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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 - anyone have feedback?
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 02/16/2011 05:40:08 PM · #1
OnOne is having a sale $50 off the upgrade ($199 $149) and I am considering it. I've always liked the PhotoFrame product and am really interested in the new version of their Genuine Fractals (upsizing) app. Their portrait tools look pretty cool as well.

Anyone have recent or this current version and have any feedback?
 02/16/2011 06:26:14 PM · #2
I use their free version (2.5) and find the Golden Hour Enhancer, the Brush-in Dynamic range, and the "Black Soft" tool to be extremely useful for landscape work. That's all I know right now :-)

R.
 02/16/2011 06:51:02 PM · #3
I just downloaded and installed the free version. It wouldn't run in CS5 (still on trial) because it appears my graphic card isn't good enough. It would only open to run a batch edit, but there was nothing saved there for it to do. Seems this is one bit of software I will have to do without.
 02/16/2011 07:02:58 PM · #4
I've mentioned it in a few threads lately, but I bought the whole suite at a special 50% off price (paid $249) because I had previously purchased just the PhotoTools app (version 2.5) awhile back. I love the products both for their diversity and power.

Perfect Resize (formerly Genuine Fractals) can be worth it's weight in gold when it comes to both reducing and enlarging images. A lot of people rely on it to get the best quality when enlarging images as it's the industry standard, but I feel when resizing down to smaller versions of a file the algorythm does a much better job image quality wise compared to Photoshop itself. There are preset modes or you can fully customize what your going for. I also love the built in crop function which takes your sharpening and document size into consideration when resizing. I love the results.

Mask Pro is an unbelievable program which does have a bit of a practice curve even with it's advanced functions in making masking as easy as it can possibly be. Like Topaz Remask 3 (I also own that whole suite) it works great with color contrast selection of "Keep" and "Drop" color palettes that are very customizable. Of course it also include more traditional methods of masking such as the pen tool and brush. An incredible program which makes image composites faster, easier and more enjoyable.

FocalPoint - Wow, how fun is this program. When you don't have a selection of high end f/2.8 prime glass this program gives you the power to edit your photos as if you did. I just love the effects and look I get with this program. The focus bug, feathering, opacity, masking brush tools and sliders make this a breeze as well.

PhotoTools - Working with the presets via layers and the fade slider for the desired amount give you endless combination's of processing looks which can be further masked and tweaked inside Photoshop. Again, it doesn't get much easier than this.

PhotoTune is handy and has helped me get better results with some files, but it's the program I use the least because the power of the other programs almost makes it unnecessary to have.

PhotoFrame - Can really give your photo that finished and polished look with fully customizable border, frames, overlays etc. Again fully editable to further extent within Photoshop.

For the price I paid I couldn't pass it up, and I'm really happy I didn't.

ETA: I didn't make it clear, but yes...I have the latest and greatest version including the update that they released in the last day or so. Not sure if the Mac version numbers are the same, but I'm running Perfect Photo Suite 5.5.1

Dave

Message edited by author 2011-02-16 19:08:41.
 02/16/2011 10:15:02 PM · #5
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I just downloaded and installed the free version. It wouldn't run in CS5 (still on trial) because it appears my graphic card isn't good enough. It would only open to run a batch edit, but there was nothing saved there for it to do. Seems this is one bit of software I will have to do without.


What kind of computer, operating system and graphics card do you have? I have a pretty powerful computer yet I still find that CS5 runs a bit sluggish on it. It shouldn't by any means.
 02/17/2011 12:10:29 AM · #6
Thanks guys! Dave, your detailed info is greatly appreciated. I purchased the upgrade (can't remember what version I am running) and will be installing it tonight.
 02/17/2011 12:43:26 AM · #7
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:
Thanks guys! Dave, your detailed info is greatly appreciated. I purchased the upgrade (can't remember what version I am running) and will be installing it tonight.


