New plugin -- Retinex

[photoken]

Russell Cottrell has added a new plugin which works in PhotoLine (he's tested it in PL 19 ) -- a Retinex plugin. Quoting from his Web page:

Retinex image processing attempts to imitate the lightness and color perception of human vision. The image is first mapped to a logarithmic scale, then a Gaussian blurred copy is subtracted as in unsharp masking. The resulting logarithmic values are then scaled to the range of visible image values.

Retinex is best suited for rescuing underexposed or badly color balanced images, or for extracting detail for scientific or technical purposes. It is not always useful for enhancement of well-exposed naturalistic images. For this, histogram equalization, adaptive contrast, or high-radius unsharp masking may be superior. Related techniques include the shadows/highlights and exposure/gamma controls. (And don’t forget auto levels and curves.)

This is the page that explains the plugin and has the download links:
http://www.russellcottrell.com/photo/Retinex.asp

I've tested the x64 plugin in the current PL x64 beta, and it works as described. It's an intriguing plugin and can certainly be a useful tool in the right circumstances. For example, it can be used to "dehaze" an image or increase shadow details. It's tone-mapping can easily give an unpleasant extreme look to an image, so experimentation is definitely in order.

[photoken]

Here's a quick 'n dirty comparison.

The original image is an RW2 taken just before dawn. The image was opened in PL and processed with its default RAW settings. Then I saved it to a 16-bit TIF to get these comparison images (which are a small section of the original image):

RW2 original.jpg

RW2 histogram.jpg

RW2 retinex.jpg

(I reduced the Retinex colour component, so I think that with some more experimentation the Retinex plugin could give a result with a little more colour.)

[iosoio]

Good for forensic files; for law enforcement. Much less for artistic purposes.
I successfully use Perfectly Clear, Focus Magic, Noiseware and the Google bundle (ex Nik's) in v19. Mainly Silver Efex, for the Google bundle.

I cannot use Color Mechanic Pro, which I was in love with.

[Herbert123]

I cannot use Color Mechanic Pro, which I was in love with.

The trial version works for me in Photoline (although I cannot click OK), of course.

[iosoio]

I cannot use Color Mechanic Pro, which I was in love with.

The trial version works for me in Photoline (although I cannot click OK), of course.

It's when I push the OK button that Photoline stops to work.

Bye