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A beginner’s guide to bird photography in 2025

By
Marius Berg
-
0
selective focus photography of blue kingfisher

Bird photography is a rewarding pursuit that allows you to capture the beauty and behaviour of our feathered friends. This guide offers practical advice for beginners looking to start their journey in bird photography. From choosing the right lens to understanding the best times to shoot, you’ll find essential tips to improve your skills.

selective focus photography of blue kingfisher

We’ll explore techniques for taking sharp photos and composing interesting images that showcase birds in their natural habitats. The guide also touches on post-processing in Adobe Lightroom, helping you enhance your bird photos after the shoot.

What to look for in a bird photography lens

The best focal length for bird photography can vary depending on the specific situation and the type of bird you are photographing. Generally, a long telephoto lens with a focal length of 300mm or more is considered ideal for bird photography. This allows you to capture close-up shots of birds while still maintaining a safe distance and not disturbing them.

silhouette of man holding camera during sunset

For full-frame cameras, a popular focal length is 300mm to 500mm, although some photographers prefer even longer focal lengths of 600mm or 800mm for even more reach. For crop sensor cameras, a popular focal length is 200mm to 400mm, although some photographers prefer even longer focal lengths of 500mm or 600mm for even more reach.

The most important aspect of the lens for bird photography is the aperture. Aperture refers to how wide the lens can open to let in light. For bird photography, you’ll want a lens with a wide aperture (f/2.8 or wider) to allow you to shoot in low light conditions and achieve a shallow depth of field which helps to isolate the bird from the background.

Another important feature in lens for bird photography is Image stabilization (IS) which helps to reduce camera shake and improve sharpness. This is especially useful when hand-holding the camera or working with long focal lengths.

When is the best time to photograph birds?

Time of day

The best time of day to photograph birds can vary depending on the species and location, but there are certain times that are generally considered to be the best for bird photography.

silhouette of bird

Early morning and late afternoon, also known as the “Golden Hour,” are considered the best times of day for bird photography. During these times, the light is softer and more diffuse, which can help to create a more pleasing and natural-looking image. Additionally, many birds are most active during the early morning and late afternoon, making these times more likely to yield interesting and dynamic images.

Another advantage of shooting during the early morning and late afternoon is the opportunity to capture the birds in the warm and soft light, this can help to create a more intimate and pleasing image. Furthermore, the sun is lower in the sky during these times, creating long shadows and adding depth to the image.

Midday, on the other hand, is usually not the best time for bird photography. The light is harsh and direct, which can cause strong shadows and highlights on the bird’s feathers, making it harder to achieve a pleasing image. Additionally, many birds are less active during the middle of the day, which can make it more difficult to capture interesting and dynamic images.

Time of year

One of the best times of year to photograph birds is during their migration season. Many birds migrate during the spring and fall, and these seasons can be ideal for bird photography. During migration, birds are on the move, and this can provide opportunities for dynamic and interesting images. Additionally, many migratory birds are in their breeding plumage during these seasons, which can make for beautiful and colorful images.

a mother duck and her chicks in a field of flowers

Another great time of year to photograph birds is during their breeding season, which typically takes place during the spring and summer. During this time, many birds are in their breeding plumage, which can make for beautiful and colorful images. Additionally, many birds are more active during the breeding season, which can provide opportunities for dynamic and interesting images.

Furthermore, during the breeding season, it’s also a great opportunity to photograph nesting birds and their young. This can provide a unique perspective and a chance to capture intimate and emotional images.

How to take sharp bird photos

  1. Use a fast shutter speed: To freeze the motion of a bird in flight, use a fast shutter speed of at least 1/1000th of a second. This will help to ensure that the bird is captured sharply, without any blur caused by movement.
  2. Use a tripod or a monopod: A tripod or a monopod can help to steady your camera and reduce camera shake, which can cause blur in your images. This is especially important when using a long telephoto lens or working in low light conditions.
  3. Use a high ISO: In low light conditions, using a high ISO can help to increase the shutter speed and reduce camera shake. However, high ISO can also introduce noise to the image, so it is important to find a balance between shutter speed and ISO that works for you.
  4. Use a wide aperture: A wide aperture (f/2.8 or wider) can help to isolate the bird from the background and create a shallow depth of field. This can help to draw attention to the bird and make it stand out from the background.
  5. Use autofocus and continuous shooting: To capture birds in flight, use autofocus and continuous shooting mode to take multiple shots in quick succession. This will increase your chances of capturing a sharp image of the bird in flight.
  6. Pre-focus: If you know where the birds will be, use the autofocus to pre-focus on that point before the bird arrives. This will allow you to take the photo as soon as the bird arrives without having to wait for the autofocus to adjust.
  7. Use image stabilization: Image stabilization can help to reduce camera shake and improve sharpness, especially when working with long focal lengths or hand-holding the camera.
  8. Be patient and persistent: Bird photography requires patience and persistence. Take your time and wait for the perfect moment to capture the bird in the perfect position.

Composition techniques for more interesting bird pictures

Composition is an important aspect of bird photography and can help to make your images more visually appealing and impactful. Here are some tips for composing your bird photos:

  1. Use the rule of thirds: The rule of thirds is a basic composition technique where you divide the image into thirds horizontally and vertically, and place the main subject of the image on one of the intersections of these lines. This can help to create a balanced and visually pleasing image.
  2. Use negative space: Negative space refers to the empty areas around the main subject of the image. Use negative space to create a sense of balance and to draw attention to the bird.
  3. Use leading lines: Leading lines are lines in the image that lead the viewer’s eye towards the main subject. Use leading lines, such as branches or lines in the water, to guide the viewer’s eye towards the bird and create a sense of movement in the image.
  4. Use a shallow depth of field: A shallow depth of field is achieved by using a wide aperture, which helps to blur the background and make the bird stand out. This can help to isolate the bird from the background and draw attention to the bird.
  5. Use the background to tell a story: The background can be used to tell a story about the bird and its habitat. Use the background to provide context and to show the bird in its natural environment.
  6. Use different angles: Try to take your photos from different angles, such as high or low, to add visual interest to your images and to show the bird in a new way.
  7. Use bird’s natural behavior: Try to capture the bird in its natural behavior, such as feeding, hunting, and flying, this will give a sense of action to the image and make it more interesting.
blue-and-yellow macaw

How to improve your bird photos in Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is a powerful tool for editing and enhancing bird photos. Here are some tips for improving bird photos in Adobe Lightroom:

  1. Adjust exposure: Use the exposure slider to adjust the overall brightness of the image. This can help to bring out details in the bird’s feathers and make the bird stand out from the background.
  2. Adjust contrast: Use the contrast slider to increase the difference between the light and dark areas of the image. This can help to make the bird’s feathers appear more defined and add depth to the image.
  3. Adjust white balance: Use the white balance sliders to adjust the color temperature of the image. This can help to remove any unwanted color cast and make the colors of the bird’s feathers appear more natural.
  4. Adjust saturation: Use the saturation slider to increase or decrease the intensity of the colors in the image. This can help to make the bird’s feathers appear more vibrant and colorful.
  5. Adjust sharpness: Use the sharpness slider to increase the overall sharpness of the image. This can help to make the bird’s feathers appear more defined and improve the overall clarity of the image.
  6. Adjust noise reduction: Use the noise reduction sliders to reduce any unwanted grain or noise in the image. This can help to make the bird’s feathers appear smoother and more detailed.
  7. Use the selective adjustments tool: Use the selective adjustments tool (brush or gradient) to selectively adjust specific areas of the image. This can be particularly useful for bringing out details in the bird’s feathers or making the bird stand out from the background.
  8. Use presets: Lightroom presets can be a great way to quickly apply adjustments to your image. There are many presets available specifically for bird photography that can help you to achieve the desired look for your image.

