Tag Archives: aperture

*Topaz Star Effects, on sale just in time for the holidays

by in Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

P1060106_HDR

With the recent kitchen sink sale that Topaz had, it got me curious about some of the other plugins on offer.  I love DeNoise, Clarity and ReMask, but what about all these other cool, quirky plugins?  Topaz Star Effects allows a user controlled enhancement for any point of light in your image, and through the month of December, it is on sale at 50% off for $14.99 here at Topazlabs.com when using the code “decstar” at checkout.  Well, if you have an extra few bucks lying around, and would like to enhance any points of light in your images, check this out…

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*Topaz Adjust, on sale in all its popular image enhancing glory!

by in Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

topaz adjust

What may be seen by many Topaz plugin users as the quintessential Topaz offering, Topaz Adjust is being offered for 50% off through the end of September.  Using coupon code “septadjust” you can get what is probably Topaz most useful and popular plugin for $24.99, or apply the same discount code from the complete collection for a $25 discount!!!  This was the very first plugin from Topaz that I ever bought, I paid full price, and I’m still thrilled with it.  I use many of the Adjust filters as layers in my imagery, and particularly to enhance my HDR interior shots that I use for my grow’d up photography (you can click the above before/after comparison to see what a single click can do).  It is extremely cheap for the power it provides.  It can be used for nice, subtle detail enhancement, full blown surreality or anything in-between.  Visit Topaz Labs website HERE to try or buy this awesome plugin.

*Super deal on fisheye and Topaz Re-Style on sale for 4 more days!

by in General ramblings, Photography gear, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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A couple super deals have popped up.  Please excuse the quick break from the normally scheduled programing…  For my fellow micro 4/3 shooters, the above lens is temporarily on sale, and for all my fellow post processing enthusiasts, Topaz Re-Style is 50% off for just 4 more days.

The Bower (Rokinon/Samyang/whoever else they sell this lens under) micro 4/3, 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye, is now on sale for $199 at B&H HERE (price is now fluctuating between $200-250 or so), and also includes the 4% reward and Free Shipping!  If you’ve been on the fence, this is an amazing deal on a great lens (Normally about $300).  You can read my opinions on the Rokinon version (same lens) HERE.  Oddly, it is only the Bower version that is on sale, but it is the same lens as the Rokinon that I own, use and love.

Screen Shot 2013-08-28 at 10.01.59 AM

Also, Topaz Re-Style is about to wrap up it’s introductory sale this Saturday, at which point it will go up to “full” price ($59.99).  Right now, through Saturday, you can get Re-Style for 50% off HERE for $29.99 when using the code “restyleit”, enter the discount code at checkout.  I recently reviewed Re-Style HERE. Also, you can get the $30 discount off of the full collection of Topaz plugins by using that same “restyleit” discount code.

Thank you, happy shooting and carry on…

Cheers,

Tyson

*Topaz ReStyle, killer quick cross processing effects. Brand new and on Sale!

by in Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

restyle

Topaz continues to kick out awesome plugins, and their newest release ReStyle keeps with the recent pattern. Like most Topaz Plugins, us early adopters get a substantial discount which they offer as soon as the software is released. Read on for my take and a few examples, or if you’re already sold, go here to TopazLabs.com and use the code “restyleit” to get 50% off ($59.99 reg, or $29.99 now through August 31st).

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*All Alien Skin Plugins are 50% off until the end of the month!

by in General ramblings, Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

birthday-special

 

If you’ve been waiting for an Alien Skin software sale, now may very well be the time.  I’ve not ever seen them offer any more than 50% (I don’t even remember seeing a half off sale in the past!) so it is as good as I’ve seen it!

I like the AS plugins a lot, and have been absolutely loving the new Exposure 5.  You can read my take on some of their plugins via the links below, and you can buy any of these directly from AlienSkin.com (click here). I get no kickbacks from Alien Skin, and have no monetary incentive to sell their plugins, I just really enjoy using them and for those who may also be interested, it won’t get much cheaper than this.  Go get you some.

