alien skin exposure x2 dxo filmpack vsco

Also, lens correction extends only to distortion, not vignetting or chromatic aberration (the last of which is often critical toward achieving sharp images edge to edge). What’s more, after checking the list of supported lenses, I found that many of my lenses across Canon, Nikon, and Tamron product lines were not supported, and support for Tokina and Samyang, among others, is entirely absent. This feature is transparent to the end user, which means you don’t really know if the correct profile is applied. This version offers enhanced support for lens correction in Raw files. One advantage to using the standalone version is that editing is nondestructive, so you can always return to the image from within the standalone app and continue to edit. The export process is fairly comprehensive, so no worries there. It offers a file ranking system, but lacks keywording, titling, and captioning. You can use the standalone version of Exposure X2 for your Raw processing workflow from top to bottom, with some caveats. Note that I even restored color to the antennae, which I felt was integral to the shot. The eraser brush restores color, while the regular brush cleans up around the edges, preventing color from bleeding into adjacent areas. My technique is simple: use a heavy flow for large areas and a light flow (50 or less) for delicate areas, with feathering at between 50 and 100. I selectively brushed in the color on the skipper (butterfly). I chose this chromogenic black-and-white film more because it appeared to fit the tonal qualities of the image than for the film itself.

Their response: “Films that we shot and analyzed were all within their expiration dates.” That makes a huge difference, and is a step in the right direction. Just as I was about to finish writing this review, I posed one last question to Alien Skin, about film expiration dates. For alternate processes such as cross-processing we relied on prints and consultation with photographers.” Also, for most films we consulted with photographers that had previously shot them. “With films that weren’t available for whatever reason, we found prints and used those to create the emulation. We examined grain for some films under an electron microscope to make sure we got the structure and distribution right.

If a film was available and we could find a lab to process it, we shot some rolls and used them to guide the preset design. While starting this review, I approached Alien Skin with a basic question: What are your film emulations based on? Are they extrapolations or based on actual film tests? And, if actual tests, did you factor in such variables as alternate chemistries? The company provided the following response, which, on the face of it, appears adequate enough, if perhaps not with the depth I’d been looking for.Īlien Skin Software: “We created our film emulations in several different ways. I made further tonal adjustments before adding two overlays: a vintage border and a light effect (in tune with the rim lighting), both of which I modified.

But at the same time, I wanted to pump up the reds while downplaying all the other colors, so I desaturated all the others. I selected the Kodak Kodachrome 25 color film emulation for its fine grain and good color saturation.

Alien skin exposure x2 dxo filmpack vsco