B&W Conversion Software

olli

Super Moderator Emeritus
Location
Guangzhou
Name
olli
Since I've been posting a few B&W images to 500px mostly processed with a combination of LR and SEP I thought I would download a few of the other B&W processing programmes and see how they compare.

You can find samples and read my conclusions on my blog.
 
I'm heading right over......

Ok, I'm back.
I agree about your findings. SEP does produce more visual life. There's a snap that you get the FP does not have. Once you get past that part, SEP offers the most in terms of local adjustments, fine tuning, toning etc.
So, I'm there with SEP along side with you.

Another thing on/off topic. 500pix has the best image presentation of all the housing sites. The IQ is great from there.

Thanks for your efforts and findings.
 
Bill, I was specifically looking at how they convert for particular film types since it provided a point of comparison. In a sense the X-Equals result is the LR result since it's effectively an LR preset which is then tweaked using the LR auto adjust for exposure.

Karen, it's not lightnig fast but I've never found it a problem. Maybe you should try reinstalling in case there's a problem with it?
 
Bill, I was specifically looking at how they convert for particular film types since it provided a point of comparison. In a sense the X-Equals result is the LR result since it's effectively an LR preset which is then tweaked using the LR auto adjust for exposure.

Karen, it's not lightnig fast but I've never found it a problem. Maybe you should try reinstalling in case there's a problem with it?

olli - I have SEP and ColorEfex

It is just that I have found LR some of the time to be equally as good albeit different
 
I agree. I think it is possible to achieve most of what you want in B&W conversion using LR, but having the dedicated tools and presets in these plugins does sometimes make it simpler and quicker.

I generally start with LR and then go to SEP for some specific treatment but when I bring it back into LR I generally end up doing more work there. To me, SEP functions like another set of LR presets.
 
So having spent another hour playing with Topaz B&W Effects and watched the demonstration video I've decided that at the current sale price of $30 it's a bargain so I've just bought it. Yet more hours at the computer!!!
 
I see that DXO is advertising some new software with many different film effects. Has anyone used this yet?

I downloaded the trial and will test it this weekend. It looks promising but not to compare with SEP2. I'm trying to keep a open mind when I test it...
Thou shalt not be an eazy task tho'.
 
Oh good Streetshooter! I'm trying not to clutter my new iMac with lots of "trials" so I'll be interested to see how you like it (or not!). Having said that, I now have nearly 5,000 pics on here already :(
 
Interesting blogs olli and Grant. I have owned SEP for about 6 months and really like it. I have also just bought B&WEfex at its bargain price. To me the big difference is the way they handle local adjustments, Nik with control points and Topaz with a brush. Yes I can eventually do similar with Layers and masks in PS or even LR (minus layers or using Perfect Layers fron onOne software) but the one or two clicks of the plugins are appealing.

Worth a mention is a free product called virtualStudio or its predecessor virtualPhotographer (now part of virtualStudio).
 
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i posted these in the B&W w/nw thread also, but figured i should post them here too - done with Topaz BW trial download
 
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