Wondering how to connect all those devices to your computer – here are the best hubs. With a special Apple event scheduled for Monday and rumours about the new laptops everyone’s hoping will be announced, speculation is also rife about which ports the new computers will feature.
Since the introduction of the Thunderbolt/USB-C ports for input/output including power, hubs become a necessary addition to kit lists. Too few peripherals had, or still have, usb-c interfaces so hubs became a way of attaching old devices and increasing the number of peripherals we could attach. On photoshoots these days it’s common for 3 back-up drives, 2 monitors, a printer, power input plus of course a tether cable to be attached at once to the computer as a basic set-up. That’s more than the 4 ports any MacBook Pro allows and even a Mac Pro could be maxed out so hubs are essential. Here are some of the best hubs to use with your computer that Digi-techs use and recommend:
- CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock – the no.1 choice for Digi’s
- CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub – newer, faster, smaller
- Satechi Multi-Port V2 adapter – when there’s no mains power
There are plenty more available which are both cheap and cheerful but we don’t recommend skimping as hubs are real workhorses on set.