It’s important to note that the final result depends on the original quality of the image. These adjustments are just to enhance the image but not to fix a bad image.

Want to learn more about Lightroom, check out our collection of Lightroom articles here!

Kobo Elipsa 2E review (2025): A digital potato!

By
Marius Berg
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0

When it comes to cooking, the potato is an incredibly versatile ingredient. There are 100s of ways to prepare and eat a potato. Boil it, steam it, mash it, fry it, bake it, drown it in cream… It’s not the tastiest, most fantastical ingredient in the world. But it’s nowhere near the worst one either.

This review reflects our independent and honest opinion. We were not compensated for this review, and we covered all the costs to try the product or service ourselves.

Now, imagine a digital device that lets you dive into Dune during your morning commute, jot down meeting notes by lunch, catch up on news articles that you stored in Pocket over a coffee break, sketch a sunset (in greyscale) over Sydney Harbour by evening, pull up some sheet music for piano practice, and borrow an ebook from your local library for the weekend trip—all without switching gadgets.

That’s the Kobo Elipsa 2E for you… Your digital potato!

This hybrid e-reader and digital notebook has become my go-to for both reading, note taking, planning, sketching and writing. It’s not the best device ever for any of these tasks, but it’s pretty darn good at all of them.

The Kobo Elipsa 2E is a great allrounder

Design: Function Over Flair

Let’s address the elephant in the room: the Kobo Elipsa 2E won’t win beauty contests. Compared to the ReMarkable 2’s minimalist chic or the iPad’s gloss, Kobo’s offering feels like a sturdy librarian—practical, unpretentious, and built to last (despite its plastic body).

The 10.3-inch display is framed by bezels thick enough to grip without accidental taps, though they do give the device a slightly dated look. At 390 grams sans cover, it’s lighter than most hardcovers but still hefty enough to notice in a tote bag.

The real letdown? The optional SleepCover. While made from 97% recycled ocean plastics (kudos for sustainability), its magnetic alignment feels like solving a toddler’s shape puzzle—nudge it left, shimmy it right, and pray it magnetically snaps into just the right place. Once attached, it adds noticeable bulk. If you’re after sleekness, go naked—just mind the screen and keep the stylus under lock and key somewhere else.

Kobo Elipsa 2E with Sleep Cover attached
Kobo Elipsa 2E – rubbery back, nice to hold
The Kobo Elipsa 2E adds considerable bulk to the device

Display: E-Ink Magic With a Quirk

The 10.3-inch E Ink Carta 1200 screen is where the Kobo Elipsa 2E shines. Reading under the midday sun or in a dimly lit café? No glare, no eye strain, just crisp text that mimics paper flawlessly. With 227 PPI, fonts remain sharp even at larger sizes—ideal for graphic novels or PDFs.

Note-taking, however, reveals a tiny gremlin. When viewed at an angle, the stylus tip appears slightly offset from its mark, like a ghostly afterimage. It’s barely noticeable during furious scribbling but becomes apparent when precision-drawing flowcharts.

Kobo’s Stylus 2 (included) partly compensates with a grippy texture and eraser cap. It’s nice to use, although once in a blue moon the highlighter button tends to get pressed accidentally. Another small point of contention is that there is no wireless charging on the stylus. You will have to plug in a USB-C cable to top it up.

Kobo Stylus 2 – highlighter button on the left
Kobo Stylus 2 – note the USB-C port

Performance: Speed Demon With Stamina

Powered by a 2GHz processor, the Kobo Elipsa 2E flips pages and opens notebooks faster than its predecessor. Highlighting a paragraph in Project Hail Mary? Instant response. Switching between a novel and your grocery list? A slight delay—acceptable, though iPad users might scoff.

Battery life? Immaculate. After two weeks of daily use—2 hours of reading, 30 minutes of note-taking, and the occasional audiobook—it dropped to 15%. That’s 31.5 hours of mixed usage, or roughly a month for casual readers. Charging via USB-C takes 2.5 hours, perfect for topping up during a Bluey marathon.

Note-Taking: Surprisingly Competent

Forget the Kindle Scribe’s barebones doodle pad—Kobo’s MyScript-powered Nebo integration turns chicken scratch into typed text with eerie accuracy. Elipsa decodes my unconventional handwriting flawlessly, superscripts and all. Templates range from Cornell notes to music staves.

Annotations feel natural. Highlighting PDFs or adding margin notes to EPUBs works seamlessly, though exporting marked-up files requires a Wi-Fi tango with Dropbox or Google Drive.

Pro tip: Even though the $99 SleepCover isn’t optimal, it’s a must if you want to keep your stylus safe. I wouldn’t trust the stylus to stay put on the Elipsa 2E’s magnetic zones while walking up the stairs in my home, let alone on a crowded commuter train.

Ecosystem: Kobo’s Quiet Superpower

Where the Kobo Elipsa 2E truly outshines rivals is integration. Borrow library books via OverDrive, sideload EPUBs without Calibre gymnastics, or binge Kobo Plus titles—all within a few taps. Sync notes across devices? Check, though inexplicably absent from Kobo’s mobile apps. Audiobook support exists but feels tacked on; you’ll need Bluetooth headphones and patience for the sparse Kobo Store selection.

Verdict: Niche, But Brilliant

The Elipsa 2E is like a Swiss Army knife—versatile but not masterful. It’s pricier than a basic Kindle yet cheaper than an iPad Pro.

Buy it if:

  • You’re a hybrid reader-writer-scribbler-notetaker: Juggling textbooks, novels, and meeting notes? Elipsa 2E handles all of that.
  • PDFs are your jam: Annotating research papers or blueprints on a glare-free screen beats squinting at a laptop.
  • Sustainability matters: The 85% recycled body and vegan-ink packaging ease eco-guilt.

Skip it if:

  • You’re a pure reader: Opt for a more pocket-sized reader such as the Kobo Libra 2.
  • Art is your focus: The reMarkable 2’s brush-like feel and layer support trump Kobo’s utilitarian tools.
  • Water resistance is key: Spill your latte, and the Elipsa 2E becomes a very expensive coaster.

In a world of single-use gadgets, the Elipsa 2E is a refreshing multitasker—flaws and all. Just don’t expect it to brew your coffee.

Make and sell awesome Adobe Lightroom presets

By
Marius Berg
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0

Adobe Lightroom has evolved into the virtual darkroom where photography magic happens, with presets (or filters) playing the leading role.

These digital editing shortcuts transform hours of meticulous slider adjustments into single-click operations that breathe new life into otherwise forgettable snapshots.

While smartphone photographers rely on basic Instagram filters that offer all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, Lightroom presets provide the fine-tuned precision of a master jeweller’s tools.

What are Lightroom presets and why photographers can’t get enough

Lightroom presets, sometimes accidentally called filters, are essentially saved editing recipes that can be applied to any photo with a single click. Unlike basic mobile app filters, Lightroom presets are sophisticated combinations of numerous adjustments working in harmony. Each preset contains settings that simultaneously modify exposure, contrast, colours, tone curves, and dozens of other parameters.

