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COLOR projects 4 elements (Win&Mac) Giveaway
$69.00
EXPIRED

Giveaway of the day — COLOR projects 4 elements (Win&Mac)

Enjoy photography and create fabulous pictures like never before!
$69.00 EXPIRED
User rating: 60 49 comments

COLOR projects 4 elements (Win&Mac) was available as a giveaway on August 14, 2018!

Today Giveaway of the Day
$36.00
free today
Download music from 1000+ sites anytime and anywhere!

Dull colours, matt shadows, cloudy sky, afternoon sun – the perfect light is hard to come by. Forget everything you have heard about photo editing to date, COLOR projects 4 is your magic wand for your photos. Enjoy photography and create fabulous pictures like never before!

  • Selective photo editing with intelligent, sensitive outline recognition;
  • Quick optimization assistant – desired effect with one click;
  • Includes 90 presets;
  • Scratch & sensor spot correction.

System Requirements:

Minimum: Windows 10/ 8/ 7, Prozessor Core Duo, 2 GB HDD, 1.280 x 1024 Pixels Screen Resolution, Graphic: DirectX-8-compatible, 128 MB, 32 bit colour depth; Mac OS X ab 10.7, 64 Bit, Prozessor Intel/G5, 2 GB HDD, 1.280 x 1024 Pixels Screen Resolution

Publisher:

FRANZIS Verlag GmbH

Homepage:

https://www.projects-software.com/color/color-projects-4

File Size:

244 MB

Price:

$69.00

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Developed by CyberLink Corp.
Developed by PhotoInstrument
Create, manage, copy and edit custom images.
Developed by Mirillis Ltd.

Comments on COLOR projects 4 elements (Win&Mac)

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#24

How absolutely ridiculous. I spent forever trying to request the code for this. The form to register does not appear, suggesting that I have previously registered, which I think is the case as I have HDR projects etc. from Franzis. OK I thought, forgotten password request. But no - each time the link tried to switch browser rather than generate the password request response. Wasted too much time. Annoyed as I actually make use of this software. I had always associated Germans with efficiency....

Reply   |   Comment by Shaunus  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)
#23

Awesome software... thank you very much Franzis... even was able to install it on Windows XP lol, just for the heck of it. I still use that computer occasionally for some of my older software I can no longer find. So this is a great addition! Also installed trial runs on Vista and Win7 64 bit, no problem whatsoever in installing and using BRIEFLY for the now!

Reply   |   Comment by Autumn Silvermoon  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#22

After entering the registration code and id number the program is now asking me for a serial number and unless I enter the serial number I have 30 days to try this program.

Reply   |   Comment by Brian  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)
#21

I tried this morning and again just now (10pm) but I am not getting any email from Franzis

Reply   |   Comment by Harry  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#20

Downloaded, installed, registered and activated without any issues Windows 10 x64.

For the life of me I can't understand why people have so many issues downloading and or activating things given away on there? I suspect they are using some kind of inferior and useless anti-virus or internet security package like Trend, Nortons, McAfee and all the other junk programs out there that continually reports false positives and or quarantines things that are perfectly fine.

You can also download the program with the wrapper once you have registered for a registration key which should allow you to re-install if you need to re-format your computer.

Thanks for the giveaway!

Reply   |   Comment by Erica  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)
#19

Downloaded to my Win 10 Home, HP Laptop 64 bit OS. Downloaded quick after I got email link. Having to jump back and forth between mail and set up was a bit of a pain but it all went quickly and seamlessly. Got my emails fast and everything registered correctly the first time.
Also downloaded the free Buzz prog, in a similar fashion. Again, everything went well and quickly.
Read Me text file explained well and there were no surprises.
Tested the Free Buzz prog and it seems like a simple, straight foreword filter program.
Opened the COLOR projects 4 elements prog and it seems like a nice prog to add to my others for graphic photo manipulation. Would I like the full COLOR projects 4 prog. yeah, but am very thankful for the free ones.
Looks like a usable pair of progs.

Some of us need to remember that this is a cool FREE service by GAOTD. GAOTD, consistantly finds companies and programs for people like us to use. Program Publishers and Companies don't have to come here to listen to negative crap from a bunch of self important, spoiled Americans.

Thanks alot to GAOTD for continuing to get nice, FREE programs for all of us to use, keep, test, or just play around with then toss!
And a special THANKS to "FRANZIS Verlag GmbH" for coming here to offer these 2 programs for us to use!

