brand new setting, simply seize the one you need from the listing and drag it over to the digital keypad on the left. Keys could be rearranged on the identical web page, but it surely’s not simple to maneuver a setting from one web page to a different.

As a Premiere Professional consumer, the very first thing I did was create a brand new keypad web page and add buttons to change between the supply, program and timelines to keep away from a mouse click on for these actions. That was comparatively simple to do, due to the search perform and intuitive drag-and-drop interface. When you’d somewhat not futz round with customization, Logitech has a plugin market within the Logi Choices+ app. I wasn’t in a position to make use of that forward of launch, but it surely’s supposed to permit customers to buy or share plugins, profiles and icon packs.

Operation

I primarily work on Lightroom Traditional and Premiere Professional whereas sometimes making use of Photoshop and After Results. All of these apps are supported natively by the MX Artistic Console on Mac and PC.

I began with Premiere Professional, testing it on each Home windows and Mac. After some pondering, I positioned the keypad to the left of the keyboard and the dialpad on the correct between the keyboard and mouse. That labored properly visually and let me finetune edits and do changes with my proper hand and press buttons with my left — a lot as I already do with a keyboard and mouse.

At first, I didn’t suppose the console would velocity up my workflow in modifying mode since I’ve memorized most of Premiere’s keyboard shortcuts. I used to be additionally fearful that I’d be consistently leaping between the dial and the mouse. After taking part in round a bit, although, I seen that scrubbing via the timeline with the dial provided finer and quicker management than the keyboard and mouse, particularly when utilizing the scroll wheel to scale the timeline (I’d prefer to see quicker scrubbing once I’m zoomed out although, Logitech).

Constructing on that, I added the break up perform and different click-free mouse instruments I hadn’t touched in awhile. With that, I might work practically as rapidly as with a keyboard and mouse relying on the duty, regardless of my earlier fears. Although I’d be hesitant to make use of it myself for modifying, I might see this being an excellent workflow for brand new Premiere Professional customers because it visually exhibits actions so newbies don’t must memorize shortcuts.

The MX Console is particularly helpful for coloration correction in Premiere. With a clip chosen, you possibly can click on the underside proper dialpad button to activate the Actions Ring, transfer your mouse to one of many actions (publicity, distinction, whites, saturation, and so forth.) and switch the dial to regulate that setting. To keep away from the mouse, you may also program main coloration changes into the keypad. Then, simply maintain the button on that setting whereas turning the dial.

Then it was on to Lightroom Traditional. This app makes probably the most sense for the console, as you’re primarily performing actions (coloration correction, cropping and so forth.) on a single picture. Fast keys embody Develop mode, White Stability Selector, Auto White Stability, Auto upright and ranking instruments. When you’ve imported photographs into your library, you possibly can bounce into Develop, shuttle between photographs utilizing the dial after which tweak colours utilizing the Actions Ring as with Premiere. Once more, when you’d somewhat preserve your arms on the MX Console, you possibly can program widespread features (temperature, saturation, highlights and so forth.) into the keypad.

The MX Console additionally has keys for copying and pasting Develop settings, earlier than and after views, in addition to cropping and opening photographs in Photoshop. A Lightroom energy consumer might add extra shortcuts to additional increase effectivity. That makes it practically as quick as the favored Loupedeck+ panel, however leaping between pages within the keypad can sluggish you down a bit.

Sadly, I discovered the MX Artistic Console to be the least helpful for Photoshop. Management panels are finest for single-purpose duties like coloration correction and audio changes, however Photoshop is designed for extra advanced operations. That meant I used to be perpetually taking my arms off the keypad and dialpad and placing them on the mouse and keyboard, making me much less environment friendly, if something. It might have been helpful in Photoshop’s Digicam RAW utility (which has Lightroom-like controls), however Logitech mentioned that software has no API and doesn’t help plugins.

Wrap-up

The MX Artistic Console’s essential competitors is the $268 TourBox Elite, which has three dials and ten buttons. Designed to work in live performance together with your keyboard and mouse, it’s highly effective for knowledgeable editors, however appears a bit low-cost. Against this, Logitech’s MX Artistic Console is extra polished, and the visible interface its keypad gives makes it higher for novices. It’s additionally value noting that Elgato’s equally priced Stream Deck+ just lately added an Adobe Photoshop plugin, regardless of primarily being designed for stay streaming. It guarantees easy accessibility to Photoshop instruments and changes through 4 dials and eight show keys.

Different choices are dearer, just like the $529 Loupedeck CT, $395 DaVinci Resolve Velocity Editor, $499 DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel and $595 Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard. These are extra highly effective and look extra skilled, however will clearly price you extra.

Logitech’s MX Artistic Console is a high quality system with a good quantity of utility for apps like Premiere Professional and Lightroom Traditional. Its usefulness will little question enhance as Adobe provides extra supported apps and the Logi Market grows. Nonetheless, it merely doesn’t have sufficient buttons and dials to carry out duties in lots of Adobe apps with out falling again to the keyboard and mouse. When you do use apps the place it really works properly, like Lightroom, it might present a lift to your productiveness and look cool doing it. It ships subsequent month for $200 and Logitech features a free three-month subscription to Adobe’s Artistic Cloud.