The Hot…
- Finally a new and easier way to control various parts of your image independently. This is part of the future, and Adobe should have done it two years ago!
- The Interface is simple, the previews are good.
- Though the things you can adjust are basic they can do a lot of good for an image.
- Can apply the changed to a smart filter or layer mask.
- There’s a free trial.
- It Works Good.
The Not…
- It costs twice as much as it should. Typical of Nik products. Pretty cool, but at 249.00 a lot of potential buyers are going to pass it up.
- It runs a bit slow compared to the same tools running by PS.
- It lacks tools. Ya we can do a lot with what’s there but this thing should be a total image control interface with curves, filter, and effects.
- Not a speedy workflow tool.Viveza is good for fine tuning that great image, but don;t expect tobe bating hundreds of images, or making actions with it because it very individual photo based.
- Annoying and LONG registration number at install. Not really a big deal but cmon Nik get a clue. When people pay they don’t want a hassle. DRM is no longer cool so be one of the first to get rid of it.
So what’s all the talk about and is this as good as it’s been hyped to be.
I was pretty excited about this after seeing the video because things in PS have been basically the same for a long time and I’ve been eager for something with a new way of controlling things. Viveza has given us just that!
Viveza is a Photoshop plugin that allows you to control Brightness, Contrast, Saturation and Color. What! Don’t we already have those things your asking! Well I admit that for what it costs Viveza should really have more things you can control, but new things start small. Plus Viveza is more about how you apply these tools than the tools you apply.
If you look at my screenshot ( ya I’m afraid that’s a self portrait of me) you’ll see a control point. This uses something called UPoint, and it allows me to basically control the settings for the color range I’ve selected. If I move the control point it changes the parts of the image that are effected. Think of it as the next generation of selections. It’s pretty cool.
If I put a control point on the sky and can simply change the contrast, saturation ect on just the sky. Without making a marquee selection, without feathering, without hassle. I can make as many of these points as I want, to control various areas, and I can also control the size of the area affected the a given control point.
There’s a few different settings and modes but this is really pretty basic. While that’s neat it’s also part of what Viveza is lacking. You can do a lot with the control it gives you, but in my opinion when I have load up a plugin like this within PS I want control over levels, curves, effects and more. I want to be able to convert the control points to selections I can use outside the plugin etc.
My ruling? A 6.5 out of 10. By V2 this could be amazing it Nik listens to customer needs. Learn More at Nik’s website.
Gavin Seim
Adobe Lightroom’s Targeted Adjustment Tool can already do this, in a non destructive workflow, outside of CS3, and can be copied and pasted to other images.
$250 and it will take me into CS3 for even more time???
I know what you mean, but I would say this is a lot more advanced the LR tool. Also this is really not for a speedy workflow. This is more for fine tuning a really good image to your hearts content. Yet another reason why it should only be $99
Hopefully this feature will show up in LR with the same style interface control points.
Gavin, I listen to your podcast and I enjoy it. Thanks for reviewing Viveza. I downloaded a trial version and played around with it and I was disappointed. It seemed to lack control and it isn’t very intuitive. After hearing all the hype I am greatly disappointed. Maybe I’m missing something.
$250 is a rip off. Here is what it should cost.
My trial ran out, and I’m going to buy it. For those of you who appreciate masking, you should appreciate the timesavings this tool will offer. At $95 per hour I charge to manipulate digital images, this works out to a return fairly quickly for the types of things Viveza is good for. Yes, you can do it all in photoshop by carefully masking, but this is way faster. It hurts to spend the $250, but I’m going to anyway
Also, the product key and activation is no different than any other expensive software product; it keeps you from stealing it which is the right of the author.
True it’s their “Right” but they should not treat paying customers like pirates. If we wanted to steal it we could easily download a cracked version. We want to support them so why should we be punished for that.
Also their product key is more of a hassle than many as it’s one sting, making it hard to read.
DRM is dying, so why don’t developers stop wasting their time and ours.
