The luminosity mask is a useful tool that s available on other image/raw editing apps like Luminar, ON1 PhotoRAW and Affinity Photo, but, a glaring omission on PL8.
To gain access to it you need to buy the Film Pack so it makes Luminance Masking an expensive option if you have no need for FP7.
GS
To get best PhotoLab has to offer you need all three parts of it, PhotoLab Elite, ViewPoint and FilmPack. The three together is PhotloLab. It was broken into three pieces to make the entrance into the DxO ecosystem more affordable for some users, but if you want all the power that PhotoLab has to offer you can’t leave pieces of it out. Is it very expensive? Absolutely, but for me and many other it is worth every penny. FilmPack has a number of tools besides the Luminosity masks. For many of us FilmPack’s four fine contrast sliders are used much more often than the Luminosity masks. .
Mark
Or to put it another way; they put core functionality found natively in competing products into an add-on many could otherwise overlook, rather than their own core program, so that they could charge extra by making the add-ons essential, rather than optional.
There’s no other good reason to put luminosity masking in FilmPack, rather than Photolab.
Without FilmPack, you can get luminosity masking with the Control Line tool located in the local adjustment panel as shown below.
Control Lines can be used for luma or chroma masking or any combination thereof. They are a bit less refined regarding thresholds and feathering. Depending on how I set the sliders (highlighted by the lower pink arrow) and locate the mask’s scope and reference highlighted by the green arrows, I can get all the functionality I need.
I propose to test PhotoLab only and activate the FP and VP functionalities from within PL a week or two later. For best use of the trial periods, it helps to duplicate a few images and prepare test cases that you can then apply with PhotoLab and the combined package. If you find that you need or want the whole lot, get the bundle with its overall lower price.
Please note that there is only one trial period per product. Use the periods well and find out if you can wait for the new release of PL (due Sept/Oct) or possible Black Friday discounts. If you don’t count your pennies, get the bundle and never look back or complain about missed opportunities.
So, many features are in two other apps: FilmPack and ViewPoint. Only PL+FP+VP constitute a full digital darkroom by DxO (luminosity mask or the frequently used vignette are in FP, not in PL).
I notice you did not vote for you own feature request. Perhaps as a new member here you don’t have the rights to that yet. In any case, so far no one else have voted for it either which is surprising.
I did not vote for it because that tool is in already in Filmpack which as I indicated earlier is an integral and necessary part of PhotoLab. Without the addition of both FilmPack and ViewPoint licenses what you end up with should rightly be called PhotoLab Lite since so many features are missing.
Mark
Thanks for your responses. I do have V.P.5 and the Nik 8 collection, which seems to have a lot of crossover with the Film Pack, so I am reluctant to purchase yet another app just to get access to what is a basic command and should be on PL8, even if it is a Lite version.
G.S.