These digital editing formulas work much like a chef’s signature recipes – they combine multiple ingredients in exact proportions to achieve a specific result. The magic of presets lies in how they maintain image quality while completely changing the mood of a photograph, turning a drab landscape into a dramatic vista or a standard portrait into a magazine-worthy image.

For photographers who shoot hundreds of images per session, presets become the difference between spending days editing and finishing the job before the kettle boils. They’re less like Instagram’s one-size-fits-all filters and more like having a professional photo editor living inside your computer, ready to apply your favourite editing style in milliseconds.

It’s one of those features that make Lightroom’s subscription fees less of a hard pill to swallow.

Using Lightroom presets like a pro, not a try-hard

Applying a preset is straightforward – select your image, find the Presets panel, and click your chosen style. However, using presets effectively requires understanding they’re more like a starting point than a final destination.

After applying a preset, savvy photographers make adjustments in the Basic panel to optimise exposure, highlights, and shadows for each specific image. The Tone Curve panel allows for fine-tuning contrast, while the HSL panel enables targeted colour adjustments to ensure elements like skin tones don’t end up looking like a fake tan gone wrong. And Photoshop is also on hand for pixel-precision edits.

A classic rookie mistake involves cranking presets to maximum intensity, resulting in photos that scream “heavily filtered” louder than a teenager’s first Instagram account. Professional photographers use presets more subtly, adjusting their impact to complement each image’s unique qualities rather than overwhelming them.

Remember to adjust the intensity of the Lightroom presets you apply!
Remember to adjust the intensity of the presets you apply!

Another common error involves ignoring the original conditions of the photo. Applying a sun-drenched beach preset to a moody forest scene will likely produce results about as natural as a koala in Antarctica.

Understanding which presets work with different photography styles helps maintain consistent, high-quality results that don’t look like they’ve been attacked by a random filter generator.

Creating your own Lightroom presets without breaking a sweat

Creating custom Lightroom presets begins with editing a photo until it reflects your preferred aesthetic. This process starts by selecting a representative image and making adjustments in the Develop module. These adjustments should capture your personal style, whether that’s bright and airy like a summer’s day or dark and moody like a Tim Burton film set.

Getting started with Lightroom presets is easy!
Getting started with Lightroom presets is easy!

To save these settings as a preset, locate the Presets panel on the left side and click the plus icon. A dialog box appears where you can name your creation and select which adjustments to include. Including most adjustments is typically best, though excluding specific image-dependent settings like exposure corrections helps create more versatile presets.

Your Lightroom presets can contain lots of adjustments, or just a few
Your Lightroom presets can contain lots of adjustments, or just a few

When crafting presets, developing a consistent theme or style helps build a recognisable brand. Many preset creators develop their signature style through unique combinations of colour grading and tone curves, much like how a musician might be recognised by their distinctive sound regardless of which song they’re playing.

Turning preset wizardry into cold hard cash

The market for Lightroom presets has exploded faster than a smartphone release day queue, with some photographers earning substantial passive income from selling their editing formulas. According to one photographer in our research, preset sales generated over 100,000 in revenue even with minimal marketing effort.

The business model appeals to photographers because it creates genuine passive income – once developed, the same digital product can be sold repeatedly without additional work, unlike photography sessions that require showing up with camera in hand. Many established photographers discover followers who admire their distinctive editing style are eager to achieve similar results, creating a ready-made market.

Successful preset sellers focus on creating distinctive, high-quality editing formulas that produce consistent results across various images. They typically package these presets into themed collections with catchy names that would make a marketing executive proud, such as “Summer Glow,” “Moody Minimalist,” or “Vintage Film Vibes”.

These collections often price anywhere from $10 for a single preset to $200 or more for comprehensive packages that promise to transform ordinary photos into social media gold.

Selling your Lightroom presets: A step-by-step guide

The journey from preset creator to digital entrepreneur begins with developing a marketable product. This means creating presets that not only look good on your portfolio images but work effectively across diverse photos. Testing presets on various subjects and lighting conditions helps ensure customers won’t feel like they’ve bought a digital lemon.

After perfecting your presets, exporting them from Lightroom is the next step. Navigate to your preset folder (Lightroom helpfully hides this in different locations depending on your operating system, because why make things simple?). Select the presets you want to sell and package them into a ZIP file for easy distribution, including clear installation instructions that even your technology-challenged relatives could follow.

When choosing selling platforms, creating your own website gives maximum control and profit margins. Services like Sellfy make setting up a digital product store simpler than assembling flat-pack furniture, with none of the leftover mystery screws.

For those preferring established marketplaces, options include Etsy, which charges listing fees plus 6.5% transaction fees, or FilterGrade, which takes a very hefty 50% commission for free members, but offers access to a photography-focused audience.

There's a lot of competition in the Lightroom presets space, so you need to stand out!
There’s a lot of competition in the Lightroom presets space, so you need to stand out!

Effective marketing requires showcasing before-and-after examples that demonstrate your presets’ transformative powers. Instagram serves as the natural habitat for such demonstrations, where visual content thrives like bacteria in a petri dish.

Creating tutorials that walk potential customers through the transformation process can also drive interest and convince fence-sitters that your presets offer more value than their morning coffee habit.

Mind you, this is what everyone else does. If you want to really stand out in a crowded field, you will need a marketing strategy that is uniquely you.

The finishing touches: Building a preset business that lasts

Setting the right price point requires balancing perceived value against market expectations. Researching competitors helps establish a benchmark, though undercutting solely on price rarely proves sustainable long-term.

Most successful preset sellers compete on quality and uniqueness rather than attempting to win a race to the bottom on pricing.

Presentation matters almost as much as the presets themselves. Professional-looking preview images, well-designed packaging graphics, and clear documentation separate premium products from amateur offerings. Including bonus content like video tutorials or complementary assets can increase perceived value and justify higher price points.

For photographers looking to diversify their income, preset sales offer an attractive opportunity with relatively low barriers to entry. The initial investment involves primarily time rather than money, making it accessible to photographers at various career stages.

With strategic marketing and quality products, what begins as a side project can potentially grow into a significant revenue stream that pays bills long after the initial creation work is complete.

PS: Not ready to invest in Lightroom just yet, and you just want something simple to edit your photos with? Check out these free Lightroom alternatives.

YouTube’s stats for nerds: More than just debug information for content creators

By
Marius Berg
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0

YouTube’s “Stats for Nerds” feature might sound like something exclusively for the technically inclined, but this unassuming diagnostic tool offers content creators a treasure trove of information that can help refine videos and enhance viewer experience. Despite its playful name, this built-in feature provides crucial insights into video playback that can help creators optimise their content, diagnose issues, and better understand how their videos perform in real-world conditions. Behind those cryptic numbers lies valuable data that could give creators an edge in the increasingly competitive YouTube landscape.

What Stats for Nerds actually is

Stats for Nerds is YouTube’s behind-the-scenes diagnostic tool that opens a window into the technical aspects of video playback. By default, this feature remains disabled, keeping these technical details hidden from the average viewer. When activated, a small overlay appears during video playback, displaying a collection of metrics that reveal everything from your video’s unique identifier to its buffering health and much more.

The feature essentially functions as debug information that YouTube’s own engineers might use to troubleshoot platform issues. It doesn’t contain any personally identifiable information but instead focuses entirely on the technical performance of the video currently playing. For content creators, this represents an opportunity to peek under the hood and understand how their creations perform in various conditions and on different devices.

