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Archive 2015 · PusherLabs PFixer?

  
 
paparazzinick
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · PusherLabs PFixer?


bvigil wrote:
paparazzinick, you mentioned using the Novation Launch Control. How does it work for you even thought the encoders don't update themselves. Do you find that to be a hinderance?




Hey Ben. Great to hear from you. I was using the Arturia Beat Step when I first got your software. http://www.arturia.com/products/hybrid-synths/beatstep/overview It was cool and did just fine but I did not like the knobs because they could spin 360 degrees and when you made a Lightroom adjustment, the controller remembered where that setting was at and then on the next photo you might not have remembered exactly so your photo might go from 0 on exposure to 2.5. Not a big deal but a pain in the ass when you are trying to do quick edits.

I got rid of it and switched to the Novation. LOVE IT!!!! Especially for the $65 price I got it for. I do not mind that the encoders still don't update with this but what I do like is the knobs do not spin 360. They stop when you turn to the far left or far right. That way when you are done with an image and go to the next, you know exactly where the controller setting is at so you can quickly adjust. For some people I can see them complaining but for me it is just fine. If I could find a bcf at a good price or if you launch one then I would def get it.

Great job on this software. Please don't ever quick. lol It would kill me. Not really but I would be pissed when it stopped working one day.



Feb 25, 2015 at 11:00 PM
bvigil
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Hey FrancisK7,

As a photog, I was searching for something like PFixer. I looked at Motibodo, RPGKeys, Paddy, Knobroom... Knobroom was the closest to what I was looking for but LR4 had just arrived and development had basically come to a halt. There were no options out there for hardware-based MIDI control on the Mac. None.

My background is in applications development so I decided to take a stab at it. I created a few proof of concepts for my own use and while it actually "worked", I quickly figured out why nobody was doing it. It's WAY harder than it first seemed. For the PFixer engine, there were a few options: I could license the same macro engine that RPG & Motibodo use and whip up some keyboard and mousing macros (a la Windows 3.1 style). But that felt a little too much like framing your house with SuperGlue... just don't lean on the walls. Plus I didn't want to rely on software from another vendor to make mine work. Or I could use a plugin, and apply tons of presets, which is [I think] the way that VSCO Keys works -- you'd think there would be a better way, but the Adobe API is really basic, and has very little functionality for the Development module.

So we took the hard route of "CAT-scanning" the internals of Lightroom and using the insight to communication with LR internally at the operating system level. And it worked way better than we had hoped. We still have a two areas where we resort to mouse-clicking, but other than that, we are using Lightroom to control Lightroom. As an aside, custom keyboard shortcuts was a complete afterthought. Once the PFixer engine was in place, adding shortcuts and "virtual" Trackpad sliders was relatively easy --- talking to LR was the hard part.

Anyways... I only mention all that because it's been a huge advantage: from multiple versions of LR4, thru seven versions of LR5, not to mention OSX 10.7, 10.8, 10.9 and 10.10 PFixer has remained solid. We've fixed a few bugs and added a few sliders that Adobe added to LR5, but nothing other than that.

Right now we're in the quiet before the storm waiting for LR6 to see what those changes will mean to PFixer, if any, before we release the next update. I suppose if Adobe added compete keyboard customization and MIDI support, we'd have a hard time articulating a need for you to buy PFixer. But there's about a 1% chance of that happening.

But until then, we'll keep delivering.



Feb 25, 2015 at 11:47 PM
DigMeTX
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Sounds like a real success story - what a perfect time to ride that wave of success right into the Windows platform! :P

brad



Feb 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM
bvigil
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · PusherLabs PFixer?


DigMeTX,

Ya know... a Windows version is a bit of a weird beast. With the demise (don't know what else to call it) of Paddy, there are no similar programs on Windows now so it's a potentially fertile market.

That said, while there ARE more Windows users than Mac users, the Adobe LR user base is split pretty evenly between Win/Mac. So creating a version for Windows certainly wouldn't be a windfall that some might think it would be. Also, on the Windows side of the pond, you have a MUCH larger base of potential problems and pitfalls (can you say "drivers" slowly) that might be a support nightmare.

So don't get your hopes up.

But don't stop hoping altogether.



Feb 26, 2015 at 12:16 AM
TTLKurtis
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · PusherLabs PFixer?


I wasn't even thinking about the impending release of LR6 when I just now purchased PFixer... hmm. Do I get some sort of FM shout-out hook-up for a LR6 update?

It sure would be nice if they really do start taking advantage of all the power sitting there in my GPU... LR would absolutely scream.



Feb 26, 2015 at 12:52 AM
DigMeTX
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · PusherLabs PFixer?


bvigil wrote:
DigMeTX,

So don't get your hopes up.

But don't stop hoping altogether.


That's actually more hope than I had before! I just assumed there were zero plans for such a thing.

brad



Feb 26, 2015 at 09:48 AM
Michael Beard
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · PusherLabs PFixer?


bvigil wrote:
DigMeTX,

Ya know... a Windows version is a bit of a weird beast. With the demise (don't know what else to call it) of Paddy, there are no similar programs on Windows now so it's a potentially fertile market.

