Monday, March 9, 2009

PhotoFreebies for Windows (plugins)

NEW: Version 2 of PhotoFreebies for Windows (including a 64bit version) is available!

PhotoFreebies is a collection of free plugins for performing useful photo manipulations and effects e.g. sepia effects, saturation gradients, b/w conversion, color space transformations and many more. Some of them have a dialog with adjustable controls whereas others are applied instantly without displaying a dialog.

PhotoFreebies works in dozens of graphics applications including Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop Elements, PhotoPlus, Photo-Paint, IrfanView and PhotoImpact under Windows and MacOS X. The plugins also run natively in Photoshop CS3/CS4 on Intel-Macs. There is also a 64bit version for the 64bit version of Photoshop CS4 for Windows. The Windows version supports 8bit and 16bit RGB images whereas the Mac version only supports 8bit RGB images. Additionally the Mac version does not contain the RGB2HSL, HSL2RGB and Color Blind plugins.
To celebrate the success of our PhotoWiz product series we decided to publish the free PhotoFreebies. Our intention was to create small and easy-to-use utilities for image manipulation. They are not as feature-rich as our other PhotoWiz products, which were engineered for special photo correction tasks. The PhotoFreebies produce more general effects that are needed from time to time and are only inconveniently reproducible in common graphics tools. The PhotoFreebies also include effects which are less suitable for commercial products, but nevertheless useful. Additionally you will also find some features of our other PhotoWiz products in a more simplified form in the PhotoFreebies collection. The PhotoFreebies collection will of course be expanded with even more useful plugins in future.

Plugins Descriptions:
B/W: Offers seven methods for removing the color from images and achieving a grayscaled look.
Color Blind (Windows only): Simulates red/green color blindness. It can also be used for special effects.
Chroma Negative: Inverts the colors without making the image a negative. Has a dialog with a blend slider.
Desaturation Gradient: Gradually desaturates the image in four possible directions.
Histo Fix: It fixes a chopped histogram by interpolating lost image information. You can regain 1/2 bit, 1 bit or 2 bit of image information. Works only on 8bit images, because 16bit images do not have this problem.
Luma Negative: Turns the image into a negative without changing the colors. Has a dialog with a blend slider.
RGB2HSL and HSL2RGB (Windows only): The RGB2HSL plugin converts the RGB channels into HSL channels without leaving RGB mode. This allows you to manipulate the HSL channels. The Hue component occupies the R channel, the Saturation component is in the G channel and the Lightness is placed in the B channel. The other plugin converts the HSL channels back to RGB. No Dialog.
RGB2YCC and YCC2RGB: The RGB2YCC plugin converts the RGB channels into YCC channels without leaving RGB mode. This allows you to manipulate the YCC channels. The Y-Luminosity component occupies the R channel and the two Chroma components are in the G and B channels. The other plugin converts the YCC channels back to RGB. No Dialog.
Remove Transparency: Makes a transparent layer fully opaque. No Dialog.
Sepia: Lets you apply uniform or colored sepia effects. Includes three controls. A sepia effect of this quality isn't that easy to achieve in Photoshop or PSP.

With which graphics applications can the PhotoFreebies be used? See the Compatibility List.
What's new in the latest version? See the Version History.
Not sure which Mac version to use? See the Mac Version Selection Chart.
Enter the PhotoWiz Discussion Forum if you have questions or comments on PhotoFreebies.

Download PhotoFreebies.

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