Give your images that classic look with DXO Filmpack-3
They say: we can do the impossible, but miracles take a little longer. Yes, the digital world we now inhabit for better or worse has made things possible we never dreamed of. DxO is a French image processing company with a great site for comparing camera sensors, which I’ve mentioned before http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Camera-Sensor-Ratings. They also sell image editing software and some add-ons like the Filmpack http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo
Filmpack-3 is the third evolution of this software, which works as a plugin for PS or stand-alone. I used the stand-alone version since I don't use Photoshop but much prefer ACDSee Pro 4. You can try Filmpack-3 for 30 days for free, and it’s a modest-by-today’s standards 85mb download followed by a straightforward install – at least on Win XP. You then open an image from one of your folders in the program, choose a film type, and éh-voilà: there’s your image rendered in Velbvia or Ektachrome, right in front of your eyes. No darkroom, no chemicals, no mess, no sweat.
To show what this Filmpack-3 can do, I selected an image taken with my Nikon D5000 last summer up on the lookout at George’s Heights where hundreds had gathered to watch Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary depart Sydney Harbour. A wedding couple and their shooter joined the party, and I caught them on the stairs in the late afternoon sun. As always, click on any image for a larger file.
This is the original
Kodak Ektachrome 100
Fuji Velvia 50
The last 2 were colour positive films (for those too young to remember), now we look at colour print film - this is Fuji Superior Reala 100
Kodak Portra 160 VC
This B&W film is Kodak T-Max 100
And this is Ilford Delta 400
When I look at these images, I realize just how good digital cameras have become - I think the original provides the most faithful reproduction of the light and colours I saw on the day. But it can be fun to play around with nostalgic options.
There are many more film choices - these are just a few of them. The current special offer for the light version is 50 Euros. You can download a trial version of DxO Filmpack-3 here http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/free_trial_version
Have fun
Kim
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