Anytime Ken. Glad you decided to upgrade. If you spend sometime with the programs and include them into your work flow I think you'll be pleased with the results.

onOneSoftware has some really good tutorials on their site (free to anyone) under their University section, but what has really helped me appreciate their products to the max are their free webinars which I am addicted to and attend many. LOL. If you can't make them during the day you can also watch them once they get posted to the webinar archives. Check out their upcoming webinar archives to see if anything interests you. They are a lot of fun and I've picked up a bunch of helpful info using the products that would normally take some time to stumble upon through normal use. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions regarding the products and I'll be glad to help where I can if possible.

Dave
 02/17/2011 02:14:52 AM · #8
I'm running a Mac Pro on Snow Leopard.

I'm running the 5.5 version of the OnOne suite (newly Perfect Photo Suite) and it runs great and I depend on it to edit 80% of the photos I present here or to playing clients. Great Product. Recommended.

Genuine Fractals is terrific. Now called "Perfect Resize."

I have no relationship with the company ... just a paying customer.
 02/17/2011 06:27:11 PM · #9
Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I just downloaded and installed the free version. It wouldn't run in CS5 (still on trial) because it appears my graphic card isn't good enough. It would only open to run a batch edit, but there was nothing saved there for it to do. Seems this is one bit of software I will have to do without.


What kind of computer, operating system and graphics card do you have? I have a pretty powerful computer yet I still find that CS5 runs a bit sluggish on it. It shouldn't by any means.


Computer is about a year old - Quad Q8300 processor with Windows 7 home premium 64 bit.
Graphics card seems to be NVIDIA GeForce GT230 1.5GB.

Technology is probably a bit outdated for a one-year-old computer, but South Africa seems to be a bit behind with computers (though new cameras seem to get here pretty quickly). As always happens, prices went down just after I bought, but my old computer was so bad (80GB Hard-drive) that I was getting desperate and couldn't wait for better.
 02/17/2011 08:28:13 PM · #10
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I just downloaded and installed the free version. It wouldn't run in CS5 (still on trial) because it appears my graphic card isn't good enough. It would only open to run a batch edit, but there was nothing saved there for it to do. Seems this is one bit of software I will have to do without.


What kind of computer, operating system and graphics card do you have? I have a pretty powerful computer yet I still find that CS5 runs a bit sluggish on it. It shouldn't by any means.


Computer is about a year old - Quad Q8300 processor with Windows 7 home premium 64 bit.
Graphics card seems to be NVIDIA GeForce GT230 1.5GB.

Technology is probably a bit outdated for a one-year-old computer, but South Africa seems to be a bit behind with computers (though new cameras seem to get here pretty quickly). As always happens, prices went down just after I bought, but my old computer was so bad (80GB Hard-drive) that I was getting desperate and couldn't wait for better.


It's not your computer...trust me. I have very similar specs. I run Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, Our processors are very close as I run the Core 2 Quad Q8200, and my video card is pretty decent, the Nvidia Geforce 9800GT with 512mb of DDR3 ram. Your card is even more powerful. So all that seems perfectly fine. I have 8Gb of system memory in mine, but you didn't mention how much you have. Your motherboard should easily be able to support 8gb and perhaps even 16gb. If you are running 4gb or less that could be affecting performance when you have CS5 and the other programs running plus background services and programs.

Two things to check are the amount of ram you are allowing Photoshop to use which is found inside Photoshop by going to the Edit/Preferences/Performance menu. I usually let Photoshop use 65 to 70 percent of available memory.

Also make sure you are using an Nvidia based graphics driver for your video card, and not any of the drivers that are Microsoft built into the OS. In order to use OpenGL Drawing and hardware acceleration you will have to have a manufacture driver from your card vendor (such as EVGA). In my 32 bit versions of CS4 and CS5 the option always shows that it's enabled under the performance tab, but it's greyed out on my 64 bit versions. It tell mes that it's not enabled under those versions and to check for an updated driver. I don't worry about it because 64bit CS4 or CS5 definitely runs faster on my PC compared to the 32bit.

Also under the performance tab make sure you have a scratch disk enabled and that you have a reasonable amount of free space available. Ideally it would be your fastest drive in your computer, and a disk other than the one your OS is installed on. Don't worry about it if you only have one drive....at least make sure it's being used as a scratch disk and you have some room on it.

