Photoshop-compatible plugin which can be used in many graphics applications

An article by Azad    No Comments

ColorWasher 2.04

ColorWasher is a plugin for correcting the colors, contrast, exposure and saturation of 8bit and 16bit photos. It is a Photoshop-compatible plugin which can be used in many graphics applications, e.g. Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop Elements, PhotoImpact, Photo-Paint, Fireworks, IrfanView, under Windows as well as MacOS X. It also runs natively in Photoshop CS3 and CS4 on Intel-Macs and works in the 64bit version of Photoshop CS4 under Windows Vista64.

Overview

ColorWasher features a wide range of automatic, semi-automatic and manual tools for correcting, enhancing and restoring photos. It is very easy to use as it offers interactive explanations and hints for each feature, incorporates an Easy Mode and detailed step-by-step instructions in the manual. ColorWasher lets you do professional photo corrections within seconds and also offers a Cloak mode for processing dozens of images very quickly.

ColorWasher can be used on digital photos as well as scanned photos. It even achieves great results on old and faded photos. But you can also use ColorWasher to enhance web graphics, drawings, cartoons, paintings or screen shots. ColorWasher is also recommended for photos in RAW format. Some RAW converters don’t produce perfect color correction results, so after the RAW files have been converted you can still apply ColorWasher to enhance the result. Moreover, if you want to create artistic and stylish color or b/w effects, ColorWasher lets you correct photos and apply impressive color effects in one step.

FocalBlade 1.06

FocalBlade lets you sharpen your photos for screen display and print as well as produce great looking blur, soft focus and glow effects. It is a Photoshop-compatible plugin which can be used in dozens of graphics applications including Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, PhotoImpact, Photo-Paint, Fireworks and Photoshop Elements under Windows as well as MacOS X. It also runs natively in Photoshop CS3 and CS4 on Intel-Macs. It works with 8bit and 16bit RGB and grayscaled images.

Overview

FocalBlade features a range of automatic, semiautomatic and manual tools for sharpening photos. It is very easy to use as it offers interactive explanations for each feature, incorporates modes for various tasks (including a Novice Mode) and detailed step-by-step instructions in the manual. FocalBlade lets you sharpen photos quickly and also batch process images in Cloak mode. Moreover, FocalBlade offers numerous options for creating blur, soft focus and glow effects and for deblurring photos that are highly blurred.

LightMachine 1.03

LightMachine is a plugin for performing all kinds of light adjustments in photos. It combines shadow/highlight, virtual lighting and color-based correction tools for performing sophisticated corrections without the need for time-consuming selections and layer stacks. It lets you selectively correct photos taken under bad light conditions or with inadequate camera settings and achieve results that rival photos taken under the best circumstances. Additionally LightMachine can achieve special effects like glows, sunsets, high key and selective b/w effects, replace one color with another and simulate polarizing filters. LightMachine works in dozens of graphics applications including Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, IrfanView, Photoshop Elements, PhotoImpact, Photo-Paint and Fireworks under Windows as well as MacOS X. It also runs natively in Photoshop CS3 and CS4 on Intel-Macs. LightMachine can be applied to 8bit and 16bit RGB images.

Overview

LightMachine corrects brightness, contrast, color and saturation in specific image areas independently from each other. It basically consists of four different filters each split up into a simple mode suitable for beginners and a Pro mode with more features for more flexibility. The Brightness/Contrast modes adjust brightness and contrast throughout the image which is nice as a starting point. The Shadows/Highlights modes give you complete control over dark and bright image areas and let you correct them completely independently from each other with the help of sophisticated masking options. The Virtual Studio modes allow you to place an unlimited number of shadow and light spots as if you were placing studio lights in a real photo studio. The intensity, size, ovality, angle, hardness and reflection properties of each spot can be adjusted precisely. Finally, the Colors modes let you selectively correct image objects of a specific color by clicking on them.