Category: PHOTO EDITING

INPIXIO PHOTO CLIP MAC review

Posted onAuthorHarrij Mensinga2 Comments

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Version Photo Cutter 1.4.61 and Photo Eraser 0.1.1.14
Developer InPixio
Website https://www.inpixio.com/photo-clip-mac/

 

ABOUT INPIXIO

Based in Paris with additional development resources worlwide, InPixio is a brand of Softcity and the Avanquest Group. InPixio is positioned on the key segment of photography and “Mobile to Print”.  Their drive is reflected by a direct presence in all market channels: Apple App Store, Apple Mac App Store, Google Play, Windows Stores etc. Also, by forging close relationships with a network of prestigious partners (Intel, Microsoft, Samsung etc.), InPixio has met the expectations of a public that is ever more attracted to downloaded software and mobile applications.

 

INSTALLATION & SETUP

Just Drag & Drop the application to your applications folder and you’re done really. InPixio Photo Clip for Mac consists of two individual applications: Photo Cutter and Photo Eraser.

INPIXIO PHOTO CUTTER

 

INTERFACE INPIXIO PHOTO CUTTER

    • First of the applications ( Photo Cutter and Photo Eraser ), Photo Cutter is a handy and easy to use application. Its interface is simple and preferences options are not available nor are extended export functions. The interface is a three stage editing section: Crop , Cut-Out and Photomontage. Inpixio makes editing so easy and fun really! Removing /keeping areas is piece of cake for anybody.
      Load your picture/image
      Choose Crop now or at later stage
      Set brush size for Remove and Keep
      Set quality ( where I feel the Faster method works best ?)
      Select area
      Wait for computer editing
      Check result ( adjust Edge blur to your liking )

 

  • Now the fun part of InPixio Photo Cutter

Photomontage section provides some starting images to work with, but you can add any image to this section by using the + sign. Below I just show you some steps and a final composition just for show.
It’s all about showing you the easy steps in creating your composition.

EXPORT OPTIONS

When I earlier mentioned limited export options, I really mean limited!  There is no other format available as JPEG, which is a shame really. All we get is a simple Save and option for Folder location, which is unsatisfying and a missed chance for a nice product like Photo Cutter. Export options should provide uploads to ‘social media’ and different of saving formats (png, tiff etc).

 

FEATURES

  • Remove Image Backgrounds
    Cutout Defined Objects Easily
    Compose Photo Montages
    Clone Image Sections To Fill Space
    Save Multiple Projects
    Precision Selection With Lasso Tool
    Use Paint Brush For Large Objects
  • Zoom/Navigate Large Images
    Drag & Drop For Optimal Control

INPIXIO PHOTO ERASER

INPIXIO PHOTO ERASER

Well next application InPixio Photo Eraser is again easy to use, but in order to obtain some result you need to fiddle around some time. Erasing objects is in most reviews shown with people in the sea or stuff like that. Anyway, images with large area’s of same colouring and objects like water, field of grass etc. These larger erea’s makes it much easier on the software to calculate replacement pixels. However removing a person in a busy city, is another level all together.
The software is confronted with many different objects, colouring and intensities which makes it a hard job to perform well. No matter how hard you try, enlarging an image will always show its been tempered with.

Small objects can easily be removed, but a large object in a complex composition is almost impossible to remove. The Cloning feature helps out, replacing an area with a similar (colour ) chosen spot creates a fairly good result. Just check the two images below where a person was removed and the pavement and surroundings have been ‘Stamped and Cloned’. The end result is okay, considering it took me 10 minutes to do the job.

If the result is satisfying is up to you….

This is about the best one can achieve with non professional tools in complex compositions. Erasing technique is complex, and I guess Photoshop will do a better job with this same image, but Photoshop is not for dummies and this is where Inpixio excels : usability at beginners level and those who are happy with a straightforward approach towards photo editing.

Still I feel Inpixio is doing a great job, and editing is fast and accurate. It does have its limitations but will help the enthusiast in editing their image.

 

VERDICT

Whenever you need to touch up your images a bit, change or delete background, InPixio Photo Clip for Mac gives you professional-looking results with easy use. Both applications have easy interfaces to work with and anybody should be able to the job in no time. All provided tools are handy and the Cut-Out feature works really well. Photomontage adds some nice artistic creativity and when done properly results in good compositions. InPixio is Mojave ready and works stable and fast. There is a little critic on the provided export/save function in both applications as they have Save As format change available which is a shame. An export to social media would also be a bonus for future versions. Still even without this little critic, InPixio Photo Clip for Mac really is a great tool for anyone to use and deserves our 5 star rating.