~Coal

Reply   |   Comment by Coalfire  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#18

Tried twice, once 12 hours ago and again 4 hours ago but have heard nothing from Franzis.

Reply   |   Comment by Michael  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)
#17

Menu fonts are too small to be readable on high resolution monitor My display font size is 150%. I have the impression that the menu's are not scaling, but using a different non windows size. Making it difficult to read or hit. As usual an elements version does not provide selective editing though that is stated in the basic announcement. Installs well.

Reply   |   Comment by guus  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#16

I like it. Already had a Franzis account, so no problem with getting the program. Tried on a crummy photo and it definitely improved it. Bit of a learning curve it looks like, but that's to be expected on any good photo editor.

I'll add it to the tool box. Thanks GAOTD and franzis

Reply   |   Comment by givemeabreak  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#15

Just some examples:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dea168ccqebag63/AAC0nmCp_O18h4OYP0rYTh4Fa

Reply   |   Comment by Ootje  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)
#14

You can do same or better editing with almost any good photo editor. I do not like the presets, they can turn a dynamic picture into a sharp edge divide line and it ruins the natural blend of focus and out of focus parts. The picture looks artificial after I ran it through it.

Reply   |   Comment by Misty  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)
#13

Hello,
This is a very nice software giveaway that also included a .pdf user manual. (nice added value plus) The install was smooth and the program is very responsive on my 7 year old windows 8.1 HP laptop. I did not have any trouble registering and receiving product serial information, it took a total of 3 minutes flat. I visited their website and found some other very interesting products in photo editing and electronics learn and build kits. (bookmarked!) A couple of the bundles offered have a good reduced affordable price. This is a very nice free promotional offering introducing your company. I'll be checking back to your website. Thank You.

Reply   |   Comment by AJ Cote  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#12

Installed with no issues. Works well except there is no the plug-in for exporting to Light Room. Any help on how to install it manually if such a thing exists?

Reply   |   Comment by Alex  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

Alex, There is no plug-in for Lightroom, using this Elements edition, unfortunately.

Reply   |   Comment by DJ  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

Alex,

If you click the link to go to the homepage there's a version comparison chart -- COLOR projects 4 elements does not include either RAW processing or the Lightroom plugin.

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)
#11

very good software.
after registration asking serial number
so please know your serial number is same as Your Registration Code.

Reply   |   Comment by vijayathwani  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)
#10

I get the message :Wrong registration code !Please enter your correct personal registration code.

Reply   |   Comment by Timo  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

Timo, Activation code is same as registration code.

Reply   |   Comment by Larry  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#9

This German developer has been repeatedly criticized in its past giveaways for the wholly unnecessary pre-use rigmarole it expects a new user to undergo. Nothing has changed: it continues to give the unfortunate appearance of being as much interested in personal data harvesting as in software publishing.

Today's promotion of a $69 stripped-out version of an out-dated $99 full version that has now been replaced by a new $69 full version:

https://www.projects-software.com/color/color-projects-4

https://www.projects-software.com/color

is no different. A succession of time-wasting install requirements -- none of which are required by 99% of other developers partnering with GOTD -- eventually leads to an account registration screen reflective of the developer's hope of acquiring the user's name, address, zip code, phone number and date of birth. T

These, of course, are not mandatory, so should be ignored, though in my case the temptation of the birthday data field was too great to resist, as a result of which I am very possibly Franzis's first 105-year-old customer.

Having lost track of the flurry of emails involved in this massively elongated install process, I finally (!) managed to acquire the user ID and registration code, complete the installation, activate the darn thing by inputting the license code yet again (why?) and at last, at long last, get to grips with Color Projects 4 Elements.

First point to make is that, as the first link (above) demonstrates, this version won't suit photographers who shoot RAW. That particular facility is one of the 10 removed from the 14 available in the full version. Next point to make is that the full version of projects 4 is available for $99 whereas its replacement full version, projects 5, is $30 cheaper. Go figure. What that means is that re-install of today's software is of academic interest: no-one is going to pay $69 for 'Elements' when the full Projects 5 is the same price.

The re-sizable Elements GUI is pretty much standard-dark but easy to use nevertheless. Context sensitive controls are of help, though the labeling is downright odd: I've never seen any image management software from any other developer that buries a control as essential as 'Settings' in a menu identified as 'Extras'.

