There are some minor enhancements to the user interface, but the most obvious changes are the addition of 25 creative presets in the Expert version of DxO FilmPack 3.1.
The essence of DxO FilmPack 3 is providing a wide range of staring points for photographers to individualise their images. Despite the connotations of its name, FilmPack 3 is far more than a mimic of twentieth century silver halide film technology. The new creative presets have names suggesting the look of older technology but they do break the nexus with the existing tonal treatments based on old film names.
Creative Presets
The more anonymous naming of the new creative presets in FilmPack 3.1 signals to users the inherent versatility of the FilmPack software for photographers. The software capabilities underlying the creative presets are not new, they are examples of custom presets owners of the Expert edition of Film Pack 3 could develop and save themselves.
The advantage in the upgraded version is DxO have done much of the basic work for busy photographers. This is consistent with the DxO philosophy of providing digital photography programs for efficiently processing photos.
This is not just a case of a one size fits all solution. The new creative presets are only a starting point for photographers to adapt their digital photographs to their own personal style.
They are also a reminder to photographers to re examine the existing film treatments and experiment with the settings. These readily produce a different look to the digital photos than a quick edit in Adobe Lightroom 3. One of the advantages of DxO FilmPack is that it function as a plugin within Lightroom, as well as a stand alone program so various adjustments can be used in combination.
The presentation photograph started as a file loaded in Adobe Lightroom 3. The lighting was a blend of the house lighting and electronic flash, presenting a challenge to arrive at the right skin tones under the different coloured lights. To complicate matters the lady probably used a spray on tanning treatment. The DxO Filmpack treatment started with a custom treatment based on the Kodachrome 25 simulation. Then the FilmPack 3.1 saturation and lightness settings were adjusted to try and get a balanced natural looking skin tone for the two subjects.
If they are using the expert edition they can save the DxO FilmPack 3 settings as new custom presets.
The Interface
Photographers using DxO FilmPack 3.1 now can resize the preview film strip at the bottom of the application window. This is a response to the wide range of treatments available to make selection more efficient. The appropriate film or creative preset is not the same for all digital photos. The film strip presents previews of the image in all the different basic treatments. With larger preview images photographers get a better appreciation of the how the photo looks with each FilmPack treatment applied.
The other change is that in black and white simulations the colour channel sliders are now colour coded to remind photographers what aspect of the image they are altering. Colour channels are important in digital black and white simulation.
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