Hello All.  You may remember my original review of Topaz B&W Effects back a little while ago.  It was, in my opinion, a great black and white plugin for the money.  With B&W Effects 2, they streamlined the interface, added more filters along with a few other bells and whistles.  With the 2.1 upgrade, (which is a free upgrade for existing users of B&W Effects, or available for new users at a 30% discount using promo code “BW21” here at TopazLabs.com) They’ve added an 11 Zone review system along with a new smattering of awesome borders.

With a modest starting price of $59.99, the 30% discount brings this plugin down to $42, or is included in the Topaz Bundle which also includes their latest versions of Adjust, DeNoise, Simplify, Detail, Clean, ReMask, InFocus, Lens Effects and DeJPEG ($600 value for $300).  I use Adjust, Clean and DeNoise all the time and with the newer additions to B&W Effects, I will be working this into my workflow as well.  One criticism I had of the original B&W Effects was it’s grain re-creation engine.  I felt it was inorganic and a bit too digital when looking at it magnified or in large print which was a bummer.  With v. 2.1, it has been greatly improved to my eye.  Add to that the new Zone system:

…and cool new Borders:

…and the plugin has increased it’s usefulness and fun factor.

Like all good plugins, I highly suggest trying before you buy.  You can get a free, fully functional trial via TopazLabs.com and if you purchase between now and April 21st, you can get B&W Effects at a 30% discount using code “BW21“!

Give it a try!

Happy shooting,

Tyson

Here are a couple of my reviews on the recent Topaz plugins:

DeNoise 5

Clean