 

$ 69.99

 

 

PHOTOLEMUR 3.0 review

Posted onAuthorHarrij Mensinga1 Comment

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Version 3.0
Developer Skylum
Website https://photolemur.com/

 

ABOUT SKYLUM

Skylum was founded as Macphun in 2008 by two gaming developers and amateur photographers. Initially the company developed applications for iOS. One of its first applications was Vintage Video Maker, which was later named Vintagio. In 2009, Apple named Vintagio among Best iPhone apps of the year.[4][5] In 2010, Alex Tsepko joined the team. In total, the company released over 60 applications in the first three years. However, it saw the greatest number of downloads in the photography applications. Skylum thus decided to develop the same photography applications for MacOS.[6]

In early 2010, Skylum launched its first MacOS application, FX Photo Studio Pro, which was earlier available for iOS only.[7] Several other applications were also developed for MacOS including Snapheal.[8]

In order to tap the North Americas, the company moved its headquarters to San Diego, United States in 2013.[6] A great number of employees came from the Nik Collection, which was earlier acquired by Google.[9] Later that year, the company launched Intensify, a fully featured photo editing software, that was named among 2013 Best Mac App Store apps. In 2014, Skylum launched Tonality, a black-and-white photo editor software, that won Apple’s Editors’ Choice of the year.[10] The same year, Skylum hired a team in Europe to develop localized versions of its software and start European expansion.[6]

In 2015, Skylum released a new image noise reduction application called Noiseless.[11] Same year Skylum partnered with Trey Ratcliff to develop an HDR program. Through the collaboration Aurora HDR, a High Dynamic Range editing and processing tool, was released in November.[12] A year later, Skylum developed Luminar, an all-in-one photo editing software as an alternative to Adobe’s Lightroom. Both the software became the most known applications by the company. [13]

In 2017, the company released Aurora HDR and Luminar for Windows – software that previously was available for MacOS only.[14] At the same time, it was also announced that Macphun will change its name to Skylum.[15]

ABOUT PHOTOLEMUR:

  • Photolemur is the world’s first fully automated solution for creating perfect photos.
  • It works on Mac and PC, automatically analyzes and perfects your images, and doesn’t require any manual involvement.
  • Photolemur is powered by artificial intelligence that recognizes objects, faces, trees, sky, foliage and more; distinguishes between portraits, landscapes and macro photographs.
  • Photolemur 3.0 includes the world’s first fully automatic processing and retouching of faces: skin smoothing, removing skin defects, smart eye enlargement and hair structure.
  • The new Photolemur 3.0 version has six new styles along with the ability to impose them on images. The program is also able to enhance a large number of photos simultaneously: more than 200 images at the same time.

Photolemur 3.0 is a no buttons and powered with AI ( Artificial Intelligence ). A real no brainer for dummies. This may sound a little as a little discriminating, but its a true full automatic image enhancer doing a great job.

 

The most essentials in Photolemur 3.0:

  • Automatic Face Enhancement with skin retouching and teeth whitening
  • Smart Eye Enlargement
  • Adding Styles to photos
  • New menu for opacity settings
  • Quick access menu for face enhancement, lens correction and eye enlargement
  • Apply settings from one image to all images in batch
  • SmugMug Export (for Mac version)

  • Performance and stability boost

 

PREFERENCES

As is the application itself, preferences are limited. One good aspect is the ability to set ‘enlarge’ to a desired width. The ‘Save As’ formats are as usual but lacks a format like TIFF. Still it is dead easy to work with Photolemur.

PHOTOLEMUR in PRACTICE

So this is where it all comes down to, working with Photolemur 3.0 experience. Drag & Drop your selected images ( max. 200 at a time ) in the interface below and you are presented with a full image listing, and you will notice the enhancing of images
starts automatically. The change is evident and the result is really well balanced. Pictures really look much better after Photolemur AI ( Artificial Intelligence ) treatment. It is doing all tricks by detecting the different sections of the image like, Face Recognition, Eyes, Sky Enhancement, Color Recovery, Exposure Compensation, Foliage Enhancement, RAW Processing and even detects if a smile is present on the image and performs some teeth-whitening all fully automatic, so a perfect smile is possible.

 

 

Photolemur 3.0 also has 7 presets available for changing the overall look of your image. You may like or need any of these transformations. Just play around with each preset and see what it can do for you. An important aspect of all enhancements or transformations is ability to use the ‘Opacity slider’. This slider will adjust the AI improvements to your liking from Zero to Full.

DISCOUNT use code: Check our discount page for any active discounts 

 

VERDICT
Photolemur 3.0 being a small application, it delivers great picture enhancement. It is a very good application for dummies or those who wish to have a simple application doing all tricks for them instead of learning and using the versatility of Luminar 2018.
Using Artificial Intelligence, it delivers powerful yet one button results. Raw files are supported for best results, as a range of build in transformations. Photolemur 3.0 is great for doing the allround enhancements, and you may use the saved file

for further adjustments with programs like Luminar or Photoshop. For those who are looking for an one button, no brainer solution Photolemur is great.

$ 35.00

 

 

 

 

 

DIGIARTY VIDEOPROC 3.0 review

Posted onAuthorHarrij Mensinga5 Comments

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Version 3.0
Developer  Digiarty Software Inc.
Website https://www.videoproc.com/

 

ABOUT DIGIARTY

Established in 2006, Digiarty is a software company specialized in multimedia software solutions.

 

ABOUT VIDEOPROC 3.0

VideoProc preserves the main feature of MacX Video Converter Pro for Mac, namely, video conversion. It uniquely adopts Intel QSV, NVIDIA CUDA/NVENC, and AMD powered level-3 hardware acceleration tech, thus converting, compressing and processing Blu-ray videos, HDTV/HD-camcorders videos, 4K UHD HEVC/H.264 videos, 1080p multi-track HD videos, standard MP4, MOV, AVI, MPEG and other videos 64x faster than real time.

Apart from fast video converter, VideoProc is also integrated with other useful and powerful tools, including video editor to cut, crop, merge, split and do other edit tasks, music converter to change audio formats, DVD converter to digitize discs, downloader to save online videos and music, and screen/webcam recorder. It is a piece of fully featured video processing software perfectly compatible with the newest macOS Mojave (32bit & 64bit) and lower systems.

