Canon 350D CSproTM Plugin User Manual For PC and Mac versions Photoshop Elements 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 Photoshop 6.0, 7.0, CS, CS2 Intro: From one photographer to another: I have been shooting for the past ten years, and have logged countless hours in front of my computer trying to perfect files that bordered on unusable. Sometimes, I just wouldn't have the right conditions in the field, and rather than re-shoot, I had no choice but to edit the photos --without them looking like they were edited. I decided to develop easy to use Photoshop plugins to make my own workflow run more efficiently. And, since I use all of these tools on a daily basis with my own work, I thought that other professional and amateur photographer's could benefit from using them as well. These digital darkroom essential tools are based on many years of my personal photography, graphic design and software experience. I see photography as the highest art form, and in my opinion, editing can only enhance your masterpiece, not create it. My goal therefore, is to bring out the best your artwork has to offer. So that you can spend more time out in the field or shooting in the studio, and less time on the computer. Please feel free to visit fredmiranda.com, an online community for photographers to meet and learn from each other. I look forward to seeing your work! q q q q q About the Canon 350D CSproTM plugin Using the 350D CSproTM plugin Learning the 350D CSproTM plugin interface Calling Canon 350D CSproTM from an action Batching the Canon 350D CSproTM About the Canon 350D CSproTM 16-bit* plugin: PC version shown below: *This plugin will work with 8-bit and 16-bit files when using Photoshop CS or CS2. When using Photoshop Elements 1 and 2, Photoshop 6.0 or 7.0, it will only work with 8-bit files. The 350D CSpro Plugin is a new sharpening technology specific designed to accommodate Canon 350D SLR files. This plugin is compatible with JPEG files straight from the camera or TIFF/JPEG files converted from RAW files. Although 350D CSpro's interface appears simple and intuitive, complexity makes this plugin very smart: It provides everything from haloless sharpening, edgesharpening, luminance sharpening, mode sharpening, and more with just the press of a button. With this plugin you can choose from low or high ISO settings. Other options allow you to sharpen fine detail. There are pre-designed intensity levels, and options to reduce color noise from high ISO files. You can even create your own sharpening settings, preview settings and tweak intensity results. PC Installation: Unzip the downloaded file "350D CSpro Plugin.zip". There you will find the "Canon 350D CSpro.exe" - double click on it. This window (below) will pop-up: After agreeing to the license agreement "EULA", the installer will automatically detect compatible versions of Photoshop installed on your system: Click on the Browse button and select the Photoshop version folder where you would like to install the Canon 350D CSpro plugin. For example, if you want to install Velvia Vision on Photoshop CS, click on Browse, select the Photoshop CS folder and click "OK". The path should look like this: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop CS Note: Do not try entering the Photoshop version manually. Always use the Browse button to avoid misspelling your Photoshop version and incorrectly installing the plugin. Mac Classic and OS X quick installation: Drag and drop the included Plug-in file by using the following path: For Photoshop 6.0, 7.0 or CS: Photoshop X.X > Plug-Ins > Adobe Photoshop Only > Automate For Photoshop Elements Photoshop Elements X.X > Plug-Ins > Automate TOP Using the 350D CSpro Plugin: Before calling the plugin make sure you are viewing your file at 100% magnification for accurate editing - Actual Pixels. After changing the view to "Actual Pixels", select the hand tool and drag to pan over the image until you find the spot you would like to preview the plugin results. This can not be moved afterwards, unless you are using Photoshop CS (PC version). Under Photoshop CS, (with the PC version only) you will be able to navigate the image view area using the window scroll bars after the plugin is called. Note: PC version illustrations will be shown throughout this manual. Identical features are available for Mac users. After the installation of the 350D CSpro plugin is complete, launch Photoshop. Now, you are ready to run the Plugin. Go to Menu/Automate and click on Canon350D CSpro: The 350D CSpro Plugin window will pop-up. TOP Learning the 350D CSpro plugin interface: Settings: Canon 350D CSpro allows photographers to save and load their own custom settings. You will be able to create as many Intellisharpen settings as desired to ease your workflow. In the example below, you can see that I have saved settings for landscape, portrait, Epson 2200 printing, Lab printing, etc... How to save custom Intellisharpen settings: In the example above, I set Canon 350D CSpro with the following: q q q q q Low ISO file Sharpening level = 4 Sharpen fine detail level = unchecked Low Halo setting Save result as a layer = checked In order to save these settings for future use, I then clicked on the "Save" button and created a custom setting called: "My Landscape settings". If you would like to back-up your custom settings, you can find them using the following path. Every setting you create will be added to this path automatically. For Photoshop 6.0, 7.0 or CS: Photoshop X.X > Plug-Ins > FM Plugins > FM Settings > Canon 350D CSpro setting For Photoshop Elements: Photoshop Elements X.X > Plug-Ins > FM Plugins > FM Settings > Canon 350D CSpro setting Image Type options: The 350D CSpro plugin works with most common file extensions including 8-bit TIFF and JPEG files. Under Photoshop CS, it will work with both 8-bit and 16-bit files. Under "Image Type", you will be able to select from "Low ISO File" or "High ISO File". q q Low ISO File: This option should be used with clean files. It was tested with 350D's ISO 100, 200 and 400 images. It works best with your landscape and studio work. High ISO File: This option should be used with "grainy" files. (ISO 800 and up). It also works best with portrait work. (It's not recommended to combine "Sharpen fine detail" with this setting). Sharpening Level: You have the option of choosing from Level 1 to Level 5. (Level 3 is the default sharpening intensity.) Level 1 provides the lightest custom