Best dxo film simulation skin#
Best dxo film simulation software#

Best dxo film simulation skin#

The Alien Skin Exposure 5 rendition is very flattering, to say the least, the Color Efex Pro rendition is (again) a pantomime version thatвЂ™s just plain wrong, while the DxO FilmPack 4.5 version is probably closest to the results I got from the real thing.The monochrome mode on most digital cameras is a convenience that is best avoided. IвЂ™ll admit I used Kodachrome 20o only twice, and found it grainy, contrasty and with such a strong magenta cast I vowed never to use it againвЂ¦ The generic DxO FilmPack 4.5 version is OK but, again, looks just like the original with some tiny tweaks, but the non-generic DxO version (why are there two?) is flat, magenta and, to my eyes, just plain wrong. Of the rest, the Color Efex Pro version is just a pantomime effect вЂ“too much contrast, too much saturation. Of all of these, I think the Alien Skin Exposure 5 version is best, though to me it just looks like the original digital version with a tad more saturation. My Kodachrome 64 transparencies have neutral, subtle tones and a particular вЂsteely-greyвЂ™ rendition in skies that I really like.Д«ut this is where you get the biggest variations in the digital versions. Some say its colours are super-saturated and unreal (I think this is an unjustified Kodachrome reputation in general), others say K64 images have a magenta cast. This was my favourite colour film, and I canвЂ™t really understand the (bad) reputation this film seems to have. IвЂ™ve scanned plenty of Kodachrome 25 transparencies, so I know what to expect, and if IвЂ™d shot this scene on K25, IвЂ™d expect a much richer, more saturated outcome than either of these. IвЂ™m not particularly convinced by either, to be honest. The Alien Skin rendition looks the best to me, while the DxO version doesnвЂ™t have the saturation I would expect. Only two of these plug-ins offers a Kodachrome 25 simulation вЂ“ Alien Skin Exposure 5 and DxO FilmPack 4.5

Slow as heck, true, but I thought it had really nice colour rendition, good saturation and not too much contrast. IвЂ™ll start with the colour films, then move on to the black and whiteвЂ¦ 01 Kodachrome 25 There are plenty more, but IвЂ™ve chosen the ones I know best from my own film photography days. On their own, each of these plug-ins makes a good case, but itвЂ™s when you put them up against each other that you realise they canвЂ™t all be rightвЂ¦ I donвЂ™t have test results for all of them with every film because they donвЂ™t all support the same range of emulsions вЂ“ but the results are interesting nonetheless.

So IвЂ™ve taken the same shot (above) and processed it using Alien Skin Exposure 5, Color Efex Pro, DxO FilmPack 4.5 and Silver Efex Pro, all of which promise to replicate the look of traditional film.

One problem is that they donвЂ™t always look like the films I used to use another is that they donвЂ™t even agree with each other. But IвЂ™m also a bit sceptical, because many of the film simulations I see from plug-ins look quite suspect to me.

Best dxo film simulation software#

So IвЂ™m especially interested in any film simulation software which promises to replicate the look and feel of traditional silver-based films. I love its richness, depth, unpredictability and character. ItвЂ™s what I grew up with, and itвЂ™s what I made most of my photographic discoveries вЂ“ and mistakes вЂ“ with.