On the upside, however, the settings are useful (default is TIFF, but jpeg output can be adjusted to 100%) and -- kudos to Franzis here -- the download includes a 32-page User Manual pdf that's nicely put together and is well worth reading.

Also worthy of mention is that the "News" icon flags up a giveaway of the developer's 'PhotoBuzzer', product details of which are to be found on the Franzis website. It may be of interest.

Drag 'n drop makes image importing easy, whilst the GUI's configuration makes for easy processing: a variety of pre-sets are arranged in vertical order to the left, with optional user controls to the right -- 'optional', but in fact necessary, because simply choosing a pre-set and letting it go at that is not to be recommended, the pre-sets by their nature tending either to be too harsh, too bright, too simple, or too silly.

Whereas, for example, other software of this type features control sliders within each pre-set to adjust the effect's intensity -- Luminar is a good example of this -- Franzis instead provides a righthand 'optimization' panel with sliders for Tonal Value, Clarity, and 'Dynamic'. The software also allows a combination of the lefthand pre-sets to be used; again, this is useful, providing that the righthand sliders are deployed.

I chucked a number of 'dull' images at it where contrast was muted and colors subdued because of a featureless gray sky but by playing around with the pre-sets and sliders was able to achieve significant visual improvements. As ever and always with this type of software though, a light touch is recommended: err always on the conservative, not the extreme (unless deliberately seeking an output image of perceptible distortion.)

It's also important to save the processed image to a location other than the original folder to preclude the risk of permanent over-write: I simply saved to desktop, choosing the 8-bit standard jpeg format from an options list that also includes 8-bit TIFF and 16-bit TIFF, PNG and jpeg.

Verdict: Franzis does itself no good at all with the silly hoopla of its installation and registration process. Even though this Elements version is pretty basic compared to the full version, it works well and is easy to use. At least half of the pre-sets are superfluous, but that's always the way with this kind of product.

It won't suit advanced photographers looking for more sophisticated processing software, nor those looking for a fuss-free correction of image blemishes as the controls for this are noticeably cumbersome. But for quick 'n easy processing, it's to be recommended -- even though the anything but quick 'n easy registration process cannot be.

Reply   |   Comment by MikeR  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+90)

MikeR,
thanks for a clear, factual review. All in wonderfully clear English......so rare these days.
Reminded me of GOTD website of a few years ago.

Reply   |   Comment by ceegee  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+20)

MikeR,

Purely FWIW, I think Franzis is a somewhat large company, judging by their German-only site, that's been really, Really slow developing their English Projects site, & for whatever reason has never bothered to improve their excruciating process for giveaways. Guess they figure it's free, so let them suffer. Whatever...

In contrast if you do buy their apps, that process works as expected, & *in my experience* anyway, they're lenient when it comes to the reduced upgrade pricing, not verifying that you do have an older or lesser version already. And they occasionally do have very good pricing in their e-mail promos -- not always, but every once in a while. You *might* also find that a sale price is low enough to tip the scale in their favor, despite a competing app's better performance &/or features. While some Franzis apps are Very good, I've never seen any of their software receiving Best ranking in reviews.

Franzis giveaways come in their own wrapper [in addition to any GOTD wrapper if/when present], so I usually save the actual installation or setup file from the User Temp folder. The apps that Franzis develops -- they sell some that are developed by others -- are light weight as far as installation goes... I've found I can just copy the installed program's folder from one Windows install to the next, registering it when I 1st run the program, & it adds the required files & folders to the User folders as needed. I've also found that it often works best to copy the plug-ins to the program's folder, then place a shortcut to those plug-ins in an image editor's plug-in folder.

I've never used any Franzis app except as a plug-in -- it's not that the software doesn't work, but rather the parts that don't have to do with whatever FX the app provides just aren't up to snuff IMHO. For me that includes using Any of their apps with RAW images -- again IMHO, if you shoot RAW images for the advantages they provide, not just because you can, you're crippling yourself if you don't use a good RAW image processing app like Lightroom or DxO, where you're actually controlling how the raw sensor data is turned into an image... otherwise you're just placing a bet that the software will do a better job automatically producing an image than your camera, which after all is tuned to the camera's physical & electronic characteristics, vs. software's [by necessity] generic approach.

