Plug-In: cs5 mask vs topaz remask,which is the best

[mantra]

hi
today i was giving a look at topaz remask http://www.topazlabs.com/remask/

to be honest i don't like the topaz plugins

but topaz remask seems really great and seems better then fluid mask and mask pro

now

does somebody did a compare between topaz remask and photoshop cs5 ?
which is the more easy and better

thanks

[RooB]

I've tried the Topaz Demo, it doesn't measure up to the CS5 refine mask ability.

I've also tried Fluid Mask, Corel KnockOut, Auto Mask, and a variety of others to try to simplify the task of creating masks, and nothing ever worked half as well as they'd like to make you think.

However, I've got to say ..... the CS5 masking feature is one of the few good reasons to upgrade to CS5, while it doesn't do a perfect job, it does what it does far better than any masking plug in I've ever tried.

[holgaman]

Hi Mantra,
I have CS5 and Remask (they just released a free 64-bit upgrade so it now works directly with CS5), and have done testing with both, and like them both. I think both are easy to use, neither is going to give you a perfect result in every case, but they're a couple of the best I've tried. It all depends on the original, sometimes Refine Edge works better, sometimes Remask works better. I really like the decontaminate feature in Refine Edge. I do wish Remask would give you the option of opening a new layer with a mask, I just think it's easier to tweak a mask after the fact. You could always use a layer mask on the drop-out layer to bring back detail from the background layer where it might have gone too far. I was just experimenting on a particularly difficult image and used both Remask and Refine Edge in separate layers and then masked out the parts where one or the other didn't do so well, and it seemed to come up with a really clean cut out. After using Remask (by itself) I've also made a selection of the knocked out area and turned it into a mask. That seemed to clean things up a bit more than the original result.

[mantra]

Originally Posted by RooB

I've tried the Topaz Demo, it doesn't measure up to the CS5 refine mask ability.

I've also tried Fluid Mask, Corel KnockOut, Auto Mask, and a variety of others to try to simplify the task of creating masks, and nothing ever worked half as well as they'd like to make you think.

However, I've got to say ..... the CS5 masking feature is one of the few good reasons to upgrade to CS5, while it doesn't do a perfect job, it does what it does far better than any masking plug in I've ever tried.

thanks a lot
so the best is cs5

about the others ? i mean the third plugins , topac come at the top , or there is something better , i talking about plugins

thanks

[mantra]

Originally Posted by RooB

I've tried the Topaz Demo, it doesn't measure up to the CS5 refine mask ability.

I've also tried Fluid Mask, Corel KnockOut, Auto Mask, and a variety of others to try to simplify the task of creating masks, and nothing ever worked half as well as they'd like to make you think.

However, I've got to say ..... the CS5 masking feature is one of the few good reasons to upgrade to CS5, while it doesn't do a perfect job, it does what it does far better than any masking plug in I've ever tried.

Originally Posted by holgaman

Hi Mantra,
I have CS5 and Remask (they just released a free 64-bit upgrade so it now works directly with CS5), and have done testing with both, and like them both. I think both are easy to use, neither is going to give you a perfect result in every case, but they're a couple of the best I've tried. It all depends on the original, sometimes Refine Edge works better, sometimes Remask works better. I really like the decontaminate feature in Refine Edge. I do wish Remask would give you the option of opening a new layer with a mask, I just think it's easier to tweak a mask after the fact. You could always use a layer mask on the drop-out layer to bring back detail from the background layer where it might have gone too far. I was just experimenting on a particularly difficult image and used both Remask and Refine Edge in separate layers and then masked out the parts where one or the other didn't do so well, and it seemed to come up with a really clean cut out. After using Remask (by itself) I've also made a selection of the knocked out area and turned it into a mask. That seemed to clean things up a bit more than the original result.

thanks a lot!
did you make some compare with others plugins similar to topaz remask ?

can i with topaz remask make a selection and add to a new layer(copy of the original) in the mask ?

[holgaman]

I have tried both Fluid Mask and Mask Pro and both are quite tedious, at least for me, and didn't give me as good results as either Remask or Refine Edge.

I'm not exactly clear what you are asking in your second question. Do you mean make a selection and a new layer copy before or after using Remask?

[mantra]

Originally Posted by holgaman

I have tried both Fluid Mask and Mask Pro and both are quite tedious, at least for me, and didn't give me as good results as either Remask or Refine Edge.

I'm not exactly clear what you are asking in your second question. Do you mean make a selection and a new layer copy before or after using Remask?

i mean does topaz save the result in a new layer or make and save a mask in the channel mixer?

thanks a lot!

[holgaman]

Toapz does not make a new layer on it's own, you have to do that yourself before opening the plug-in (it will even tell you to if you forget). The result after using the plug-in is the background knocked out, no layer or vector mask is involved.

[Pictus]

I use Vertus from a long time and for me it still the best, but depending on the
type of the image one plug-in or technique may be better, but sure Vertus is
not simple to use. Right now my main tools are Vertus, Topaz and the CS5...
Akvis Smart Mask is also very interesting.

Made with my tools:
Before http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/1...sc0607pogr.jpg
After http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9392/...dsc0607pfx.jpg

[mantra]

Originally Posted by Pictus

I use Vertus from a long time and for me it still the best, but depending on the
type of the image one plug-in or technique may be better, but sure Vertus is
not simple to use. Right now my main tools are Vertus, Topaz and the CS5...
Akvis Smart Mask is also very interesting.

Made with my tools:
Before http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/1...sc0607pogr.jpg
After http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9392/...dsc0607pfx.jpg

very nice Job!!!

is Vertus?
i mean did you use it?

[Pictus]

Thanks!
Yes, 90% Vertus the rest 10% was CS5 or Topaz.

[plugsnpixels]

Masking is one of the most common but perhaps the toughest image editing task to undertake. It's good we have a wide selection of tools with which to approach the problem, so we can choose which works best for us.

See a pretty complete list of third-party masking options with screenshots and examples here (under "Selections/Masking").

[Uneternal]

I've tried Fluid Mask, Primatte and ReMask.
For me Fluid Mask is clearly the better program as it's able to remove a single colored background with a few clicks (sometimes just one!), you don't even have to tell the program what it should keep and where the edges are, as it finds the edges itself.
The only thing thats bad, is that it does not save your result in a mask, so it just completely deletes the BG

ReMask has a nice interface but basically does the same job as CS5 with a slightly bit more abilities to tweak a mask. If you own CS5 I advise saving your money as the quick mask tool along with refine edge does basically the same job.

Same goes for primatte. This program is only for filtering out single colors and its not even good doing this job.