Digital Video - November 2007 - (Page 24) INSTANT EXPERT BY NED SOLTZ ’SHOP TOOLS TEN ESSENTIAL PHOTOSHOP CS3 PLUG-INS. ITEM/ CONTACT COMPANY MSRP COMPATIBILITY SPECS ALIEN SKIN IMAGE DOCTOR Alien Skin Software $129 PC/Mac www.alienskin.com DX DIGITAL FILTERS www.tiffen.com $299, complete set for FCP, AE or Avid $599 There are a number of plug-ins for digital photo image enhancement and retouching. This one very well might be the best. Great repair tools, intelligent automation, and it even removes compression artifacting. You really need to see it in action. This package of 91 filters simulates virtually every Tiffen filter, gels, redeye removal, paint, non-destructive image effects, masking, color management, and many file formats including Cineon and DPX. It’s capable of amazing image enhancements and looks. Place it very high on your wish list. Photoshop’s eyedropper can do some masking, but there’s nothing that Fluid Mask 3 can’t handle. Superior edge detection and even fine hair detection makes this the masking program a must. Earlier versions were a tad slow but Vertus promises that version 3 is significantly faster. With this compression, a 3.9MB TIFF compresses to 443K, but with 32-bit floating point accuracy and full dynamic range. Reads info from 3D renderers and sets up each element in layers if you like. Important acquisition for those who regularly go between PS and AE. Tiffen PC/Mac FLUID MASK 3 Vertus Software $239 PC/Mac www.vertustech.com FNORD PROEXR $95 for Photoshop, free for After Effects Fnord Software PC/Mac www.fnordsoftware.com GENUINE FRACTALS 5 $159.95, Entire Suite $399.95 OnOne Software PC/Mac Enlarge a still image for pan/scan in your NLE or up-res a frame grab for higher resolution print uses. Also in a Print Pro version, this product beats Photoshop’s native rescaling features. www.ononesoftware.com GOOGLE 3D WAREHOUSE labs.adobe.com Lest we neglect proud PS parent Adobe, this nifty little plug-in lets you search Google 3D Warehouse images for direct download into PS. You can then manipulate those images in Photoshop. Google has a wide range of both free and commercial 3D models. Lots of possibilities here. This plug-in represents a new file format called HD Photo. It supports very tight compression for smaller file sizes while also supporting high dynamic range and wide gamut formats. This is the future, folks. Rendition brings the rendering engine of Lightwave 3D into PS. With models from Lightwave, Google, or imported from any common 3D image format it becomes possible to perform photorealistic 3D output from PS. It even ships with an image library at this remarkable price. Probably the most exciting new product for 3D artists. Create a 3D model from a photo. Create 3D Web pages from a photo and save even as a Flash animation. And once again, with CS3 Extended, animate the results or even add 3D images into a video file. Adobe Free PC/Mac. Currently available as a beta download. HD PHOTO Microsoft Free PC only. Currently available as a public beta. www.microsoft.com LIGHTWAVE RENDITION Free beta, $149 when shipping Newtek PC/Mac www.newtek.com $149 for separates, $399 for bundle STRATA 3D[IN] Strata PC/Mac www.strata.com TEXTURE ANARCHY Digital Anarchy $129 PC/Mac www.digitalanarchy.com It’s hard to say which of the DA products I like best. Texture Anarchy may have a bit of a wonky interface, but you can create really great textures and blend with images. Here’s where PS Extended’s video features come in. 24 dv november 2007 www.dv.com http://www.alienskin.com http://www.alienskin.com http://www.tiffen.com http://www.tiffen.com http://www.vertustech.com http://www.vertustech.com http://www.fnordware.com http://www.fnordware.com http://www.ononesoftware.com http://www.ononesoftware.com http://labs.adobe.com http://labs.adobe.com http://www.microsoft.com http://www.microsoft.com http://www.newtek.com http://www.newtek.com http://www.strata.com http://www.strata.com http://www.digitalanarchy.com http://www.digitalanarchy.com http://www.dv.com
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