I need a stand-alone program to run Virtual Photographer from OptikVerve Labs

[pepe88]

I upgraded to PSCC and it is 64-bit. Virtual Photographer will only run in a 32-bit program and I'm looking for something that will run VP as well as let me fade the applied filter. Are there any cheap (or free) programs that I should look into?

 

[Keit ll]

Two free programs that will work are Gimp & Paint.Net. The latter is easier to use.

 

[Isola Verde]

I upgraded to PSCC and it is 64-bit. Virtual Photographer will only run in a 32-bit program and I'm looking for something that will run VP as well as let me fade the applied filter. Are there any cheap (or free) programs that I should look into?

Perhaps look for an old PS Elements disk?

I'm using PSE12 on a pair of PCs that run 64 bit Win 10 and VP is fine with that... indeed, often just the job for improvements that LR can't offer! And has layers, so an initial fix can be reined back if found to be OTT !

Peter

--
Recent, mostly NX3000 and TZ70/ZS50
https://www.flickr.com/photos/132932913@N02/
Older
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde

 

[Isola Verde]

PS Thanks - had been thinking of updating PSE, but will now be wary as 12 seems the last 32 bit only version and I'd regret losing VP!

Peter

 

[lylejk]

OptikVerve already has a stand-alone program that runs it's filter. It also can run a few other PS compatible filters. It's called Virtual Studio and it's free too.

Loading…

optikvervelabs.com

 

[Herbert123]

Photoline comes in both 32bit and 64bit flavours.

Virtual Photographer works perfectly well in the 32bit version. Even better, the 64bit version can send a layer/document to the 32bit version, the VP plugin can be applied, the result saved, and the image in the 64bit version updates automatically.

This way both 64bit and 32bit Photoshop plugins may be applied to the same file in a seamless workflow. Very handy: I know of no other image editor capable of this.

And Photoline happens to be very powerful as an image editor as well - about on par with Photoshop (minus the video and 3d fluff).

 

[pepe88]

The filter I use always gets faded back to only 15% in PS. That's the missing feature with most programs.

 

[Herbert123]

The filter I use always gets faded back to only 15% in PS. That's the missing feature with most programs.

The Fade function in Photoshop was introduced at a time when layers, I believe, were unavailable in Photoshop.

In any modern image editor (including Photoshop and Photoline) the identical result is achieved by duplicating the original layer, applying the effect, and then using the opacity slider to control the strength. If you used a different blend mode in Fade, just change to that blend mode in the layer panel.

One of the main advantages of this workflow is, of course, that the strength of the effect is adjustable at any time, as well as the blend mode. "Fade" is entirely destructive.

If the image editor allows for advanced blending (Photoline and Photoshop do), then the final effect is by far more controllable than the old "fade" option. Add in adjustment layers, and there is just no comparison to what you can do compared to the lackluster old Fade option.

In short, the Fade feature is not required at all. I cannot remember the last time I used Fade in Photoshop - it must be almost two decades ago.

 

[Jestertheclown]

Photoline comes in both 32bit and 64bit flavours.

Virtual Photographer works perfectly well in the 32bit version. Even better, the 64bit version can send a layer/document to the 32bit version, the VP plugin can be applied, the result saved, and the image in the 64bit version updates automatically.

This way both 64bit and 32bit Photoshop plugins may be applied to the same file in a seamless workflow. Very handy: I know of no other image editor capable of this.

And Photoline happens to be very powerful as an image editor as well - about on par with Photoshop

I find that rather hard to believe, given that until just now, I'd never heard of it and that it costs about 1/10th. of the price of CS6 in the days when you could buy it.

(minus the video and 3d fluff).

"It's good to be . . . . . . . . . Me!"

 

[Cariboou]

Hello,

in Photoshop CC you can download a Photoshop CS6 32 extended

Cheers

Cariboou!

 

[Herbert123]

Photoline comes in both 32bit and 64bit flavours.

Virtual Photographer works perfectly well in the 32bit version. Even better, the 64bit version can send a layer/document to the 32bit version, the VP plugin can be applied, the result saved, and the image in the 64bit version updates automatically.

This way both 64bit and 32bit Photoshop plugins may be applied to the same file in a seamless workflow. Very handy: I know of no other image editor capable of this.

And Photoline happens to be very powerful as an image editor as well - about on par with Photoshop

I find that rather hard to believe, given that until just now, I'd never heard of it and that it costs about 1/10th. of the price of CS6 in the days when you could buy it.

(minus the video and 3d fluff).

"It's good to be . . . . . . . . . Me!"

