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Adobe Camera Raw vs. Sony Imaging Edge Desktop: Which is your best bet?

31 Jan

For most photographers, the digital darkroom is based around payware or subscription software from the likes of Adobe, Capture One, DxO or one of their many rivals. But if you’re a Sony shooter, there’s an option which is available entirely free of charge along with your camera purchase: Sony Imaging Edge Desktop.*

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop version 3.0’s user interface.

In this article, we’ll take a look at how Imaging Edge Desktop compares with the 800-pound gorilla in the room, Adobe Camera Raw, whose algorithms also underpin the company’s popular Lightroom Classic application. As with previous articles in this series, I’m limiting myself only to still image editing in the interests of keeping things to a readable length, and won’t address features like image management, tethering or printing.

*Sony does include a version of Capture One, called ‘Express,’ with camera purchases, which we’ll investigate in a future article.

The ground rules

This comparison is based upon the most recent versions of each application at the time of writing. For Adobe, that’s Camera Raw 13.0 and Bridge 11.0. For Sony, it’s Imaging Edge Desktop 3.0. My computer is a 2018 Dell XPS 15 9570 laptop running Windows 10 version 1909.

To ensure neither Adobe nor Sony had any advantage out of the gate, I’ve aimed to reproduce, as closely as possible, the look of already-processed images from our galleries, without any prior knowledge as to the recipes behind them.

Adobe Camera Raw version 13.0’s user interface.

I’ve chosen images from the Sony A7 III (ILCE-7M3) for use in this comparison, as its been available for long enough for Adobe to fine-tune its rendering, while its price tag and resolution are broadly similar to those of the Canon EOS R and Nikon Z6 used in my previous manufacturer software comparisons.

Sharpness and noise reduction were left at their default settings to avoid overcomplicating things, while lens corrections were enabled for both applications. Images processed in ACR were saved at JPEG quality 11, just as used in our galleries. For Imaging Edge Desktop, which offers a choice of just four different compression levels, I used the maximum quality.

The main differences

Of course, the most immediately obvious differences between ACR and Sony’s Imaging Edge are their camera support and price tag. You already paid for Imaging Edge when you bought your Sony camera, so it’s effectively free. While it only supports Raws shot by the company’s own cameras, you can expect full Raw support for every Sony camera to be available pretty much immediately upon release.

Imaging Edge’s shadow and highlight sliders don’t give you as much latitude as the same sliders in Adobe Camera Raw, so shadows can only be lifted so far – even with D-Range Optimizer enabled.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

By contrast, ACR requires a recurring subscription fee. It supports a vast range of cameras from many manufacturers – including every single interchangeable-lens or large-sensor Sony camera made to date – but that support can sometimes take a while to arrive after the release of new models. It’s also sometimes more limited than that in first-party software, especially for older models.

For example, while Adobe offers ‘camera matching’ profiles for most recent Sony cameras, it’s not yet available for the recently-launched A7C. Nor has it been provided for any Translucent Mirror model made before 2014, or any Sony DSLR model at all.

A clean, modern interface with good multi-monitor support

Imaging Edge Desktop offers a twist on a modal interface. The initial install is merely a launcher which in turn installs and then launches separate viewer, editor and tethering apps. These can run separately or simultaneously, and can span multiple monitors. The editor app can’t browse entire folders of images, but you can open individual shots directly from within and stay out of the viewer app entirely, should you choose. Web help is available through the menu system, but it’s quite abbreviated.

We’ve found that Imaging Edge uses a bit stronger noise reduction by default, though in some cases its finer-radius sharpening will tease out the finest details a bit better; but ACR has a ‘punchier’ look.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

The user interface is really quite straightforward and very clean, although it does involve a lot of scrolling. Buttons in Imaging Edge and the individual apps launch the other apps, and the editor sports a single scrollable toolbar whose 14 sections can be rearranged or hidden. Thumbnails of currently-opened images line the bottom of the screen, but they’re tiny and not terribly useful even at Full HD resolution, and lots of space is wasted on the filenames. Nor can you move them to the side of the screen, unfortunately.

Unlike most rivals, Imaging Edge doesn’t treat your Raw files as sacrosanct

Sliders move smoothly, but some control names are a bit unintuitive like “overshoot” / “undershoot” for the sharpness control, or “magnification chromatic aberration correction”, neither of which are explained in help. There are also no automatic controls other than those for white balance, dynamic range and noise reduction.