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+13)
#8

The Franzis product range offer some really very effective & powerful tools, aimed at giving those folk looking for optimum quality from their images for competition, exhibition or resale - or just to hang on the wall..... Each product has a host of specialist tweaking options, which give the tools their power.

That range of options is used via very detailed interfaces. They will not suit the faint-hearted, or photo-processing newbies. You CAN use the products via simple click boxes & sliders, but to get the very best results you need to explore the options, many of which are way beyond Photoshop CC features
[which I also use daily].

The registration process has always been a pain, & some folk dislike the frequent emails sent by Franzis. If you need to take advantage of the power of these products, stick with it - the tools are excellent, the free offers are great, the emails give more offers.

If you only need some simple post-processing sw for casual use, this may not be for you - but hey, it might turn you on to becoming a pixel-peeper ...!

Reply   |   Comment by Colin O  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#7

I love their products, but they are terrible about their response, still waiting to receive their info. from them. I use alot of their software. I am a pro photograph, you can view some of my work on my website using other software from them. Thanks.

Reply   |   Comment by Terry  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)

.
[ Bob ],

Though JPEGs -- compressed, averaged, 8-bit files -- contain only 10% or less than raw digital image files,

( a ) JPEGs are visually satisfying, on screen, and printed,

( b ) JPEGs are sometimes all that a customer gives you to work with,

( c ) JPEGs are fastest out of camera and are immediately available for distribution, sharing, uploading,

( d ) Sony JPEGs especially have available automatic DRO dynamic range optimization, and wide sweep panorama, neither features land in raw files,

( e ) JPEGs are still overkill for most uses, such as most full PC display sizes are only ~2 megapixels, yet even ancient JPEGs are 5 megapixels, new ones are 16 to 20 megapixels.

TIFFs are lossless copies, and can be 16 bit, no problem there ( raw files are often 12 bit or 14 bit ).

"Pro" anything means one earns more than half of one's income via that activity.

It's easy to sell digital photo support services, especially one-on-one finding, collating, de-duping, cataloging, optimizing, printing framable pictures and books for family, uploading to a family web page -- even, especially, free Google Picasa supports these everyone-needs-them basic activities, and one can leave Google Picasa behind for the customer to use themselves, with occasional remote session maintenance ( and free Google Picasa does raw, just so you know ).
__________

Franzis Projects are useful for making entertaining illustrations from photographs, "wow" marketing stuff, but I do not see the the results as enhancing a photographer's storytelling skills -- like comparing advertising copy writing, versus well-wrought poetry.
.

Reply   |   Comment by Peter Blaise  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)

Bob,

A RAW image is the sensor data recorded by the camera, whereas a jpg from the same camera has been "Developed" into an image you can see. Ideally you take images in a RAW format, process them in something like Lightroom or equivalent, taking advantage of the greater amount of available data, then output a jpg or tif or png etc. image that can be optionally edited, then saved or distributed or whatever.

Peter Blaise,

"Franzis Projects are useful for... "wow" marketing stuff, but I do not see the the results as enhancing a photographer's storytelling skills..."

You're VERY correct about the "Wow" part -- their HDR app could serve as the reason many joke about fake HDR -- but Franzis also sells some stuff that can be very useful on occasion just for regular image processing. And if the image(s) look like **** that can greatly reduce your credibility as a story teller. ;)

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)

Peter: Peter: Aw, be fair. Advertising copy can be pure poetry (blank verse, but so what?) As one in the international ad business, I challenge you to find anything better than the lyrical clarity of "Does What It Says On The Tin" or the promise of "Heineken: refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach". I would, at one time, have mentioned a long-running VW ad from a rival agency to ours, but the copy has had to be changed to "Thank God everything in life isn't as unreliable as a Volkswagen" for several $billion reasons I'd best not go into.

Reply   |   Comment by MikeR  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

.
[ mike ],

Did you notice that you suggested photographers should ideally jump through hoops and spend additional time and money to produce JPEGs from raw ... that their camera will produce for them in-camera, immediately, at no extra charge or time delay ( and that free Google Chrome also does immediately, at no extra charge or time delay ) ?
__________

I'm not saying Franzis products are valueless, I'm saying they are not open-ended precision tools for digital image file manipulation, rather, Franzis products are targeted scripts to produce rubber-stamp results with no precion or reference to the content of any individual image.
__________

No digital image file can be "seen", all require interpretation processing for presentation on a display screen or in print -- raw and JPEGs are equivalent in this regard.

