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In June, Loupedeck announced the compact, customizable Loupedeck Live S console controller on Indiegogo. Following a successful crowdfunding campaign and shipment to early adopters, Loupedeck has now released the Loupedeck Live S to the general public for $179, making it Loupedeck’s most affordable console by $90.
The Loupedeck Live S featured a 3×5 grid of customizable touchscreen buttons with backlit displays and haptic feedback. A pair of analog dials and four customizable function buttons flank the central touchscreen button grid.
Users can assign a wide range of controls and functions to each button using profiles, plugins and item packages available on the Loupedeck Marketplace. You can store up to 14 pages of extra buttons on the console itself, which the user swipes through using the touchscreen.
There’s also an available Dynamic Mode that automatically switches control profiles based on the app you’re using. For example, if you’re switching between Lightroom and Photoshop, the Loupedeck Live S can switch between these two app-specific profiles on the fly and show the specific controls you want for each app.
Additional app support is constantly in the works. Still, as of now, Loupedeck Live S has profiles for a wide range of streaming, content creation and productivity apps, including OBS Studio, Streamlabs, Twitch, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC, Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw, Capture One Pro, Photo Mechanic, Darktable, Luminar, Affinity Photo, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve and more. You can browse all available profiles, plugins and assets on the Loupedeck Marketplace.
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| Loupedeck Live S |
Compared to Loupedeck’s other offerings, the Live S is an especially compelling choice for first-time console users and photographers on the go, thanks to its price point and compact size. The Loupedeck Live S weighs 168g (0.4 lbs) and its dimensions (W x H x D) are 150 x 85.5 x 30mm (5.9 x 3.4 x 1.2″). Compared to the $269 Loupedeck Live, it does have fewer buttons and dials, but it comes in a smaller, more lightweight form factor for $100 less.
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| The Loupedeck Live is similar in style to the newer Live S, although it’s a bit larger, heavier and $90 more expensive. |
If you want to go for even more buttons, the $549 Loupedeck CT is your best bet. The CT stands for Creative Tool, and the console goes all-out with the typical buttons and dials, plus additional undo, save, function and directional buttons.
The Loupedeck CT is designed for photo, video and design users specifically. However, unlike the Loupedeck Live S, the CT is a less attractive choice for photographers and videographers on the go, weighing 365g (0.8 lbs) with dimensions (W x D x D) of 160 x 150 x 30mm (6.3 x 5.9 x 1.2″), making it much less portable than the Live or Live S.
There’s also the Loupedeck+. This product is designed for editors and costs $279. However, unlike the Live S, Live and CT, the Loupedeck+ doesn’t include any displays. It’s a keyboard-like control panel with numerous buttons, dials and rocker switches. It includes specific dials for editing tasks such as adjusting contrast, clarity, exposure, shadows, highlights, black levels, white levels, vibrance, saturation and individual color channels.
Putting these common editing controls on a console makes full-screen editing much easier. You can assign up to 16 Lightroom presets to the Loupedeck+ as well, joining the eight dedicated preset buttons at the top of the console. It’s a different Loupedeck console, but if it sounds like one that would fit nicely into your workflow, check out our Loupedeck+ Review.
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| The Loupedeck+ is a full keyboard-style editing console that trades in the customizable touchscreen displays of Loupedeck’s other products for many dials, buttons and switches designed specifically for photo and video editing apps. |
Back to Loupedeck’s latest product, the Live S. It has a lot of appeal for the budget-friendly and travelling photographer. It’s Loupedeck’s most affordable and compact editing console while still offering the customization and control that Loupedeck’s other consoles are known for, albeit with fewer dials and function buttons.
For more information on the Live S and Loupedeck’s other editing consoles, visit Loupedeck.
