There seems to be a number of plug ins available for purchase that appear to make selections easier and faster. Anyone using one they like?

Karen S.

knockout is very good, but there is somewhat of a learning curve involved...

I've got a pretty complete list of options here (http://www.plugsandpixels.com/imageeffects.html) under "Selections/Masking".

I've got a number of reviews on the site - see select tools (http://myphotosoft.com/select-tools/2.html).

Nice work on your site! Great info (screenshots and all). I added you to my Links (http://www.plugsandpixels.com/links.html) page.

Myphotosoft...I see your comparisons and individual review, but do you have a recommendation?

There's a rating page (http://myphotosoft.com/select-tools/rating.html) there with Myphotosoft recomendation at the bottom of the table with Mask Pro and Fluid Mask at the top. And you can see the resulted cutouts from all the plug-ins side by side.

Nice work on your site! Great info (screenshots and all). I added you to my Links (http://www.plugsandpixels.com/links.html) page.

Thanks a lot for the link and I appreciate your good opinion of the site :)

Yes thanks

I agree Mask Pro and Fluid Mask look like good programs. Which of the two companies do you feel continues to research and improve their product?

Qualitative review
And useful information for any developer who decided to make his own select tool ;)

Judging by their latest releases, Fluid Mask. In Fluid Mask 3 they added some new algorythms and Hair Blending technique. At the same time, Mask Pro latest update only concerned CS3 and Wacom compatibility.
Compare: Fluid Mask 3 release news (http://myphotosoft.com/news/fluid-mask-3-2.html) and What's new in Mask Pro 4 (http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=4)

A new selection tool has been released!
Please have a look at AKVIS SmartMask plugin.

http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/akvis-support-forum/20543-new-cut-out-tool-akvis-smartmask.html

A good plug-in. I tried it already. Same level as Fluid Mask and MaskPro.
http://myphotosoft.com/select-tools/smart-mask.html

I own the entire bundle of Akvis tools and use some of them a lot, like Retoucher. It is awesome. I also received the information about Smart Mask and downloaded the first version. It continually crashed when I tried to use it, so I emailed Akvis but never got a reply. When the next version came out, I downloaded it too and the same thing happened. I would really like to try the plug in as it looks very interesting and I like the other Akvis plug ins but with this crashing problem, I am unable to do so. If anyone from Akvis is reading this, I would welcome some help with this.

Karen

The problem seems to be solved here: http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/akvis-support-forum/20543-new-cut-out-tool-akvis-smartmask.html

Yes, it was solved in version 1.2.