A risky data strategy and not the best standards compliance

Sadly, while Imaging Edge plays nicely with pens and touch screens, it doesn’t support 4K monitors terribly well. Many user interface elements are too small for comfortable use, and Windows’ scaling setting is mostly ignored. Imaging Edge also doesn’t follow Windows keyboard conventions like tabbing between controls, and you can’t customize the keyboard shortcuts at all. And there are some occasional bugs; for example on canceling processing of a brief six-image batch, the program stopped functioning for multiple minutes and had to be force-closed.

Overall, I did find it easier to get more pleasant foliage and sky color out of Imaging Edge than Adobe Camera Raw.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

That’s doubly worrisome because unlike most rivals, Imaging Edge doesn’t treat your Raw files as sacrosanct. Instead of using a database to store its edits, or putting them in sidecar files in the same folder, Sony instead saves them in the headers of the original raw file.

The company has already been bitten by this approach once in the past with a separate application, PlayMemories Home, and in 2018 had to release a tool to correct that app’s corruption of Raw files. To avoid this issue, I recommend using Imaging Edge solely with copies of backed-up images.

Curiously, batch processing is not available in Edit mode, even if you have multiple images open. It’s available only from the Viewer window, and provides fairly limited possibilities for renaming your output images. Imaging Edge also only has a choice of four compression levels, and there’s a huge gap in quality between the highest (~15MB/image) and second-highest (~5MB/image) levels.

Reasonable if pedestrian performance

Compared to ACR, Sony Imaging Edge’s performance is reasonable, but it’s not going to light any fires. Where ACR takes just 12 seconds to process six images, Imaging Edge takes around 21.5 seconds when saving highest-quality JPEGs. Admittedly, dropping the quality level one step reduces this to just a hair under 20 seconds, but it also slashes files sizes by two-thirds.

You can see here how much more highlight detail Adobe Camera Raw is able to save in the windows, though the softer overall tonality of the Imaging Edge version isn’t unpleasant.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

While previews are two-pass, they update fairly quickly, usually within a second or two of releasing the control. This is still nowhere near as quick as Adobe’s near-real time previews, however. And they sometimes don’t update the whole screen at once, with a tile or two of the overall result occasionally needing a few additional seconds to finally fill in.

Very similar controls to ACR, but not all as effective

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop’s editing controls are broadly similar to those on offer in Adobe Camera Raw, including the highlight and shadow sliders that many other apps lack. It also allows display not just of clipped highlights and shadows, but out-of-gamut colors. It foregoes ACR’s texture and vibrance controls, but adds a D-Range Optimizer slider with auto mode.

In many cases, it’s just hard to balance dynamic range and contrast in Imaging Edge.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

D-Range Optimizer does a pretty good job of lifting shadows, but the highlight and shadow sliders are nowhere near as effective as their Adobe equivalents, and the highlight slider in particular didn’t seem capable of recovering much detail at all from blown highlights, even when ACR could do so with ease. I found the best results with more difficult images tended to send me to the curves tool, whereas Adobe could get the results without needing to fiddle with curves.

Sony’s noise reduction is rather more heavy-handed

By default, Imaging Edge uses higher levels of noise reduction than Camera Raw, and Adobe produces crisper results out of the box. With that said, you likely won’t notice the difference unless you’re pixel peeping or making large prints, where Adobe’s NR has a finer-grained look.

Noise reduction levels in both apps can be dialed back from that default. Imaging Edge also offers an “off” setting, but Sony’s app still applies more noise reduction than Adobe’s, even when that’s used. Setting NR to off definitely applies less noise reduction than simply zeroing out the sliders in manual mode, though, especially when it comes to chroma noise.

I found ACR to do a better job with skin tones. Imaging Edge tended a bit towards the magenta, but in turn delivered more convincing skies and foliage than ACR. Of course, you can improve color in either app by fiddling with the sliders, but ACR has an auto mode to get you in the ballpark, whereas Imaging Edge requires you make corrections manually.

Another example where Adobe Camera Raw is able to take advantage of remaining highlight information better than Imaging Edge.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

Final thoughts

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop looks and feels more modern than some of its rivals from other camera manufacturers, but I still found Adobe Camera Raw more pleasant to use. And Adobe also wins in terms of performance, although Sony certainly doesn’t trail in this respect as badly as some of its rivals.

