FilmPack 3 is a standalone piece of software for applying post processing tricks expert photographers developed for that film look in digital photos. This tool from DxO is more than a nostalgia gimmick, it allows photographers to control a wide range of colour and local contrast properties to achieve their personal style.
“Our thorough approach to accurately characterizing the unique rendering of each film allows DxO FilmPack 3 users to faithfully apply the visual signature of many iconic silver halide films, some of which are not available anymore, such as Kodachrome®,” said Jerome Meniere, CEO of DxO Labs.
“We put a strong focus on authenticity for all DxO FilmPack 3 renderings, developing our software in partnership with expert photographers having extensive knowledge of both film and digital photography, to ensure unrivalled film fidelity.”
FilmPack 3 comes with 20 to 36 colour film types, including transparency and negative films, depending on the version. These are displayed on strip below the main image window and photographers simply click on the associated thumbnail to apply the look to the working image. There are black and white film simulations, and some other effects available.
The main window can show two versions of the image, the original and the film look version, so photographers can preview the effects of applying a film type. Previewing different film type treatments for a digital photo allows photographers to select the film look that suits each digital photo.
Processing Digital Photos
My personal favourites for the digital photos tested for this review are the Kodachrome 64 colour transparency and Fuji Superia Reala 100 colour negative treatments.
The example screen shot shows before and after versions of portrait with DxO FilmPack 3‘s Kodachrome 64 treatment. It is not just the colour FilmPack alters, it also changes the contrast of the digital photo. The result is reminiscent of an advanced layer combining trick in Photoshop Creative Suite with only a fraction of the work. FilmPack 3 does it all for the photographer with one click.
The camera, lens and processing performed before the digital photo is processed by DxO FilmPack 3 influences the final digital photo. The skin tones in the example photo looked too red, but the controls on the right of the FilmPack 3 window allow precise adjustment, in this case the red channel was desaturated slightly.
Another simple customisation example is that photographers can vary the intensity of the film effect to suit individual photos. In the Expert version the photographer’s adjustment to the standard settings can be saved as a custom preset for one click application of personal preferences.
Black & white film photographer Sebastio Salgado recently migrated from silver halide to digital, said, “DxO FilmPack has become a must-have step in my photographic workflow to render the unique Kodak Tri-X® grain on my large-format prints.”
The FilmPack 3 standalone package works on digital photos that have had some processing already. Using it as a standalone processor for this review required jpeg or tiff files produced by an existing RAW processing package.
Plugin Version
DxO say the FilmPack 3 license includes the standalone application as well as plugins for Adobe® Photoshop® CS4/CS5, Adobe® Lightroom® 3, Apple® Aperture® 3, and DxO Optics Pro 6. In addition, DxO FilmPack 3 can be used as a Smart Filter in Adobe® Photoshop®. All can be simultaneously installed on two computers.
In the images below the article is a screen shot of a landscape photo being processed in DxO Optics Pro 6. In this case the plugin version of FilmPack 3 is used where it integrates seamlessly into the host application where FilmPack 3 becomes part of the color rendering section
Price and Availability
DxO FilmPack 3 is available immediately from the DxO Labs e-store and from popular photo stores at a special introductory discount of up to 30%:
- DxO FilmPack 3 Essential Edition: $US49 instead of $US79
- DxO FilmPack 3 Expert Edition: $US99 instead of $US129
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