Last year, Logitech jumped into the content creator market Gets LoupedeckAdobe makes control surfaces for programs like Lightroom. Now the company has introduced the first Logitech-branded control panel MX Developer ConsoleA $200 device that includes a keyboard, dialpad, and plug-ins for popular Adobe programs like Premiere Pro.
It competes with competitors like Logitech TourBox Elite supervisor and even his own Loupedeck CTbut its new offering is cheaper than the latter and more refined than the former. The MX Creative Console features a modern design and a pair of neat control buttons, along with dynamic on-screen buttons that change depending on the app and page you’re viewing.
Logitech
Logitech’s MX Creative Console is a well-built console for creators with smooth controls and easy customization.
- Good quality and design
- Smooth operation
- Easy Customization
- There is not enough control for some programs
I tested a number of control panels going back to the original Loupedeck in 2017. For me, it always boils down to one main question: is it easier and faster than just using a keyboard and mouse? After working with the MX Creative Console for over a week, I found it to be powerful in some cases and very limited in others.
Apparatus
The console comes in either pale gray or darker graphite and takes up very little space on your desk (3.8 x 3.1 inches for the keyboard and 3.6 x 3.7 inches for the dial pad). Also included is a stand that angles the keyboard or dial pad to you at about 45 degrees. I prefer it flat on the table for speed, but the stand makes it easier to see the controls. The keyboard has nine display keys, the content of which changes depending on the page and application you are using. There are two normal buttons below for switching pages and a USB-C port below.
At the same time, the center of the dial panel is a large “contextual dial” because its function changes depending on the selected action. Moreover, there is a scroll wheel in the upper right corner, two buttons in the upper left and two buttons below in each corner. The bottom-right button activates the “Operation Ring,” a circular on-screen display that gives you another way to adjust things like colors and text.
The buttons require a light touch and have a smooth, click-free feel. The wheel on the number pad has enough traction for precise work and allows you to easily move frame-by-frame or fast-forward through the timeline in Premiere Pro. No tactile feedback like the TourBox Elite though. There’s a Bluetooth pairing switch on the bottom and a power switch on the back. It can connect to your computer via either LT Bluetooth or the Logitech Bolt switch (not included) used on mice and keyboards.
Logitech says its products are made from 72 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, low-carbon aluminum, micro-textures instead of paint, and FSC-certified responsible packaging. However, the dial panel uses either disposable or rechargeable AAA cells. According to Logitech, they’ll last a few months, but that’s an odd choice for an eco-friendly product.
Installation
MX Creative Console is plug-and-play for Adobe applications, so you can start converting collections right out of the box. It’s also customizable, letting you change settings within apps, create custom profiles, and more. allows To set it up, I installed Logi Options+ on my PC (and a Mac, I tested it with both), then connected the keyboard via USB-C. I installed the dial pad separately, connecting it to my computers via Bluetooth.
After the devices are recognized, clicking “All actions” installs the Adobe plug-ins. It also has direct support for applications including VLC media player, Spotify Premium, Capture One and Ableton. You can even save system volume, YouTube videos, emojis, screenshots, and more. You can use it to manage apps without plugins like your browser. I only found it useful for system volume (hello, horrible Windows 11 audio controls).
Changing the default settings is as easy as possible. When you open the Personalization page, it shows the devices (dialpad, keyboard, and Actions Ring) on the left, while all possible settings are on the right. To change or add a new setting, simply pick the one you want from the list and drag it to the virtual keyboard on the left. Buttons can be changed on the same page, but it is not easy to move the setting from one page to another.
As a Premiere Pro user, the first thing I did was create a new keyboard page and add buttons to switch between source, program and timelines to avoid having to click the mouse for these actions. It was relatively easy to do, thanks to the search function and intuitive drag-and-drop interface. If you don’t want to deal with customization, Logitech’s Logi Options+ has a plug-in marketplace. I didn’t get to use it before launch, but it should allow users to buy or share plugins, profiles, and icon packs.
