Plugin Newsletter - November/December 2008

 

Contents
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EDITORIAL

CONTRASTMASTER 1.0 FOR MAC: Impressive Contrast Enhancement

FOCALBLADE 1.05 FOR WINDOWS: Several Improvements and New Features

LIGHTMACHINE SPECIAL OFFER: Save 30% when ordering within the next two weeks

POLL RESULTS: Will you upgrade to Photoshop CS4?

NEW POLL: Which is your favorite noise reduction tool?

THE DISCUSSION FORUMS: Photoshop Text Tool Crash, Mac File Format Plugin Support, Photoshop Elements Resources, PSP X2 Mask Plugin

FREE PLUGINS AND TOOLS: Vicanek Plugins, Rosenman Plugins, Adobe Pixel Bender, Seam Carving GUI, Adobe Configurator, Filter Factory Converter

GRAPHICS NEWS: Two Contests, onOne Releases, Camera Raw 5.2, AutoFX Pixplug Site, AKVIS Magnifier, Alien Skin Bokeh

PRODUCTS FROM THE PLUGIN SITE

ABOUT THE PLUGIN SITE

 

 

Dear Reader,

It has been an exciting year with a lot of new plugins and a new Photoshop release. We also just released Version 1.05 of FocalBlade for Windows and finally the MacOS X version of ContrastMaster. Because of Christmas approaching, we thought we should do a special offer of one of our product. We decided to offer LightMachine for almost 30% off the regular price. See below for more details.

By the way, I found an interesting comment on the usage of plugins at http://www.imagemavericks.com/2008/10/02/the-easy-button/. This guy wonders why some professionals do not want to use plugins, but embrace new Photoshop features that were previously only available as plugins. My guess is that some people consider their reputation or ego more important than the photographic results they produce.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and our plugins this year. We will do our best to improve our products and even release a new one next year.

Kindest regards,
Harald Heim

http://www.thepluginsite.com

 

 

CONTRASTMASTER 1.0 FOR MAC: Impressive Contrast Enhancement
-----------------------------------
Finally the Mac version of ContrastMaster is available. ContrastMaster is a plugin for effective contrast enhancement as well as creating dramatic contrast looks, photorealistic paintings and HDR-like effects. It can turn low-contrast photos into vivid and detailed images and transform ordinary photos into interesting and dynamic shots. The Mac version is based on the Windows Version 1.01 and is available for PowerPC as well as Intel Macs.

For more information and a demo version see
http://www.thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/contrastmaster/

 

 

FOCALBLADE 1.05 FOR WINDOWS: Several Improvements and New Features
-----------------------------------
Version 1.05 of FocalBlade, our popular sharpening plugin, contains some enhancement known from the latest PhotoWiz releases (e.g. DEP Compatibility, improved host compatibility, host memory management), but also offers several new features. There is a new Prefs tab sheet with new reset, startup and log features, a new arrow-down button menu and the dialog now appears in silver color. The FocalBlade dialog is now localized to German language (see Prefs tab sheet) and the Plugin Installer finally supports various localized versions of Photoshop.

Registered users will receive the update by email within the next 24 hours.

For more information and a demo version see
http://www.thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/focalblade/

 

 

LIGHTMACHINE SPECIAL OFFER: Save 30% when ordering within the next two weeks
-----------------------------------
With Christmas close we are now offering our LightMachine plugin with a 30% discount for two weeks. This discount is available from our regular order page at http://www.thepluginsite.com/order/. LightMachine combines shadow/highlight, virtual lighting and color-based correction tools and also produces special effects like glows, sunsets, high key, selective b/w, color replace and polarizing.

For more information and a demo version see
http://www.thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/lightmachine/

 

 

POLL RESULTS: Will you upgrade to Photoshop CS4?
-----------------------------------
511 people voted in the recent poll about upgrading to Photoshop CS4. Here are the results:

Yes, definitely. 31%
I plan to upgrade in the near future. 10%
I am not sure. 17%
I will wait for Photoshop CS5. 15%
I do not plan to upgrade at all in the long term. 27%

41% plan to upgrade to Photoshop CS4, 17% do not know and 42% do not plan to do it. So it almost looks like 50:50 if we assume that half of the undecided will upgrade and half not. I guess this speaks for itself.

For more poll results, please visit the Know-How section at
http://thepluginsite.com/knowhow/

 

 

NEW POLL: Which is your favorite noise reduction tool?
-----------------------------------
We already conducted this poll four years ago, so it is time to repeat it. You can choose between 19 different noise reduction tools, many of them are Photoshop plugins, and an "Other" option.