It enables you to download videos and music and convert YouTube to MP4, MP3for offline playback. Over 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs help you to convert 4K UHD, MKV, AVCHD, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, VOB, etcto any video or audio format. It offers the world’s first video converter supporting Intel QSV hardware acceleration, 16X faster than before and no quality loss. It also empowers you to record & capture screen video, make photo slideshow, and more.

 

INSTALLATION & PREFERENCES

Installing VideoProc 3.0 is done by dragging and dropping the application in your Mac Applications folder. Thats it, no more stuff to do. Now register your application and you’re all set for a discovery of all its settings and features. VideoProc 3.0 is LOADED with everything you could possibly want from a Video processing application and even ‘more’ !

VideoProc 3.0 is the absolute top application for anyone interested in editing video ! The updated interface is modern and well played out. Some screenshots of available codecs, formats and the toolbox are shown :

 

 

So you must be impressed with this extremely well sorted and provided tools. We are anyway ! Its absolutely loaded with features.

CODECS & SPEED

So we’re about testing the speed and provided features/tools of VideoProc 3.0. The new interface is great and more up to date really.

 

SUPPORTED VIDEO & CODECS 

This VideoProc 3.0 processing software supports 320+ video formats and 50+ audio formats, so that it can handle nearly any video or audio that you throw into it. It easily converts and compresses 4K/1080p HD videos between MKV, MP4, MOV, M2TS, AVCHD, AVI, MOD, TOD, HEVC/H.265, H.264, MPEG4, MPEG2, etc., and converts audios among MP3, AAC, M4A, M4R, FLAC, AIFF, OGG, etc.

PROCESSING SPEED

Equipped with Intel QSV, NVIDIA CUDA/NVENC, and AMD level-3 hardware acceleration tech, Hyper-threading technology, multi-core CPU utility, and AMD 3DNow! Tech, VideoProc can process videos at a speed of up to 5X faster than similar programs in the market while preserving 98% video audio quality of the original media file.

File used: .mov codec ; 500 Mb ; conversion to 4k best quality .mp4

VideoProc 3.0 tells you which codec supports Hardware Accelleration (HWAccel) or not. Change the quality setting to LQ(low Quality) or HQ(High Quality) and the conversion will take shorter or longer. Still VideoProc 3.0 is the fastest converter on this planet so you might as well choose HQ.

*remark:   Conversion speed depends on your Mac’s hardware configuration ! Our Mac’s are not the latest high tech versions but late 2013.

Check this link for more info about HW Acell. https://www.videoproc.com/video-process/full-gpu-acceleration-benefits-4k-video.htm

 

All Profiles are nicely shown in the scroll list.

 

BUILD IN YOU-TUBE DOWNLOADER , CAMERA and RECORDER

VideoProc 3.0 does not only provide converting tools but also contains a great screen recorder and recorder for iMacs iSight camera. Both record in good quality ( settings ( low, medium,high ), after finishing auto open your default media player.
This is just a feature-rich, high quality and really fast video converter having all the tools to make your life easier. Its just that simple in use that there’s really not much to discuss left. It does the job brilliant and even more, so are you looking for the best converter VideoProc 3.0 will not disappoint you.

DISCOUNT 50% LINK: LINK

 

VERDICT

So we have finished testing VideoProc 3.0 and we are impressed with its performance, number of available codecs and additional tools like the screen recorder, camera recorder and ability to download straight from you-tube. It works really easy and fast with a quality finish of your precious video. I cannot find any real flaws in this product ! It absolutely is the best video converter/editing software combination application on the market, offering more then just a basic converter. It looks great, is loaded with features and tops it all with the fastest conversion time found ! The fantastic ‘Toolbox’ offers great options for editing your precious video. We have not found any competitor offering as many editing tools as VideoProc. So looking for the very best video converter/editing application around ? Look no further, this is a hard to beat application. Top scores all around 10 to of 10 !! Well done Digiarty.

$ 42.95

 

 

PHOTO SIZE OPTIMIZER review

Posted onAuthorHarrij MensingaLeave a comment

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Version: 1.71
Developer: EffectMatrix
Website: http://www.effectmatrix.com/mac-appstore/image-mini.htm

 

ABOUT EFFECTMATRIX

EffectMatrix Software Studio is a professional provider for multimedia software, Paint for Mac Graphic Design applications and the related information to the international users. Since founded in Year 2002, it has been playing a more and more important role in this area. At present, there are various professional DVD, video and audio tools which are highly reputed and recommended by numerous users for the easy-use, fast-speed and powerful-function. Based on the same pursuance of providing excellent integration software and personal application to meet the different needs from numerous multimedia fans, EffectMatrix Software Studio and eTinySoft work together as cooperating partners with shared resource and independent identity.

 

WHY WE NEED IMAGE OPTIMISERS

Being a home user or business, we all deal with images everyday. As our mobiles are more and more the main interface for pictures, our pictures-collection is growing each day. Business emails many times have image-attachments which are too large to send without compression of some kind. Websites have many photo’s/images in their media files. Its all about visual information which many times say more then a thousand words. But WordPress users which is about 70% of all websites build, face a problem of maximised image size of 2mb. If more the image will be refused to upload. As there are 200.000.000 live websites there is a huge group facing the same problems. The internet provides many online compress tools which may fit your needs, but better have your own image compression utility. As there is a number of utilities to choose from, we hope our pick of Photo Size Optimizer will persuade you to consider.