Your point about JPEGs being "developed" is savvy -- redeveloping JPEGs always decays information further ... though we still may have remaining way more information than we need for screen or print, so folks edit JPEGs multiple times without feeling that the final image is compromised ( ecch! ).

Raw files can be developed over and over, and the original stays intact, unscathed, hence a significant incentive for starting with raw if significant manipulation is needed to produce the presentation one desires.

Franzis products are one-trick tools, not all-purpose tools, and are therefore easier to sell -- "... oo, oo, I want to do THAT ! ...", so even though the same results can be produced in Photoshop ( and equivalent software ), and there are many automatic tools that work together within Photoshop, Photoshop is daunting for us to imagine mastering it,

... whereas Franzis Products seem like the software equivalent of point-and-shoot cameras,

... even though all cameras are point-and-shoot, the extra controls on sophisticated cameras never need to be understood and implemented, but additional controls just being there scares people away from cameras that are more sophisticated, just as Photoshop's 700+ controls scares people away from what I find to be a rather simple and powerful program ( I use half a dozen controls mostly, and only use more for occasional special situations while I am referencing a free web-based tutorial, pretty simple, really ).

I have half a dozen Franzis Projects, and used them exactly once on the day of installation, but returned to Photoshop when I need to create a presentation using an image that's not "perfect" ... I use Photoshop because I can consider the image and apply only the appropriate tools to "fix" it, rather than using Franzis to spray effects all over a picture regardless of what I thought I was originally after.
.

Reply   |   Comment by Peter Blaise  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

.
[ MikeR ],

Yes, gems can come from anywhere. but sadly the exception proves the rule.

We're talking about tools, and really, it's up to the qualities of the artisan more so than the qualities of the tool.

So an articulate storyteller using Franzis may outshine a blunderbuss using Photoshop.
__________

PS -- We just bought one of those VWs brand new after it was sitting for 4 years awaiting upgrades and EPA approval ... and we love it ( and VW has moved on with hardly a ding, still the most popular cars in the world ).
.

Reply   |   Comment by Peter Blaise  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

.
[ TK ],

Yes, as I said, paraphrase "... JPEGs contain only 10% or less of the original capture information than raw digital image files contain ...".

Come to Washington DC and view National Geographic's exterior displays, gorgeous from afar -- the same perspective of the photographer -- and grainy up close, as any magnified medium should be.

Yet no stair steps.

Stochastic algorithms in printers vary the dot size and location, and smooth the in-betweenies.

But yes, some folks -- not the National Geographic -- forget to replace FPO for placement only mock-up images with high resolution originals before publication, oops, ecch!

After Facebook-shared images on screen and on phones, of course there are other less popular targets for images, and if planned from capture, can be quite appropriate without overkill, hence JPEGs seem to have a life that just wont go away.

Banners, though, are pretty coarse, usually CMYK at most, no subtle cmk1k2k3 -- and what is 64 bit, hardly, please cite the printing device you're thinking of, we all can Google [ jpeg resolution for building wall banner printer specifications ] -- 8 bit by JPEG definition, and only 100 dpi, maybe more, maybe less.

Franzis is the topic here, so I'm finding this side-chat to be a stretch, as it was based on a comment from someone who recoiled at the thought of a self-identified photography professional who uses JPEGs ( the majority of photography professionals depend on JPEGs ).

So, on topic, who here has a Franzis-processed image presentation at what size?
.

Reply   |   Comment by Peter Blaise  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

.
[ TK ],

Yes, JPEGs contain less than raw ... and yet, JPEGs can contain more than needed.

Yes, pro / paid photographic use is everywhere, though mostly JPEGs on the web, but also in building wraps ( from any source, including JPEGs, but vector-based drawings seem to be preferred, I guess they scale smoothly ).

Oddly, even 2 bit gradients can have smooth transitions from full-tone-to-no-tone -- gotta love stochastic screening, variable dot size, and location.

I'm still curious about what 64-bit image file specifications you have seen, if you have a link -- thanks.
.

Reply   |   Comment by Peter Blaise  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)

.
Yes, the more minute-intermediate information one has in any digital image file, the more smoothly and seamlessly any part of it can be stretched to re-represent and reveal it's contents, such as pulling subject detail out of shadows that we thought were blocked up and detail-less, or pulling subject details out of highlights that we thought were washed out and detail-less.

