Neutralhazer

[leahcimi]

Has anyone used or attempted to use the Neutralhazer plugin from Kolor:

http://www.kolor.com/neutralhazer-haze- ... lugin.html

It looks quite interesting and useful but I keep getting a 'Not enough memory . . ' error message even with 16GB RAM and image size reduced to below 100KB.

[wds937]

Let me start by saying I have not tried using this plugin.

On Kolor's website, they list the host program requirement for Neutralhazer as Photoshop CS3 through CS5 or Photoshop Elements 8, 9, or 10. PSP is not listed.

In doing a quick search of the web and of Kolor's forum, I did not find any mention of anyone using this plugin successfully with PSP. Also, looking at some of the forum posts, it appears that this plugin may be somewhat memory hungry.

BTW, you mentioned that your system has 16 GB of memory. Know that PSP is a 32-bit application. 32-bit applications are generally limited to addressing 2 GB of memory, even though you are running 64-bit Windows 7. Kolor's website indicates that Neutralhazer is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Depending on how the plugin is designed, it is likely that, with a 32-bit host program, it would run as a 32-bit application; so, it would also be confined to the same memory limit.

[randymacon]

I have been using Neutralhazer with PSPX4 for a couple of weeks. I had to use a manual install since the auto installs are for Photoshop only.

It works fine with two exceptions. It will quit when processing large files. I'm guessing the limit for my computer is around 12 MB. OK for all my JPEG and most of my NEF (RAW) files but not too good with TIF's or 35mm scanned negs, depending on the scan resolution. I usually crop my NEF's to working size first so there are fewer pixels to process. I have 4GB RAM, an Intel quad core processor and a Win 7pro 32 bit operating system , so others may have better or worse results with using the program. The other annoyance is that I have to re-register when it quits, and every time I restart PSP. I am awaiting an answer from the Neutralhazer forum to see if there is something I can do to fix that annoyance.

The plugin works as described, however, the natural consequences of increasing the contrast of a distant hazy background can be a bluish tint and increased noise. I usually use TOPAZ de-noise before I use the neutralhazer, and sometimes I select the background to another layer and take some of the blueness out.

Good luck.

[leahcimi]

Glad to see someone has gotten it to work with PSP, I will persevere for a while longer but have found other techniques for de-hazing: as a good start, duplicate layer, apply USM to duplicate, set blend mode to Multiply, Dissolve, or Overlay whichever gives the best results.