 

HOW DOES COMPRESSION WORK

A digital sensor is capable of capturing far more information than the human eye can process. Therefore, some of this information can be removed during compression without the viewer noticing. The compression mechanism looks for any large areas of repetitive color and removes some of the repeated areas. They are then reconstructed in the image when the file is expanded.

The two types of compression are lossless and lossy:

Lossless Compression is similar to creating a ZIP file on a computer. Data is compressed to make it smaller, but no quality is lost when the file is extracted and opened at full size. An image that had been through a form of lossless compression is identical to the original image. TIFF is the most commonly used file format that uses lossless compression.

Lossy Compression works by discarding some information, and the amount of compression applied can be chosen by the photographer. JPEG is the most commonly used file format for lossy compression. It allows photographers to save space on memory cards or to produce files suitable for emailing or posting online. However, it should be noted that each time you open, modify, and then resave a lossy file, a little more detail is lost.

 

PHOTO SIZE OPTIMIZER

  • One-click photo size optimization on Mac OS X.
    Easy management: When a folder dragged into the application, Photo Size Optimizer for Mac will work on it immediately.
    Support 70 types of image formats:
    JPG, BMP, PNG, GIF, PDF, PSD, PNT, RGB, ARW, BMPF, CUR, CRW, CR2, DCR, DNG, EPSF, EPSI, EPI, EPS, EXR, EFX, ERF, FPX, FPIX, FAX, FFF, GIFF, G3, HDR, ICNS, ICO, JP2,
    JFX, JFAX, JPE, JFIF, JPF, MPO, MAC, MRW, MOS, NRW, NEF, ORF, PICT, PIC, PCT, PS, PNTG, PNGF, PEF, QTIF, QTI, RAW, RAF, RW2, RWL, SR2, SRF, SRW, SGI, TRIC, TIFF, TGA, TARGA, TIF, XBM, 3FR, 8BPS
    Photo sharing becomes more easier.
    More choices:
    Lossless mode (png, jpg, gif);
    Lossy mode (jpg);
  • Lossless mode will save space > 20%. Lossless mode compresses and reduces large image size significantly but keep the original resolution, quality.
  • Lossy mode will save space > 50% with minor quality loss.
  • Resize option in the interface

INTERFACE & COMPRESSION RESULTS

The images below show just some examples of compression results. The first two examples show the LOSSLESS option, where least compression is obvious. It also shows the difference between images ( color buildup ). The first added image gets a 6.5% reduction, while the second gets a whopping 20% reduction. So there is no fixed reduction in LOSSLESS mode.

We now do the same images but choose the RESIZER/SQUEEZER option and get huge compression on both images. A whopping 98% file reduction on is astonishing really. When set to 2560 * 1920 pixels the reduction still is about 90%.

Original image size 4.9 MB compressed to 473 KB !! How’s that for excellent compression !

 

THIS IMAGE IS 473KB LARGE !  Good enough for any website in terms of sharpness I think.

 

 

To show you the compression result on pixel size, the Before/After image below shows a full 200% zoom in just 1 part of the picture above. The head-feathers of the horses ( yellow-red) are enlarged.

 

COMPRESSION EXAMPLE

Example 1:  LOSSLESS compression almost no visual difference

 

Example 2: RESIZE/SQUEEZE compression ( 90%) show the expected differences when 200% zoom is used.

 

VERDICT

So we come to the close of this review and ask ourselves ” Is Photo Size Optimizer doing a great job ? “. Well its a definite YES it does! Its so easy and simple to work with, yet it does a true mathematical trick in the background. We just click and take every result for granted, but there’s more to it then just click a button. Photo Size Optimizer has great compression results and still leaves a little room for experimenting with sizes. So, if you’re looking for a image compression tool for your business or as website owner
this little gem needs your attention. For professionals we can only hope it will in future include Lossless compression on TIFF, RAW files. Try it and buy when you’re also convinced of its use. A job well done EffectMatrix.

$ 29.95

 

 

 

MACX VIDEO CONVERTER PRO 6.2.0 review

Posted onAuthorHarrij Mensinga4 Comments

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Version 6.2.0
Developer  Digiarty Software Inc.
Website. https://www.macxdvd.com/mac-video-converter-pro/

 

ABOUT DIGIARTY

Established in 2006, Digiarty is a software company specialized in multimedia software solutions.

 

ABOUT MACX VIDEO COVERTER PRO

MacX Video Converter Pro offers a wide codec support. It enables you to download videos and music and convert YouTube to MP4, MP3 for offline playback. Over 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs help you to convert 4K UHD, MKV, AVCHD, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, VOB, etc to any video or audio format. It offers the world’s first video converter supporting Intel QSV hardware acceleration, 16X faster than before and no quality loss. It also empowers you to record & capture screen video, make photo slideshow, and more.

IMPORTANT NOTICE !

➡ First Mac video converter that supports to convert any video for the newly released iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Huawei Mate 10.