In terms of image quality, things were rather closer, however. Imaging Edge is capable of delivering good results with most images, although Adobe clearly still has an edge when it comes to recovering blown highlights and blocked-up shadows. And Sony’s highlight slider, in particular, proved rather less effective than I’d hoped.

But if you’re trying to slash your budget to a minimum, Imaging Edge Desktop delivers pretty decent image quality for most shots, and does so with reasonable performance and versatility. There’s definitely money to be saved by switching away from a monthly subscription, especially if you tend to stick with just the basic tweaks and don’t often make major edits to your photos.

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop

Pros Cons
  • Available free with a Sony camera
  • Excellent support for Sony’s cameras from launch day
  • Good foliage and sky color with minimal effort
  • Tames noise well
  • Good lens corrections
  • D-Range Optimizer makes it easy to lift shadows
  • Only supports Sony cameras
  • Doesn’t treat Raw files as sacrosanct
  • UI requires lots of scrolling
  • Doesn’t follow Windows standards
  • Doesn’t support 4K monitors well
  • Minimal help documentation available
  • Highlight / shadow sliders aren’t very effective
  • Skin tones tend towards magenta
  • Denoising robs some fine detail even if switched “off”

Adobe Camera Raw

Pros Cons
  • Clean, clear and modern interface
  • Supports a vast range of cameras from many brands
  • Great performance
  • Allows fine-grained adjustments with accurate real-time preview
  • Great image quality
  • Extracts more fine detail than Imaging Edge with minimal fuss
  • Does a great job with highlights/shadows
  • Recurring subscription fee with no perpetual license option
  • Camera support can take a while to arrive for more obscure features or even fairly big ones like camera matching profiles
  • One-click auto control produces overly contrasty, saturated results
  • Tends to leave more noise in images by default

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Hasselblad updates its desktop, mobile Phocus image processing apps

02 Apr

Hasselblad has released an update to its Phocus image processing applications for both desktop and mobile devices. Phocus 3.5 for desktop brings a number of new and improved features, while the Phocus Mobile 2 update is more incremental with only a few small changes.

Phocus 3.5

Phocus version 3.5 brings a number of new tools and features, including. Specifically, Hasselblad has added a new defringe tool for removing green and purple fringes. The tool will automatically detect and correct for fringing, but also offers manual controls for more precise edits. The brightness and contrast adjustments have also been updated with ‘enhanced algorithms’ that should create more precise tonal adjustments than previous versions.

Hasselblad has also added a new ‘Luma Mode’ to the curves tool for controlling the luminosity of an image with less impact on the colors of an image compared to using the RGB curve mode. Finally, to smooth things out, Hasselblad has increased GPU usage within Phocus 3.5, which should help increase performance, specifically when viewing and exporting high-resolution images. Hasselblad notes the ‘Extended GPU usage option’ must be active within the settings/preferences in order to get the boost from your computer’s GPU.

Phocus Mobile 2 version 1.0.1

Phocus Mobile 2 version 1.0.1 makes only a few changes. In addition to general performance improvements, Hasselblad has also added lens correction support for its XCD 45P and added the ability to zoom and scroll around images immediately after they’re loaded into the viewer within the app.

Phocus Mobile 2 is available on iOS and iPadOS. Hasselblad has an overview video walking through the core functionality of the app if you want to familiarize yourself with the app.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adobe releases substantial update to the desktop and mobile versions of Photoshop for its 30th birthday

20 Feb

Today, on the 30th anniversary of Adobe Photoshop launching, Adobe has released an update for its desktop and iPad app, bringing substantial improvements to a few key features, as noted in its announcement blog post.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (Desktop)

Adobe kicked off the updates with an impressive improvement to its desktop iteration of Photoshop with an improved Content-Aware Fill workspace, updates to the Lens Blur tool, a slightly updated UI and a number of bug fixes. We’ll take a look at the details of the updates in the sections below.

Content-Aware Fill

Previously, if you needed to make multiple Content-Aware Fill edits, Photoshop required you to make the edits one at a time. Now, with this new update, you can make multiple selections and apply multiple fills within the Content-Aware Fill workspace without needing to exit every time. This not only reduces the number of clicks, it also allows you to preview edits in real-time when more complicated scenes require multiple edits at once.

Lens Blur

Another major improvement in this update is to the Lens Blur tool, which now relies on the GPU of your computer, rather than the CPU. As seen in the comparison images below, offloading the processing of the Lens Blur tool to the GPU dramatically improves the realism of the edit through more refined edges, more accurate bokeh (thanks to specular highlights) and an overall sharper image that looks more pleasing than edits process with the CPU.

