Topaz Labs does it again! New product coming

[plugsnpixels]

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, our friends at Topaz have been working on a new plug-in that enables you to create HDR-like detail enhancement without the halos!

Here is a screenshot of the unreleased, upcoming product, called Topaz Detail (due in two weeks), as well as a quick before-and-after.

There's an incredible amount of control. Here's a description the developer sent me:

"We are trying to provide very fine control of details adjustment, whether to enhance them or to reduce them. We also provide an interesting tone control based on color.

"A key benefit of this plug-in is that it uses a very recent advance in detail extraction, which basically does NOT create HDR halo like effect at all. So you can create very hash/detailed looking images without halos, which looks more natural.

"Here is how it works:

1. It first decomposes the luminance of the image into three layers of details: coarse, med, and fine.
2. In the "details tab", three sets of sliders are provided to control the strength of these layers in the final image.
3. In addition, there is a "tone tab" with which you can change overall luminance tone by adding/subtracting color in lum channel, as well as normal adjustment."

I'll provide more examples soon as I spend more time with the brand new beta.

[Asa1600]

Cannot wait for this product to arrive. Woo-Hoo!!!

[plugsnpixels]

Here I am creating and saving my own presets by experimenting with the sliders in each tab.

The samples show: Original, a 1940's look and an artsy look.

I like the NYC pix because they include both hard and soft subjects.

The next step would be to combine these results with Clean or Simplify for even more fun.

[plugsnpixels]

A mixture of my 1940s and Artsy preset layers from Detail plus effects from Topaz Clean and Adjust (saturation purposely enhanced). Plus the boring original, downsized.

[Kraellin]

So you can create very hash/detailed looking images without halos,

from your first post, what is 'hash' in that sentence?

also, good stuff there, plugs. looks very enticing!

[plugsnpixels]

That was a copy/paste from the developer's email. I missed fixing that typo for him ;-). Unless he was referring to pictures of hash browns (?).

[plugsnpixels]

BTW, did you notice the placement of the Empire State Building alongside the smoke stacks? I was on the Circle Line ship and saw that composition coming as we sailed along... I also have a shot of the ESB in the middle of the four stacks. That sort of thing helps pass the three hours-!

Another thing to note is I had to save these combo images from PS at less that 50% quality to make the 100k forum limit, so of course the Detail effects look better when viewed in the original file. I'll run some bigger results in my next ezine.

[Kraellin]

typo! rokily dokily, good neighbor

[ileencuccaro]

whooppee, I am very excited. I use all the Topaz products and can not believe I got along without them before

[Harry Limey]

Hi Mike, I note on the last image you posted, some similarities to vivacity in the effects you got there!
However, I'm really quite intrigued by the GUI and the colour tone adjustments now available on the 'Tone tab' but I wonder what is available on the 'Colour tab' itself?

[plugsnpixels]

ileen, I can't believe what these guys are pulling off either! Fantastic plug-ins at very low prices. They've hit upon the secret recipe for success in this genre.

Harry, I did a blend of results from Detail with those from Adjust and Clean, hence the squiggly lines reminiscent of Vivacity (which has been replaced in the product line with Clean).

Once I fire up Windows on my MacBook later I'll grab another screenshot for you.

[plugsnpixels]

Here is a set of screenshots showing all three tabs. IMO the first two are the most powerful, offering a wide range of tweaks; the third is for mopping up.

[ileencuccaro]

I agree, great plugins and the price can not be beat. I have been using it on all of my photos to some degree. I look forward to the new one. They also give great introductory pricing as well

[plugsnpixels]

Here's an example of pushing the settings in the Details tab close to the max (using a pic of a lovely chemtrail display in LA). Notice the lack of haloing around the outside of the trees and buildings which you normally see when doing extreme HDR-like effects. There are some white areas within the trees –*I need to check and see if that was caused by my purposely increasing the contrast.

Note: Only Topaz Details was used for the "after" image; no further PS tonal tweaks were applied. I could have had a some detail in the shadow areas but chose to go for a contrasty look. At this point Detail does not have a noise slider, so you could prep your image in Topaz DeNoise if you don't want the texture.

[ileencuccaro]

well no halos makes for a pretty perfect plugin