 

WHATS NEW IN VERSION 6.2.0

  1. Unique: No. 1 fast conversion speed taking advantage of unique Intel QSV tech and Auto Copy tech. Convert a MKV video (H.264+ac-3, 1920×1080, 02:07:22) to MP4 in only 15 min. 6 times faster than Handbrake, 10 times faster in auto copy mode than in normal conversion mode.
  2. New & Hot: Handle 4K video easily. Convert 4K UHD, HEVC/H.265, MKV, MP4, MOV,AVCHD, M2TS, AVI, WMV, etc to any video/audio format. Upscale 1080P HD to 4K.
  3. New: Convert video codecs to H.265/HEVC for better playback on iPhone iPad Mac. Compress up to 50% video size with zero quality loss.

 

USING MACX VIDEO CONVERTER PRO

With a simple interface, this Mac video converter gives you just drag-drop and some mouse clicks to convert your video file. Its really easy to convert your video file! Just add the video and select the output codec wanted and don’t forget to set the output quality by. moving the
bar to ‘low’ or ‘high’      , the huge number of codecs will be more then enough for any user.

 

CODECS AND SPEED

Converting a video to highest quality codec like HD or 4K takes time, but compared to other converters MacX really converts fast without losing quality at all.

Intel Quick Sync Video hardware acceleration technology, this Mac video converter can convert any videos with 5X faster speed than others, no matter MP4 MKV MOV AVI or 720P, 1080P, 4K 8K video.

 

SUPPORTED VIDEO & AUDIO CODECS

Built in 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs, MacX Video Converter Pro enables you to convert any video to over 180 video formats and 14 popular audio formats on Mac OS X (macOS High Sierra included), such as H.265/HEVC to H.264, MKV to MP4, AVI to MP4, WMV to MOV, MKV to AVI, VOB to MP4, FLV to MP4, AVCHD to MOV, MP4 to MP3, etc

 

BUILD IN YOU-TUBE DOWNLOADER , CAMERA and RECORDER

MACX Video Converter Pro does not only provide converting tools but also contains a great screen recorder and recorder for the iMacs building camera. Both record in good quality ( settings ( low, medium,high ), after finishing auto open your default media player.
This is just a feature-rich, high quality and really fast video converter having all the tools to make your life easier. Its just that simple in use that there’s really not much to discuss left. It does the job brilliant and even more, so are you looking for a converter try MacX Video Converter Pro you will not be disappointed.

   

 

Discount Coupon: VCPAFFNEW50 ($59.95, Now: $29.95/50% OFF)

VERDICT

So we have tested MacX Video Converter Pro and we are impressed with its performance, number of available codecs and additional tools like the screen recorder, camera recorder and ability to download straight from you-tube. It works really easy and fast with a quality finish of your precious video. I cannot find any real flaws in this product ! It absolutely is one of the best video converters on the market offering more then just a basic converter.

 

$ 29.95

 

 

CIRCULAR STUDIO 1.8 MAC review

Posted onAuthorHarrij MensingaLeave a comment

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Version 1.8
Developer BrainFeverMedia LLC
Website http://www.brainfevermedia.com

 

ABOUT BRAINFEVERMEDIA

Founded in 2010, Ohio USA. BrainFeverMedia is known for their range of photographic editing tools as SkyLab Studio, LensFlare Studio, Reflect Studio and Circular Studio for Mac and iPhone.

INSTALLING CIRCULAR STUDIO

Open the .dmg file and drag the app to the applications map. After opening  the application you’ll notice there are no preferences to be set from the menu. The menu is basic and has few options. All editing is done from within the application and require no special settings.

USING CIRCULAR STUDIO

At first glance you might feel tools are missing but just look at the ‘Preferences & Tools’ below and you will find enough tools to help you create some stunning editing effects for your photo’s. Once you get the hang of it, you start the feel more comfortable with Circular Studio. The interface is well designed and feels logical as do the editing tool-settings. No real need to perform more complicated masking techniques like professionals do, but just basic skills are adequate for using this application.
The amount of provided ‘Presets’ are fair. I hope future editions will include some more as circular-element addition needs to blend in your photo like it was the real thing. The usability of creating a circular transformation strongly depends on the composition of the original photo. You need a fairly clean and wide front view (examples 1 picture) in order to make it shape in a circle in without losing photo information. Any photo can be used to get some spectacular editing results, but in order to get something like the examples your original photo needs to have a specific composition.
That said, it still does a pretty good job with many photo’s. Making a nice composition all comes down to your personal creativity. Circular Studio has the potential to really make your photo exclusive looking.

PREFERENCES & TOOLS

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FEATURES

  • Presets                    – A wide selection of presets from sky objects and centers to clouds and lens flares.
  • Customize               – Customize each circular element type.
  • Professional Filters – Make beautiful and unique photos with Circulars professional filter choices.
  • Lens Flares             – Add flares and lens textures for a stylized and artistic look.

Reflect includes a wide selection of presets from calm water and ocean waves to ice and metal.

PROFESSIONAL EDITOR
– RAW file support
– True color 16 bpc support
– 64 bit pipeline for highest quality processing
– Preserves exif data
– Supports photos up to 8000×8000 pixels

REFLECT STUDIO SCENES

  • Sky Objects
    Centers
    Clouds
    Lens Flares

Below you find some examples created from my personal photo’s: Krakow Castle Poland.

Choose a picture with a fair clean and wide (examples 1 picture) front view for best circular transformation. For natural looking compositions try to avoid busy front views to create your own astonishing artistic photo impression.
I tried some normal pictures with different compositions but all with full designs, and they will not produce the even circle center rather center the shot with figures disorientated. Even these transformations might produce an artistic photo. Bottom line is that not every picture will be good to transform.