Lens Blur tool processed using CPU Lens Blur tool processed using GPU

‘The results are created by an algorithm the [Photoshop engineering] team built by studying first the principles of physics and how light interacts with objects in the real world,’ says Photoshop Project Manager Pam Clark in the announcement post. ‘It is carefully tuned to simulate a 3D environment to create the most realistic results possible, while also consuming the least amount of computing power so you don’t burn up your machine.’

UI and Performance

Adobe has also added support for the new dark mode in macOS Catalina, with all of the new system dialogs matching the light/dark mode settings you have turned on at the system level.

Other improvements throughout Photoshop CC 2020 include improved mouse control, with better responsiveness when panning and zooming across an image, particularly with larger documents.

Photoshop for iPad

Moving onto the more mobile version of Photoshop, Adobe has brought its Object Selection tool and improved Text settings to Photoshop for iPad. Above is a quick promo video shared by Adobe alongside the update.

Object Selection

The Object Selection tool, which was first released for the desktop version of Photoshop, makes it easier to select multiple objects within an image to isolate them. Unlike the Select Subject tool, which is meant for images where there is a single, large subject, Object Selection is refined for more precise edits where multiple, smaller objects need to be isolated.

Type settings

Adobe has also updated the Type settings within Photoshop for iPad, bringing a number of controls over from the desktop version. Specifically, Adobe has added type layer, character and options properties within the Type settings. ‘This includes tracking, leading, scaling, and formatting things like all/small caps, super/subscript,’ reads the announcement. Adobe says Kerning will ship in a future update.

The updated versions of Photoshop should be live for Creative Cloud subscribers. If you’re not seeing the updates, try restarting your device and checking for updates again within the Creative Cloud app or iOS App Store.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adobe launches redesigned Creative Cloud desktop app with search, libraries and more

12 Oct

Adobe has launched a redesigned Creative Cloud desktop app offering what it says is a more intuitive way to access and update applications, browse and install new apps, manage and share assets, and more. In addition, the new desktop client makes it easier to browse Adobe’s products across different platforms and categories, including mobile, web, and photography.

As demonstrated in Adobe’s newly published video, the new Creative Cloud desktop client provides direct access to the company’s tutorials and other helpful resources, a full-screen Library view and the ability to directly manage and share assets, and a new search tool for finding stock images, fonts, and other ‘creative resources.’

According to Adobe, its new Creative Cloud desktop app will replace the existing client. The software is currently rolling out in Germany and France; it is scheduled to arrive in Japan on Friday followed by the US and other regions next week.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Insta360 launches desktop software for One X 360-degree camera

05 Feb

Insta360 has officially launched Insta360 Studio for ONE X, a desktop editing application for its ONE X 360-degree camera. The software had previously been available as a beta version but is now in full production, giving One X users a new reliable editing option in addition to the Android and iOS mobile apps.

Insta360 Studio for One X version 3.2.1 has been designed for editing the One X 5.7K 360-degree footage and comes with a comprehensive editing feature set, including keyframes for creating cinematic pans, real-time FlowState Stabilization for smooth and stable footage, preset perspectives, such as Tiny Planet, Crystal Ball or Natural View, and support for the MP4 file format.

You can download the latest version of the software for Windows and Mac on the Insta360 website. More information is available on the Insta360 blog.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony announces new Imaging Edge mobile app, updates desktop software

17 Jan

Sony has announced the ‘Imaging Edge’ mobile application that replaces the PlayMemories Mobile app. It offers remote control capability and geolocation. Users of recent Sony cameras (RX10 IV, RX100 V(A) and VI, a7 III, a7R III and a9) will be able to transfer 4K video in addition to full-resolution images (by selecting media on-camera). a9 owners will also be able to auto-transfer 2MP images.

Transfer & Tagging add-on

A pro workflow ‘Transfer & Tagging add-on’ will be available for the a9, a7R III and a7 III. This allows metadata tags to be added to images, including voice-input for quick captioning.

In addition, a9 users will be able to use the camera’s background FTP capability to quickly transfer full-res photos automatically to the smartphone or a remote server. Users will be able to do so wirelessly via a Wi-Fi access point or via direct tethering to a mobile phone (if the phone supports it), or via wired USB connection to the mobile device. Both the Imaging Edge app and the Transfer & Tagging add-on will be available this spring.

