Using it together with the Macros feature opens up a lot of potentially interesting ways to speed up my workflow without having to remember where every shortcut is mapped. Using The TourBox Elite In Lightroom A few weeks ago I reviewed the TourBox Neo, an intriguing input device designed for photographers, video editors, and other creative types. That review is now somewhat outdated, for TourBox is now offering a new and improved version, the TourBox Elite. The default Adobe Lightroom Classic preset in the TourBox Console control panel provides access to all major sliders in Lightroom’s Develop panel. I reconfigured some buttons for more editable settings that are part of my creative workflow (eg, Clarity and Dehaze). Overall, the TourBox NEO is an intuitive device that makes your creative workflow better. I love its small footprint, and that it doesn’t get in the way when doing other things. The TourBox Console is well designed, easy to use, and offers a plethora of configuration options for those who like to dive deep. What could be better

Instead of trying to use these types of consoles to replace my mouse and keyboard for the WHOLE editing process (which it could never do), I could use it selectively and save a lot of time for a PART of my process. I continued to add more shortcuts to the TourBox and ultimately arrived at a preset that I was really excited about. It was all about managing expectations with these editing devices. To me, it was clear that the TourBox was designed to be used with your left hand. Just something to note if you are left-handed. If that’s the case, I found that turning it 45 or 90 degrees made it much easier to access all the buttons and combinations if you were using your right hand. Setting Up And Customizing The TourBox I won’t go into as much detail for my customization since everyone uses Photoshop differently, but having the three wheels and the combination of using the wheels with another button is nothing short of amazing. As mentioned, the Tourbox offers a number of different buttons and dials of varying sizes, shapes and feel that can be used on their own or in combination with one another. At time of publication it can be set up to have 38 user-defined functions, correlating to software keyboard shortcuts. These functions can be set up differently for each piece of software you'd like to use Tourbox with. The software comes pre-loaded with shortcuts for Lightroom and Photoshop, but it's easy to change these and to set up new ones

Or Graphics Tablet.

Like with the original, the gem behind this device is that every user can customize it to their own needs and preferences. While Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premiere are the programs the software is built around, it can work (very well) with almost any program out there. I use it predominantly for Final Cut Pro X and Lightroom, but I’ve also configured it for Excel, Word, VLC Player, Chrome, and Safari, to name a few. You can connect the Elite controller using the USB-C port if you don’t want to, or can’t use Bluetooth.

The biggest update to the TourBox Elite is wireless operation via dual-channel Bluetooth. This is a wonderful change (and something I requested in my NEO review), for it means the controller no longer has to occupy a USB port on a computer. Without a cord, I also think the TourBox looks cleaner and more professional; especially when sitting next to a wireless keyboard and mouse. I’m not a big Photoshop user, but I think the TourBox Elite is even more useful in Photoshop than Lightroom. I don’t use Photoshop nearly as much as Lightroom, but here is where the TourBox shines. I personally hate remembering all the shortcuts for adjusting brush sizes, hardness, flow, etc. There are shortcuts like zooming in and out that I prefer to do with my right hand (CMD +), but that involves me taking my hand off the mouse or pen. For now, it works when I want to edit an image using my Apple Pencil. However, it’s not an ideal solution because Apple Sidecar does introduce a bit of lag. I prefer the iOS version of Photoshop and using it as a standalone application on the iPad. Overall ImpressionPersonally, I much prefer the haptic system over previous generations of the controller, and feel they're a notable improvement. New colors and finish The TourBox Elite has a dual-channel Bluetooth module, meaning it can be paired with two different computers. This is perfect for photographers and filmmakers that edit with a desktop machine in their office but use a laptop on the road. Pressing the small Bluetooth button on the base of the controller switches between your two connected computers and the colour of the LED on the front of the unit will switch between red and green to indicate which channel is being used. How to Connect the TourBox Elite Over Bluetooth

If you prefer the old way of connecting via USB, you still can. TourBox provides a USB-C cable in the box. The TourBox Console software will ask you to choose between Bluetooth and USB at setup and anytime a connection change is detected. Connecting the TourBox Elite via Bluetooth or USB-C cable

At a Glance

The TourBox Neo’s heft and tactile feel is great, but the buttons are a little too close together for me. One of the biggest features of the Neo is the ability to combine button pushes and have hundreds of shortcuts at your fingertips, but because the buttons are very close together, that made it difficult for me to combine button pushes. I wish the buttons were spread out another ½ inch or so. I think my fingers would be able to acclimate to the shortcuts much more easily. In truth, I found myself getting frustrated by the short button distances. The software did not come with a global preset. So you have to manually create your own global preset and link it. I decided to try customizing the TourBox to include all the keystrokes I used during this part of the workflow. It’s a style of editing that feels fluid and more enjoyable, for I’m no longer concerned with Lightroom’s interface, and can make nearly all of my baseline RAW edits on the TourBox NEO without looking away. Using the TourBox NEO in Adobe Lightroom Classic to adjust color temperature