This tool gained popularity among technically savvy YouTubers who wanted to understand why videos might be stuttering, why quality seemed reduced, or simply to satisfy curiosity about the inner workings of the world’s largest video platform. While YouTube doesn’t actively promote this feature in their marketing materials, it has become a valuable resource for creators looking to deliver the best possible viewing experience to their audience.

Understanding the numbers: What each stat actually means

When you first enable Stats for Nerds, the array of technical information might appear overwhelming – rather like reading the Matrix if you’re not familiar with video encoding. However, understanding these metrics can provide valuable insights for content creators who take the time to learn the language.

Video ID/sCPN represents the unique identifier for your video in YouTube’s vast database along with a code for the specific playback instance. Think of this as your video’s digital fingerprint combined with a serial number for the current viewing session. This information becomes particularly useful when reporting issues to YouTube support, allowing them to track down the exact version of your video being referenced.

Viewport/Frames shows the resolution of the video player window (not the video itself) and the current frame being displayed. This helps creators understand how their content is being framed and if viewers are seeing the video as intended. If viewers frequently watch in smaller viewports, you might consider optimising your visual elements to remain effective at reduced sizes.

Current/Optimal Res displays the resolution at which the video is currently playing compared to its original uploaded resolution. This comparison reveals whether viewers are experiencing your content at its intended quality or if it’s being downgraded due to connection issues or viewer settings. Consistently seeing lower-than-optimal resolutions might suggest reconsidering your production quality to better match typical viewing conditions.

How the stats can improve your content strategy

Beyond satisfying technical curiosity, Stats for Nerds offers practical applications that can significantly impact a creator’s content strategy and technical approach to video production. These insights allow for data-driven decisions rather than shooting in the dark.

For starters, monitoring the Current/Optimal Res stat across multiple videos and viewing sessions provides insight into how YouTube’s algorithms are treating your content. If you consistently see your meticulously produced 4K footage being downgraded to 720p, you might reconsider the resources invested in ultra-high-definition production. Alternatively, you could investigate why the downgrading occurs—perhaps your bitrate is too high, or the content type doesn’t benefit significantly from the higher resolution.

The Buffer Health metric serves as an early warning system for potential playback issues. Content that consistently struggles with buffering might need technical optimisation. Perhaps the encoding settings used during export are creating unnecessarily large files, or the type of content (like fast-moving scenes with complex details) requires more bandwidth to stream smoothly. Creators can experiment with different export settings to find the sweet spot between visual quality and streaming performance.

Codec information helps creators understand how YouTube processes their videos. Different types of content—such as gameplay, animations, or outdoor footage—might benefit from specific optimisation strategies based on the codecs YouTube applies. For instance, knowing that your tutorial videos with static screens are being compressed with a particular codec might inform your decisions about text size, colour contrast, and motion frequency.

Finding technical insights for better audience reach

The Volume/Normalised stat offers insights into audio production quality. If YouTube consistently needs to apply significant normalisation to your audio, it suggests opportunities for improvement in your audio mixing and mastering process. Creators can use this feedback to develop better audio practices that require less algorithmic intervention, resulting in more consistent sound quality across different playback environments.

Network Activity data helps creators understand the bandwidth demands they’re placing on viewers. This becomes especially important when creating content for international audiences or regions with limited internet infrastructure. Balancing quality with accessibility ensures your content reaches the widest possible audience without frustrating viewing experiences. The days of one-size-fits-all video production are long gone for serious creators.

The Connection Speed indicator reveals the viewer’s network connection quality. While this primarily reflects the viewer’s internet situation rather than anything about your content, it provides essential context for interpreting other metrics like buffer health and resolution. Creators targeting emerging markets might find this particularly valuable when determining appropriate quality settings for their target audience.

How to enable stats for nerds on different platforms

Accessing this wealth of technical information requires just a few simple steps, with slight variations depending on your device. The process is straightforward regardless of whether you’re on desktop or mobile.

These cats are looking for YouTube's Stats for Nerds

On desktop computers, start by opening any YouTube video in your browser. While the video is playing, right-click anywhere on the video player to bring up the context menu. From there, select the “Stats for Nerds” option to display the overlay with all the technical metrics. The stats window can be moved around the screen if it obscures important content, and you can close it by clicking the X in the corner of the overlay.

For Android users, begin by opening the YouTube app and tapping your profile picture in the top right corner. From there, tap the gear icon to access Settings, then select “General.” Scroll down to find and enable the “Stats for Nerds” toggle. Once enabled, play any video, tap the three-dot “More” button in the player, and select the “Status” button to display the stats overlay.

iOS and iPad users follow a similar process to their Android counterparts. Open the YouTube app and go to Settings by tapping your profile picture and then the gear icon. Enable the “Stats for Nerds” option in the settings menu. After enabling, play a video, tap the “More” button in the player, and select the “Status” icon to view the stats.

Turning off the feature when you’re done

To disable the feature when you no longer need it, simply retrace your steps through the same menus. On desktop, the overlay disappears when you close the video or refresh the page, but on mobile devices, you’ll need to return to Settings > General and toggle off the “Enable Stats for Nerds” option. The stats won’t appear during playback once this setting is disabled.

Some users may find the overlay distracting during normal viewing, so it’s worth remembering how to toggle it off when you’re not actively using it for analysis. The feature is designed to be non-intrusive when disabled, ensuring it won’t impact your regular YouTube experience once you’ve finished your technical investigation.

Practical applications for content optimisation

Armed with an understanding of what these statistics mean, creators can implement practical strategies to enhance their content and viewing experience based on the insights provided. These technical details, once demystified, become powerful tools in a creator’s arsenal.

Video resolution stats can inform production decisions about camera equipment, rendering settings, and export parameters. If analytics show that the majority of your audience watches on mobile devices at 720p regardless of the uploaded quality, you might reconsider the time and storage invested in 4K production. Alternatively, you might identify opportunities to optimise elements like text size and visual details to remain effective at lower resolutions.

Buffer health metrics provide feedback on how streamable your content is across different network conditions. Creators can use this information to experiment with different encoding settings that maintain visual quality while improving playback reliability. For content destined for regions with limited internet infrastructure, these insights become invaluable for ensuring accessibility.

Using technical data for creative advantage

YouTube’s Stats for Nerds feature, despite its technical nature, offers valuable insights that content creators can leverage to enhance both their production process and the viewer experience. By understanding the numbers behind video playback, creators can make informed decisions about everything from camera equipment to export settings, ultimately delivering content that performs reliably across diverse viewing conditions.

While not every creator needs to become a technical expert, a basic understanding of these statistics may provide a competitive edge. The feature functions as a direct line of feedback from YouTube’s delivery system, offering actionable data that can guide technical optimisations and content strategy.

As viewers’ expectations for quality and reliability continue to rise, creators who understand and respond to these technical aspects of content delivery position themselves for greater success. YouTube’s Stats for Nerds, far from being just for the technically inclined, represents an opportunity for any serious creator to refine their craft and better serve their audience through informed technical decisions. Sometimes the difference between good and great content comes down to these seemingly small technical details that viewers might never consciously notice – but will certainly appreciate.

Vehicle Motion Cues is Apple’s solution for car sickness

By
Marius Berg
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0

Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues feature in iOS 18 offers a practical solution for motion sickness when using devices in moving vehicles. This accessibility addition tackles a common problem with a straightforward approach that could make travel more comfortable for many iPhone users who struggle with queasiness during journeys.

Apple's iPhone Vehicle Motion Cues minimises travel sickness while using your phone on the go.

What Are Vehicle Motion Cues?

