Tiffen Dfx Digital Filter Suite Torrent
Mozell Battista
I see only one or two threads about digital filter software so I thought I'd just ask.... Do any of you PROS out there have any recommendation on digital filter software (64 bit fo Win7) OTHER THAN Tiffen's DFX2? I'm looking to replace it after struggling through weeks of tech support banter regarding deactivating/reactivating licenses. It's gotten old. Hopefully there is a product out there that in the end has more filter options and is better rated overall, not to mention easier to actually speak with a live tech support individual who'll work with you.
I have Tiffen's DFX2. It works nicely BUT... I've been aggravated by a licensing issue and weeks to get resolution. Suffice to say, I had a hard drive crash a few months back and needed to reinstall everything including DFX2. I installed a new SSD drive in my computer to be the MAIN OS drive, then left the SDE drive as my data drive. Install eveything, ran the install for CS4 and Tiffen and no problem. Soon thereafter I began experiencing blue screens. Eventually this led to me considering replacing the drive again and yet another install. Since my computer was older, I decided to go with a new computer. Ordered said new computer, moved SSD drive (OS drive) over to the new computer again to be the main OS only, used the new TB drive that came with the computer as my data and simply did a reinstall of the OS and apps and did a copy/restore of the data to the new TB drive.
OK... so this brings me to the longer story getting longer. When I tried to activate the license again, it wouldn't. Followed their online instructions to try differning licensing servers and deactivating the license/reactivating via internet .... NOTHING. Spent almost three weeks back and forth with Tech Support in emails telling me to do this and that. Finally, the tech requested that I go back to the OLD install and follow the directions for deactivation. Failed....
Brings me to today. After almost three weeks dealing with Tech Support, they finally explained to me why my license wouldn't work. Apparently their licensing somehow is tied or accesses the motherboard, which I'm not sure what they could possibly do other than possibly grab the computer's MAC address as a validation point. Not only do you need to remember to deactivate your license properly before moving to another drive or a computer, but YOU HAVE TO USE THE COMPUTER AND MOTHERBOARD IN ORDER TO DO SO. Now this won't be an issue if you migrate from old to new and follows those instructions. But just remember.... If you have a computer hardware or hard drive crash as I did, good look. You may go through hell getting the license deactivated. They take the possibiliy of "illegal installs" seriously and make you wait.
The beauty of digital is that it's sooooo simple to alter that balance. The only filters that I still own are my CPs, NDs, grad NDs and a couple of UV filters that I only use when I'm certain I'll be sandblasted...
I still have the ND filters because they allow for shooting in light that might otherwise be a pain... Same goes for the grad filters... Sure, I can do much of that with PS...but I'd rather get it done in camera.
Just remember though that the camera will need to be set up to use that filter I should think... I mean, if you use a warming filter on a camera set to AWB...well, it's likely that the body will simply overrirde the filter and give you cool whites anyway... Doh!
Ever since I started shooting digital (RAW), I completely stopped using any of my numerous color correction filters that I had accumulated during the film days. There's just no point ito them anymore. First of all, all color correction can be done to the image in post-processing. Secondly, if you're initially shooting the image in auto WB, the camera will automatically try to compensate for any color correction filter (such as an 812) you put on your lens, thus negating its effect. The only way you can really have any benefit from such filters is to first set your camera to a manually set WB, then putting on the filter. But, again, it's unnecessary since you can just do any color corrections, modifications, enhances, etc, to the image in post-processing.
Another alternative is to using physical filters is Tiffen's DFX (their at version 2 now) digital filter suite which reproduce the effect of actual filters, but digitally. That way, you can literally have every filter Tiffen offers, without actually having to buy each filter, screw them on your lens, worry about them breaking or being unclean, or having to size them to your lens. You can apply them, un-apply them, change their intensity, and experiment with various filters on the same image:
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Over the past few years, plug-in software developers have continued to evolve their packages of filters into comprehensive effects suites, complete with ready-made presets to preview just how your images will appear. One of the newest of these is the Tiffen Dfx suite (version 3), which has been developed through the ongoing collaboration of The Tiffen Company and Digital Film Tools. Tiffen Dfx traces its heritage back to the 55mm and Digital Film Lab software products developed by Digital Film Tools.
Tiffen Dfx version 3 adds a number of new effects to stylize the image. These include high contrast color shadow effects, artifact removal (DeBand, DeBlock, DeNoise), lighting/smoothing effects (KeyLight, Glow Darks), Texture, image color/tone/grain matching (Match) and realistic light ray effects (Rays). Plus a wide range of Film Stock filters than simulate 113 different color and black-and-white photographic stocks.
