Focus Fixer photoshop plug-in (1 Viewer)

Andy Holt

Well-known member

• Jun 16, 2003

• #1

A new product has been launched called Focus Fixer. It's a photoshop 7 plug-in that is supposed to also work with PS Elements (but not Paintshop Pro or other plug-in supporting apps).

It uses complex and VERY processor hungry algorithms to reduce focus blur.

I've invested the required £35 to register a copy (without which you get 15 trial conversions) and my initial feelings are that it does provide superior results to the old favourite Unsharp mask that most of us use.

If your interested, here is the website address: http://www.fixerlabs.com/

Remember though, you need PS7 or Elements and it needs alot of RAM and patience (anything from 20 seconds to a minute or so).

If your as obsessive about squeezing as much sharpness out of your digiscoped images as I am then this is well worth looking at.

 

Andy Bright

Administrator

Staff member

• Jun 16, 2003

• #2

Thanks for that one Andy.... I'll investigate it. I wouldn't mind seeing that Neatimage programme as a plug-in filter.
Fred Miranda has just released a chroma noise reduction action (I got it free as a customer, but they're always cheap from him)... I though it was prett good.
Andy

 

N

normjackson

Well-known member

• Jun 16, 2003

• #3

Andy, apparently Neat Image is now available as plugin since May 29.

www.neatimage.com

Hope you have more luck than me with the Focus Fixer demo. I get a tantalising glimpse then Photoshop crashes. Guess my PC isn't up to it :-C

 

Andy Bright

Administrator

Staff member

• Jun 16, 2003

• #4

Yippee, thank Norm. I've always had reservations about Neatimage for images destined for print, but I always reckoned it would be handy to apply it to specific areas of an image.... where's my credit card?
Andy

 

Andy Holt

Well-known member

• Jun 17, 2003

• #5

I have 512mb RAM and my machine groans a bit when I run Focus fixer. I'll post some samples of what it can do with digiscoped images when I get chance.

 

Richard Ford

BF Member

• Jun 17, 2003

• #6

I would be interested to see those Andy H.
Andy B, How good is this neatimage thingy then, i know IanF uses it with good results.

Rich

 

Andy Bright

Administrator

Staff member

• Jun 17, 2003

• #7

redwing said:

Andy B, How good is this neatimage thingy then, i know IanF uses it with good results.

Rich

Click to expand...

You can download a version for free from www.neatimage.com but you can't save in tiff format (and I'm not sure what jpeg compression ratio it does save at?).
This programme is a standalone, unless you buy the pro version that includes a Photoshop plug-in version at $75, which is very cheap for these sort of things. It can be pretty slow with large files.

When neatimage first came out it was pretty awful, some very odd looking side effects even when used at lowest setting.
The latest versions are much improved... though I'm still not 100% convinced for large prints.
Definitely good for web images, you'll see many digiscoped shots shown using Neatimage.... check the name of the photo, it will often have _filtered.jpg at the end.
The setting on Neatimage take a bit of practise, but there's plenty of help on the website.
Worth a try.
Andy

 

Richard Ford

BF Member

• Jul 21, 2003

• #8

After seeing the results (thanks Peteee23) of what it can do to a small image of mine, I have downloaded the demo version and intend to have a play with it.
Have you used this much now Andy, for applying so specific areas?
How do you rate it ?

Rich

 

Andy Bright

Administrator

Staff member

• Jul 21, 2003

• #9

Hi Rich,
Yes, I'm using it quite a lot..... I haven't used it on specific areas as much as I thought I would but I tend to do the whole image and maybe go over some areas with the history brush at varying strengths where I feel it's slightly overdone things (or where it wasn't really needed)

It's still a fairly long wait on my old machine with big images but at least it's effects make the final image a bit smaller in file size. I've gone over 50%+ of all the images on my website with it.

Andy

 

Tony_InDevon

Bird Lover & People Photographer

• Aug 9, 2003

• #10

Sorry Guys, I have just found this thread. Before investing if you haven't already done so, it may be worth considering this link and modifying it for PS elements or PSP (or whatever the others are) I'm not that hot on these boxes, but even I can get it to work.

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/J_DIGIT/USM.HTM

HTH Tony

 

J

JWM

Well-known member

• Nov 27, 2003

• #11

I bought in Focus fixer after trialling it and have been very impressed with the results. You need to use it carefully as it can make the images too sharp, but with trial and error I have been very pleased. It can be slow when treating the whole picture but by selecting the area you really need sharpening it is quicker.
I could post one or two before and after pics if I knew where to post them as it is rather a specific area rather than a gallery option. Any thoughts or advice as to where, Andy?

 

digi-birder

Well-known member

• Dec 20, 2003

• #12

I've just installed a free copy of FocusFixer from the Christmas issue of Digital Camera Magazine. You have to register it to get past the 15 day limit, but it is free.

I have played with a few photos that were not really in focus at all and the results are amazing. It does take a while to perform the sharpening, but not too much. I do have plenty of memory and a fast computer, though.

Below is a before and after demo.

Images have both been cropped, but no other edits have been made to the before shot.

I imagine that with photos that are not as blurred as mine was, the results will be even more impressive.

 

Attachments

• 
  FocusTest2.jpg

  47.9 KB · Views: 286
• 
  FocusTest.jpg

  48.1 KB · Views: 324

Last edited: Dec 20, 2003