Later this month, version 1.4 of Sony’s desktop applications will be updated. The Remote, View and Edit apps will support time-lapse movie creation along with improved usability.

A bit more info can be found on Sony’s website.

Press Release:

New Imaging Edge Software Enhances Mobile Connectivity and Expands the Creative Capabilities of Sony Cameras

Sony Announces New Imaging Edge Mobile Applications, Plus Several Updates to Existing Desktop Applications

SAN DIEGO — Jan. 15, 2019 — Sony Electronics Inc. today announced the release of new Imaging Edge™ mobile applications plus several updates to the ‘Remote,’ ‘Viewer’ and ‘Edit’ desktop applications that will bring exciting new features to all Sony imaging customers ranging from casual hobbyists to working professionals.

New Imaging Edge Mobile Applications

The newly introduced mobile application named Imaging Edge Mobile is the successor to Sony’s PlayMemories Mobile™ app and will offer instant transfer of images from camera to a connected mobile devices while shooting. Images can be transferred when utilizing the new “Auto background transfer to Smartphone” functionality, allowing users to easily share content direct from their phone to social media platforms. The mobile application also supports 4K movie transfer and remote control functionality.

For professional photographers, Sony will be releasing a new mobile application ‘Transfer & Tagging add-on’ that will support instant delivery workflow by allowing users to transfer content to their mobile devices via the camera’s FTP background transfer functionality, without distraction from their shooting. It also enables voice input for text captioning to help streamline communication and overall workflow between photographers and other team members. There is also an online function that will allow you to sync a Caption Glossary between multiple devices.

Sony’s new Imaging Edge mobile application and ‘Transfer & Tagging add-on’ will be available in March 2019.

Enhancements of ‘Remote’ ‘Viewer’ ‘Edit’ Desktop Applications

The desktop version of Sony’s Imaging Edge application will be updated as well, with workflow support of time-lapse movie creation, making it an ideal match for Sony’s newest interchangeable lens cameras with built-in interval recording. Other new features to maximize usability have been added as well, such as comparison display and collection functions, as well as a new and improved user interface.

The latest Version 1.4 of Desktop Applications ‘Remote’ ‘Viewer’ ‘Edit’ will be available later this month.

For more information on the new application updates, please visit the Imaging Edge website at https://imagingedge.sony.net.

A variety of exclusive stories and exciting new content related to all of Sony’s exciting announcements can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, a site built to educate and inspire all fans and customers of the Sony ? brand. The new content will also be posted directly at the Sony Camera Channel on YouTube.

1. A successor application of PlayMemories Mobile. Existing PlayMemories Mobile users can use this by updating PlayMemories Mobile

2. Compatible with ILCE-9 with software update Ver.5.0 or later. Files are imported in 2MP size when using this function

3. Compatible with ILCE-9 with software update Ver.5.0 or later, ILCE-7RM3, ILCE-7M3, ILCE-6400, DSC-RX10M4, DSC-RX100M6, DSC-RX100M5A. Availability of video transfer and playback varies depending on smartphone in use

4. Add-on mobile application for ‘Imaging Edge Mobile’. Available countries: US/Canada/UK/France/Germany/Hong Kong/China/Australia/Japan. User registration is required to use this application. Compatible with ILCE-9 with software update Ver.5.0 or later, ILCE-7RM3, ILCE-7M3

5. Compatible with ILCE-9 with software update Ver.5.0 or later

6. The voice input of this application uses the service provided by Google. If Google services are not available, you cannot use the voice input. Please use the keyboard input

7. RAW processing adjustments by batch, adding music/texts, outputting 4K movie are also available

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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VSCO will retire desktop film emulation presets early next year

12 Dec

Image software company VSCO has announced plans to become a fully mobile company. This process will involve retiring its existing desktop presets on March 1, 2019, VSCO revealed on its website, leaving users with the VSCO mobile app, mobile tools and presets, and the annual $ 19.99 membership.

VSCO first launched in 2012 to offer film emulation presets on desktop. Soon after, the company launched a mobile app offering the film presets, which ultimately proved popular. VSCO has continued to offer both desktop and mobile products since then, but that will change early next year.