Vehicle Motion Cues is an accessibility feature in iOS 18 designed to reduce motion sickness when using an iPhone or iPad while travelling. The system displays small animated dots around the screen edges that respond to vehicle movements, providing visual indicators of motion changes. These visual elements help synchronise what your eyes see with what your inner ear feels, addressing the root cause of motion sickness.

Video courtesy of Apple

Apple introduced this feature as part of its 2024 accessibility updates, targeting the sensory conflict that makes device use uncomfortable during travel. Motion sickness typically occurs when your eyes focus on a stationary screen while your inner ear detects movement, creating conflicting signals that lead to dizziness or nausea. Vehicle Motion Cues works to bridge this sensory gap.

How Vehicle Motion Cues Works

The feature utilises your iPhone’s built-in accelerometer and gyroscope to detect vehicle movement patterns. When your car accelerates, dots on your screen move downward; during braking, they move upward; and when turning, they slide horizontally in the opposite direction.

This visual representation helps align what your eyes see with what your body feels, allowing your brain to process sensory inputs more effectively. The dots appear at the screen edges to provide motion feedback without interfering with your content. The system works best when you’re seated facing forward, as this aligns the visual cues with typical movement perception.

How to Enable Vehicle Motion Cues

Setting up Vehicle Motion Cues takes just a few steps.

Enable Vehicle Motion Cues

1. Open the Settings app
2. Scroll down and tap “Accessibility”
3. Select “Motion”
4. Tap “Show Vehicle Motion Cues”

Automatic vs always-on motion cues

You have three options when enabling the feature. “On” keeps the visual cues active constantly, even when stationary. “Automatic” is more efficient, using your device’s sensors to detect motion and only displaying cues when necessary. “Off” disables the feature completely.

Faster access to Vehicle Motion Cues

For faster access, you can add Vehicle Motion Cues to Control Centre. Open Control Centre by swiping down from the top-right corner (or up from the bottom on older iPhones), press and hold any empty space to customise, tap “Add a Control,” and select “Vehicle Motion Cues.” This creates a one-tap toggle for the feature.

Real-World Benefits

The practical impact of Vehicle Motion Cues can be significant for motion sickness sufferers. One user reported being able to read in a moving vehicle for the first time in 29 years after enabling the feature, completing an entire book chapter during a 24-minute bus ride without discomfort.

The feature functions across various applications, whether you’re reading e-books, watching videos, browsing social media, or checking emails. Apple designed it to be subtle, ensuring the motion cues provide necessary feedback without distracting from your primary content.

When to Use Vehicle Motion Cues

Vehicle Motion Cues is specifically for passengers, not drivers, and Apple warns against using it in situations requiring safety attention. The feature works best when seated facing forward, as the visual cues are calibrated for this orientation. While designed primarily for car and bus travel, it may prove helpful in other transport settings as well.

This feature represents a practical application of existing sensor technology to address a widespread problem. For those who experience motion sickness, it transforms the iPhone from a potential trigger into a potential solution, allowing more comfortable device use during travel without the typical side effects.

What’s New on Netflix in March 2025

By
Marius Berg
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0

Netflix’s March 2025 lineup delivers a compelling mix of high-profile original series, thought-provoking documentaries and blockbuster films that signal the streaming giant isn’t slowing down its content push as autumn arrives. From a White House murder mystery to Meghan Markle’s lifestyle debut and a massive sci-fi epic, viewers will have plenty of reasons to stay indoors as the weather shifts. The streaming service continues its strategy of blending star-powered originals with acquired content to keep subscribers engaged through diverse programming.

Royal Treatment and White House Intrigue

Meghan Markle makes her long-anticipated return to screens with her lifestyle series “With Love, Meghan” premiering on 4 March 2025. The former royal’s venture into the lifestyle content space has generated significant buzz, with the duchess focusing on cooking, gardening, entertaining and hosting tips. The series will showcase Meghan sharing personal tips and tricks, embracing playfulness over perfection, and highlighting how easy it can be to create beauty, even in the unexpected.

For those preferring political intrigue to royal flair, Shonda Rhimes’ latest Netflix production “The Residence” arrives on 20 March. This eight-part murder mystery unfolds within the White House walls and features an impressive ensemble cast including Uzo Aduba, Randall Park, and Giancarlo Esposito. The series combines Rhimes’ signature dramatic storytelling with a closed-door mystery format that transforms the presidential residence into a crime scene. Aduba plays an eccentric detective named Cordelia Cupp, tasked with solving the murder while navigating the complex politics and personalities that populate America’s most famous address.

Meanwhile, “The Lady’s Companion” offers period drama enthusiasts a new obsession starting 28 March. The series follows a chaperone named Elena Bianda hired to find husbands for three wealthy sisters in the late 19th century, only to become entangled in a world of “love, scandal and comic intrigue”.

Comedy and Reality Competition Take Centre Stage

John Mulaney returns to Netflix with his new weekly live talk show “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney,” premiering on 12 March. ET, with 12 weekly episodes airing on consecutive Wednesdays. The comedian’s sharp wit and unique perspective on current events should provide a refreshing take on the talk show format.

For those seeking lighter fare, “The Potato Lab” debuts on 1 March, following a potato-crazy researcher named Kim Mi-kyung whose life takes a turn when a principled director named So Baek-ho arrives at her potato research center.

Reality competition fans have several new options this month. “Million Dollar Secret” premieres on 26 March, featuring twelve strangers in a lakeside estate playing a high-stakes game of deception. One contestant secretly holds $1,000,000 and must keep their identity hidden to keep the cash. The show will be released in batches, with the first three episodes available on 26 March.

True Crime and Documentary Offerings

March brings several compelling documentary options for true crime enthusiasts. “Chaos: The Manson Murders” arrives on 7 March, offering a new perspective on one of America’s most infamous criminal cases. Directed by Errol Morris, the documentary explores newly revealed links between the CIA, LSD, Charles Manson, and other key figures from the era, challenging the official accounts of the 1960s’ most infamous killing spree.

“American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden” premieres on 10 March, exploring one of history’s most extensive manhunts1.

“Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure” premieres on 27 March, documenting the real-life treasure hunt sparked by eccentric millionaire Forrest Fenn, who hid a chest of gold somewhere in the Rocky Mountains and left cryptic clues in a poem.

The month concludes with “Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer” on 31 March, a documentary from Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus examining the unsolved cases of young women who disappeared from New York City and Long Island. The documentary promises to deliver “the definitive look at the twists and turns in a case that dominated headlines” for 13 years until a suspect was arrested in July 2023.

Returning Favourites and Acquired Content

Several fan-favourite series return with new seasons in March. “Survival of the Thickest” comes back for its second season on March 27, following Mavis as her “styling brand on the rise — and her love life on the rocks”.

“Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black” returns with the second part of its first season on 6 March, while “Hot Wheels Let’s Race” races back for a third season on 3 March.

Netflix also adds some beloved films to its catalogue, including “50 First Dates,” “Pride & Prejudice,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Blade Runner: The Final Cut,” and “Wedding Crashers” all arriving on 1 March.

Blockbuster Films Worth Noting

Though not series, a few film premieres deserve mention for their scale and star power. Most notably, “The Electric State” lands on 14 March, representing one of Netflix’s biggest investments of the year. This sci-fi adventure directed by the Russo brothers stars Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in a post-apocalyptic world following a robot rebellion.

Animation fans can look forward to “Plankton: The Movie” on 7 March, a spin-off from the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise.

