Posted by Jim DeWitt on March 28, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I note that Aperture, Apple's photo work-flow management application, has an update posted today that adds better support for plug-ins. The update includes a "dodge and burn" tool, that I haven't evaluated yet.
So I'd like to use this thread to discuss plug-ins generally and for Photoshop (or whatever digital editor you use) in particular. For example, AKVIS has a plug-in for recovering details in shadows and highlights that gets favorable comments. Some folks at NPN, myself included, use Noise Ninja.
I use Noise Ninja and PK Sharpener in CS3. In Noise Ninja I mostly use the brushes as I can do selective sharpening. The 3 step process in PK sharpener is fantastic. However. the people who wrote the sharpening stuff for Adobe Camera Raw are the same as those who wrote PK Sharpener. So, I use the ACR sharpening as the Capture Sharpening step and use the plug in for creative and output sharpening.
I use Neat Image Pro+ as a plug-in and also as a stand-alone app for noise reduction. Nice program.
Although not a plug-in, 'Easy Thumbs' is a nice application for creating thumbnail images. It can do either single images, or batch processing. It is free from Fookes.com .
-PB
Posted by Scott Reeves on March 29, 2008 at 12:27 AM
Primarily:
- Lightroom - sharpening set to 0%, vibrance +10, sat +10, custom WB.
- CS3/PS
Alternates:
- Capture NX
- ACR
PS Plugins:
- Viveza - Really like it
- Color Efex Pro 3.0 - tried the trial, like it, but too expensive for the few filters I found I used
- Noise Ninja - I'll have to try brushing for selective sharpening, as mentioned above. I thoroughly studied the help guide to learn how to use it properly, including custom profiling. However, I still find the loss of detail to be intolerable. If I use it - rarely anymore - I then mask the layer in PS as appropriate.
Posted by Carol Hyman on March 29, 2008 at 1:20 AM
Noiseware Professional - PS Plugin. Without it I could never shoot at ISO 800 on my D200.
Carol
Posted by Ernie Atkins on March 29, 2008 at 6:37 PM
I purchased Noise Ninja and was happy with it until I tried the Nik Dfine 2.0 noise reduction plug-in. I took some high ISO shots and the Nik plug-in really did a much nicer job than Noise Ninja - better noise reduction, less detail loss and better user interface. I've also used their Color Efex Pro 3.0 - very pricey as mentioned above but I do portrait and wedding shots so I use it regularly. For sharpening I have been using the FREE PS scripts from The Lights Right Studio. Glen Mitchell has quite a bit there including a great e-book on sharpening. All of his actions are free - much to the chagrin of folks at Pixel Genius it would seem. Check out the website if you really want the scoop on sharpening the multi-step way as advocated by Pixel Genius folks (including Bruce Fraser).
Posted by John Mumaw on March 31, 2008 at 10:35 AM
I also have Noise Ninja for selective noise removal, though I don't use it very often as I almost always use low ISO speeds.
I also use the free TLR Professional Sharpening Toolkit mentioned earlier. This is a superb, equally capable (and free!) alternative to the $100 PK Sharpener also noted earlier. Mitch has many other excellent actions and scripts freely available.
The best investment I've made in 6 years of using PS as my digital darkroom is with Tony Kuyper's Luminosity Mask actions. These actions create targeted (masked), self feathering adjustment layers for tonal changes that are simply invaluable for a landscape photographer.
Speaking of 'actions', you can find almost 175 free PS actions over at Action Central. I'm willing to bet that you'll find at least one or two that will complement your digital darkroom.
Discussion
6 repliesSo I'd like to use this thread to discuss plug-ins generally and for Photoshop (or whatever digital editor you use) in particular. For example, AKVIS has a plug-in for recovering details in shadows and highlights that gets favorable comments. Some folks at NPN, myself included, use Noise Ninja.
Are there others you like and use?
Although not a plug-in, 'Easy Thumbs' is a nice application for creating thumbnail images. It can do either single images, or batch processing. It is free from Fookes.com .
-PB
- Lightroom - sharpening set to 0%, vibrance +10, sat +10, custom WB.
- CS3/PS
Alternates:
- Capture NX
- ACR
PS Plugins:
- Viveza - Really like it
- Color Efex Pro 3.0 - tried the trial, like it, but too expensive for the few filters I found I used
- Noise Ninja - I'll have to try brushing for selective sharpening, as mentioned above. I thoroughly studied the help guide to learn how to use it properly, including custom profiling. However, I still find the loss of detail to be intolerable. If I use it - rarely anymore - I then mask the layer in PS as appropriate.
Carol
I also use the free TLR Professional Sharpening Toolkit mentioned earlier. This is a superb, equally capable (and free!) alternative to the $100 PK Sharpener also noted earlier. Mitch has many other excellent actions and scripts freely available.
The best investment I've made in 6 years of using PS as my digital darkroom is with Tony Kuyper's Luminosity Mask actions. These actions create targeted (masked), self feathering adjustment layers for tonal changes that are simply invaluable for a landscape photographer.
Speaking of 'actions', you can find almost 175 free PS actions over at Action Central. I'm willing to bet that you'll find at least one or two that will complement your digital darkroom.