group test photoshop cs3 plug-ins

GROUP TEST
PHOTOSHOP CS3
PLUG-INS
ILLUSTRATION: LUKE O’NEILL
THERE IS A PLETHORA OF PLUG-INS FOR THE
DISCERNING PHOTOSHOP DESIGNER – BUT
WHICH ARE WORTHY OF YOUR INVESTMENT?
There are literally thousands of Photoshop
plug-ins and add-ons available on the market
– all of which stretch the capacity of the imageeditor, fine-tuning it even more for your specific
needs. With this in mind, we’ve formulated this
group test to look at new and revamped Photoshop
plug-ins. What’s more, they’re all compatible with
Photoshop CS3. We’ve also endeavoured to ensure
our choice of plug-ins have different benefits for
different kinds, and different levels, of users.
For instance, Tiffen’s Dfx Digital Filter Suite is
aimed at the pro enthusiast digital photographer
image-editing artists, bringing the company’s large
range of traditional lens filters into a digital age. But
Luxology’s imageSynth does something completely
different, helping to create seamless textures out of
low-resolution images. EditLab, on the other hand,
brings a visual, step-by-step process to colour
correction. And finally, onOne’s Plug-In Suite 3
combines masking, image correction and scaling,
and photographic borders in one cheap package.
Anyhow, enough of the summarising… read on to
find out our verdicts.
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A highly professional interface and some highly practical filter effects to
The imageSynth interface makes it extremely simple to generate seamless
match make Tiffen Dfx a very useful plug-in to have at your disposal
textures from low-res images with the minimum of fuss
Tiffen Dfx
MAC Yes
PC Yes
RECOMMENDED
PRICE $159 (Select) $299 (complete)
CONTACT Tiffen www.tiffen.com
T
iffen has long been a company
specialising in photographic
lens filters and other accessories.
But Dfx is the company’s first foray
into digital tools, aimed at
simulating its traditional filters, as
well as loads of other top-quality
photographic effects.
Tiffen’s acquisition of Digital Film
Tools’ 55mm has done a lot to bring
a solid, well thought out and
extremely intuitive plug-in to the
table as its first plug-in release. On
opening it up from the Filter menu
you’re presented with a very
professional interface. Bathed in
grey, it could almost be an Apple
product. It looks fantastic and is
highly customisable, with a vast
array of context-sensitive sliders
and controls nestling to the right of
VERDICT
imageSynth
MAC Yes
PC Yes
PRICE $99
CONTACT Luxology www.luxology.com
a central preview window. To the left
lie presets for each effect – of which
there are many, from traditional
lens filter simulations, to special
effects, such as Light and traditional
processing effects. To select an
effect, you first choose a category,
then, using the preview thumbnails,
choose a specific filter. Next, you
can either choose a preset, or use
the sliders and controls to the right
to tweak until you’ve found the right
balance. There’s over 1,000 gels and
cross-processing and lens distortion
effects all of high quality, and
producing satisfying results.
It’s a top-notch release, and we
don’t have anything bad to say about
it. For £150, it’s a nigh-on essential
buy for anyone wanting more
control over their digital shots.
★ ★ ★★ ★
A
3D artist needs textures.
Fact. But sometimes finding
textures that are big enough can be
a real pain. Generating such
seamless textures in Photoshop
can, for the less experienced, be a
real chore. And that’s where
Luxology’s imageSynth comes in.
The maker of Modo has built
something very special with
imageSynth. It’s one of those apps
that’s so incredibly simple to use,
and fulfils its purpose with the
minimum of fuss. Generating a
texture is a piece of cake. Open up
the plug-in from the Filter menu,
add an image – or more likely a crop
from an image – and then begin
placing the image repetitions on top
of each other. The software, using
advanced tiling algorithms, creates
VERDICT
a seamless, tileable texture as you
click, blending your repetitions
together. It really is that simple.
As you go you can tweak the way in
which your images tile using a
series of sliders, right-click and
scroll-wheel modifiers, and
percentage inputs. As we’ve
mentioned, imageSynth is a very
easy plug-in to use, and it takes
literally minutes to master.
The more you use it, the more
you realise that this isn’t only a great
tool for 3D artists; it’s also ideal for
photographers, image-editors,
architects, graphic designers, and
basically anyone else who needs to
create a high-res, large texture out
of a small image. Simplicity and
power combined, imageSynth tops
it all by being only $99.
★ ★ ★★ ★
A host of processing, lens and filter simulations, a great, professional-feeling
A classic example of a plug-in being made for a job and then being very, very
interface and excellent results make Dfx very good value for money
good at it. Easy to use and a great addition to any digital artist’s toolset
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Mask Pro 4.1 is undoubtedly an excellent tool for creating complex cutouts,
A step-by-step interface provides some easy to use, yet pretty powerful tools,
and in this case forms part of a very accomplished plug-in suite
making colour correction a quick and simple task
Plug-In Suite 3
MAC Yes
PC Yes
PRICE $399
CONTACT onOne Software www.ononesoftware.com
C
onsisting of four of onOne’s
best-known plug-ins – Mask
Pro 4.1, Genuine Fractals 5,
PhotoFrame Pro 3.1 and
Intellihance Pro 4.2 – Plug-In Suite
3 is, at least at first glance, a very
enticing package.
