Topaz Fusion Express

[F8&Bthere]

For anyone out there who already has any Topaz plugins they like, and also uses Aperture, iPhoto, or Lightroom on Mac or Windows, and would like the option of being able to use their Topaz plugin within that program, there is a FREE new plugin available for download from Topaz called Fusion Express that allows you to do just that. The Windows version is only in beta stage but is supposed to be final very soon. I downloaded and installed the beta and after some initial confusion I got it working and I rather like the option of not having to leave LR to use Topaz.

One negative- if you used PS layers as a way to apply Adjust, for example, and then tone down the effect using your opacity slider, well you'll have to decide whether you want to continue to do that in PS/PSE or if you would rather play with the Adjust settings to tone it down and maybe save it as a preset within the plugin. Because LR, and as far as I know the same with Aperture and iPhoto, doesn't use layers.

But the positive side to doing the latter and staying within LR or Aperture is, if the only PS product you have is Elements, you won't have to lower your colour depth to 8-bits, as you do to use any layers in Elements. If that matters to you.

Clear as mud?

[JAS_Photo]

I knew it was coming! Cool stuff!

[AntZ]

Will the plug in only work if you already have the Topaz stuff installed for PS? or can anyone install and use it? The former I presume:(

[F8&Bthere]

Yes, the former is correct. It will only benefit those who already own and use any of the Topaz plugins. It's just a sort of tool to connect between Aperture/iPhoto/Lightroom and the actual Topaz plugin (ie. Adjust, Denoise, Simplify, etc) instead of having to bring the image into Photoshop or PS Elements to use it. The Fusion Express plugin therefore doesn't really do anything on its own, just provides that "shortcut".