These free Lightroom alternatives might be just what you need

By
Marius Berg
-
0

Think of photo editing like learning to ride a bike—you don’t need the most expensive gear to get started, just something reliable that keeps you upright. Adobe Lightroom has been the “fancy carbon-fiber bike” of photo editing for years, but its subscription fees can feel like paying monthly rent for a helmet.

In 2025, free alternatives have become surprisingly powerful, acting like training wheels that gradually let you pedal faster. Let’s break down your options without the jargon, so you can start polishing your photos today.

Is a free Lightroom alternative a better way to go?

Why consider free alternatives? (And what even is Lightroom?)

Lightroom is like a digital darkroom where photographers organize, tweak, and perfect their images. It’s famous for two things:

  1. Library system: A photo filing cabinet that auto-tags images (e.g., “sunset” or “portrait”).
  2. Editing tools: Sliders and filters to fix colors, brightness, presets, and even remove photo-bombing pigeons.

It also comes bundled with Adobe Photoshop, so that’s a big plus.

But here’s the catch: Lightroom costs at least US$120/year—enough to buy a decent camera strap or a year of cloud storage. Free alternatives now offer similar basics, minus the recurring bill.

Top free Lightroom alternatives for beginners

Darktable (Free forever)

Best for: “I’m ready to graduate from phone apps to pro tools.”

Beginner-friendly features in Darktable include:

  • Presets: One-click fixes for common issues (e.g., “Fix Dark Indoors”).
  • Self-Healing Brush: Erase dust spots or stray crumbs from food photos.
  • Before/After View: Split your screen to see edits in real time.

Think of it as: Lightroom’s free twin, but with slightly more buttons. The interface looks intimidating at first, but its online tutorials are superb.

Pro tip: Stick to the “Basic” panel first—ignore the scary “Color Zones” until week two.

RawTherapee (Free forever)

Best for: “I shoot in RAW and want my photos to look natural.”

Simple strengths of RawTherapee:

  • Exposure Fixer: Salvages photos that are too dark or blown out.
  • Noise Reduction: Makes grainy night shots look smoother.
  • Crop & Straighten: Fix crooked horizons or messy compositions.

Think of it as: A Swiss Army knife—it’s not pretty, but it’s reliable. Great for landscapes or real estate photos.

Your first edit:

  1. Drag your photo into RawTherapee.
  2. Try “Auto Levels” under the “Exposure” tab.
  3. Adjust “Vibrance” (makes colors pop without oversaturating).

GIMP + Darktable Plugins (Free combo)

GIMP is best for: “I want Photoshop-like power without the price tag.”

Dynamic duo:

  • Use Darktable to organize and do basic edits.
  • Jump to GIMP for advanced fixes (removing objects, adding text).

Think of it as: A free Lego set—separate pieces that click together.

Starter workflow:

  1. Edit exposure in Darktable.
  2. Right-click the photo → “Edit in GIMP.”
  3. Use the “Heal Tool” to erase photobombers.

Snapseed (for mobile photographers – also free)

Snapseed remains a top choice for photographers who want professional-grade edits directly on their Android or Apple smartphones. Its intuitive interface hides surprising depth, offering tools that rival desktop software—all for free. Think of it as a pocket-sized darkroom that lets you tweak exposure, erase distractions, and fine-tune colors while waiting for your coffee.

Key features for beginners:

  • Magic Eraser (Healing Brush): Remove stray objects like litter or photobombers by brushing over them. Snapseed blends the area seamlessly, like a digital bandage.
  • Selective Adjust: Brighten just your subject’s face or add pop to a dull sky without affecting the whole photo. Pinpoint adjustments with a finger tap.
  • Curves Tool: A graph-based tool for adjusting shadows, midtones, and highlights. Drag points to add contrast or fix washed-out colors—no math required.
  • QR code presets: Scan a code to apply pro-level edits instantly. Found a “Moody Portrait” style you love? Save it as your own QR code for future use.

Downsides to note:

  • No cloud sync: Unlike Lightroom, edits stay on your device unless manually backed up.
  • Basic text tools: Adding text overlays feels limited compared to Canva or Photoshop Express.
  • No video support: Strictly for photos—no reels or clips.

Think of it as: A Swiss Army knife for mobile editing. It won’t win beauty contests, but it’ll fix almost any photo flaw in seconds.

Pro tip: Start with the “Selective Adjust” and “Healing Brush” tools. Leave the “Curves” for week two—it’s powerful but less intimidating once you’ve mastered basics like exposure.

Free vs. Lightroom: What you gain (and miss)

FeatureFree ToolsLightroom
Cost$0 forever$120/year
Ease of UseSimple sliders, fewer optionsPolished interface, but complex menus
AI ToolsBasic auto-fixes (Luminar/Fotor)Advanced AI masking/object removal
OrganizationFolder-based (manual tagging)Automatic tagging/search
SupportForums/YouTube tutorials24/7 Adobe customer service

We think you should go with Lightroom if: You edit 100+ photos weekly or need cloud sync across devices.

“Will my photos look cheap?” (Spoiler: no)

Modern free tools have closed the quality gap with Lightroom, especially for everyday edits. Test it yourself:

  • Edit the same photo in Lightroom and a free tool.
  • Post both online—see if anyone notices.

Free 2025 photo tools are like thrift-store vinyl—undervalued gems waiting to be discovered. Start with Snapseed and then explore tools like Darktable and Gimp as your skills grow. Remember: Ansel Adams didn’t have Lightroom either, and his photos turned out okay.

Now go fix that underexposed birthday photo—your future Instagram followers will thank you.

Got $$ and thinking about splashing on Lightroom?

We’re not saying that Lightroom isn’t right for you! It might be just what you need to take your photography editing and organisation to the next level.

Check our other write-up to find out whether Lightroom might be worth it for you.

Review: Perplexity Deep Research has become my daily research sidekick

By
Marius Berg
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0

Let’s be honest: when you hear “AI research tool,” you probably think of ChatGPT. It’s the big name everyone knows. But after using Perplexity’s Deep Research feature daily for over a month now, I’m questioning why Perplexity is seen as an underdog still. Here’s why I think it’s worth your attention, even if you’re already using OpenAI’s tools.

And yes, I DID use Perplexity Deep Research to help me research and write this review about Perplexity Deep Research. Just so that’s said.

Yes, I did use Perplexiy Deep Research
This review reflects our independent and honest opinion. We were not compensated for this review, and we covered all the costs to try the product or service ourselves.

What even is Perplexity Deep Research?

For the uninitiated, Perplexity AI is like a hybrid of Google and ChatGPT—it answers questions conversationally but cites sources like a research assistant. The Deep Research mode takes this further by acting like a PhD student who actually does their homework.

Instead of giving you a quick, surface-level answer, it spends 2–4 minutes combing through 50–100+ sources (academic papers, news articles, industry reports) to build detailed, structured reports. The wait can get a bit wait-ey at times, but it’s so, so worth it when you consider the hours and hours of manual research and drafting that I would otherwise have to do.

Why I Keep Coming Back: Standout Features

1. Breadth over bullsh*t

ChatGPT often gives confident, generic answers. Deep Research does the opposite: it shows its work. Every claim links to a source, and it prioritises recent, authoritative publications.

This doesn’t mean zero errors. I’ve caught the occasional outdated stat or misinterpreted study. But unlike ChatGPT, where fact-checking feels like a treasure hunt, this tool lets me click citations to verify sources instantly.

2. Transparency you can actually use

Most AI tools are black boxes. Deep Research shows its logic flow, like so:

Yes, I used Perplexity Deep Research to help me with this review of Perplexity Deep Research!