Two comments:
$250 is pricey, but if it really delivers on the speed and results shown in their demo videos (I haven’t tried it yet), then the time-savings is impressive. I’m extremely skeptical about statements that “this should only cost xxx” when nothing else does the same thing. The developers have a right to eat. What’s magic about $99?
Re “DRM is dying:” can you substantiate that comment? I think that Microsoft, Adobe, Intel, and Apple might have a different take on things…
I wouldn’t call this a “review”… It’s more like a general and quick head-up. Ok, I agree with you on the serial number, which is a bit silly…
You want to control curves and levels? Dude… The software is tapping in to everything that is Photoshop with a different and much better UI. If you feel you need to touch curves and levels - do so, in addition to the software… The plug-in is not stopping you.
Your “after” photo is better, but it still looks like any given snapshot, taken by any given grandma. It’s a brilliant tool - you just need to learn to use it. Starting with a great shot and making it amazing, is what the tool is all about. Don’t waste your time with grandma snapshots.
Expensive? You are kidding right? It pays for itself in a few hours saved post-processing one ‘crazy’ wedding, or fashion shoot.
Dan this is a cool product but does not begain to tap into everything. It taps into color, brightness, and contrast. Powerful tools, but some of the most early and basic tools in PS. I realize the plugin is not stopping me, but what the point is it doesn’t do everything I need.
I realize the photo I used is nothing great, but it’s not relevant to the software. I used to as a test.
Lastly is does not pay for itself in a few hours for most. Must of was we need to do can be done in LR much faster. This is a tool for manually fine tuning a few images, and does not work for batching which is the key to many a photographers workflow. It costs nearly half of what Photoshop costs, and really does not do a lot.
I think the UI is brilliant, and it’s neat to see someone advancing, but it’s still limited, and costs too much to be practical for some. I realize it’s great for some, but it’s limited.
Gav
$249 for three buttons is an insult. I agree that we all need to be paid for our work. And that pay should be based on a fair price. A downloaded version of this product is really worth $49.
I’ve been using the Viveza trial version for a few days with Apple Aperture and I really enjoyed it, mainly for the easiness of use and the amazing results. It’s a fantastic tool! Nevertheless, I will not buy it because on my opinion a plugin cannot cost more than the hosting application (Aperture costs $199 only!).
I tried it and I think it is a quantum upgrade in interface and the power/ease payoffs. Upon first downloading the plugin, I went directly to my most difficult images to see how they might be improved. While it is true I can do anything in CS3 that Viveza does, it takes so much longer that a working photographer will pay for this quickly if they value their time. I have combined the use of Viveza with HDR pictures and now I feel I have all the power I need to deliver images that I could only imagine earlier.
The one feature I would like to see would be to copy the very good masks created by the plug-in. This concern in comparison to the payoffs in speed and very rapid control in editing, made this purchase a no-brainer.
I don’t think any criticism related to batch processing makes any sense. This tool is about taking your images, image by image, to another level with ease. I use the plug-in in many different layers if I am going for real fine control, then I manipulate those layers.
I found the program for $209, shipping included. My experience to date is that I could rapidly salvage and dramatically improve images that were very good compo’s but lacked the nuances that made them great photos. I don’t have the time to “grind” an image for 5 hours in PS. With Viveza I
don’t have to. This program has resulted in more sales, and much less work for me. It would be a bargain at $300. I suspect in the very near term people who are using it a lot will learn how to use it in ways not anticipated.
Another way to think about the payoff of Viveza is what its speed means to harvesting many photos from your archives that were close, but given time, could be very good. Well, now I have time, and this not only saves me a huge amount of time in editing, this new-found efficiency permits me to get many images from old shoots. This means I am not only saving editing time, I am recovering shooting time. From this perspective alone, the plug-in is essential. This was clear to me in using it 15 minutes after I first installed the trial, that was how long it took me to decide. With Viveza you not only buy power with ease, you are buying time. Absolutely a no-brainer. Anything can be better, but this is a stunning innovation.
MD