best of the best cs5 plugins

oakfieldphotography.comoakfieldphotography.com Registered Users Posts: 376 Major grins
edited August 9, 2011 in Finishing School
Are there a definintave group of tried and tested pluginns for cs5 using 32bit vista that you can reccomend for high end work?
Say for Landscape, Portrait and street photography.
What do you use and why?

Regards
Patrick:D

Comments

  • idiotabroadidiotabroad Registered Users Posts: 246 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2011
    OnOne personal favorite, reasons why? too many to list.
    Mark

    If you don't agree with me then your wrong.
    I can't be held accountable for what I say, I'm bipolar.
  • basfltbasflt Registered Users Posts: 1,882 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2011
    thats right

    however
    i still dont understand why , after all these years , every one refuse to make 64bit plugins [ and not only plugins ]

    windows 128bit is on its way
    are they waiting for that or what ?
    Bas

    /ɯoɔ˙ƃnɯƃnɯs˙ʇlɟsɐq//:dʇʇɥ
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,962 moderator
    edited July 30, 2011
    I wouldn't call my work high end, but FWIW, I find PS and ACR can do just about anything I need. The one exception is noise reduction when the noise is really bad. I use Imagenomic's Noiseware Professional plug-in for that. There are 32 and 64 bit versions. I'm still waiting for the Take Better Shots plug-in, AKA the unsuck filter. mwink.gif
    My Pics
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2011
    basflt wrote: »
    thats right

    however
    i still dont understand why , after all these years , every one refuse to make 64bit plugins [ and not only plugins ]

    windows 128bit is on its way
    are they waiting for that or what ?

    ne_nau.gifdunnone_nau.gifdunno

    I have a number of plugins and they are all 16 bit. On One and Nik as examples.

    Sam
    www.samlinvillephotography.com
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,962 moderator
    edited July 31, 2011
    Even more outrageous is that many filters in Photoshop itself still only work in 8 bit mode. What a joke.
    My Pics
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2011
    Richard wrote: »
    Even more outrageous is that many filters in Photoshop itself still only work in 8 bit mode. What a joke.

    This I agree with!

    Sam
    www.samlinvillephotography.com
  • gecko0gecko0 Registered Users Posts: 383 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2011
    I'm still waiting for the Take Better Shots plug-in, AKA the unsuck filter.

    HAhahahaaha...so true. Sign me up when the unsuck filter is available (32 or 64 bit is fine). :D
    Canon 7D and some stuff that sticks on the end of it.
  • fredjclausfredjclaus Registered Users Posts: 759 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2011
    The only plugin I have so far for CS5 is a green screen program from Green Screen Wizzard. I've spent many years using PaintShop Pro and never felt the need to upgrade to Photoshop. Now that I have it, I'm learning a lot. I'll have to check out the OnOne plugins.
    Fred J Claus
    Commercial Photographer
    http://www.FredJClaus.com
    http://www.Fredjclaus.com/originals

    Save on your own SmugMug account. Just enter Coupon code i2J0HIOcEElwI at checkout
  • wolf911wolf911 Registered Users Posts: 273 Major grins
    edited August 7, 2011
    I like Nik software and they do 64 bit.

    Don't forget, a lot of great action scripts out there too.
    ~KJS~
    Photos by KJS | Flickr | Blog | 500px | Google+
  • VayCayMomVayCayMom Registered Users Posts: 1,870 Major grins
    edited August 8, 2011
    I also have CS5 32 bit. I have a TON of plugins. MOST of these have free trials, so try them rather have me list why, besides I shoot portraits mostly. For you I recommend several, in random order.
    Nik Color Pro, OnOne software,Totally Rad.keep us posted !
    Trudy
    www.CottageInk.smugmug.com

    NIKON D700
  • MarkRMarkR Registered Users Posts: 2,099 Major grins
    edited August 9, 2011
    Everyone uses plugins differently, and everyone has different needs-- studio shooters need different tools than HDR landscape shooters, f'rinstance. So the initial question, "what are the best plugins" is kind of misleading. Instead, we should be asking, what makes a quality plugin?

    1. Active support. Does the plugin manufacturer actively support the plugin?

    The Polaroid Dust and Scratch filter is a prime example of this. It is a wonderful plugin for cleaning up dirt and scratches off of a scanned print. But it's 32-bit, and for Mac users, PowerPC. Odds of me launching CS5 in 32-bit rosetta mode, near 0%.

    ... Or Magic Focus, which I'd love to try, but has been in "new version coming soon" since forever. Or Kodak's ASF tools, which are "NEW! for CS3." I emailed Kodak support regarding a 64-bit version of their tools. They responded very quickly-- with a "we'll wait and see."

    2. Functionality: for me to look at a plugin, it needs to either do something that I can't do in Photoshop, or which has a significant time savings impact. Noise reduction is a prime example-- outside of ACR, the noise reduction tools in Photoshop are quite limited. Also tools like Topaz Detail. I could ape the functionality of what Topaz Detail does in a very limited way in PS, but not with the level of quality that Detail offers.

    3. Usage. As nice as Silver Efex may be, I don't do enough B&W to justify it's price.

    4. Upgrade paths. Let's face it, time marches on, and at some point, we will all be using CS6, 7, 8. 9 ... what are the upgrade options for your plugin? Topaz Labs is particularly nice in this regard, having historically offered free upgrades across the board. On the other hand, no one really wants to re-buy the same plugin they've already bought, just to get bug fixes or compatibility updates. Admittedly, past performance does not guarantee future results :), but it does give a baseline against which to measure.

    So what plugins do I use?

    In Adobe: the scratch and dust filter, median blur, and lens blur tools (mostly for scanning images.)

    TopazLabs: Detail, Denoise, Adjust, InFocus. InFocus gets used least frequently. Denoise gets pulled out when I accidently shoot at ISO 25600 (oops!) as it can give better results than ACR. Detail for sharpening and image enhancement, Adjust for adding depth and color to images.

    PhotoWiz: Colorwasher, for quick WB and tonal corrections.

    Currently evaluating: Nik Viveza 2 and Color Efex. (15 day trials? boo, hiss!)
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