So check those options out to see if it improves for you. You might have better luck with CS4 over CS5 though because as I mentioned even though it's usable and runs (CS5) on my system it runs noticeably slower than CS4.

Hope some of this helps.

Dave

02/17/2011 08:49:56 PM · #11
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I just downloaded and installed the free version. It wouldn't run in CS5 (still on trial) because it appears my graphic card isn't good enough. It would only open to run a batch edit, but there was nothing saved there for it to do. Seems this is one bit of software I will have to do without.

I also couldn't get it to run on my computer. I spent quite a bit of time searching for solutions and new drivers, but couldn't get rid of the graphic card error message.
 02/17/2011 08:55:28 PM · #12
One thing I can answer is that I've only got 4gb of ram. For the rest, it's all a bit much for me to take in - I'm not that technically minded at the best of times and it's way past midnight here.

I've spent the last few hours trying to install a trial of PSP X3 without success despite following instructions given here and others linked to from DPC forums - only I don't know how to disable anti-virus etc. I really want to try out as many possibilities as possible before spending any more money and PSP sounded like it had some nice things in it without anywhere near the cost of Photoshop CS5. The only thing I'm sure of right now is that I want Nik HDR, and that would work in Lightroom if I decided to give Photoshop a miss. These free plugins are way down the list of my priorities right now.
 02/17/2011 08:56:11 PM · #13
Originally posted by JuliBoc:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I just downloaded and installed the free version. It wouldn't run in CS5 (still on trial) because it appears my graphic card isn't good enough. It would only open to run a batch edit, but there was nothing saved there for it to do. Seems this is one bit of software I will have to do without.

I also couldn't get it to run on my computer. I spent quite a bit of time searching for solutions and new drivers, but couldn't get rid of the graphic card error message.


Glad to hear I'm not the only one:)
 02/17/2011 09:27:59 PM · #14
Looks similar to Nik effects software. I assume some of the presets are different , but how does this differ from Nik? I watched one of the vid clips and it mentions that you can apply several effects on top of each other. Not sure if that is beneficial. I prefer , in my workflow , I like having separate layers for each effect.

Anymore insight from someone with more experience?
02/17/2011 09:48:39 PM · #15
Originally posted by JuliBoc:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I just downloaded and installed the free version. It wouldn't run in CS5 (still on trial) because it appears my graphic card isn't good enough. It would only open to run a batch edit, but there was nothing saved there for it to do. Seems this is one bit of software I will have to do without.

I also couldn't get it to run on my computer. I spent quite a bit of time searching for solutions and new drivers, but couldn't get rid of the graphic card error message.


What does the message say that comes up?

I should add that I only run my onOne suite in the 64 bit versions of Photoshop for one big reason. All the apps load and run fine under 32 bit Photoshop EXCEPT Phototools which hangs at start up for some unexplained reasons. You can cancel out of it and all is good, but when it goes to load the photo in preview mode to work on it stops. The 64 bit version works great. This has been an on going issue which for some reason hasn't been addressed or fixed.

For Windows 7 users I'll also point out that when launching into Phototools it will kick you temporarily out of your Aero Theme and back into the basic skin. Not a huge issue because it goes right back when you apply your effects and bring it back into Photoshop. It doesn't effect the program functionality at all, but it's and odd bird if you ask me. Perhaps they will resolve that at some point as well.
 02/17/2011 09:58:47 PM · #16
Originally posted by LVicari:
Looks similar to Nik effects software. I assume some of the presets are different , but how does this differ from Nik? I watched one of the vid clips and it mentions that you can apply several effects on top of each other. Not sure if that is beneficial. I prefer , in my workflow , I like having separate layers for each effect.

Anymore insight from someone with more experience?


It's really apples and oranges when comparing Phototools to say Silver Efex Pro or Color Efex etc.

In onOne their effect categories follow a top to bottom work order in the way the effects are normally applied. Inside the program you can apply one effect at a time and bring it back into Photoshop on a seperate layer or you can stay inside the Phototools plug-in program and layer any number effects, mask out that effect in an areas you want, adjust the amount of effect, layer another effect etc. You can at any point turn on and off any applied layer effect and readjust the effects below it and then add the others back. All before bringing it back into Photoshop again where you could always edit further with masks, opacity etc. So you can do it both ways...apply a single effect and build Photoshop layers or layer multiple custom effects with or without masks inside Phototools and then bring it in all at once.

