Topaz?

[Hardrock]

So I have cs3 and I see alot of people using topaz. What exactly does it do that cs3 does not and does is work in conjuction with cs3? Thanks!

 

[Johnboy2978]

All of the Topaz Labs tools are plug ins for photoshop. I don't think any of them are stand alone products like Photomatix is for HDR. The two plugins I have are Adjust and Detail. Adjust has a tone mapping quality to it that aids you in bringing out a lot of detail similar to what you could do w/ Photomatix only with Adjust you can do it w/ a single image. Detail is a nice sharpening tool that allows you to quickly bring out the character and details by sharpening an image.

You can test drive each of them for 30 days. If you are going to buy more than one, it's probably more economical to just buy the bundle for $179.

So, can you do all these same things w/ Photoshop alone? Sure you can. Photoshop is a very powerful and versatile tool. These plugins have specialty features allowing you to accomplish those two tasks a little quicker than doing it by hand. You could build a house w/ just a hammer and a hand saw, but it's quicker you have a table saw, mitre saw, jig saw, chisels, air nailers, etc. etc.

 

[IgsEMT]

ok, lets try it

 

[Hardrock]

All of the Topaz Labs tools are plug ins for photoshop. I don't think any of them are stand alone products like Photomatix is for HDR. The two plugins I have are Adjust and Detail. Adjust has a tone mapping quality to it that aids you in bringing out a lot of detail similar to what you could do w/ Photomatix only with Adjust you can do it w/ a single image. Detail is a nice sharpening tool that allows you to quickly bring out the character and details by sharpening an image.

You can test drive each of them for 30 days. If you are going to buy more than one, it's probably more economical to just buy the bundle for $179.

So, can you do all these same things w/ Photoshop alone? Sure you can. Photoshop is a very powerful and versatile tool. These plugins have specialty features allowing you to accomplish those two tasks a little quicker than doing it by hand. You could build a house w/ just a hammer and a hand saw, but it's quicker you have a table saw, mitre saw, jig saw, chisels, air nailers, etc. etc.

So to clarify cs3 can do everything that topaz can but it just takes longer? So if speed of workflow is of no concern these would not be necessary?

 

[Dominantly]

I'm not certain that PS can do everything some of those Plug ins can.... Well maybe, but it would require a pretty damn strong knowledge of PS and layer masks. Things like adaptive multi region exposure, Dejpeg, adaptive saturation, etc..

I have been using Remask2 recently and love it. Saves me so much time in comparison to using PS.


I HIGHLY recommend the Topaz Bundle.

 

[Hardrock]

I'm not certain that PS can do everything some of those Plug ins can.... Well maybe, but it would require a pretty damn strong knowledge of PS and layer masks. Things like adaptive multi region exposure, Dejpeg, adaptive saturation, etc..

I have been using Remask2 recently and love it. Saves me so much time in comparison to using PS.


I HIGHLY recommend the Topaz Bundle.

So did you already have ps and add it or did you just buy topaz?

 

[Dominantly]

I had PS and then one day I was talking to a guy about some of his techniques that I was trying to recreate and he told me he was using a couple Topaz plug ins, so I figured why the hell not download the month trial for the bundle and then just ended up using it for everything.

I recommend for anyone who has PS, to download the Topaz bundle for free and try it for a month.

 

[Hardrock]

I had PS and then one day I was talking to a guy about some of his techniques that I was trying to recreate and he told me he was using a couple Topaz plug ins, so I figured why the hell not download the month trial for the bundle and then just ended up using it for everything.

I recommend for anyone who has PS, to download the Topaz bundle for free and try it for a month.

Thanks! I will download and give it a try.

 

[Johnboy2978]

I'm not certain that PS can do everything some of those Plug ins can.... Well maybe, but it would require a pretty damn strong knowledge of PS and layer masks. Things like adaptive multi region exposure, Dejpeg, adaptive saturation, etc..

I have been using Remask2 recently and love it. Saves me so much time in comparison to using PS.


I HIGHLY recommend the Topaz Bundle.

It's using PS as the vehicle to create the final image. Certainly it can be done completely within PS, but as you said, takes a fair amount of knowledge. It's worth the money to me to save the time.