Local adjustments in Photoshop and Lightroom are often a back-and-forth process between the keyboard and the mouse or a graphics tablet but TourBox aims to reduce that with a mini editing console. Unlike other editing consoles, the TourBox is designed to be used with one hand while the other remains on the mouse or a graphics tablet.
Designed for Lightroom and Photoshop but configurable with other editing programs, the TourBox packs three different types of dials and several buttons onto a device that is less than five inches wide. The TourBox can be custom configured to control different adjustments using software.
The device’s one-handed design means one hand can draw on a graphics tablet while the other uses the dials and buttons to control brush size, hardness, flow, and opacity. The editing console can also cycle through the different tools, zoom in and out, swap foreground and background colors in Photoshop.
In Lightroom, the console can adjust the different dials quickly after the mouse clicks each option. The Los Angeles-based startup, Tour Tech, says that the TourBox will also have suggested presets for Capture One, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, and others, along with tools to customize the controls for different programs. The device is compatible with both Mac and Windows and plugs in using a USB-C port.
While TourBox isn’t the first to give photo editors physical controls for photo editing, the TourBox’s smaller size is designed to be used with one hand. The popular Loupedeck is closer in size to a keyboard than a video game controller, while the Palette Gear uses controls that can be custom arranged. TourBox is also designed for designers as well as photographers and works with Photoshop, unlike Loupedeck. The smaller size means fewer buttons, but the one-handed design looks like it could appeal more for local editing and adjusting brush parameters with one hand while using a graphics tablet in the other.
The TourBox design is enough to capture the attention of more than 1,400 backers on Kickstarter, bringing the campaign well beyond the original goal. If the project is successful, early backers could receive a TourBox for about $89. Tour Tech says the TourBox has already been through three prototypes and testing and anticipates shipping beginning in December.
