Meet Photo Mechanic Plus, the database-driven photo management solution for professional photographers and photo journalists

Photo Mechanic Plus is a new version of the application for ingesting, managing and processing image files before and after you edit them. The Plus version includes all the features of Photo Mechanic with the addition of an image database for making catalogues of every photo you’ve collected on both online and offline storage… Read More Meet Photo Mechanic Plus, the database-driven photo management solution for professional photographers and photo journalists

April 18, 2021 Erik

Testing the OWC Mercury Helios 3S with U.2 Shuttle

The Mercury Helios 3S is an aluminium dual-port 85W charging Thunderbolt 3 expansion box with a dedicated DisplayPort 1.4 port for an 8K display. The Mercury Helios 3S accepts one PCIe (x16) slot for half-length, full-height, single or double-width cards. You can daisy-chain up to five additional Thunderbolt devices. OWC added the capability to install a U.2 Shuttle in the Helios 3S. My test unit came preconfigured with OWC Aura P12 Pro SSDs.… Read More Testing the OWC Mercury Helios 3S with U.2 Shuttle

March 30, 2021 Erik

Solving a management nightmare: ColorFinale LUTs

Colour LUTs or Colour Lookup Tables in full are a kind of digital colour filters and there are millions of them out there, paid as well as free. Collecting large numbers of the things may quickly lead to thousands of small files on your system, often without you having a clue as to what they will make your footage look like.… Read More Solving a management nightmare: ColorFinale LUTs

February 10, 2021 Erik

Synchronizing for music and video: VocAlign Ultra

The simple explanation of what VocAlign Ultra is, is this: it’s a plug-in that can automatically match the timing and pitch of one audio signal to the timing and pitch of another. More complex but implemented in a user-friendly way are the features that delve deeper, such as an advanced set of controls to adjust… Read More Synchronizing for music and video: VocAlign Ultra

February 8, 2021February 10, 2021 Erik

Yanobox Storm: Procedural 3D in a plugin for FCPX and Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects

Yanobox recently released a brand new procedural modelling plug-in, called Storm. The plug-in that is available via FxFactory works with After Effects, Final Cut Pro X, Apple Motion, and Premiere Pro. The term procedural modelling covers a number of techniques in computer graphics to create 3D models and textures from rules. For example, fractals and generative modelling are both procedural modelling techniques. In the case of Storm, the rules can be configured using parameters. Storm is built around a self-contained rendering engine, has multiple noise generators and supports volumetric and directional colours.… Read More Yanobox Storm: Procedural 3D in a plugin for FCPX and Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects

October 12, 2020October 12, 2020 Erik

The Loupedeck Live is not just for live streamers

The Loupedeck Live that’s only recently been released is a small sibling of the Loupedeck CT. It has the touch screen, rotary knobs and eight buttons, and that’s it. The square buttons and the touch wheel of the Loupedeck CT have been left out. The unit is made of the same aluminium and sturdy plastic components as the CT model. It does come with a mountable stand, so you can position the Loupedeck Live in a 30 degree angle.… Read More The Loupedeck Live is not just for live streamers

October 8, 2020 Erik

Hedge gets Presets

Hedge, the fast video/audio/image file offloading app, has been upgraded with Presets. Presets may not sound like a big deal, but they actually make life a lot easier, especially when you’re dealing with a lot of identically named memory cards and SSDs.… Read More Hedge gets Presets

September 22, 2020September 21, 2020 Erik

FCPX Cut Finder review

Alex Raccuglia, the developer of apps like FCPX Diet and AutoDuck has released a new app that finds cuts in footage and either marks them or exports them as FCPX cuts. Appropriately called FCPX Cut Finder, the app costs no more than some 10 Euros and it does a fine job of analysing your video and finding those cuts, saving a lot of time in the process.… Read More FCPX Cut Finder review

September 21, 2020September 19, 2020 Erik

Remote colour grading collaboration for Final Cut Pro X users: Color Finale Connect sees the light of day

Color Trix has added a remote collaboration capability to Color Finale, its colour grading plug-in for Final Cut Pro X. The new feature allows a colourist to start a session over a network and/or the Internet with a director, DoP, other editors, an apprentice even. The Connect module will be released as a free public beta for existing Color Finale Pro owners. That will allow users to send their feedback and help shape the technology to better suit their needs. I had the opportunity to run a session between London and Antwerp.… Read More Remote colour grading collaboration for Final Cut Pro X users: Color Finale Connect sees the light of day

August 26, 2020 Erik

X-Rite i1Pro version 3 is faster, more accurate than its predecessors

The redesigned i1Pro 3 spectrophotometer is more accurate and reliable as well as two times faster than its predecessor. The i1Pro 3 is meant to be used by professionals who require accurate color from their printer, display, and projector. The i1Photo Pro 3 set allows photographers to quickly and easily create custom camera, monitor, projector, scanner, and RGB printer profiles.… Read More X-Rite i1Pro version 3 is faster, more accurate than its predecessors

August 20, 2020 Erik