Exposure 5, the best gets better

Bokeh 2, blur it out

Snap Art 3, release your inner artist

*Alien Skin Exposure 5, the best keeps getting better.

by in Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Exposure 5

There are quite a few film emulation plugins to choose from.  Looking at the sheer multitude of cross processed filters or “film” replications on offer from different plugins can be daunting.  To me, the difference is in the details, and none does a better job in my opinion than Alien Skin’s Exposure has.  When choosing a plugin, the biggest and most important features lie mainly in interface, tools available and when discussing a film replication, the actual grain structure and implementation is key.  Like past Exposure releases, Exposure 5 gives you a full library of Black and White as well as Color film filters.  Many plugins emulate a similar result, but none has paid as much attention to detail, grain reproduction and fidelity as Alien Skin Exposure 5 has, to my eye.  With Exposure 5, the new release adds a new user interface and some sweet new controls.  Read on for some of the details…

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*Olympus 75mm f/1.8, all it’s cracked up to be?

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Oly 75mm f/1.8 Lens

After my recent disappointment with the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro (read here), and my ongoing ups and downs with the Olympus OMD EM5, I have been looking to be convinced by Olympus.  I hear so much about Oly’s stellar reputation, but I’d not personally felt those plaudits justified through my experiences with the few Olympus products I’ve owned (hopefully the fanboys will be kind to me here).  In comes the M. Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 lens.  A solid, sharp, 150mm EFOV lens with quite a reputation of its own has come onto the scene.  After returning the 60mm macro, I wanted to make sure that the investment in the 75mm lens would be worth it to me…

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*50% off All Topaz Plugins!

by in General ramblings, Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

From right now through November 26th, all Topaz plugins are 50% off!!!  Kind of insane actually seeing that so many of them are already so realistically priced.

Click HERE to see the Plugins that Topaz offers (listed at full price) and enter the code “CyberSavings” at checkout to cut the price in half!

Here are some of the plugins that I’ve reviewed:

Topaz DeNoise5 (a killer noise reduction plugin)

Black and White Effects (very budget friendly B&W processing)

Clean (edge detail and skin softening plugin) which also doubles as a Fractalius like plugin for Mac!

I also love Adjust and would highly suggest any (or all) the Topaz plugins, especially at 50% off!!!

Cheers,

Tyson

*Topaz DeNoise 5, like a fine wine.

by in Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

***UPDATE See the new Topaz DeNoise 6 reviewed and compared to DeNoise 5 HERE***

Smooth, yet refined with an impeccable attention to detail.

Noise has become less and less an issue for digital photographers over the last few years as sensor technology gets better, in camera processing is capable of shouldering more of that load than ever before and digital asset management software/RAW converters are up to the task for much of the noise reduction needs.  Still, with analog to digital information translation, there is an inherent signal:noise issue that can always be further helped by a good noise reduction software.  Add to that, pro-sumer 35mm format models breaching the Medium Format pixel counts, or compact sensors pushing the pixel pitch to near immeasurable dimensions, there is, and will be a need for a manual noise reduction control through post processing.  While Lightroom and Aperture have good noise reduction algorithms, they are the swiss army knife of image processing, giving you many handy tools, but what happens when you need a power tool?  That little Swiss army knife’s mini-saw ain’t gonna cut through that noise riddled log for you, you’ll need a chainsaw.   Enter, Topaz DeNoise5, your powerful, noise reducing chainsaw.  You can download a free trial, or purchase DeNoise.  If interested click HERE to go to Topazlabs.com.  I’ve used Noise Ninja and Nik Define in the past, and I think both of those have just been pushed out of my workflow.  Read on for examples and my take…

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*How do aperture and focal length affect the DOF or exposure on different sized sensors?

by in General ramblings, Photography tutorials and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Okay, much like the “effective focal length” discussions, there seem to be many “effective aperture” discussions going around as many of these mirrorless interchangeable lens compact system cameras begin to really round out their lens offerings.  Well, I guess the micro 4/3 system has while the Samsung NX is getting there and Sony NEX system users still have a small handful of options, but not really here nor there.  The fact that so many lenses can be adapted across various formats can complicate the discussion.  Along with those who shoot with APS-C DSLR cameras, all references for focal length and depth of field seem to fall back to a full frame/35mm sized sensor as the benchmark.  There are some misconceptions as to how the aperture, or focal length affects the exposure or depth of field in these varying formats.

C’mon in, we’ll straighten this all out.

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