The Tiffen Dfx digital filter suite is sold in three versions: a standalone application, a plug-in set for photo applications and a separate plug-in set for video applications. In the standalone version, users can process the standard still photo formats, like TIFF, RAW and JPEG, but in addition, can also deal with DPX images. Since batch processing can be set up, it is possible to use the standalone version to affect motion footage by batch processing TIFF or DPX image sequences.
The plug-in version for photo applications installs into Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Apple Aperture and is similar to the standalone version, minus the import/export and batch controls. Both the still photo and standalone versions of Dfx include drawing tools for custom masking and the ability to stack layers of different filters, complete with blending modes. Applying the Dfx filter in Photoshop sends you to the same custom interface used in the standalone version and both can be used in single and dual-monitor configurations.
The Dfx interface is divided into a layer stack, parameters to adjust filters, a browser of presets and the active canvas that previews the effect applied to your image. The preset browser will also create thumbnails using your image with each of the various filters and effects applied. Across the bottom of the interface is a selection strip with the various major filter and effect categories: Film Lab, HFX Diffusion, HFX Grads/Tints, Image, Lens, Light, Special Effects and Favorites. Within each category is a series of subcategories. For instance, Film Lab would include Film Stocks and Bleach Bypass filters among others. Each of these groups includes a series of presets that can be applied, as well as flagged as a Favorite for quick recall. These tools make it quick to preview a wide range of looks and filter options on your photo.
The video version of the Tiffen Dfx suite installs into Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro 7 and Avid Media Composer/Symphony. In these hosts, the individual filter categories show up within the standard effects selection palette, so you have to apply one of the individual filters, like Film Stocks from the Film Lab category, in order to get started. Depending on the host, some or all of the adjustment sliders are available within the effects control panel. If you want greater control, click on the Dfx Interface button to launch the custom interface.
In the video version, you can only work with a single filter at a time and cannot stack a series of filters within the Dfx interface. As in the other versions, the Dfx interface displays the frame you were parked on when you launched the custom interface and uses that image to generate the preset thumbnails of the various settings. The video plug-in can also be used in both a single and dual-screen mode. The center canvas has several comparison and split-screen views, while the right panel includes the adjustment parameters.
The big selling point for the Tiffen Dfx package is that many of the effects are based on specific Tiffen Hollywood F/X glass filters and gels. These are called out by name and number in the preset panes, so someone familiar with the physical product will know right away what result each of these will have. In additional, the film stock presets are also based on specific known Agfa, Fuji, Kodak and Polaroid products.
Well, after having used Nik's Color Efex Pro 2.0 for over two years I must admit that it's a well thought-out, comprehensive system that provides a plethora of fascinating and useful filter effects. But with all due respect to my friend, there are still many important things (like true polarization, lens protection, UV suppression, and brightness range attenuation) that can be done better or more easily with traditional glass filters--and you can even see the effects in the viewfinder at the moment of exposure.
Philosophical arguments aside, I was sufficiently impressed with Nik's Color Efex Pro 2.0 to bend the ear of a Tiffen executive I ran into at the PMA Show back in 2004. "Yes, your optical filters are among the best," I said. "But when it comes to plug-in software filters, Nik is eating your lunch. Tiffen had better come out with a comprehensive, top of the line, plug-in electronic filter system if your company expects to remain competitive in the digital era." Well, it's taken a while, but the Tiffen Dfx system has finally arrived--and based on my experience with it over the past two months, I'm pleased to say it was well worth the wait.
The Dfx Suite
The Complete Tiffen Dfx suite, providing over 1000 traditional and special effects filters and gels, is available as a stand-alone system or as an integrated plug-in for Windows or Macintosh versions of Photoshop (from Version 7.0 to CS3) or Photoshop Elements (Version 3.0 or later) at a suggested price of $299.95. There's also a more limited "Select" version, which I didn't test drive, that's available either as a stand-alone ($99.95) or as a plug-in for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements ($159.95). All are compatible with 8 or 16 bit per channel processing. The Complete stand-alone works with Windows XP and Vista, and if you're a Mac user like me, you must have Mac OS X 10.4 or higher installed on your machine to run it. Once you install the software and bring up the dialog box, it becomes clear that easy, intuitive, visually-oriented operation is one of the system's prime virtues.