Photo Corners headlinesarchivemikepasini.com
A S C R A P B O O K O F S O L U T I O N S F O R T H E P H O T O G R A P H E R
Reviews of photography products that enhance the enjoyment of taking pictures. Published frequently but irregularly.
DxO Releases FilmPack 4 With Creative Effects
5 June 2013
There may not be any new film emulsions in DxO's FilmPack 4 but that hasn't prevented the company from innovating its image effects package. With v4, FilmPack adds creative renderings and special effects to film simulation, which should extend its appeal beyond nostalgic film photographers.
It certainly extended its appeal to us, as our illustrated review reveals. Much as we've previously admired the film renderings, we had a lot more fun with the effects available in this version.
ONE MORE EFFECT
In fact, you're well advised to think of the film renderings as just one of the effects in FilmPack 4, although it sits above them as Controls. The Effects tab itself includes: Film grain, Filter, Toning, Creative vignetting, Creative blur vignetting, Texture, Light leak and Frame. A Settings tab includes Basic settings of Contrast, Saturation and Exposure, Advanced settings of Vibrancy and Micro-contrast.
In contrast, FilmPack 3 offers the film rendering, Basic settings (Contrast, Saturation, Exposure), Hue/Saturation/Lightness, Noise Removal, Film Grain and Creative Vignetting. FilmPack 4 adds some intriguing special effects, combinations of which can be saved as presets, and searchable presets to get you started.
TWO EDITIONS
FilmPack 4 is available in two editions, a full-featured Expert version and a more modestly-priced Essentials version. The Expert version includes twice as many black-and-white film renderings, 16 more color films, 33 designer presets (v. 10), custom presets, snapshots of work in progress, vibrance control, denoising, HSL by channel, a channel mixer, creative blur vignetting, textures, edge effects, framing and batch processing. Our review applies these more advanced features on a test image.
If an effect is used in a preset shared from Expert, Essentials will correctly render it, but it won't be editable.
DxO is offering a special introductory price of $49 for the Essential Edition (regularly) $79 and $99 instead of $129 for the Expert Edition until the end of the month.
DxO FilmPack 4 Analog Film Simulation Software Adds 65 New Renderings, Creative Effects
Praised by professionals for the authenticity of its renderings, DxO FilmPack reinforces its reputation as the software of reference for creative photography -- Special introductory discount through June 30
PARIS, France -- DxO Labs has announced the immediate availability of DxO FilmPack 4, a major new version of its popular analog film simulation and creative effects software. DxO FilmPack 4 adds 65 even more aesthetically-pleasing renderings and stunning new effects to help photographers give their photos greater emotional impact as well as a unique style, whether in color or in black & white.
With DxO FilmPack 4, photographers can apply to their digital photos all the characteristic color, contrast and grain of analog films that made photographic history, along with many original looks, filters, tonings and visual effects -- all of which can be infinitely combined and customized.
For legendary photographer Sebasti o Salgado, "DxO FilmPack represents an indispensable step in my photographic process." DxO FilmPack has allowed him to find an exact digital rendering of his beloved Kodak Tri-X film.
Available in two editions, Essential and Expert, a single DxO FilmPack 4 license can be used as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Apple Aperture and DxO Optics Pro and as a standalone application for Mac and Windows.
DxO FilmPack 4 is now available in DxO Labs' online store (shop.dxo.com) and at photo resellers at a discount through June 30.
Faithfully-Restored Film Quality
Thanks to DxO Labs' exclusive calibration technologies, DxO FilmPack 4 offers a palette of faithfully-rendered analog film simulations with an unrivaled level of quality in the field.
To accurately reconstitute the characteristics of such traditional films as Kodak Ektachrome, Fuji Superia and Agfa APX, DxO Labs adopted a scientific approach based on taking photos with analog films, having those films developed at highly-reputable professional laboratories -- PICTO in France and Duggal in the United States -- and following a rigorous digitization process.
This approach has resulted in the perfect restoration of the grain, color, contrast and saturation of 60 legendary color and black & white films, with an authenticity that has been recognized by today's greatest photographers.
Original Renderings, Effects
Dominant colors, blur, pinhole, vignetting and grain: each new DxO FilmPack 4 designer rendering is based on a careful calibration of grain intensity, contrast and saturation of film, vignetting and color filters to lend photos a unique atmosphere.
A new range of texture, light leak, blur vignetting and unusual frame effects (Expert edition) allows photographers to give their photos an aged look, to draw attention to a subject or even to use original photo borders to highlight their images.
Users can fully customize every film rendering and effect, offering countless possible combinations.
Richer User Experience
DxO FilmPack 4 provides even better handling, allowing users to more freely explore the wealth of available renderings and settings.
The controls panel has been entirely redesigned so as to give users even quicker access to the settings and effects that are specific to either color or black & white processing. A search engine and a "Favorites" feature have been added to let users directly access their preferred renderings. And a new "Snapshots" feature (Expert edition) lets users save and return to each step in their photo treatment process.
System Requirements
A minimum of 2-GB of RAM and 400-MB available disk space plus:
- Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Intel Pentium 4 processor or AMD equivalent.
- Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and Mac Intel processor.
Availability, Prices
DxO FilmPack 4 is available in the DxO Labs online store and at photo resellers at the following prices:
USD (No tax applied):
- Essential Edition: $49 instead of $79
- Expert Edition: $99 instead of $129
EUR (Suggested retail price, tax included):
- Essential Edition: €49 instead of €79
- Expert Edition: €99 instead of €129
GBP (Suggested retail prices, including VAT):
- Essential Edition : £39 instead of £59
- Expert Edition: £79 instead of £99
Photographers who purchased a DxO FilmPack 3 license on or after March 1 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 4. Other customers are entitled to a special discount on their upgrade directly from their client account, through June 30.
A fully-functional trial version of DxO FilmPack 4, good for one month, is available on the DxO Labs Web site.
