Re: Intensify plug-in for Aperture
Hi,
Has anyone used Intensify as an Aperture plug-in and if so, what is the verdict?
iMac (27-inch Late 2009), Mac OS X (10.6.4)
You can download free trial here: macphun.com/intensify and check for yourself.
9 replies
Remarks from a Rank Amateur. Don't try this at home. For a half year or so I was rummaging around with my film negatives and slides and investigated how to render them in digital format. A nice gentleman in Washington DC offered to scan in 200+ rolls of 35 mm negatives and about an equal number of slides. That is a lot of work, but hey, we are both retired and looking for that 15 minutes of fame Andy Warhol promised.
My friend can accomplish this because he owns a Nikon Coolscan machine. No longer made, but very automated. Feed the film in, and push a button.
As for converting the Tiff scan from negative to positive, here is what I'll do next. In Aperture, you navigate to the Adjustment Inspector and select the Curve tool. When that appears, you simply move the highlight curve from far right to far left. And do the opposite with the shadow curve. Instantly, you have a positive image, which can be either 8bit or 16bit.
Flat bed scanners might be faster, and do come with software to go from neg to pos. But flatbed scanners don't have the resolution that the Nikon Coolscan offers. Now if I had a negative (and slide) library running into the thousands of images, I would go on eBay and buy a used Nikon Coolscan. It is a lot a of work, any way you look at it.
Hi inventimo and daikambu65,
Thanks for your very helpful and constuctive advice. Do it yourself from inventimo and a response from daikambu65, which must surely be, in response to someone elses question, as it appears to be nothing to do with mine!
Still hoping for something a little more helpful.
Intensify won't work on 10.6
Here are some more insights on using it as plug-in (if you decide to update OS X)
It works smoothly and performs as advertised. Aperture doesn't have this kind of focused tools (various adjustments for image detail on different tone levels, as well as pro contrast and micro sharpening) and presets. Intensify handles all file formats supported by Aperture plus works on its own 16-bit raw processor, so you'll be able to work on the image without losing any valuable data. What else would you like to know?
Hi inventimo,
Thanks for the reponse, which was very helpful. I am on 10.9 OSX Mavericks. Do you think that it is worth the money and supplements Aperture? I do a lot of 'amateur' editing.
It's a very helpful tool. But keep in mind that only Pro version available through developer's site will work as plug-in. That's why I suggested you download free trial first and check if it brings you everything you need. If you use Aperture a lot, you'll definitely see the value in the Intensify.
I did not realise that it was on the Pro version available through the developers site,that acted as a plug-in. That puts a different complexion on it, as a) it is more expensive than Aperture and is not downloaded through the App store. It would really have to be worthwhile for me to go down this route.
Another issue is, after exporting your edited photo from Intensify to Aperture, could you still tweak it further on Aperture, as sometimes Aperture does not allow that?
Here are some learning videos that will help to understand the purpose of the app: http://www.photowalkthrough.com/tutorial-28-intensify-pro (there are more on macphun.com/intensify)
Plug-ins are not allowed on the App Store according to their guidelines.
All apps should work as standalone applications
Again, do some research online and check the reviews of the app.
That's a very great tool for all types of photographers, but everyone should make his decision whether Intensify works for his type of photography:)
Thanks for your helpful observations and advice. I will give the videos a look and contact the software company direct. Much appreciate your patience and advice.
Re: Intensify plug-in for Aperture