support for Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2
New York, NY (October 23, 2008) PhotoPlus Expo Booth #1055 – onOne Software, Inc., a leading developer of innovative software tools for photographers, today announced the upcoming release of PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition and PhotoTools 2 Standard Edition. PhotoTools is a flexible yet powerful plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 software that utilizes the power of Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended Actions to provide a wide range of imaging tools including effects, corrections and production automation in a full-featured interface.
Available in January 2009, PhotoTools 2 features an expanded range of photographic effects and a significantly improved user experience through a new effects library and additional new features.
“The PhotoTools 2 product line builds upon the power of Photoshop to help users spend less time behind the computer enhancing their photos and more time taking pictures with their camera,” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. “Digital photographers of all skill levels rely on programs like Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® 2 software as essential tools in communicating their photographic vision in the same way photographers used to utilize a darkroom. With PhotoTools 2, photographers can now make their photographic vision a reality easier, faster and better than ever before.”
“Photoshop Actions have always been and continue to be a great way to simplify workflows by automating repetitive tasks,” said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for professional digital imaging at Adobe. “PhotoTools 2 allows users to preview the effects of multiple Photoshop commands and is a clear example of how partners like onOne can extend the value of Photoshop.”
PhotoTools 2 offers an easier way to search for, access and preview over 270 included photographic effects. For demanding users including portrait and wedding photographers, PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition offers an expanded library of over 300 photographic effects from leading Photoshop Guru Jack Davis and top tier professional wedding photographer Kevin Kubota. Users of PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition will also appreciate enhancements to their workflow with support for both Lightroom 2 and Aperture 2.1.
New Features in PhotoTools 2
New Effects Library – The new Effects Library in both editions of PhotoTools 2 make it easier to choose from the collection of over 300 effects. Photographers will be given several new options for finding the perfect effect or combination of effects including:
• Improved Category Mode – This mode is organized in a common photographic workflow that will be familiar to photographers. Effects are organized by categories such as Image Optimization, Portrait Enhance, Landscape Enhance, Color Tints, etc. Choosing a category reveals the available effects within.
• New Keyword Mode – Using emotive keywords and descriptors, photographers narrow down the list of effects to just those that match their unique search criteria. For example, a photographer can click on a keyword like Black-and-White and then click on a mood descriptor such as Warm and Grainy. Effects that match those two search criteria will be displayed for the photographer, greatly improving the process of locating a type or style of effect.
• New Preset Mode – This new mode displays a list of presets or effects “recipes” that are included with PhotoTools or any presets that a photographer has created for themselves. Additionally, any presets that a photographer has downloaded for free from the onOne Exchange (http:/www.ononeexchange.com), a community site dedicated to PhotoTools users, will appear in this list as well.
• New Effects Preview – Knowing what an effect will do to a photo is critical in the decision making process and PhotoTools 2 provides a new preview mode that includes dozens of new before and after previews for each effect to help photographers make the best choices for communicating their vision through enhancing their photographs.
New Photographic Effects – Designed by photographers for photographers, PhotoTools 2 includes dozens of new effects to meet the needs of today’s digital photographers. PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition expands upon the Standard Edition with additional photographic effects developed by Photoshop guru Jack Davis and professional wedding photographer Kevin Kubota.
New Support for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 and Apple Aperture 2.1 – To provide photographers using Lightroom 2 with a seamless, integrated workflow solution to go between Lightroom and Photoshop and back to Lightroom, all of the PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition presets are accessible from directly within Lightroom 2. When a photographer chooses a PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition preset from within Lightroom 2, the file will be handed directly to Photoshop where the PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition effect is applied and then returned to Lightroom 2 automatically. Photographers will benefit from this new integration as they will be able to send multiple photos to Photoshop in a single step and have all files returned to Lightroom 2 without having to edit each file individually.
In the same manner in which PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition supports Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2, it will also support Apple Aperture 2.1. Aperture 2.1 users who also have Photoshop CS3 or CS4 installed can employ PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition in their image editing workflow to apply any of the included 300+ photographic effects or their own custom presets
New Masking Support – New in PhotoTools 2 will be the ability to create masks on each effect. This will allow the photographer to paint an effect in or out from directly within PhotoTools. Effects can still be sent back to Photoshop with a layer mask for future editing.
Easy Access to the onOne Exchange – The onOne Exchange is a new community website managed by onOne Software that enables users of PhotoTools to download free presets (or combinations of effects) for their own use. Users of PhotoTools can also upload any presets that they have created in PhotoTools to be shared with other PhotoTools users. Access to this new site is built directly into the PhotoTools user interface.
Availability and Pricing
PhotoTools 2 comes in two editions – a Professional Edition and a Standard Edition and are available for $259.95 and $159.95 respectively direct from onOne Software and select, authorized resellers in the United States and around the world. Upgrades from PhotoTools 1 to PhotoTools 2 are available for only $99.95.
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