Mask Pro 4.1, for instance, is
a solid masking tool. Using its
excellent Magic Brush tool you can
quickly create complex selections,
and eyedroppers enable you to keep
or drop certain colours to form a
selection. It rivals Vertex’s Fluid
Mask in terms of functionality, but is
a little trickier to get to grips with.
And then there’s Genuine
Fractals. This isn’t the Print Pro
edition – enabling you to work with
16-bit CMYK images as well as LAB
– but is, nevertheless, a masterful
VERDICT
plug-in. There’s nothing better for
enlarging images to huge sizes
(although BlowUp comes close) and
its refined interface makes it a joy to
use. You’ll be using this not only to
get you out of a sticky low-res
situation, but also on a day-to-day
basis as a great way of getting more
out of your images.
Intellihance is a decent tool for
colour correction, and its
straightforward Variations-style
interface certainly makes things
easy for new users. Our only gripe is
it doesn’t work with 16-bit images,
unlike Tiffen Dfx. And, while
PhotoFrame is great at what it does,
we can’t help wondering how much
use it will have in a professional
workflow. Even a pro photographer
is going to use this sparingly.
★ ★ ★★ ★
iCorrect
EditLab Pro 5.5
MAC Yes
PC Yes
PRICE $99
CONTACT PictoColor www.pictocolor.com
C
reative professionals don’t often
favour quick fixes – how often
do you use Auto Levels, for
instance? Never? And why should
you when there are so many
advanced tuning tools in Photoshop.
However, iCorrect EditLab is one
quick fix plug-in that you’d be mad
not to at least try, as it makes colour
correction extremely easy and –
shock horror – pretty enjoyable.
At just $99, it’s certainly affordable
and, in use, it’s very intuitive. After
firing it up from the Filters menu
you’re presented with four steps,
although it’s not a strictly linear
process, as you can switch between
VERDICT
steps at will. The first enables you to
eradicate colour casts by selecting
neutrals in your image. You do this
initially by using an Eyedropper tool,
and then you can tweak the effect
using sliders and even save out the
settings as a preset. Step two
enables you to correct the tonal
range, and step three the
brightness, contrast and saturation.
Finally, stage four of the process
provides a rather interesting colour
wheel dialog. Although this takes a
bit of getting used to, it enables you
to adjust individual hues. At this
point, iCorrect also automatically
corrects skin, blue sky and foliage.
★ ★ ★★ ★
$399 may just be a little too expensive for this bundle, although Mask Pro and
It’s not a tool that will appeal to everyone because it can feel a little basic, but
GF do make it worth considering if image editing is your business
as far as quick colour correction goes, for $99 it’s a damn good buy
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| GROUP TEST
VERDICT:
PHOTOSHOP CS3 PLUG-INS
WHICH CS3 PLUG-IN HAS COME OUT ON TOP?
A
s we mentioned in the
introduction, all of these plugins serve a different purpose for
different users. So, how can we
decide on a winner, making a fair
judgement? Well, the answer lies in
which plug-in serves its intended
purpose the best – also taking into
account value, how it fits into the
Photoshop workflow and how
intuitive it is to use.
The clear winner in this case is
Tiffen Dfx. It has the look of a pro
application and, in use, it’s incredibly
Coming a close second is
quick and versatile. We were big fans Luxology’s imageSynth, which is just
of Digital Film Tools’ 55mm, so to
so brilliant at streamlining what can
We were big fans of Digital Film Tools’ 55mm,
so to have this, plus a load more digital versions
of Tiffen’s lens filters, is just wonderful
have this, plus a load more digital
versions of Tiffen’s lens filters, is just
wonderful. And for £150, it really is
inexpensive for what it does.
be an arduous and drawn-out
process – creating seamless
textures. In fact, none of these
plug-ins are stinkers and, with the
possible exception of PhotoFrame,
we can see a use for all of the
applications featured here in a
professional, and non-professional
context. Especially the likes of
Genuine Fractals, which makes light
work of enlarging images.
So, it’s really about deciding on
what you need to streamline your
workflow and make your life as a
creative professional easier. Once you
know, there’s a plug-in waiting for
your attention.
WHICH PRODUCT IS BEST FOR YOU?
TIFFEN DFX
IMAGESYNTH
PLUG-IN SUITE 3
ICORRECT EDITLAB PRO 5.5
ER • WINNER
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COMPANY
The Tiffen Company
Luxology
onOne Software
PictoColor
PRICE
$299
$99
$399
$99
URL
www.tiffen.com
www.luxology.com
www.ononesoftware.
com
www.pictocolor.com
AIMED AT
Photographers/
image-editors
3D artists/graphic
designers
Image editors/creative
professionals
Beginner photo-editors/
inexperienced colour
correctors
PROS
Excellent interface,
highly usable tools,
extremely fast
Easy to use, produces
high-quality results
An excellent bundle of
tools, Genuine Fractals
is very useful
Simple step-by-step
interface
CONS
You’ll never use
some of the effects
– too garish!
Very specialised
Too expensive for most
and PhotoFrame is a
weak link
Same results can be
achieved in Photoshop
with good knowledge
SCORE
★★★★★
★★★★★
★★★★★
★★★★★
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