BW Styler in PSP v. X

[digitalcanuck]

Can you confirm that BW Styler only runs on an 8 bit RGB image in PSP v. X please.

I've tried with 16 bit RGB, but no luck (.tiff format) but it works with 8 bit (tiff format).

Looks promising, but I want to use it in 16 bit mode.

Thanks,
Rick

[HaraldHeim]

Sorry, but PSP X doesn't support running plugins on 16bit images. It doesn't have anything to do with B/W Styler. Corel added this unnecessary limitation to PSP X.

I haven't tested PSP XI yet, but I hope that it now lets you run plugins on 16bit images. If anyone knows, please let me know.

Otherwise I can only recommed that you get Photoshop Elements or Photoshop.

[digitalcanuck]

I downloaded the demo of Elements 4, it works with 16 bit images in version 4, but I was reading today a comparison of ver. 5 vs Photoshop, and v. 5 will not edit 16 bit images. So for some, sticking with v. 4 may be valuable.

I've not tried PSP XI with B/W Styler. Thinking about biting the bullet and getting the full blown Photoshop CS2. Like what I see of your product, too bad it couldn't work with a time period vs the watermark - makes it harder to assess as the watermarks are so numerous.

Thanks again,

Rick

[HaraldHeim]

From the description of Elements 5 it says "Get truer, higher quality results with support for 16-bit color." Can you please send me the URL of that comparison?

The next version of Photoshop will become available next year, so if you can still wait a few months, you can save the upgrade fee.

I will rework the watermark protection in the near future, but I don't like time-limited trial versions. They more or less force you to buy the software after one month and give you no chance to evaluate the software again later.

[plugsnpixels]

I just took delivery of PSP XI and it does indeed support 16 bit.

[HaraldHeim]

I know that PSP X and XI support 16bit images, but does PSP XI allow you to apply Photoshop plugins to 16bit images? PSP X doesn't.

[plugsnpixels]

Ah, I see what you're asking. I will spend more time with it soon and see.

In the short time I did play with it, I did have to downgrade a 16-bit image to apply PSP's native filters to it. So maybe that's an indication.

[HaraldHeim]

I know that some internal PSP filters can only be applied to 8bit images, but others can be used on 16bit images. It is just a question of updating these filters for 16bit. It should be possible with 99% of them, so I guess Corel wants to keep that for the next upgrade.

[plugsnpixels]

OK, I've been enjoying using the new PSP in Windows on my MacBook! I converted an image to 16-bit, and tried to apply B/W Styler. It was grayed out, as was another developer's plug-in which I have installed as well. So I guess that gives us our answer.

[HaraldHeim]

It is really a pitty that Corel doesn't seem to care about 16bit support for plugins... Makes PSP much less useful than it could be.

[digitalcanuck]

Well I have to stand corrected. Here's the link:
http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/ps_pse_comparison.html?tab:depth=1
It does say that Elements 5 will handle 16 bit, but I could have sworn that there was no check mark on the Elements 5 column. Sorry to have misled anyone.

I see your point with the time-out feature, you do have to play with a product intensively to form an educated opinion or you loose the time.

thanks for responding.

Rick

ps: I had reinstalled my v.9 PSP and it worked fine also.

From the description of Elements 5 it says "Get truer, higher quality results with support for 16-bit color." Can you please send me the URL of that comparison?

The next version of Photoshop will become available next year, so if you can still wait a few months, you can save the upgrade fee.

I will rework the watermark protection in the near future, but I don't like time-limited trial versions. They more or less force you to buy the software after one month and give you no chance to evaluate the software again later.