Please vote at the bottom of the page at
http://www.thepluginsite.com/

 

 

THE DISCUSSION FORUMS: Photoshop Text Tool Crash, Mac File Format Plugin Support, Photoshop Elements Resources, PSP X2 Mask Plugin
-----------------------------------
Here are some of the latest posts from the discussion forum:

Photoshop Text Tool Crash
egglys wrote: "I'm about getting crazy because my CS3 always crashes when i try to use the Text Tool. ... I am Using Windows XP Pro, 4GB RAM, AMD Athlon 5200+...."

http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9177#9177

Mac File Format Plugin Support
etatoby wrote: "I'm looking for a free or cheap Mac OS X program that can operate Photoshop File Format plugins. I thought I could find some kind of batch image converter that supported them, but my search turned out nothing. Do you know of anything of the sort?"

http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3077

Photoshop Elements Ressources
jbeams wrote: "I have gotten pse 7 it is cool learning it is different fro psp 8 & 10. But I would like 2 know is there any good tuts 2 share 2 learn more about the Orogram? I have found several and 2 several 4 sale. Plus about brush, texture, filters really everthing about it. Where 2 go for Freebies or other things in General."

http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3071

PSP X2 Mask Plugin
Drucifer asks: "Is there any Mask Plugin that works in [Paint Shop Pro] X2 running under Vista 64?"

http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3082

For more interesting discussion please visit our forums at
http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/

 

 

FREE PLUGINS AND TOOLS: Vicanek Plugins, Rosenman Plugins, Adobe Pixel Bender, Seam Carving GUI, Adobe Configurator, Filter Factory Converter
-----------------------------------

Mr. Vicanek released two new free plugins (for Windows). Hue Restorer tries to fix hue shifts in overexposed images and Wire Worm removes wires and other unwanted objects from images.

http://www.vicanek.de/plugins.htm

Richard Rosenman released two new freeware Photoshop-compatible plugins (for Windows). The Channel Modifier plugin manipulates color channels in different ways and the Variable Invertion plugin inverts the color channels of an image. Both plugins produce rather simple color effects.

http://www.richardrosenman.com/software/downloads/

The Pixel Bender plugin for Photoshop CS4 lets you develop filter effects with the help of a simple C-like language. The language is GPU-accelerated, so the filters run very fast. A dozen effects are already delivered. Pixel Bender is also supported by Adobe After Effects CS4 and Flash Player 10. Pixel Bender appears like a new and greatly enhanced version of Adobe Filter Factory, but the filters are stored as text files and there is no possibility to create plugins as with FilterFactory.

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/pixelbender/

For more PixelBender filters see:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=productHome&exc=26&loc=en_us

One of the major new features in Photoshop CS4 is content-aware resizing. The free Windows Seam Carving GUI tool (for Win/Mac) offers the same feature and it is freeware. It even lets you open or create masks for retaining or removing certain image areas when resizing the image.

http://code.google.com/p/seam-carving-gui/

Adobe Configurator is an open source utility that lets you create panels/palettes for Photoshop CS4. Configurator is meant for customizing the Photoshop interface and for making Photoshop easier to use. You can drag and drop tools, menu items, scripts, actions and other objects into the panel design. Additionally audio, video, images and SWF files can also be played back inside a panel.

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/configurator/

The Filter Factory Converter is a plugin for GIMP (for Windows/Linux), which is based on the old Gimp User Filter. It lets you use all existing Filter Factory filters in various formats (.8bf, .ffl, .afs, .txt). 1500 filters are already included. It also lets you write your own effects with the help of the Filter Factory language. This plugin is available under Filter> Generic > Filter Factory Converter in GIMP.

http://photocomix-resources.deviantart.com/art/Gimp-Filter-Factory-Converter-101851042
http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimpuserfilter/

 

 

GRAPHICS NEWS: Two Contests, onOne Releases, Camera Raw 5.2, AutoFX Pixplug Site, AKVIS Magnifier, Alien Skin Bokeh
-----------------------------------

The 2009 Adobe Design Achievement Awards calls for entries from photographers and artists from accredited higher education institutions worldwide. Submissions are accepted through June 5, 2009. Prizes include cash, trips to Beijing and Adobe software.
Until December 31, 2008, you can also enter the Fresh M.I.L.K. photography competition with images that capture special moments between friends, family and lovers. The overall winner will receive $50,000. The 150 winning images will be published in a book.

http://adaaentry.com/
http://www.milkphotos.com

onOne Software announced the upcoming release of PhotoTools 2 and Genuine Fractals 6 (for Win/Mac). PhotoTools provides a wide range of imaging tools for Photoshop CS4 including effects, corrections and production automation in one interface. It contains 300 effects and offers support for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 and Apple Aperture 2.1. Genuine Fractals 6, an image resizing plugin, now includes texture presets, a new gallery wrap function, batch processing, tiling for smaller printers and support for Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.

http://www.ononesoftware.com/

Adobe Camera Raw 5.2 (for Win/Mac) now supports the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon PowerShot G10, several new Panasonic models and the Leica D-LUX 4.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html

AutoFX launched the Pixplug Site, which provides hosting for professional photographers and access to many image effects tools. Photographers can display their images using more than 300 site and album layouts and have access to more than $600 worth of Auto FX software. More than 100 prints and gifts are available for selling photos. An account costs between $35.95 to $149.95 per year.

http://www.pixplug.com/

AKVIS Magnifier 2.0 is a Photoshop plugin as well as standalone application (for Win/Mac) for enlarging digital images. It claims to retain smooth edges while keeping the image sharp and removing noise and artifacts. Enlargements can be up to 30,000x30,000 pixels, which is 100x100 inch at 300dpi.

http://akvis.com/en/magnifier/

Alien Skin announced Bokeh (for Win/Mac), a new lens simulation plugin for Photoshop. It claims to produce photo-realistic blur, creamy highlights and creative vignetting. It allows you to control shape of the simulated aperture, e.g. the number of blades, the blade curvature as well as the creaminess of highlights.

http://www.alienskin.com/bokeh/

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