Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/06/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Alex asked: > How is the intuitiveness and ease of use factor of PW Pro? (note: I'm posting this to the LUG, too, as it might be useful to some folks there) Alex: I've never used the full version of Photoshop, but I have used PS 4 and 5 Limited Edition. I find PWP quite a bit easier. I really didn't have to look up things to do the basics--a couple of hours of playing and I was OK. Note that PWP is a full-featured program, though, and some complexity is unavoidable unless you want an amateur's "happy snaps" program. Picture Window Pro's (PWP) metaphors are more photographer-oriented, so many things work the way a darkroom-experienced person would expect. However, unlike Photoshop Elements, it does not try to hide details of the process from you. PWP has a much smaller footprint on your hard drive and in memory. It does most of its operations on 48-bit as well as 24-bit color (16 vs. 8-bit B&W), so you can do major curve and color corrections without posterization (picket-fencing on the histogram). Its support is great--the author is on line and answers most questions. Major differences--PWP does not do adjustment layers. Channel mixing is different. You can filter and combine images and/or or use masks to accomplish much the same things that these features do. Also, PWP uses "pipeline editing." Most operations perform a "transformation" on one Window and generate the result in another. You can save or not save windows to the same or different filenames. So it's again different, but you have just as much control. Undo levels and layers are not preserved in saved files, which makes for smaller files, but less ability to undo a change days later if you didn't save a previous version. PWP's algorithms are a little different than PS, so numbers in Photoshop tutorials and tips will not be the same in functions like unsharp mask, etc. And PWP does not support Photoshop actions and plug-ins. Note that keeping a copy of PS 5.0 LE or PS Elements (bundled with many scanners and printers) will give you the ability to use some, but not all plug-ins. You can download PWP for free and try it for 30 days. Go to www.dl-c.com Registration is $89.00 as opposed to full Photoshop's $600.00. I suggest you download it, work through the first couple of chapters of the tutorial and then play with it a bit. I started out using the freeware Irfanview, which I still use for quick and dirty stuff because it is fast, very easy, and free. Irfanview also supports some Photoshop plugins. I used PS 5 LE for a while, and would have stuck with it but for one thing--the screen gamma is fixed at 1.8, so images you do on a PC are darker when you put them on the Web. There is a workaround that involves changing a number just before your final save-- after which what you see in PS LE is not what you get. This was too much of a pain to tolerate. It also got me rather ticked off at Adobe. Once I started using PWP, I didn't look back--especially after Jonathan added support for the curves used by the MIS quadtone and hextone B&W inks. PWP does not support Piezography--the driver is a PS plugin. If you have any aspirations to be a graphic arts professional, need CMYK separations for prepress, or you are most comfortable using the industry standard, go with Photoshop. If you want real value for money, PWP is a great alternative, more oriented toward the photographer than the graphic artist. The truth is that any of the popular ~$99 programs will work well enough for most of us. I prefer to do my initial curve and color corrections in 48/16 bit mode--which PWP, unlike Paint Shop Pro or PS Elements, does. Frankly, for most of us, Photoshop is overkill. I'd rather put $600 towards a new lens than $600 now and $200 every two years to Adobe. That could change if I find some plug-in I can't live without that won't work in LE or Elements. Hope this helps. I have no connection to Digital Light and Color except as a satified customer. - --Peter On Thu, 6 Jun 2002 ALEXSCIFI@aol.com wrote: > > Alex > > Date: Wed, 05 Jun 2002 20:50:04 -0700 > From: Peter Klein <pklein@2alpha.net> > Subject: Noise cleaning software, was Re: [Leica] Nathan in Zurich > Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020605203928.00a24620@pop.2alpha.net> > References: > > >At 09:00 PM 6/4/02 -0700, Peter wrote: > > > > >I need a little help from our resident scanning experts here. Nathan was > > >wearing dark blue clothing, and it scanned with a lot of noise in the form > > >of colored speckles. It's harder to see in the little JPG, but in the > > Tina replied: > > >Peter, Fred Miranda has an action to reduce noise in digital photos. I > >don't see why it wouldn't also work for scans: > > > >http://www.fredmiranda.com/isoX/index.html > > > >Tina > > Thanks, Tina. Unfortunately, it only works with full Photoshop, which I > don't have, and not with LE or Elements, which I do. Too bad--though I - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html