sharpening effect and Level 5 the highest. If more strength is desired, you could always run the plugin again. For example: Run Level 5 followed by another run of Level 1. (However, this is NOT recommended for optimal results since the pre-selected intensities were carefully designed for the 350D.) After choosing your desired sharpening intensity, you will be able to "preview" the results on your original file by clicking on the Apply button. When you finish running the plugin you will see the results of the selected intensity. At that point you also have an option to tweak the intensity of the sharpening effect by decreasing from 100 to 0. (Zero will be the original state of the image before applying the plugin and 100 is the result after applying the plugin -- so you have all of the options in between to work with). For example, if you would like to see half of the sharpening effect, move the "Intensity Tweak" slider from 100 to 50 and you will be able to preview the tweaked results on your file. If you desire to experiment with different intensities, click on Undo and your file will be brought to the original state. Otherwise, click on the OK button if you are happy with the results. Sharpen fine detail (slower): This setting can be used with any Intensity level and will sharpen very fine detail in your images. However, it will make the plugin run slower (especially with 16-bit files), but is recommended when maximum sharpening is desired. It works great with landscape images but it's not recommended to be combined with the "High ISO File" setting. Halo Settings: The default halo setting is "Normal Halo" and it's the best compromise between detail sharpening and halo size. Under "Normal Halo", the plugin will already provide minimal halo around high contrast areas and therefore it's my recommended setting. However, if you would like to tweak this setting and sacrifice some sharpening for an even smaller or non-existent halo, select "Low Halo" or even the 0% halo option. Reduce color noise: Check this setting if you desire to reduce color noise from your files during sharpening. This setting is recommended when editing High ISO files but can be used with Low ISO files as well. "Reduce color noise" is included with this custom sharpening plugin because in some cases it will improve the sharpening results. Levels and sharpening Tweak option: The Levels and sharpening Tweak option is for advanced users only. It provides photographers with the flexibility to fine tune a pre-selected 350D CSpro intensity. After selecting an intensity level and checking the Levels and Sharpening Tweak option, the 350D CSpro plugin will stop twice. The first stop will be a "Levels" window. These controls are very powerful and geared for the advanced user. With this feature you can fine tune what gets sharpened on your photograph. Here's how: you will have 3 Input Levels sliders, 2 Output Levels sliders and the eyedropper tools to work with. Use the sliders/eyedroppers to select the areas you want sharpened. The black areas will receive the most sharpening effect. The gray areas will receive moderate sharpening and the white areas will receive only a light global luminance sharpening effect. The second stop will be a "USM" window. It's recommended to leave the Amount, Radius and Threshold with the default settings. But as an advanced user, you have the option to fine tune the values and input your own settings. However, noise, artifact or extreme halos may appear on your images when entering your own settings. NOTE: This Tweak option is for single images only. It will NOT work with the 350D CSpro batch add-on. Intensity Tweak slider: The Intensity tweak slider is a powerful and flexible option included with this plugin. As mentioned earlier, after selecting any intensity level and clicking on the Apply button, the Intensity Tweak slider will be available to tweak the results you see on screen. As you move the slider from 100 (default) to your desired level, you will see the results changing on your image. You may choose from 100 to 0 within the selected intensity level. The intensity you choose will bring you closer to the desired effect works best with your files. Example: When clicking on the Apply button to preview level 4 (High), you will be able to move the Intensity Tweak slider from 100 down to 50 ---by doing that, half of the level four sharpening effect will be applied and shown on your image. VERY IMPORTANT: When moving the Intensity Tweak slider to choose the perfect sharpening strength, make sure to view your photograph at 100% magnification. Inspecting your images at the actual pixel magnification is always the best way to edit your files. This can be accomplished by either using the Control+Alt+0 shortcut or by using the plugin's Image Zoom. TOP Call the Plugin from an action: (Optional - For advanced users) There is a great way to use your Canon 350D CSpro Plugin faster and easier. All you need to do is create a simple action in Photoshop to open the 350D CSpro plugin automatically, instead of having to go through using the Automate menu every time. Here's how to do it: Go to the Actions palette, click on the new action icon, or you can use the fly out menu (it looks like a little triangle at the top of the palette), then select new action. You will be prompted by the dialog box to name the action and assign this new action an `F' key command. Be careful not to use an F key that is already assigned. After you name the action and set the F key, your next step is to use the `Insert Menu Item' command in the Actions palette fly-out menu. After selecting the Insert Menu Item, you will be prompted to select a menu item. To do this, you will need to navigate to the Automate menu and select 'Canon 350D CSpro'. Then click `OK' and stop recording the action. That's it, you've made your action to call the350D CSpro plugin. I'm sure it will be a nice time saving and simple alternative. TOP Batching the Plugin: Normally, plugins do not run in Photoshop's batch mode. I have, however found a way to make this possible. The batch feature is a separate optional add-on to this Plugin. With it you can edit up to thousands of images at a time without intervention. To find out how to purchase this feature, go to the FM Software page. The Batch Add-on is compatible with FM Plugins for PC and Mac - Not compatible with Photoshop Elements. We highly recommend backing up all FM Plugins on a floppy, CD or Zip drive sin ...