Photoshop Plugins?

[krb2g]

I have a feeling this may be a dangerous (read: expensive) road to go down, but can anyone offer any experience on Photoshop plug ins. I've got CS5 and Photomatix and am a beginning user on both (I've been working my way through Scott Kelby's 7 point PS book). I've been reading workflow descriptions that include plugins (Topaz and Nik Color Efex both seem to spring to mind), so I went online to see what they included and the price was a little surprising to me (see: beginning user; see also: graduate student). I guess part of my problem is, it's not entirely clear to me what I can do with photoshop v. what additional things a plugin will allow me to do, and how much hassle the plugin could save.

I would appreciate reviews of the Topaz bundle and the Nik filters. I think I'm especially interested in the denoise feature, but I'm also curious how much Topaz Adjust lets me do that I couldn't or couldn't easily do in regular CS5 and whether the InFocus plugin really works.

Thanks for any help!

 

[photo_chick]

Photoshop is great software, but it covers a wide range of tools. Sometimes specialized plug ins to perform a specific task will yield better results.

Topaz DeNoise kicks butt over Photoshop's NR, as does Noise Ninja. Topaz InFocus does a slightly better job of sharpening without some of the icky hard lines you tend to get with PS when you sharpen a lot. Perfect Image (used to be Focus Magic) is also good for sharpening.

The best way to know if you want them is to download the free trials and play.

 

[MICKEY88]

I have the Topaz plugins, and think they are well worth the money I invested.

using Adjust I've turned more than a few, OK shots into WOW shots...

 

[DigitalBelle]

Possibly you will find a product like Lightroom can handle the heavy-duty work of noise reduction and lens correction (and more) for the price of 3-7 filters. But, if you are new to Photoshop, I am hesitant to suggest an additional piece of software. Adobe Lightroom works hand in hand, but it's still separate and still fairly sophisticated (a nice way of saying complicated!). Learn Photoshop first. In all fairness, it can do anything on its own that plug-ins do--IF you know how to do it and use the right settings. Sometimes that would be a lot of extra steps, but in general the plugins tell the software how to move the pieces it already has. With that said, plugins and filters can be a fantastic time saver.

Also, if you shoot RAW, you may find PS gives you more control over post production edits like exposure and color balance. (Con: huge files...)

 

[denise]

I have PS and LR but just added NIK color efex. Now to learn that. They had a special, might still be on, of $100 off the price. Then I also used the coupon from Trey Ratcliff " stuckincustoms " and got another $29.99 off. Final price for their $299.95 software was $169.96....
There are some places on line that offer free actions or filters...
So far it is fun to play with....