Operation
I work primarily in Lightroom Classic and Premiere Pro and occasionally use Photoshop and After Effects. All of these apps are natively supported by the MX Creative Console on Mac and PC.
I started with Premiere Pro, tested it on both Windows and Mac. After some thought, I placed the keyboard to the left of the keyboard and the dial pad to the right between the keyboard and the mouse. It worked well visually and allowed me to fine tune and make adjustments with my right hand and press keys with my left hand – just like I already do with a keyboard and mouse.
At first, I didn’t think the console would speed up my workflow in edit mode because I had memorized most of Premiere’s keyboard shortcuts. I was also worried that I was constantly jumping between the dial and the mouse. After playing around a bit, I noticed that erasing timing with the dial offers finer and faster control than keyboard and mouse, especially when using the scroll wheel to scale the graph (I’d like to see faster scrolling though, digress, Logitech).
Based on this, I added the section function and other clickless mouse tools that I haven’t touched in a while. With this, despite my earlier fears, I could work as quickly as I could with a keyboard and mouse, depending on the task at hand. While I’m hesitant to use it myself for editing, I can see it being a good workflow for new Premiere Pro users because it visually shows the actions so beginners don’t have to remember shortcuts.
The MX Console is especially useful for color correction in Premiere. When a clip is selected, you can click the bottom right chart panel to activate the Actions Caller, move your mouse over one of the actions (exposure, contrast, whites, saturation, etc.) and rotate the dial to adjust that setting. You can also program key color settings on the keyboard to prevent the mouse. Then press and hold the button on that setting while turning the dial.
Then switched to Lightroom Classic. This program makes the most sense for a console, since you are basically performing operations (color correction, cropping, etc.) on an image. Hotkeys include Develop mode, White Balance Selector, Auto White Balance, Auto-straightening and grading tools. After importing images into your library, you can go to Develop, use the dial to switch between images, and then change colors using the Action Ring, just like in Premiere. If you still want to keep your hands on the MX Console, you can program common functions (temperature, saturation, lighting, etc.) on the keyboard.
The MX Console also has buttons for “Develop” settings, before and after views, and copy and paste for cropping and opening images in Photoshop. A Lightroom power user can add more shortcuts to further increase efficiency. This makes it almost as fast as the popular Loupedeck+ panel, but switching between pages on the keyboard can slow you down a bit.
Unfortunately, I found the MX Creative Console to be the least useful for Photoshop. Control panels are best for single-purpose tasks like color correction and audio adjustments, but Photoshop is designed for more complex operations. This meant that I was always taking my hands off the keyboard and dialpad and putting them on the mouse and keyboard, which, if anything, made me less efficient. This could be useful in Photoshop’s Camera RAW utility (which has Lightroom-like controls), but Logitech says the tool has no API and doesn’t support plug-ins.
Collection
The MX Creative Console’s main competition is the $268 TourBox Elite, which has three dials and ten buttons. Designed to work with a keyboard and mouse, it’s powerful for experienced editors, but looks a bit cheap. In contrast, Logitech’s MX Creative Console is more polished, and the visual interface its keyboard provides makes it better for beginners. It should also be noted that the Elgato has a similar price Stream Deck+ recently he added Adobe Photoshop plugin, although it is primarily intended for live streaming. It promises easy access to Photoshop tools and adjustments via four dials and eight on-screen buttons.
Other options are more expensive, e.g $529 Loupedeck CT, $395 DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor$499 DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel and $595 Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard. These are more powerful and look more professional, but will obviously cost you more.
Logitech’s MX Creative Console is a quality device with plenty of useful software for programs like Premiere Pro and Lightroom Classic. As Adobe adds more supported apps and the Logi Marketplace grows, its usefulness will undoubtedly increase. However, it doesn’t have enough buttons and dials to perform tasks in many Adobe applications without reverting to a keyboard and mouse. If you use apps that it works well with, like Lightroom, it can boost your productivity and look great doing it. It’s $200 shipped next month, and Logitech includes a free three-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud.