I really enjoyed playing with all possibilities  offered. Anyone should be able to produce some great looking pictures, regardless of your choice. Circular Studio is a must for anyone enjoying the creative part of photo editing.

I only found the export options a bit disappointing really. The right export options would be so much better !

 

 

 

 

 

EXAMPLES

This shows the result difference in photo composition

VERDICT

We really enjoyed editing with Circular Studio. It definitely is an editing tool able to produce some artistic professional results. This application offers great value for your buck. Great pricing and lots of tools and adjustments make this something to shop for. So is it perfect ? Well nothing is perfect in life but as an editing tool its getting close to what is claims to be. Get the export options upgraded as shown above and you make even a professional happy. Most users will be more then happy the way it deals with export and saving options, but the professional to be just needs a little more. Still we have a very nice piece of software to work with. Its got all the tricks to make you an editing magician. Like to do this kind of editing? Don’t think twice just get it.

 

$ 29.99

 

 

REFLECT STUDIO 2.7 MAC review

Posted onAuthorHarrij MensingaLeave a comment

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Version 2.7
Developer BrainFeverMedia LLC
Website http://www.brainfevermedia.com

ABOUT BRAINFEVERMEDIA

Founded in 2010, Ohio USA. BrainFeverMedia is known for their range of photographic editing tools as SkyLab Studio, LensFlare Studio, Reflect Studio and Circular Studio for Mac and iPhone.

INSTALLING REFLECT STUDIO

Open the .dmg file and drag the app to the applications map. After opening  the application you’ll notice there are no preferences to be set from the menu. The menu is basic and has few options. All editing is done from within the application and require no special settings.

USING REFLECT STUDIO

At first glance you might feel tools are missing but just look at the ‘Preferences & Tools’ below and you will find enough tools to help you create some stunning editing effects for your photo’s. Once you get the hang of it, you start the feel more comfortable with Reflect Studio. The interface is well designed and feels logical as do the editing tool-settings. No real need to perform more complicated masking techniques like professionals do, but just basic skills are adequate for using this application.
The amount of provided ‘Presets’ are fair. I hope future editions will include some more as reflection-element addition needs to blend in your photo like it was the real thing. The usability of adding a reflection-element strongly depends on the composition of the original photo. You need a fairly clean horizon view in order to make it blend in without losing photo information. You can adjust the diffuse setting etc. but layers are on top and can be blended only when objects are not part of your horizon.
That said, it still does a pretty good job with many photo’s. Making a nice composition all comes down to your personal creativity. Reflect Studio has the potential to really upgrade your photo. Adding preset elements like ‘ Fog’ and is part of this application.

PREFERENCES & TOOLS

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FEATURES

  • Presets                    – Reflect includes a wide selection of presets from calm water and ocean waves to ice and metal.
  • Customize               – Customize each reflection type, adjust wave size, fog, blur, color, etc.
  • Professional Filters – Make beautiful and unique photos with Reflect’s professional filter choices.
  • Fog and Haze         – Add atmospheric effects like fog and haze for inredibly realistic horizons.
  • Lens Textures         – Add surface and glass lens textures for a stylized and artistic look.
  • SciFi Surfaces        – Take your photos to another dimension with SciFi computerized floor surfaces.

Reflect includes a wide selection of presets from calm water and ocean waves to ice and metal.

 

PROFESSIONAL EDITOR
– RAW file support
– True color 16 bpc support
– 64 bit pipeline for highest quality processing
– Preserves exif data
– Supports photos up to 8000×8000 pixels

 

REFLECT STUDIO SCENES

  • Water
    Oceans
    Beaches
    Ice
    Floor surfaces
    Tiles surfaces
    Sci-Fi

Below you find some examples created from my personal photo’s: Krakow Castle Poland.

The original Wisla river is calm and wide ! Choose a picture with a fair straight horizon for a reflection-addition  scene, for natural looking compositions or create your own astonishing photo impression. I really enjoyed playing with all possibilities  offered. Anyone should be able to produce some great looking pictures, regardless of your choice. Reflect Studio is a must for anyone enjoying the creative part of photo editing.

I only found the export options a bit disappointing really. The right export options would be so much better !

 

 

 

EXAMPLES

before
after
Before/After Krakow Castle and Wisla river / Ice reflection
Before/After Krakow Castle and Wisla river / Beaches Reflection added
Just one more transformation

VERDICT

We really enjoyed editing with Reflect Studio. It definitely is an editing tool able to produce some professional results. This application offers great value for your buck. Great pricing and lots of tools and adjustments make this something to shop for. So is it perfect ? Well nothing is perfect in life but as an editing tool its getting close to what is claims to be. Get the export options upgraded as shown above and you make even a professional happy. Most users will be more then happy the way it deals with export and saving options, but the professional to be just needs a little more. Still we have a very nice piece of software to work with. Its got all the tricks to make you an editing magician. Like to do this kind of editing? Don’t think twice just get it.

 

$ 29.99

 

 

SKYLAB STUDIO 1.4 review

Posted onAuthorHarrij MensingaLeave a comment

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Version 1.4
Developer BrainFeverMedia LLC
Website http://www.brainfevermedia.com

ABOUT BRAINFEVERMEDIA

Founded in 2010, Ohio USA. BrainFeverMedia is known for their range of photographic editing tools as SkyLab Studio, LensFlare Studio, Reflect Studio and Circular Studio for Mac and iPhone.