3. No subscription heartburn

Using Perplexity Deep Research is free, with a five prompts per day limit. Paying Perplexity Pro subscribers, at US$20/month, get unlimited use of Deep Research.

Until yesterday, when OpenAI’s research feature would cost you US$200/month, Perplexity Deep Research, felt like a steal in comparison. Now that OpenAI has made their research feature available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers (US$20/month) the steal is slightly less steal-ey (if that’s a thing). Still, there’s no free access to the research feature in ChatGPT, so Perplexity are still ahead.

Where it stumbles (because nothing’s perfect)

1. The “Why Aren’t You Listening?!” Quirk

Deep Research sometimes ignores custom instructions from my Perplexity Spaces (workspaces where you set preferences like tone or formatting). For instance, I’ve asked it to use Australian English spelling and sentence case for headings, only to constantly get output in AmericaniZed English and headlines littered with capital letters (like 👆👆). And don’t get me started on asking for mostly paragraphs and not too many dotpoint lists…

That said, where other AI tools so far are 60% results for 30% effort, Perplexity with Deep Research is pretty close to being a perfect 80:20 tool – 80% results for 20% effort. That’s really decent. And I enjoy editing, so I enjoy working through that last 20% myself.

2. Need for speed (or lack thereof)

Responses take 2–4 minutes—lightyears in internet time. While the wait is justified by the depth, I’d love a “lite” mode for follow-up questions and quicker tasks. That said, you can wander off and return later, which takes the edge off.

3. Source control? What’s that?

While you can select whether Deep Research should look at websites, social media and/or academic sources, you can’t really do more fine-grained filtering of sources by type (e.g., “only peer-reviewed studies” or “prioritise Australian publications”). For localised topics like Australia’s AI strategy, this means sifting through irrelevant international papers.

Deep Research vs. ChatGPT: The lowdown

I’ve used both extensively. Here’s the tea:

ScenarioDeep ResearchChatGPT Pro
Writing a technical blog✅ 80% draft-ready content with citations✅ 50% content, ❌ hours of fact-checking
Explaining niche concepts✅ “Here’s how blockchain oracles work, per IEEE”✅ “Blockchain oracles connect smart contracts” (vague)
Urgent deadline❌ 4-minute wait✅ Instant (but shallow) reply

For deep dives, Deep Research is my go-to. For quick grammar checks or brainstorming? ChatGPT (you can actually also use GPT-4o within Perplexity) still wins.

Who’s This Actually For?

  • Content creators who need publish-ready drafts fast.
  • Students writing research papers (RIP all-nighter trauma).
  • Professionals prepping reports or staying updated in their field.

It’s not for casual queries like “best pizza near me.” Save that for Google.

The verdict: Try it before defaulting to ChatGPT

Perplexity Deep Research isn’t flawless, but it does something revolutionary: it respects your time and intelligence. Instead of handing you a shiny, unverified answer, it gives you the tools to validate its work. For research-heavy tasks, that’s a game-changer—especially at $20/month with no hidden costs and no usage limits.

Timberborn review 2025 – clever beavers and water management made fun

By
Vincent
-
0

When I first played Timberborn, I thought it would be a cute version of Cities: Skylines. Instead, I found a city-building game that’s both simpler and more inventive. Four years after its early access launch, developer Mechanistry has polished this beaver society simulator into one of the most refreshing strategy games around.

With its latest updates adding 3D terrain shaping and creative transit systems, Timberborn in 2025 proves that smart design and regular updates can keep a game feeling fresh.

This review reflects our independent and honest opinion. We were not compensated for this review, and we covered all the costs to try the product or service ourselves.
timberborn

A streamlined city-builder with teeth

What makes Timberborn stand out is how it simplifies the basics of city-building. While games like Cities: Skylines overwhelm you with traffic management and tax rates, here the priorities are clear: water, food, and vertical space. My first colony failed because I didn’t store enough water before a drought—a harsh lesson that beavers live by nature’s rules, not spreadsheets.

The 2025 updates enhance this focus. The new terrain tools let you carve hills into solar farms or dig tunnels for underground crops without complicating the core gameplay. It’s all about solving practical problems: How do you keep water flowing during dry seasons? How do you build upward when land is scarce? The answer usually involves creative dam systems and multi-level treehouses.

Beavers: More than a gimmick

At first glance, the beaver theme seems quirky. But these rodents aren’t just cute—they’re central to the gameplay. Watching them build intricate dams or ride ziplines between treetops adds personality to every project. The two factions (nature-loving Folktails and factory-focused Iron Teeth) keep things interesting. Folktails use renewable energy and tree-based transport, while Iron Teeth rely on steam power and robot workers.

The art style, which I’d describe as “charming and clean,” makes every structure feel part of a cohesive world. Folktail villages look like eco-friendly treehouse complexes, while Iron Teeth colonies resemble steampunk factories. Even the day/night cycle, which initially annoyed me by halting construction, grew on me. Nighttime shows off glowing buildings and tired beavers yawning—a small touch that adds life to the world.

Water physics: The real star

Early gameplay revolves around surviving droughts. You’ll build reservoirs, redirect rivers, and panic when your water supply runs low. The game’s 3D water system (added in 2024’s Update 6) turns this into a puzzle. Water flows realistically—if you dam a river too high, it might drain completely; too low, and toxic “badwater” can poison your supply.

My proudest moment was creating a spiral aqueduct that pumped water uphill during droughts. Update 7’s experimental 3D terraforming lets you shape landscapes like clay, enabling projects like underground farms or cliffside villages. One misstep flooded my colony (beavers hate soggy bedrooms), but that’s part of the fun.

From survival to mega-projects

The game progresses naturally. Early hours focus on basics like storing food and building levees. Once you’ve mastered droughts, the real creativity begins. Late-game goals include constructing massive dams, solar arrays, and even floating districts. The Iron Teeth’s vacuum tube transport system (Update 7) turns resource distribution into a satisfying chain reaction, while Folktail ziplines make commuting look like a theme park ride.

Researching new tech starts slow but avoids overwhelming players. You’ll unlock essentials like water pumps before tackling advanced projects. My current colony has a geothermal plant inside a volcano and a suspended reservoir held up by hydraulic lifts—proof that the game rewards bold ideas.

Sound and atmosphere

The soundtrack adapts to your situation. Peaceful banjo tunes play during prosperous times, switching to tense strings when droughts hit. Sound effects sell the world: water splashes through canals, sawmills hum, and beavers chatter while working. My only gripe is the night cycle interrupting big projects, but the starry skies and firefly effects make up for it.

Updates and mods keep it fresh

Mechanistry’s commitment to updates sets Timberborn apart. Major additions like badwater mechanics (2024) and 3D terraforming (2025) expanded gameplay without clutter. Steam Workshop support unleashed mods ranging from practical tools to silly additions like beaver amusement parks. My favorite mod adds automated filters that clean toxic water—no more antidote factories!

Hardware hurdles? More like pebbles!

Four years post-launch, Timberborn remains impressively accessible. The minimum specs—a GTX 1050 or Radeon R9 380 with 4GB RAM—could run on a toaster if that toaster had USB ports. My 2019 laptop (the kind that sounds like a jet engine) handles small colonies smoothly, though late-game megaprojects demand the recommended RTX 2700/RX 5700 or better. The real bottleneck? CPU power for simulating 500 beavers hauling logs like furry ants. Pro tip: disable shadows before constructing your 40th waterfall generator.

