As a Topaz Labs Evangelist I’ve just received word about the pending release of their new plug-in called “Clarity” next week. Topaz Clarity features powerful contrast control that results in compelling images with a very natural look and no halos. What has impressed me the most so far is the exacting finite control I now have over EACH individual colour range in SATURATION, HUE and LUMINANCE which for me was very difficult & time consuming in other photo applications:
Zoom Zoom before edit (SOOC) © Harvey Grohmann 2013
Zoom Zoom edited with Topaz Labs Clarity © Harvey Grohmann 2013
Example images and screen shots:
-
- Portrait
-
- Car
-
- Bridge
-
- Building
-
- UI Mask Mode
-
- Quick Look Preset View
-
- UI
-
- UI Split
-
- UI
-
- UI ToolPanel
-
- Quick Look Preset View
-
- Mask Module
Topaz Labs products can be used with many industry standard applications such as Adobe PhotoShop CS4-CS6, Light Room, Elements 9-11, Apple Aperture 2 and 3 and other editors that support PhotoShop plug-ins like IrfanView, PaintShop Pro etc. Download the Topaz Labs Clarity Technical Specifications PDF here.
However if you do not have any of these applications you can use Topaz Labs amazing standalone application called “photoFXlab”. See details on the link below.
From the Clarity release:
Topaz Clarity uses proprietary technology that allows you to quickly and easily adjust various levels of contrast with no halos or artifacts. The results are compelling images with a very natural look. Here is a quick look at some of the features:
Clarity Module – The Dynamics section of this module allows you to selectively adjust contrast in your image, without adding halos or artifacts, resulting in a very natural looking, yet compelling image. The contrast sliders range from micro to high, and refer to the original image contrast variations allowing you to increase or decrease the contrast in that specific variation. The highlight of this module is the ability to adjust mid-tone contrast quickly and easily, something that would normally take many steps to achieve.
The Tone section gives you the ability to adjust the tone levels to retain a high range of tones in your image. It includes black, white, and mid-tone sliders that can bring back details in the shadows and highlights that would normally be lost with high contrast adjustments.
HSL Module – Topaz Clarity is the first to use a quality enhancement method in the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance adjustment module, which can produce strong adjustments with much less artifacts and noise. The HSL module allows you to selectively enhance specific colors in your image. It works by breaking your image into 8 different colors, giving maximum control over the colors in your image.
Advanced Masking Technology – We have incorporated several new features in the masking module to allow for more precise masking. Clarity offers three different types of brushes; normal, edge aware, and the new color aware. You now have the ability to feather the mask and control the color range. You also have the option of choosing a gradient mask that includes linear, radial, and reflected types of gradients. In addition, there is a separate mask for the Clarity module and the HSL module, which allows for much greater control of adjustment areas in your image.
New User Interface – We are premièring a brand new user interface that is more intuitive, polished, and user friendly. As requested, both the navigator window and the buttons are larger and easier to view. The modules themselves are streamlined for quicker and easier adjustments. The masking section is condensed, even with the addition of new masking features.
Over 100 Presets – For the first time, we have categorized the presets by types of photography. This will enable photographers to quickly identify which presets would be most useful for their particular image.
Click here to get your copy (next week):