What could go wrong?

[ Banding ] So, if we are dissatisfied with the results of using this GOTD Franzis Color Projects 4 Elements because we see banding in the results, then we can try finding or making a copy of our input image file that has more information, that is, an image file that has more … more shades, more bits ( and or more original-resolution ).

Shades and bits stack up this way:

– JPEGs are 8 bits, meaning 256 shades from black to white, sometimes mapped across RGB red, green, and blue.

– TIFFS are usually 8 bits, and often 15/16 bit “high color”, meaning 32,768 to 65,536 shades from black to white, again, often mapped across RGB.

– Raw capture – from current cameras and current camera archives – is anywhere from 8 bits to 24 bits, anywhere from 256 to 65,536 grayscale shades which may or may not be mapped to RGB, or 16,777,216 shades combined RGB.

Today’s GOTD of Franzis Color Projects 4 Elements promises to read 8 bit and 16 bit files, JPEG, TIFF, and raw ( and maybe 8 bit x RGB 24 bit Foveon raw ), so if objectionable banding occurs while using an 8 bit file, then we can find, or convert the input file to 16 bit first, then we can adjust it and see if it's better, see if the results are satisfying by having less banding ( trick: I sometimes add sub-pixel Gaussian noise to fill in the shades missing when expanding the bit depth or resolution of an image file, it’s fake, but it’s smooth ).

If we cannot avoid unsatisfactory banding in today’s GOTD Franzis Color Projects 4 Elements, then we can move on to another program, or we can go take a new picture.

[ Detail ] Up-converting will not address the lack of resolvable detail in shadows or highlights, one must find a higher-bit ( and or higher resolution ) original or copy, such as the raw file that produced the JPEG.

[ Noise ] Also note that expanding shadows in our hunt for hidden detail comes with the byproduct of expanding non-subject information, that is, we end up expanding noise, oops.

If noise becomes an objectionable part of an image presentation during our adjustment, Franzis and others have separate noise reduction programs or features, and there are many competitive raw developers, all of which may reduce the noise, and assist us in producing a satisfactory presentation.
__________

Dialog background meta-discussion:

[ TK ],

Google's not broken, the reason to ask for your reference links for 64 bit photography is to look over your shoulder, to see what you see, to learn how you learn.

Thanks for your link to [ satoripaint . com ], I checked out their line of 64 bit cameras and 64 bit printers and ...

... oh, wait a minute, they have none.

No one does.

Readily-available cameras capture and produce:

-- JPEG at 8 bit,

-- TIFF at most 16 bit ( stretched ),

-- raw, which effectively captures at most ~15 bits of tone, stretched and encoded as 11+7 ( Sony ), most others are encoded as 16 bit, 14 bit, 12 bit, 10 bit, and so on down for tone raw files; Foeveon encodes RGB for each photosite / picture element at 8 bits for a 24 bit chrome raw file.

Any more bits are not original photographic capture, but are illustrative synthesis that we can add post capture, up-converting to pre-address the risk of banding during adjustment, such as up-converting to 64 bit to allow smooth, seamless editing in Satori Paint … then down-converting the results for use and presentation, back down to 8 bit for JPEG, even as low as 1 bit for black and white ( or grayscale, which is usually 8 bit, but can be less or more ).
__________

When I mention screening, I'm not talking about something we do to our photo files, but something that printers do as they lay down ink / pigment, and is usually machine-dependent, such techniques as jitter, variable size dots, variable dot locations, smudges more than dots, halftone screen angles, none of which information is in our input photographic image file, but all applied after we are done with our file, in an effort to competitively print satisfying photographic presentations regardless of, almost in spite of, the qualities of our input file.
__________

I see this thread and discussion as just an exchange of experience and information, not a debate, nothing personal, as we don't know each other, and all in good-natured voluntary cross support to help each other.

Thank you.
.

Reply   |   Comment by Peter Blaise  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#6

Not getting any mail with info on registration. Tried 2 times, nada :(

Reply   |   Comment by Per  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)

Per, Hi. I had to wait 10/15 minutes but then received both emails

Reply   |   Comment by Colin  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

Colin, When it asks for Serial Number, I put in the Registration Code and that worked

Reply   |   Comment by Colin  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

Colin, tried 3 times, still nothing. Not sure why that's worth 5 downvotes, lol. Oh well :)

Reply   |   Comment by Per  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#5

I've tried numerous times to register Franzis giveaways, but each time I have had problems with registering their products , eg no email with reg key.