‘While we honor our origins at VSCO, we’re also always moving forward,’ the company says on its website. VSCO’s desktop presets remain available for purchase for now. A total of eight film emulation packs are available, including ‘Eclectic Films,’ ‘Instant Films,’ and ‘Modern Films.’ Each preset pack costs $ 59 USD and is available for Adobe Lightroom CC, Classic CC, 6, 5, and 4, as well as ACR for PS CS6 and CC.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to Create a Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

03 Dec

Ever seen those flowy, innocuous desktop backgrounds that to show up on default computer screens? That’s the exact image I thought of when I messing around with Photoshop for this tutorial. Though they aren’t exact, these simple gradients and shapes come together to spur on a little nostalgia.

This project is pretty straightforward – but it introduced me to a couple techniques I had never come across before. Photoshop has opened up worlds of image-making technology. But when you boil it all down, the culmination of a photographer’s work is in shades of light dispersed within shapes.

I had a good time putting together this tutorial  – I even tried out a few on my own desktop. It’s a great way to get familiar with Photoshop operations. But it’s just as fun for a pro, with a bit of photographic downtime on their hands. So let’s dig in.

Getting Started

First, open a new document in Photoshop. Change the dimensions of the canvas to the average desktop background size – 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels, as shown below.How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Add a Gradient

Select Layer via the Layers tab on the top toolbar and click on New Fill Layer and then Gradient.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

In the pop-up Gradient panel, click on the drop-down arrow and select Simple Gradients.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Select a color from the swatches in the Simple tab.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Choose a color that appeals to you most – whichever one you like best!

Click directly on the panel for the gradient color and a new panel will pop up. This will allow you to further customize your color scheme.  Click on the white node below the gradient bar. A color picker will pop up, allowing you to change the white parts of our original gradient to another shade.

At this stage, I would recommend a color similar in shade to your original color. I’m a big fan of pink, so I went with subtle, light shade of pink to complement my overall color scheme. But It’s totally up to you!

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Accept the color of the gradient. Select Radial as the style and the scale as 150.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Clicking the Radial setting makes the lighter shade emanate from the center of your image.

Add Another Layer

Next, create a new layer via the layers tab at the top of the screen. Select New in the drop-down menu and select Layer… Click OK at the prompt.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Add a Shape

Click on the Elliptical Marquee Tool. This may be obscured by the Rectangular Marquee Tool, so click and hold the mouse over the tool for a moment to reveal the other options.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

With the Elliptical Marquee Tool selected, draw a circle that intersects with the top corner of your image. To keep the elliptical tool even on all sides (in other words, a circle), hold down the Shift key as you drag part of the shape over the top corner.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Open the paintbrush tool and select a nice, soft-edged brush. Set the brush size between 200 to 400 pixels and the hardness level to zero. Select a color in a slightly darker shade. I selected a peachy color.

With the Elliptical Tool still selected, brush around the very outer rim of the quarter-circle with the paintbrush, relying on the softness of the brush to dust the inner rim.

paintbrush - How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Use a slightly different shade to emphasize the edge of the circle you created.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Duplicate the shape layer as many times as you would like to create an interesting pattern.

Add Dimension

Next, we’ll add a new dimension to the image by using the Rectangular Marquee Tool rather than the Ellipse Tool.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Create a New Layer and then select the Rectangular Marquee tool from the panel. Stretch the Rectangular Marquee Tool across your image so that about half of it is selected, as shown below.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Rectangular selection.

With the same technique and color you used on the ellipse, brush along the perimeter of the shape, leaving only the slightest shadow.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

With the rectangle still selected, click on Edit > Transform > Warp.  Slowly drag the different points of the rectangular selection to adjust the whole shape of the layer. Try to make gradual edits at first, to keep the line free of sharp angles.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

Transform the rectangle.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

The edge of the rectangle after transforming.

Blend Modes

Now to add a little more depth to the image, you can apply blending modes to bring out highlights in the background. Select a layer and click on Blending Modes usually located above the Layers panel. Select a setting from the list of Blending Modes available. I usually use the Color Burn option, but feel free to experiment!

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

Blend modes.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

And there you have it! Not bad huh? Amazing what you can do with a few circles and shadows.

Liquify

If you like, try experimenting with the Liquefy tool. It’s found in the Filter tab on the top tools panel.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

Before using the liquify tool on an image I constructed using the steps above.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

After using the Liquefy tool. You can see that the shapes are now a little more organic.

Over to you!

Here are a few more of my creations. I’d love you see how your desktop background has turned out, please share in the comments below.

