Any Mac people have the Topaz Plugin?

[namdoogwerdna]

I just ordered it tonight and it doesn't work. I installed it and entered the key but when I try to apply an adjustment to an image I get an error message saying Topaz can not locate the key. So I went to the About menu and clicked Enter Key, entered it again, and then it just crashed Photoshop CS3 completely.

Has anyone else had this problem? And if so, how did you fix it?

[Kaleo55]

Sorry wish I could help, don't even know what Topaz is. What's it suppose to do? There are very few plug-ins I trust.

[namdoogwerdna]

http://www.topazlabs.com/topazlabs/0.../topaz_adjust/

[djb5118]

looks like a single exposure hdr plugin to me?

[namdoogwerdna]

Not quite I don't think, but along the same lines. With this you can choose to adjust certain elements of the picture just by using layers. RichK on here has a few images where he Topaz'd some parts and HDR'd others.

[Kaleo55]

I looked at the demos for this plug-in, and quite frankly, this is the kind of thing that spawned and earlier thread regarding photoshop:

"Great pictures or just good photoshopping"
http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/...ad.php?t=30825

These effects can be done in PS without this plug in, just takes a little more playing. One can highly distort and alter the original image to the extent that it becomes a different image. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is bad, just saying it messes with the integrity of the original image.

[namdoogwerdna]

I guess, but it's really just another tool. I'm not planning on taking all of my pictures and topazing the hell out of them, but it's a nice plugin to have to get more dimension out of a photograph. As far as that other thread is concerned, the bottom line is that if you can't take a properly composed photo at the start, then post processing wont do you much good. You can edit the hell out of a bad photo, but it is still a bad photo. Just because I someone wants to use photoshop or topaz to edit a photo doesn't mean they are a bad photographer trying to cover up their tracks. Almost all of the professional photographers today use post processing, sometimes to a further extent than even Topaz can give.

Either way, their support team got back to me and they are fixing the problem. I'll post up a few images once I learn how to use it.

[RichK]

Originally Posted by Kaleo55

I looked at the demos for this plug-in, and quite frankly, this is the kind of thing that spawned and earlier thread regarding photoshop:

"Great pictures or just good photoshopping"
http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/...ad.php?t=30825

These effects can be done in PS without this plug in, just takes a little more playing. One can highly distort and alter the original image to the extent that it becomes a different image. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is bad, just saying it messes with the integrity of the original image.

It "messes with the integrity of the image"? OK...I understand what you are trying to say, but this is just a technique. Not a band-aid. When I use the filter, I shoot the picture with the filter in mind. I didn't take a crappy picture and think "Oh cool, I can just Topaz it and make it better".

I'm first in line when it comes to getting it right in the camera. I shoot every picture this way. Minimizing processing time maximizes profit for me. However, there are times when I need to adjust things like exposure, levels/curves, contrast, etc.

I'm guessing when I do those things, I am also messing with the photo's integrity? I'm not ranting or defending anyone or myself. I'm simply stating that there is a time and place when certain "filters" and "plug-ins" can make a picture more "interesting".

Andrew, to answer your question, try uninstalling the plug-in and installing the new version 2.6. If that doesn't work, the people over at Topaz offer great support.

[namdoogwerdna]

Thanks Rich. I installed 2.6 and it did not fix the problem, but they sent me some kind of file that ended up fixing the problem.