For this particular program I would say you have more control over effect parameters in Nik Software with the control points etc., but masking that effect is handled better IMO in onOne. They are all fantastic programs though.

Also, some of the videos on the onOne site (like most vendors) only briefly show you some fancy features in quick fashion to try and entice people to buy. If you really want to see how to properly use the program and what it does I recommend watching some of the archived webinars (free) listed in their University section. The webinars are different than the so-called tutorials. The webinars are much better and should workflow step by step. Watch some of the Phototools webinars by Brian Matiash to get the best idea.

Dave

Message edited by author 2011-02-17 22:02:54.
 02/19/2011 08:43:41 AM · #17
Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Also under the performance tab make sure you have a scratch disk enabled and that you have a reasonable amount of free space available. Ideally it would be your fastest drive in your computer, and a disk other than the one your OS is installed on. Don't worry about it if you only have one drive....at least make sure it's being used as a scratch disk and you have some room on it.

So check those options out to see if it improves for you. You might have better luck with CS4 over CS5 though because as I mentioned even though it's usable and runs (CS5) on my system it runs noticeably slower than CS4.

Hope some of this helps.

Dave


As stated earlier I only have 4gb RAM. I think I'm okay up to here, but I can't find out about a scratch disk. Where should I be looking for this?

Edit to add: you asked about the error message. This is what comes up:


Okay, you can ignore all that. I downloaded updated drivers for my video card and the tools are now working fine. Now if I could just figures out why Paint Shop Pro X3 won't install on my computer...

Message edited by author 2011-02-20 03:02:46.
 02/22/2011 12:21:25 AM · #18
That particular onOne promotion is over but you can always save 15% here. Any upcoming promotions will be noted there as well.
 02/22/2011 12:38:56 AM · #19
Originally posted by plugsnpixels:
That particular onOne promotion is over but you can always save 15% here. Any upcoming promotions will be noted there as well.


We know..stop with the spam for your site.
 02/22/2011 12:47:59 AM · #20
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Also under the performance tab make sure you have a scratch disk enabled and that you have a reasonable amount of free space available. Ideally it would be your fastest drive in your computer, and a disk other than the one your OS is installed on. Don't worry about it if you only have one drive....at least make sure it's being used as a scratch disk and you have some room on it.

So check those options out to see if it improves for you. You might have better luck with CS4 over CS5 though because as I mentioned even though it's usable and runs (CS5) on my system it runs noticeably slower than CS4.

Hope some of this helps.

Dave


As stated earlier I only have 4gb RAM. I think I'm okay up to here, but I can't find out about a scratch disk. Where should I be looking for this?

Edit to add: you asked about the error message. This is what comes up:


Okay, you can ignore all that. I downloaded updated drivers for my video card and the tools are now working fine. Now if I could just figures out why Paint Shop Pro X3 won't install on my computer...


Great, after reading your last post of the message I knew it was a driver issue. I'm glad you got it resolved.

As for Paint Shop Pro X3...I have it installed on my system and never ran into any install issues, but I've read more than a few threads here on DPC lately from people that do. I'll have to do a search for the problem and see if I can piece together common scenarios. Kind of what I do anyway. LOL.

Two people off the top of my head that I remember having issues were Yo_Spiff (Steve) and I believe JustCaree (Carrie). You might want to try messaging them and find out if they have a solution. Worth a try.

Dave
 02/22/2011 04:57:34 PM · #21
Thanks for your suggestions, Dave. I followed all the links from the thread JustCaree started, but I can't seem to get it to work, maybe because I can't work out how to deactivate my anti-virus software?? And Yo_Spiff said in that thread that he was sticking to X2 for the time being.

It rather looks like I will end up buying Photoshop (I have to choose between that and Lightroom so that I can buy Nik HDR software) and if I do so, I won't need PSP anyway. I just thought if PSP offered the things I really wanted, I might be able to settle for Lightroom and save a few hundred dollars.
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