Tried the new download? Version 14 !

[lutz]

Thanks for the new CURVES dialog - this one looks more user friendly than the previous CLUT version. Similarly nice is the dedicated icon for the cropping function.
... and 34 types of working layers !!!

[Koyaanis]

Thanks for the heads-up!

Downloading it now.

I got a chance to play with some of the betas for this one. Did you check out the HDR alignment tools? Or the "Test Strip" options (on the Layout menu). That one just saved me a ton of paper and ink. I also like the new "Create a Ruler" tool so I can add a quick scale reference on my macro photos.

So many new features to explore and play with.

It'll be interesting to see how their released verion turned out.

[lutz]

Hi Koyaanis,

I did not have enough time yet to play with all the new toys (HDR,....).
The ruler will certainly be very helpful.
I like especially the trick to create working layers out of the regular dialogs.


Isn't the official name for HD Photo now JPGX or something similar ???

[greenmorpher]

Congratulations to Gerhard, Martin and whoever they have to help them produce this magic.

v.14 is looking excellent.

I have just been to a local shopping mall to take some pictures for a client's website. I have pictures taken inside in which part is in direct sunlight through a glass roof and part is in shadow. I immediately pressed "Image Optimize" into action to excellent effect!

I haven't made any real use of the related light/shadow tool in the past, but the way Image Optimize works grabbed me immediately. Very straightforward (except there must be a better name than "Width" for the width slider (whatever it is!). I liked the way it started off doing a bit of stuff, but not too much, automatically. That started me in the right direction so I could gl further and get the results I want.

I must say, I thought the CLUT tool in v.13.52 was excellent -- the Curves tool is every better.

I'll try the improved HDR tool later tonight.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard, Business Writer & Publisher

"Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes" -- Revealed! The secrets of how you can use type and layout to turbocharge your messages in print. See the book at http://www.worsleypress.com

[greenmorpher]

Hmmm -- I misjudged the "Image Optimize" -- whaqt I got the first time I used it was just the defaults; it remembers the last settings the next time you use it, so you are virtually starting from scratch. Never mine -- it works for me.

The HDR with the two location points is a bit amazing. I've tried it on several photos and it has worked well. The first one I tried it on, though, I didn’t know how to use it properly, and it worked well ... since I have known how to use it properly, it doesn't work nearly as well !!!

Anyway, I will persist. The one that didn’t work well was a lousy example, anyway.


Certainly clever stuff, though.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard, Business Writer & Publisher

"Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes" -- Revealed! The secrets of how you can use type and layout to turbocharge your messages in print. See the book at http://www.worsleypress.com

[Koyaanis]

Hmmm -- I misjudged the "Image Optimize" -- whaqt I got the first time I used it was just the defaults; it remembers the last settings the next time you use it, so you are virtually starting from scratch. Never mine -- it works for me.

Well, it helps to think of "width" as how much of the darkest to mid-tone, or lightest to mid-tone values are going to be affected by the gamma adjustment to each. The same could be done using the Curve (CLUT) tool, by applying a small s-curve or gradual c-curve to each half of the full curve. It would be interesting to have a little "curves" feedback window on these filters and tools, so you could see what they are doing. (Anyone care to post that as a feature request?? I fear I ask for too many new ones.) If you had that "curves preview" window in each tool would make it easier to understand how they operate, as well as letting you see how the same things could be done in the more universal Curves tool, but with lots more work involved. Not to mention you could get a visual feedback on seeing what worked and why so it would be easier to reproduce that effect next time (or to save those as favorite curves to your curves palette?).

The HDR with the two location points is a bit amazing. I've tried it on several photos and it has worked well. The first one I tried it on, though, I didn’t know how to use it properly, and it worked well ... since I have known how to use it properly, it doesn't work nearly as well !!!

I think it still needs some tweaking. It doesn't appear to align images every time according to their adjustment points, at least not to any pixel level precision. I'm not sure what causes it or how to reproduce it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't. I've not played with it enough on enough HDR panels yet to see why. A long winter approaches, plenty of time to test more. It could be the order in which the allignment points are selected or applied. Do it for the topmost image first or something? I don't know.

[greenmorpher]

It would be interesting to have a little "curves" feedback window on these filters and tools (light/shade, Image Optimization), so you could see what they are doing... If you had that "curves preview" window in each tool would make it easier to understand how they operate...

No, no, please not! Leave it off; just let it work!

I think (the HRD alignment tool) still needs some tweaking. It doesn't appear to align images every time according to their adjustment points, at least not to any pixel level precision. I'm not sure what causes it or how to reproduce it.

My further results have been a little mixed too. A couple were close, but not quite right.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard, Business Writer & Publisher

"Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes" -- Revealed! The secrets of how you can use type and layout to turbocharge your messages in print. See the book at http://www.worsleypress.com

[Koyaanis]

Holy &%#@, I didn't realize that "custom" filter was part of the working layer types.

So it's 33 default working layers + 23 custom preset working-layers (on the custom filter drop-down list) for user configurable filters. It doesn't stop there if you create your own filter presets.

55 total working layer types installed by default.

I now wish I spent some time learning how to create filter plugins (special-effects plugin kits use the same dialog as what's in the custom filter). Perhaps a winter project.


p.s. Gerhard, you forgot to add the the Copy-Brush Preview showing individual selected channels now, to your "What's New" list in Announcements.

[Koyaanis]

Now, how about ...

v14.01?

Yay!! (where's the applause button?)

That freeware Topaz DeJPEG artifact cleaner plugin works now!! Whoo-Hooo! Been wanting something like that for PL32 since I gave up on PSP, one of only 2 reasons I even kept PSP still installed. The Topaz freeware JPEG artifact remover is even better than the one in PSP! Much finer control over how the JPG artifacts are removed with very little blurring or noise introduced (PSP's method). For those of you that might have missed my posts about that, here's the link to that freeware plugin again DeJPEG

Font & color options on the "Create a Ruler" tool! Whoo-Hooo!!

My non-sticky more-than-five docked-palettes now seem to be sticky! (but I'm afraid to touch them in case they jump from the side again) Whoo-Hoo!!

Okay, the Andromeda ScatterLight filter for making star-filter effects on candle-lit photos still gets caught in an apply/plugin-reopens loop, but hey, the other stuff is really nice now!

I have to go search out what other things got fixed already.

Anyway ... YAY!!! For v14.01!

Did you folks find anything else in v14.01? I suppose I need to try the HDR alignment tool again. I've a hunch they worked on that too.

(play-time passes ....)

Okay, the HDR alignment is still acting oddly, but I think I might be understanding why it's working or not. It appears that the alignment points are updating the masks being created for each image, but not the orientation of the original images from which the masks are created? Gerhard, does that make sense? Maybe it depends on if you have the lighter or darker ones ordered differently in the thumbnails column? Not sure what's causing it. But ... it's still ... acting weird.