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

How to Create Minimal Desktop Backgrounds Using Photoshop

A minimalist approach created by twisting a rectangular edge with the Warp Tool.

Now it’s your turn! Show me how it went in the comments.

The post How to Create a Minimal Desktop Background Using Photoshop by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Seagate’s 12TB BarraCuda Pro is the fastest, highest capacity desktop drive on the market

06 Oct

As storage needs grow with the rise of VR content and ubiquity of 4K video, it looks like more and more hard drive options are becoming available that boast better reliability and performance at even bigger capacities. Case in point: Seagate has just announced new 12TB versions of its IronWolf, IronWolf Pro, and BarraCuda Pro hard drives, following hot on the heels of Western Digital’s recent 12TB drive launch.

These new Seagate drives come in a 3.5-inch form factor, with the BarraCuda Pro drive designed for desktop use, while both IronWolf drives are designed for Network-attached Storage (NAS) devices.

According to Seagate, the new 7200rpm 12TB BarraCuda Pro is “the fastest, highest-capacity and most reliable hard drive for desktop computing available on the market today.” The inclusion of Intel Optane non-volatile memory offers responsiveness and performance akin to that of an SSD, as well as twice the load and boot speeds compared to standard drives. This tech allows the drive to offer sustained data transfer rates of 250MB/s and burst data speeds up to 6Gb/s.

The IronWolf drives, meanwhile, are designed for creative professionals and others who prefer centralizing data onto a NAS unit. Both of the new 12TB drives support Seagate’s IronWolf Health Management software, which is designed for use with the Asustor NAS, Synology DiskStation NAS, and QNAP NAS units and helps to protect data with ‘prevention, intervention, and recovery’ solutions.

The IronWolf 12TB drive has a sustained data transfer rate of 210MB/s and the IronWolf Pro 12TB has a sustained transfer rate of 250MB/s. Both the IronWolf and IronWolf Pro 12TB HDDs are listed on Newegg for $ 470 and $ 540, respectively. Unfortunately, the ‘world’s fastest’ of the bunch, the BarraCuda Pro 12TB drive, isn’t currently listed, but you can probably expect a price north of $ 600.

Press Release

Seagate Expands Guardian Series Portfolio With 12TB Drives For NAS And Desktop Computing

12TB IronWolf, IronWolf Pro and BarraCuda® Pro deliver highest capacity, reliability and performance available on the market

CUPERTINO, CA – Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) announced today its IronWolf, IronWolf Pro and BarraCuda® Pro hard drives are now available at capacities up to 12TB. Offering the highest capacity, reliability and performance in the industry among network-attached storage (NAS) and desktop HDDs, Seagate’s 12TB IronWolf and BarraCuda Pro drives further extend the capabilities of the leading Seagate Guardian Series to meet the growing data needs of large enterprise business, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and creative professionals.

Across the globe, we are experiencing a massive increase in the volume of data created, with a recent study by IDC and Seagate finding that data creation will swell to a total of 163 zettabytes (ZB) by 2025, 10x more than today. Seagate’s latest portfolio of 12TB drives are designed for today’s media storage needs – including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), 4K resolution and 360-degree videos – and offer scalability for the future with increased space and speed.

“Our storage hungry customers and partners continue to ask for our latest and greatest technology along with increased capacity and performance in our purpose built products,” said Matt Rutledge, senior vice president of Business Marketing at Seagate Technology. “With the 12TB Pro products, Seagate buyers are overcoming capacity constraints in their systems and can access vast amounts of digital data anytime, from anywhere.”

12TB BarraCuda Pro Desktop Drive
Seagate’s 12TB BarraCuda Pro HDD is the fastest, highest-capacity and most reliable hard drive for desktop computing available on the market today. With 12TB of capacity – double the space of its closest competitor – the BarraCuda Pro can meet any number of demanding data management needs from creative editing workflows to gaming to desktop computing. The drive’s high speed means that data-intensive activities like large file transfers and photo-editing are faster when using BarraCuda Pro.

12TB IronWolf and IronWolf Pro for NAS
Offering the highest capacity, reliability, performance and system scalability in the industry, Seagate’s 12TB IronWolf and IronWolf Pro HDDs empower customers to centralize their data onto NAS systems to ensure round-the-clock access for multiple users. At 12TB and in only a 3.5 inch form factor, IronWolf and IronWolf Pro offer more capacity in less space, meeting the needs for file-sharing, remote access and backup for SMBs, enterprises and creative professionals.

