ColorWasher
ColorWasher lets you correct the colors, contrast, exposure and saturation of 8-bit and 16-bit photos. The vendor, Harald Heim of The Plugin Site, suggests that you can use it after RAW conversion to fine-tune the adjustments.
To reconstruct lost colors and detail, ColorWasher provides seven methods called Cast Types. These tools go beyond ordinary brightness and gamma correction by boosting contrast, hiding noise, maintaining steady saturation and increasing the number of colors in the image. Auto Contrast and Exposure Fix features can be set to several different levels, while the software also offers the option of manual adjustment in percent and EV values.
There is an "Easy Mode" in which the program starts by default. Most of the time you can stay in this mode except when faced with a difficult image. At this point you need to read the vendor's "Tips for Tough Cases" in the very detailed User Manual.
Comment
ColorWasher has many enthusiastic supporters who like its exceptional ability to correct color casts. Independent tests by many reviewers were unanimous in praising its ease-of-use and overall effectiveness.
Among its unusual features are some excellent histograms: 10 different types in four styles for expert use. The vendor is right to refer to "An Arsenal of Tools" -- more than enough to keep you occupied for hours, tweaking colors to perfection.
Tech info
- Plugs into: Photoshop, Elements, Paint Shop Pro, PhotoImpact, Photo-Paint, Fireworks, etc.
- OS: Windows 95 onwards; Mac OS X
- Price level: Approx. $50
PhotoWiz
Harald Heim's The Plugin Site is a favorite destination for thousands of digital photographers. It is staffed by a small team of prgrammers and designers, based in Nuremberg, Germany.
From the same vendor:
- B/W Styler
- FocalBlade
- LightMachine
- ContrastMaster
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