INSTALLING SKYLAB STUDIO

Open the .dmg file and drag the app to the applications map. After opening  the application you’ll notice there are no preferences to be set from the menu. The menu is basic and has few options. All editing is done from within the application and require no special settings.

USING SKYLAB STUDIO

At first glance you might feel tools are missing but just look at the ‘Preferences & Tools’ below and you will see enough tools to help you create some stunning editing effects for your photo’s. Once you get the hang of it, you start the feel more comfortable with SkyLab Studio. The interface is well designed and feels logical as do the editing tool-settings. No real need to perform more complicated masking techniques like professionals do, but just basic skills are adequate for using this application.
The amount of provided presets are fair. I hope future editions will include some more as sky element replacement needs to blend in your photo like it was the real thing. The usability of sky replacement strongly depends on the composition of the original photo. You need a fairly clean horizon view in order to make it blend in without losing photo information. You can adjust the diffuse setting etc. but layers are on top and can be blended only when objects are not part of your horizon.
That said, it still does a pretty good job with many photo’s. Making a nice composition all comes down to your personal creativity. SkyLab Studio has the potential to really upgrade your photo. Adding preset elements like, birds and trees are all part of this application.

PREFERENCES & TOOLS

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FEATURES
– Easily replace skies on your photos
– Huge collection of skies
– Add clouds, trees, birds, and more

PROFESSIONAL EDITOR
– RAW file support
– True color 16 bpc support
– 64 bit pipeline for highest quality processing
– Preserves exif data
– Supports photos up to 8000×8000 pixels

SKY SCENES

  • Clear
    Cloudy
    Sunset
    Stormy
    Vortex 1
    Vortex 2
    Night
    Moonlight
    Heavy Skies
    Pastel Skies

Below you find some examples created from my personal photo’s: a cold snowy mountaintop.

The original sky is grey and screams ‘ cold ‘! You may have chosen another sky replacement scene, but i prefer to stick to fairly natural compositions. I really enjoyed playing with all possibilities  offered. Anyone should be able to produce some great looking pictures, regardless of your choice. SkyLab Studio is a must for anyone enjoying the creative part of photo editing.

I only found the export options a bit disappointing really. The right export options would be so much better !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXAMPLES

Before/After Replace with dramatic sky
Before/After Add Tree element to photo
Before/After Replace sky and add sun
Before/After Replaces sky/added sun/added tree element

VERDICT

We really enjoyed editing with SkyLab Studio. It definitely is an editing tool able to produce some professional results. This application offers great value for your buck. Great pricing and lots of tools and adjustments make this something to shop for. So is it perfect ? Well nothing is perfect in life but as an editing tool its getting close to what is claims to be. Get the export options upgraded as shown above and you make even a professional happy. Most users will be more then happy the way it deals with export and saving options, but the professional to be just needs a little more. Still we have a very nice piece of software to work with. Its got all the tricks to make you an editing magician. Like to do this kind of editing? Don’t think twice just get it.

 

$ 29.99

 

 

CAMERABAG PHOTO 3.0 review

Posted onAuthorHarrij Mensinga2 Comments

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Version: 3.0.1
Developer Nevercenter
Website http://nevercenter.com/camerabag/photo/

 

ABOUT NEVERCENTER

Nevercenter Ltd. Co. is a private company founded in 2003 and based near Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] The company is a small team devoted to the development of software for Windows, Mac, and mobile platforms. Prominent titles include:

  • Silo, a 3D modeling application using subdivision surfaces for Windows and Mac OS.[2] Originally released August 2003; Silo 2 released August 2007.[3]
  • CameraBag, a photo editing app available for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. 2012 Mac App of the Year Runner-Up.[4] Originally released for iOS in September 2008 as a vintage photo filter app,[5] Mac support was added in September 2009. The program was then redesigned and updated to “CameraBag 2” in 2012 as a full image editing application for Mac and PC, with the iOS version of CameraBag 2 following soon after.[6] 
  • In 2016 Camerabag Photo was redesigned and updated to version 3.0

CAMERABAG PHOTO

Every photographer novice or experienced needs software to edit photo’s. It is one of the great digital features computers and software nowadays present. Customizing your own photo’s to your liking takes some skills if you’re using Adobe Photoshop or any other advanced photo editing software. For many people this is just a bridge too far! This is where more basic software like CameraBag Photo comes in handy.
CameraBag Photo is a no nonsense photo editing tool presenting the user nearly 200 preset filters and the ability to adjust any filter to your liking. Handling RAW photo’s is a nice added feature for real editing.

  • Hue Mask
  • HSV Mask
  • Luminance Mask
  • Highlights/Midtones/Shadows
  • 4-Way Color Wheels
  • Advanced Contrast
  • Multi-Document Tabs
  • Pixel Inspector
  • Animated Hover Previews
  • Dynamic Preview Chooser
  • Collapsible Tool Sections
  • Updated Look
  • Color Management (Mac)
  • Side-By-Side Image Editing
  • Render Queue
  • Speed Improvements
  • Dozens of New Filters

INTERFACE

The interface is clean and easy to use. On the right side we find the full scope of filters and normal customizations tools. Choosing a Preset from the sidebar and you’ll notice the change of your photo on the fly!
This making it much easier to choose any preset instead of trying any. If you’re comfortable with a chosen preset, just click and the main photo will change to the preset settings.
The bottom bar will now show adjustable settings to finetune your photo.