“Whether it’s storing your family photos, collaborating on important documents at work, or protecting your home with our video surveillance solutions, Synology NAS enthusiasts will be excited by the addition of Seagate’s 12TB IronWolf drives,” said Alex Wang, CEO of Synology America Corp. “By working together, Seagate and Synology are providing great ways for people to safeguard their digital lives and get the most out of their private cloud.”

The new 12TB drives also support Seagate’s leading IronWolf Health Management (IHM) software. Designed to operate on enabled Synology DiskStation NAS, Asustor NAS, and QNAP NAS, populated with Seagate IronWolf or IronWolf Pro drives, IHM improves the overall system reliability by displaying actionable prevention, intervention or recovery options for the user and will be available within the next quarter with NAS partners.

“We are excited with Seagate’s launch of the industry’s largest capacity NAS drive – the 12TB IronWolf and IronWolf Pro,” said Meiji Chang, general manager of QNAP, adding, “QNAP has collaborated with Seagate for many years on product and technology enhancements, working with them to create the best hard drives for NAS users. We believe that Seagate’s new IronWolf family provides the performance, reliability, and capacity needed to dependably store the vast data generated by virtualization, high-resolution media workflows, the Internet of Things, and other applications driven by modern QNAP NAS solutions.”

The 12TB versions of IronWolf, IronWolf Pro and BarraCuda Pro are now shipping to customers worldwide. For more information on the Seagate Guardian Series, please visit www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Review: Affinity Photo 1.5.2 for desktop

21 Sep

Affinity Photo for desktop (Mac + PC)
$ 50 | Affinity.Serif.com | Buy Now

Usually, the price of software comes at the end of the review, but with Affinity Photo 1.5, the image editor for Mac and Windows, the price is the starting point, along with a prominent qualifier from the product’s website: ‘No subscription.’

Key Features

  • Professional editing tools for almost anyone who needs to manipulate images
  • Edits are mostly non-destructive
  • Windows and Mac support
  • Inexpensive, with no subscription required
  • Batch processing

Affinity Photo’s developer, Serif, knows its audience. When Adobe shifted Photoshop and nearly all of its other products to a subscription model in 2013, it prompted an outcry from customers who didn’t want to be locked into a perpetual fee. Four years later, despite the move being apparently successful for Adobe, subscription pricing continues to be a point of contention for many people, turning into an opportunity for developers like Serif.

If you’re already familiar with Adobe’s flagship, it won’t take long to orient yourself in Affinity Photo.

However, simply offering a less expensive image editor isn’t enough. We’re beyond the point where photographers will put up with limited software to save a few bucks, and with Affinity Photo, we don’t have to. You won’t find some of the specialized features Photoshop includes, such as its 3D tools, but most everything else is there – sometimes to Affinity Photo’s detriment.

Getting Started

Affinity Photo’s personas break up the editing experience into five main categories.

Software should be evaluated on its own merits, and for the most part I’m looking at Affinity Photo through that lens. How does it perform for photographers? Does it get in the way when handling familiar operations? Does it improve the editing experience? Comparisons to Photoshop inevitably come up, and I’ll refer to them when needed, but this isn’t specifically a comparative review between Affinity Photo and Photoshop.

That said, if you’re already familiar with Adobe’s flagship, it won’t take long to orient yourself in Affinity Photo. If photo editing beyond the basics is new to you, it’s easy to pick up.

Working modes, aka ‘Personas’

Affinity Photo is built around four working modes, referred to as “personas,” each of which contains its own specialized tools. These personas include: Photo, Develop, Tone Mapping and Export.

The Photo persona is the main editing interface, with adjustments, layers, masks, and the like. The Liquify persona is a playground for distorting areas when retouching (creating an editable mesh of the entire image and then pushing and pulling the pixels to do things like make areas seem slimmer or to correct distortion). The Develop persona kicks in when opening a raw file for pre-processing, akin to Adobe Camera Raw. The Tone Mapping persona is exclusive for working with HDR (high dynamic range) effects, which can apply to single images as well as several merged shots. And lastly, the Export persona provides tools for creating versions of the image outside the application, from specifying file types and compression levels to preset slices.

You’ll also find tools for painting and drawing, including extensive controls for creating and manipulating brushes, but for the sake of brevity, I’m looking at the application in terms of editing photos.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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