Reply   |   Comment by Phil  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#4

Hi guys, can anyone give me a clue as to how I negotiate Francis's terrible registration process?!

Reply   |   Comment by Mike  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

Mike: one word . . . Patience.

Reply   |   Comment by MikeR  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

MikeR, '

I've been waiting over 3 hours, how much patience do I need?!

Reply   |   Comment by Mike  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)
#3

In the mais buy-in, I have not noticed anything that could not be achieved with a common photo editor like Photoshop or even Gimp.
For amateurs and enthusiasts it's ok, I suppose

Reply   |   Comment by Cristi  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)
#2

PHOTO WORKS Projects version 3 was offered here in November 2016
https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/photo-works-projects-3/

Why am I saying that? Because PHOTO WORKS Projects and COLOR Projects are one single program.

I had once the opportunity to directly ask a Franzis guy some clarification about their incomprehensible naming policy, which he explained to me as an "experiment".

If I understood him correctly, versions 1.xxx (2.xxx ?) are called COLOR Projects, versions 3.xxx are called PHOTO WORKS Projects or just PHOTO Projects, versions 4.xxx onwards are called COLOR Projects again. Voilà, you know as much as I do. Incidentally, Franzis B&W Projects/Silver Projects: same thing! But he promised me: no more "experiments" of the sort.

This "experiment" was only in the name, the numbering went on seamlessly, but you might want to keep both versions, as last time, the full version 3 was offered, and this time it is only "Elements". Nothing easier, as COLOR Projects naturally installs beside PHOTO WORKS Projects. I could subsequently do a thorough uninstall (with Soft Organizer) of PHOTO WORKS Projects without damaging COLOR Projects but, just in case, I would recommend that if you uninstall PHOTO WORKS Projects with COLOR Projects already installed, you do it during this giveaway, so that you can reinstall a damaged COLOR Projects if necessary.

This will help you make up your mind:

https://www.projects-software.com/color/comparison

ATTENTION: if we are to believe this comparison chart, there is no selective editing tool in the version offered today (COLOR Projects Elements) contrary to what is advertised above. (I can't say, as I have the full version).

Admittedly, Franzis doesn't offer us the most straightforward installation/registration process, but if you are already registered on their site, you will be spared a few steps. If it can help:

1/ On the registration page, if you can't find a button to click, scroll down;

2/ If you don't read carefully their last email (yes, there might be several), you are likely to come and complain here that, to activate the program, you are asked a serial number which you never received. Hint: just re-enter the registration code you needed to start the installation. Same code under two different names - another "experiment".

This is my favourite Franzis program offered on GOTD, the most polyvalent. ANALOG Projects is for ageing your photos, B&W Projects is...yes... to convert them into B&W, HDR Projects requires that you shoot them in bracketing series, so it is not for everybody, but COLOR Projects will enhance and embellish all photos.

To keep this post to a decent length, rather than copy and paste, I will refer you to my comment about Franzis ANALOG Projects if you want some clues about the interface, as most Franzis programs share the same one.

https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/analog-projects-3/ (post #4)

Reply   |   Comment by ouialaraison  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+37)

ouialaraison, Thanks for the info.
How does this compare to "color projects professional", which was also a GOTD? (its "about" claims it is V1.14.0232)

Reply   |   Comment by AR  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

AR, as version 1 is very old, Franzis doesn't include it anymore in its comparison chart. I once had it too, but I uninstalled it when Photo Works 3 was offered here. If I remember well, the "pro" was meaningless, and version 3 was better. Check the number of presets it has, if it is more than 90 (as today's "Element" version), it might be worth having them both, or at least comparing them on your PC.

Reply   |   Comment by ouialaraison  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)

AR, here is the comparison table for Color Programs: https://www.projects-software.com/color/comparison. Just click on which 2 programs you want to compare and you'll see the results.

Reply   |   Comment by Suze  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#1

Would like to try, but I tried Franzis' registration before, and it is not very good!!

Reply   |   Comment by Tom  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Tom, ???Why?I have few programs from Franzis and I havn't any problems?This Color 4 elements-is good.Of the photo editor programs, everyone has something, they other programs- do not have.:-)

Reply   |   Comment by Kate  –  5 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
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