Time investment – from lunch break to log empire

This isn’t Civilization’s “one more turn” trap. Sessions flex to your schedule—pause indefinitely while designing that perfect spiral dam, or speed through drought cycles during laundry breaks. The tutorial’s rough edges vanish after two hours, leaving you free to focus on important decisions like “Should the berry farm have rooftop housing or an attached waterslide?” A satisfying playthrough takes 20-30 hours, but creative types (read: dam obsessives) easily triple that.

Pricing? Worth every acorn

Following a 2024 price hike to $34.99 USD, Timberborn sits at the premium end of indie pricing. Yet frequent 20-30% sales soften the blow, and the content justifies the cost—I’ve spent more on coffee during a single playthrough. Console players might wince, but PC builders appreciate the lack of DRM and tiny 5GB install. Bonus: purchasing supports a dev team that actually listens to feedback, unlike certain AAA studios we could name.

The verdict: Still a 5-star game in 2025

Timberborn succeeds by blending challenge with charm. It’s easier to learn than Frostpunk but deeper than most city-builders, offering hundreds of hours of creative problem-solving. While the research system could be less grindy and multiplayer remains absent, these are minor flaws in an otherwise brilliant package.

For strategy fans, creative builders, or anyone tired of grim post-apocalyptic games, Timberborn delivers a hopeful, inventive take on survival. Five stars—this is the rare game that makes managing water levels feel heroic.

Timberborn is available at Steam, GOG, Epic and Humble.

Adobe Lightroom vs Photoshop – this is the right tool for you

By
Marius Berg
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0

If you’re new to photo editing, Adobe’s two big names—Lightroom and Photoshop—can feel overwhelming. Both promise to make your photos shine, but they’re designed for different goals. Let’s simplify the choice of Lightroom vs Photoshop, whether you’re polishing vacation snaps, restoring old family photos, or dipping your toes into creative editing.

Adobe Lightroom vs Photoshop

Meet the contenders

Lightroom: The organiser-editor hybrid

Think of Lightroom as a personal assistant for your photos. It’s built to manage thousands of images while making broad adjustments efficiently. When you shoot 300 sunrise photos on a trip, Lightroom helps you:

  • Sort and tag images by location, date, or subject (no more “Untitled Folder 347”)
  • Apply edits non-destructively, meaning your original files stay untouched—like writing notes on sticky pads instead of scribbling on a photo print
  • Apply a baseline creative look with the help of Lightroom presets.
  • Sync changes across batches—brighten all underexposed shots with one slider

For example, you can fix a too-dark group photo, then apply those exact lighting adjustments to every image from that event. Recent updates even let Lightroom’s AI select skies or people automatically, saving hours of manual masking.

Unsure if Lightroom is worth the price? Check out why Adobe Lightroom may or may not be worth your money!

Photoshop: The precision powerhouse

Photoshop is your digital art studio. It’s where you tackle pixel-level edits: removing photobombers, swapping backgrounds, or restoring damaged prints. While Lightroom adjusts existing elements, Photoshop lets you create new ones.

Say you took a great portrait with a cluttered background. In Photoshop, you could:

  • Erase distractions using Generative Fill (AI replaces empty spaces with matching textures)
  • Smooth skin imperfections without affecting hair details
  • Add dramatic lighting with custom brushes

The catch? It’s like learning to paint: powerful, but time-intensive.

Lightroom vs Photoshop key differences (without the jargon)

Editing approach

  • Lightroom streamlines workflows. Adjust exposure, color, and cropping across hundreds of photos in minutes. It’s ideal for consistency—making all your autumn leaf photos share the same warm glow.
  • Photoshop focuses on single-image transformations. Want to place your dog into a medieval painting? That’s Photoshop territory.

Learning curve

  • Lightroom basics take a weekend to grasp. Sliders for exposure, contrast, and color feel intuitive, like using a premium phone editor with extra knobs.
  • Photoshop demands patience. Layers, masks, and blending modes can confuse newcomers—though Adobe’s tutorials help.

Mobile experience

  • Lightroom’s mobile app mirrors desktop features. Edit RAW files on your phone, sync to the cloud, and finish later on a laptop.
  • Photoshop on iPad still lacks some desktop tools, making complex projects harder on tablets.

Cost considerations

Adobe’s Photography Plan (US$19.99/month) bundles both apps with 1TB cloud storage. But extras add up:

  • Plugins: Photoshop’s third-party tools (e.g., Luminar Neo for skies) cost extra
  • Storage: Shooting 500+ RAW files monthly? You’ll need external drives once cloud space fills

Lightroom vs Photoshop in everyday scenarios

Situation 1: You took 200+ photos at a wedding

Lightroom shines here. Cull rejects quickly, adjust white balance across all ceremony shots, and export client galleries. The “Virtual Copy” feature lets you experiment—create moody black-and-white versions without duplicating massive files.

Situation 2: Fixing a damaged family photo

Photoshop is essential. Heirloom prints with scratches or fading require manual touch-ups. Clone Stamp mends tears, while AI-powered Neural Filters can colorize black-and-white images convincingly.

Situation 3: Enhancing landscapes for social media

Start in Lightroom: Boost shadows, tweak vibrancy, apply a “Golden Hour” preset.
Switch to Photoshop if the sky looks dull. Replace it with a stock image, blend seamlessly with gradient masks, then add sun flares for drama.

When (and How) to use both

Most hobbyists blend the apps:

  1. Lightroom first: Import, tag, and make initial edits. Use AI masking to brighten faces or enhance skies.
  2. Photoshop finishing: Send standout shots for polish. Remove sensor dust spots, reshape horizons, or add creative text.

Pro tip: Right-click any Lightroom photo and select “Edit in Photoshop.” Edits sync back to Lightroom automatically, keeping your catalog organized.

Hardware tips for smooth editing

  • Lightroom runs smoothly on most modern laptops. Prioritize RAM (16GB+) for large catalogs.
  • Photoshop needs more muscle. Modern GPUs will speed up AI tools. To get good performance, you will need a GPU an average of at least 2000 Ops/Sec PassMark’s GPU Computer Benchmark Chart.

For budget setups:

  • Use Lightroom’s cloud storage to offload older photos
  • Close other apps while running Photoshop

Free alternatives to Lightroom and Photoshop

Not ready for subscriptions? Try a free alternative:

  • Lightroom-like: Apple Photos (Mac), Google Photos (basic edits + cloud), ACDSee Photo Studio
  • Photoshop-like: GIMP (free but complex), Canva (drag-and-drop design)

These lack Adobe’s polish but help gauge your editing needs.

Final advice: Start simple

New photographers often overestimate needing Photoshop. Ask yourself:

  • Do I edit in bulk or one image at a time?
  • Am I fixing mistakes or creating art?
  • Will I edit weekly or occasionally?

If you mostly share casual shots, Lightroom suffices. Its cloud storage and mobile sync simplify on-the-go editing. Photoshop becomes worthwhile when you outgrow Lightroom’s limits—say, needing to composite images or retouch portraits professionally.

Neither tool is “better”—they solve different problems. Lightroom simplifies managing and enhancing photo collections, while Photoshop unlocks creative possibilities (at the cost of complexity). Most enthusiasts eventually use both, but begin with Lightroom. Its gentler learning curve lets you master editing fundamentals before graduating to Photoshop’s advanced toolkit. Remember: Great photos start with a good shot, not just software. Focus on lighting and composition first; let these tools enhance—not rescue—your work.

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