Another aspect of CameraBag Photo is saving your personal optimized settings as a ‘Preset’ allowing you to edit other photo’s in a personal and consistant way. Give it your personal touch to define and set yourself from the crowd.

QUICKLOOK

Choose a Preset folder/category and press/use the Quicklook button. A full array of default presets within the category is displayed is one overview allowing you to choose any desired preset.

 

HOW IT PERFORMS

CameraBag is as stated earlier working very nice. It provides the novice user tons of possibilities to enhance and edit their photo’s. Adjustments are made easy with sliders well defined and presented in a clean interface.
The more experienced user will soon see the limitations of the software but can still make use of fast presets and save for export to for instance Macphun Luminar. Camerabag Photo boasting 200 presets can really make life easier.

Overall speed is good. The full adjustable settings are easy to work with. If you’re looking for a ‘bag of tricks’ this is the software to get. No hassle no pain, a great photo is your gain. ( that even rhymes )

The New TAB function from the menubar provides a split screen showing the picture before-after editing. You may choose this step any moment working on a photo, keeping an almost perfect photo aside before making more changes.

SEE IT IN ACTION

CameraBag Photo YouTube play

LISTING of TOOLS

Basics
  • Exposure
  • Contrast
  • Saturation
  • Temperature
  • Multi Tool
Photographics
  • Vignette
  • Grain
  • Sharpen
  • Blur
  • Circular Blur
Borders
  • Basic Border
  • Fill Border
  • Image Border
Advanced Light
  • Tone Curve
  • Gamma Curve
  • Advanced Contrast
  • Shadows/Highlights
  • Dynamics
  • Brightness
Masks
  • Hue Mask
  • HSV Mask
  • Luminance Mask
Utility
  • Watermark
  • Dead Pixel
  • Aspect Ratio
  • Exact Size
  • Maximum Size
Advanced Color
  • Coloring
  • Coloring Curve
  • R, G, B Curves
  • Color Wheels
  • Component Curve
  • Hue Shift
  • Hue Exposure
  • Hue Saturation
  • Split Tone
  • Color Balance
  • Color Mixer
  • Filtered B+W

 

VERDICT

The final verdict of CameraBag Photo is good. It is a well designed and great looking piece of software enabling the user to easily edit their photo’s. It has nearly 200 presets covering most areas of photo editing.
Handling RAW material makes it usable for advanced users. CameraBag Photo is your private ‘bag of tricks’ setting you apart from the crowd.

 

$ 20.00

 

 

MACPHUN NOISELESS CK review

Posted onAuthorHarrij Mensinga6 Comments

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Version 1.3.1
Developer  Macphun.com USA
Website https://macphun.com/noiseless

 

MACPHUN NOISELESS CK

Like all photographers I have trouble with noise when we photograph in poor light environment. Noise is digitally created with our modern camera’s and enhanced when using flash for instance.
Even without flash and trying to capture a night scene, noise will be part of your picture. This is where MACPHUN’s NOISELESS CK comes in.
A pretty handy piece of software, which takes care of the noise problem. NOISELESS CK is part of the CREATIVE KIT and available as standalone or part of the the bundle offered by Macphun.

When you open a photo in NOISELESS CK, the app applies a preset based on information provided by the image’s EXIF data. (If a file contains no EXIF data, no preset is chosen ).

 

INSTALLATION

Again like all Macphun software, nothing special. Just straight install which requires no reboot of your system. Wait for the software to detect any supported third party software to apply the plugins.
Activate your program by email and provided serial and you’re on your way. You may also use the Trial software in order to see wether Noiseless is what you are looking for.

 

plugin-install

 


NOISELESS CK IN PRACTICE

So how does it work, making noise go away? Noiseless uses algorithms to adjust the appearance of the pixels in a way that minimizes the original noise and retains detail. That is about what Noiseless software is trying to do.
Great, but does it work ? I will show you just a normal night shot with a SONY NEX camera. The first picture is the original full picture which revealed quite some noise, and some when Noiseless is applied.

As does all Creative Kit software, this works with drag & drop your picture.

ZOOM  100% FILTER OFF ( right side )

Screen Shot 2016-05-09 at 11.08.20

ZOOM 100% FILTER ON ( drag to left )
Screen Shot 2016-05-09 at 11.08.32

Screen Shot 2016-05-09 at 10.50.50

USING DUAL PANE SCREEN ( compare left & right )

Screen Shot 2016-05-09 at 10.52.21

Screen Shot 2016-05-09 at 10.52.48

It is amazing to see what NOISELESS CK really achieves ! I used only the presets from the sidebar and adjustments are easily being made to intensity of filter use. I am impressed that without any knowledge of
noise reduction in for instance Photoshop, I am able to upgrade any picture to a desired level.

 

VERDICT

How easy can life be, with software from Macphun. Wether you opt for the standalone version or the complete Creative Kit bundle, which is a brilliant deal, you will be pleased with your buy. If you consider yourself to be a true photographer enthusiast you should have this software available for use. The complete Creative Kit is like a Swiss Army knife for photographers.
Great software and so easy to use. Get it while you can.

€ 23.99

Coupon Code use ” MACSOFTREVIEW ”