Hello, has anyone seen a clear overview of what is new in FP8? I’ve seen the marketing materials on the DxO site, but it doesn’t really specify what is new.
I own FP7 - just curious if there are X number of new simulations, specific changes made to existing simulations, tools, etc.? Based on the current materials from DxO, I can’t actually tell what I would be getting if I paid for the upgrade. Perhaps I missed this info somewhere… so any insights would be appreciated!
The best listing of new features and improvements is always in the product release notes. Go to support.dxo.com and select FilmPack - then view the release notes for Windows or Mac.
I own FP7 and started a free 30-day trial of FP8 yesterday. It didn’t take long to evaluate the product and see that there isn’t much that’s new. The release notes are pretty accurate. Unfortunately, high-resolution textures/frames/etc. don’t also bring better functionality, bug fixes, or anything else. It all looks the same to me.
How do you use FilmPack? Do you use the standalone version or do you use it from within PhotoLab? If you use it from within PhotoLab the number of new features is very small and it is highly likely that upgrading to it from FilmPack 7 would not be a good value for you
Mark
I have noticed that as we upgrade we lose certain features while gaining others. It always seems an expensive proposition to upgrade.
FP7 version 7.10 has 50 Fuji film presets. Some upgrade to FP7 removed several Fuji presets, which, I believe, annoyed quite a few people.
Though the marketing material tells us about the splashy new features, I haven’t yet found documentation that tells us exactly what film presets are included in FP8.
I wonder if it’s possible to create user versions of the Fuji presets in FP7 and import them into FP8.
Have you read the release notes? I believe they’re all listed there.
I wonder the same. Presently, one would need an image created with a Fuji camera in order to use the corresponding presets. I’ve been thinking about trying to emulate one of FilmPack 8’s new film renderings in FilmPack 7, make a preset, and see if it’s useful across a variety of images. But I’ve had difficulty in the past simply trying to emulate an out-of-camera JPEG color rendering more precisely in PhotoLab.
See Index of films – FilmPack Guidelines for analog film renderings.
Only Fuji ‘Digital film’ renderings were affected by copyright issues, except for some Fuji cameras. Fuji analog film renderings are still there for all cameras.
EDIT: From FP7.13 and PL8.5 release notes :
"
At the express request of Fujifilm, we have revised how the Fujifilm digital film renderings function in our software. These renderings now apply exclusively to RAF files from Fujifilm cameras and only correspond to the simulations available on those cameras
"
Thanks everyone, release notes is a great idea and I’ll start there.
I use the program from within PL, and I agree it doesn’t seem like there’s much to get excited about for that price.
Thank you for the link, it’s very helpful.
I’d like to try the Film Scan Optimizer feature. I paid ScanCafe to scan about two hundred old negatives and I was very underwhelmed with the results. I’m hoping the Color Shift Neutralizer will help me with some of the many faded images I have.
A curiosity question;
Does anyone make use of FP’s TimeLine feature - either in FP’s standalone mode or from within PhotoLab (with a FP license) ?
Or, as it was for me, is it just a “try-once, then-ignore” novelty ?
Do you mean the Time Machine, the Time Warp, or both? As far as I can tell, the Time Warp feature is not available from within PhotoLab.
Mark
Any of it, Mark … It just seems to be a bit of a try-once curiosity … I’m wondering if it’s used seriously by anyone.
To make full use of it is very time-consuming. I agree that it’s a novelty (Time Machine, Time Warp, the whole feature). I think of it like a coffee-table book on photographic history: makes for good occasional reading. For serious photo editing, I would much rather use the preset browser in PhotoLab. Time Machine has its own section there, and it’s useful.
Exactly as you said - tried it once and never found a reason to come back to the feature.
This must be one of the most underwhelming “updates” I have ever seen. It’s scandalous they even dare ask money for. this.
They ask, you choose.
Not really fair.
They also chose to package more critical tools (Luma masking and fine contrast control) within Filmpack, and if we don’t upgrade within a couple of versions while still upgrading Photolab itself, we’ll lose comparability.
In other words I can skip FP8, but I probably can’t skip FP9.
It’s like selling an add-on for your car that gives you windscreen wipers and indicators. Sure you can probably still drive without them, but let’s face it, they’re invaluable. Charging extra to have them is awful.
FilmPack is released every two years. So you can’t skip FP8 and then get FP9 at a discounted upgrade price.
That’s good to hear at least - still not happy about the luma/fine contrast situation but at least it’s not a yearly cost.
I don’t scan film, but a comment in a DPreview thread on FP8 by someone who tried this feature felt it was a poor effort. Why not DL the trial and test it to see if it fits your needs?