That said, while there ARE more Windows users than Mac users, the Adobe LR user base is split pretty evenly between Win/Mac. So creating a version for Windows certainly wouldn't be a windfall that some might think it would be. Also, on the Windows side of the pond, you have a MUCH larger base of potential problems and pitfalls (can you say "drivers"
...Show more

Would you consider starting a Kickstarter for a Windows version? It would be a great way to gauge what interest there actually is in it. I would definitely fork over some money.



Feb 26, 2015 at 05:24 PM
tgillespie
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Michael Beard wrote:
Would you consider starting a Kickstarter for a Windows version? It would be a great way to gauge what interest there actually is in it. I would definitely fork over some money.


Agreed. We run Win boxes and have stopped using Paddy all together because of its issues now.




Feb 26, 2015 at 06:17 PM
marekd
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Ben, Windows version would be amazing! There is nothing out there right now that works with LR 5.7. :/


Mar 01, 2015 at 01:39 AM
TTLKurtis
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · PusherLabs PFixer?


I just wanted to say I got the PFIXER / BCF2000 and I've been playing with it all night... While technically I'm not doing anything I couldn't do before, the ability to do it with hardware buttons and knobs rather than scrolling a mouse constantly and clicking a million times means I'm actually tending to do more edits to a given image than I used to, and I think the results are going to be better.

I've been outsourcing my edits for a couple of years now, and costs are getting a little out of hand in general so I figured this thing will pay for itself in just one wedding if it works out for me... So far I'm diggin' it.




Mar 05, 2015 at 06:53 AM
FrancisK7
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Thanks for updating the thread!

Can we see a pic of your workstation with it in action? Just to turn me on a little?



Mar 05, 2015 at 08:16 AM
bvigil
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · PusherLabs PFixer?


TTLKurtis,

That's exactly what happened to me when I first started using PFixer for myself: I found that I used more of LR that I never tended to use before because those features became easier to access. For example, before, I tended to lower the contrast and then crush the blacks a little to bring up overall levels while maintaining perceived contrast. Occasionally this would lead to the shadows blocking up.

Well, now I tend to use the curves a LOT more because I can access them as easily as the contrast/blacks.

Ben



Mar 05, 2015 at 09:21 AM
DigMeTX
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · PusherLabs PFixer?


bvigil wrote:
TTLKurtis,

That's exactly what happened to me when I first started using PFixer for myself: I found that I used more of LR that I never tended to use before because those features became easier to access. For example, before, I tended to lower the contrast and then crush the blacks a little to bring up overall levels while maintaining perceived contrast. Occasionally this would lead to the shadows blocking up.

Well, now I tend to use the curves a LOT more because I can access them as easily as the contrast/blacks.

Ben


So you can set knobs to adjust curve points?



Mar 05, 2015 at 10:37 AM
bvigil
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · PusherLabs PFixer?


DigMeTX wrote:
So you can set knobs to adjust curve points?

Absolutely!

By default, the mapping for curves on the PFixer Panel (Behringer BCF-2000) are the 4 encoders ("knobs") at the top right labeled SH, DKS, LTS & HL. You can see the complete mapping here:
http://www.pusherlabs.com/documentation/midi#bcf2000map

Ben



Mar 05, 2015 at 11:34 AM
TTLKurtis
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Oh one nagging minor issue I'm curious if any others have had... My BCF2000 doesn't sit level... The bottom right foot is a bit shorter than the others so it wobbles unless you set something just the right size under it. I am very OCD so before I even played with it I spent a while taping that bottom foot but it's a weird shape and not much to grab onto so that keeps coming off.

I assume that is Behringer's fault not PusherLabs but yeah... Need to find a better solution to this that will be permanent.


This is the setup on my desk. Larger than I thought it would be, and I was hoping for a little higher quality feel to the controls, but I'm sure the really really nice stuff is into the thousands of dollars and would be complete overkill.







Mar 05, 2015 at 12:09 PM
FrancisK7
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Wow! Ok! That thing is a lot bigger than I thought. Thanks a lot for posting a pic.

Shit that is sexy.

How quickly do faders snap back into place when you go to the next photo?



Mar 05, 2015 at 01:54 PM
TTLKurtis
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · PusherLabs PFixer?


I think that depends on what you set your preferences for how often it updates. Default (and recommended) is 0.2s - I might make that 0.1s or something later and see if it makes lightroom slower or anything.

They also recommend creating a separate smart preview catalog to speed up editing.



Mar 05, 2015 at 02:06 PM
bvigil
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · PusherLabs PFixer?


Yeah, the Behringer is pretty much the only company making MIDI controllers with motorized faders under $1,000.


Mar 05, 2015 at 02:09 PM
bvigil
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · PusherLabs PFixer?


TTLKurtis wrote:
They also recommend creating a separate smart preview catalog to speed up editing.


Once you have generated the Smart Previews, an easier way is to temporarily rename the folder containing the original RAW files.

That will force LR to use the Previews for editing = WAY faster.



Mar 05, 2015 at 02:13 PM
TTLKurtis
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · PusherLabs PFixer?


bvigil wrote:
Yeah, the Behringer is pretty much the only company making MIDI controllers with motorized faders under $1,000.


Any tips on the BCF2000 not sitting level? Is that normal for these things? Sorta sucks that I basically have to set it on a sweet-n-lo pack.



Mar 05, 2015 at 02:43 PM
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