Topaz Filters with cs5 or LR3

Marlene

My topaz filters are all for my cs5 photoshop. Lately I have been using LR3 for most of my processing, and then going into cs5 when I want to use Topaz. Anyone use Topaz for LR3? Looking to purchase new b&w and I have stopped to think if I should purchase it for cs5 and keep all there, or should I migrate over to LR3? Thoughts?

basflt

no
you allready can use it in LR

go to
preferences
under external editor ; click > choose
point at > C:\Program Files\Common Files\Topaz Labs and select tlfusionexpress.exe
ok


PS
if you dont have fusion express , get it from their site
it is free , but required for LR

MarkR

Why not just open the files from Lightroom into PS (Edit --> Open in Photoshop) and launch the filters from there? You then have the advantage of doing the work on a separate layer, and using tools like fade, opacity, and masking.

Understand that the Topaz filters (or any 3rd party filters) require LR to render a TIFF or PSD file; the filters can't be applied to the raw file.

basflt

OP allready does that

nothing is ever applied to RAW
not by LR and not by PS

result stays the same
PS will also sent back a TIFF to LR
so , might as well do it directly
costs nothing but is easier and faster

OP can use her exiting plugins directly from LR

MarkR

Well, the nice thing for the OP is that she has the choice-- Topaz doesn't make a separate "Lightroom only" version of their plugins (I'm looking at YOU, NikSoftware!:soapbox), so gets the benefits of both worlds-- export directly to Topaz Fusion or export to Photoshop and run the filters from there.

basflt

MarkR wrote: »

Well, the nice thing for the OP is that she has the choice-- Topaz doesn't make a separate "Lightroom only" version of their plugins (I'm looking at YOU, NikSoftware!:soapbox), so gets the benefits of both worlds-- export directly to Topaz Fusion or export to Photoshop and run the filters from there.

i dont have Nik software so i cant try , but
as far as i know , it is compatible

same story for you as above
in LR preference choose your software > C:\Program Files\Nik Software / ...as external editor

MarkR

basflt wrote: »

i dont have Nik software so i cant try , but
as far as i know , it is compatible

same story for you as above
in LR preference choose your software > C:\Program Files\Nik Software / ...as external editor

Nik sells versions of their software that are Lightroom/Aperture only. (i.e. can't be run through Photoshop.)

basflt

MarkR wrote: »

Nik sells versions of their software that are Lightroom/Aperture only. (i.e. can't be run through Photoshop.)

newer versions work on both , according to their site

http://www.niksoftware.com/dfine/en/entry.php

arodney

In the end, the processing is no different in LR or PS. ALL 3rd party plug-in’s that process image data have to render an image to process, the Develop module is not open to them. So you can ask for one of these products to do their thing in LR or Photoshop, the net results are the same. The only difference would be what’s easier for you, if you didn’t own say Photoshop but did own LR. Or you had LR and PS but limited RAM and wanted to just work in LR etc.

pathfinder

I use CS5 and LR3, as well as several Topaz plug ins.

As Mark pointed out, the advantage of using a plug in in Photoshop, over Lightroom alone, is that you can do it on a Layer, and then mask and blend its results into your image in ways that are just not possible to do in Lightroom only. Since the file sent to LR is a copy of the original RAW file + its LR edits, I don't see much downside to stepping out to CS5 to use the Topaz plug ins. I think having significant amounts of RAM ( greater than 4, or maybe even > 8 Gb RAM ) may be helpful in this situation.

I just added the B&W plug in from Topaz last night as they still were offering a $30 rebate from the $60 price tag.. As pointed out, Fusion Express is needed to run the TA plug ins in LR3, but it is a free download.