I understand your reluctance. Up until three years ago I had never seen, heard, or read anything related to Photoline. The developers have little or no interest in advertising their image editor. And it has been around since 1995!

When I first downloaded Photoline, I did not expect much. I had been looking for a replacement for Photoshop for quite some time, and every single time I was disappointed. Hardly any support 32bit per channel, Lab mode, proper curves, advanced blending, a mostly non-destructive approach, and so on.

Much to my surprise I learned at the time that Photoline supports all of this. There are things in Photoline which are just not possible in Photoshop: for example, the opacity for a layer can be set from -200(!) up to +200. As many layer masks and grouped layer masks can be added to a layer. Adjustment layers can be applied to layer masks. You can have layer masks affecting other layer masks. Layer effects can be applied to layer masks even!

Layers, layer masks and layer groups can be virtually instanced, and re-used across the layer stack. This means one mask may serve as the base for many others, and when the original is changed, the others update in real time!

Photoline supports pages, external file layers, "smart objects" (smart objects in a PSD are kept intact - even the Illustrator content can be edited DIRECTLY in the latest betas of Photoline!), a non-destructive liguify layer (which can be stacked and "reversed" in effect with the opacity slider), adjustment layers can be combined in a "super" adjustment layer for easier layer management, a really nice vector selection tools, full vectors (which, unlike Photoshop, render at the highest resolution or at the document's native pixel resolution), HSV/HIS workflow, and so on, and so forth.

Transformation of layers is by default non-destructive, unlike Photoshop (first one has to convert to a smart object).

The biggest workflow enhancer for me was the fact that layers in THE SAME layer stack can have ANY colour mode, bit depth, and size. No longer is it required to switch image modes when I wish to create a CMYK or LAB version. The background layer decides on the output. This means I can switch to a CMYK version, and switch back to RGB WITHOUT losling ANY information in my layers.

It also means I can add a curves adjustment layer, switch that curves adjustment to Lab, HIS, HSV, RGB mode on the fly, and there is no need to switch image modes again.

And, as I stated before, the external app link is quite unique and incredibly useful to have. I can send vector layers to InkScape, edit them with more elaborate vector tools, and then save. The result updates in Photoline, and I can continue editing until I am done. I can send bitmap layers or the entire document (if supported in the external app) to other bitmap tools, and use those as "plugins". Super handy.

Are there caveats compared to Photoshop? Yes, of course. There is no animation, no 3d, and for digital painting I would look elsewhere. The one thing I miss most is the Refine Mask option in Photoshop. Arguably the RAW processing can see improvements. I use Krita for digital painting (superior to Photoshop for this type of work in my opinion), 3dCoat for 3d work (again, no comparison to Photoshop), and a combination of DxO, Raw Therapee, and Photoline for RAW developing. For animation and video, I would never use Photoshop - far too primitive and limiting. I use applications such as Blender, Fusion, DaVinci, TVPaint, and other tools for that type of work. Which allow me to work "Adobe free".

There are many things Photoline does better than Photoshop. And other things are missing. As always, there is no single perfect application, and it depends on one's individual workflow whether it hits the requirements.

 

[Jestertheclown]

Photoline comes in both 32bit and 64bit flavours.

Virtual Photographer works perfectly well in the 32bit version. Even better, the 64bit version can send a layer/document to the 32bit version, the VP plugin can be applied, the result saved, and the image in the 64bit version updates automatically.

This way both 64bit and 32bit Photoshop plugins may be applied to the same file in a seamless workflow. Very handy: I know of no other image editor capable of this.

And Photoline happens to be very powerful as an image editor as well - about on par with Photoshop

I find that rather hard to believe, given that until just now, I'd never heard of it and that it costs about 1/10th. of the price of CS6 in the days when you could buy it.

(minus the video and 3d fluff).

"It's good to be . . . . . . . . . Me!"

I understand your reluctance. Up until three years ago I had never seen, heard, or read anything related to Photoline. The developers have little or no interest in advertising their image editor. And it has been around since 1995!

When I first downloaded Photoline, I did not expect much. I had been looking for a replacement for Photoshop for quite some time, and every single time I was disappointed. Hardly any support 32bit per channel, Lab mode, proper curves, advanced blending, a mostly non-destructive approach, and so on.

Much to my surprise I learned at the time that Photoline supports all of this. There are things in Photoline which are just not possible in Photoshop: for example, the opacity for a layer can be set from -200(!) up to +200. As many layer masks and grouped layer masks can be added to a layer. Adjustment layers can be applied to layer masks. You can have layer masks affecting other layer masks. Layer effects can be applied to layer masks even!

Layers, layer masks and layer groups can be virtually instanced, and re-used across the layer stack. This means one mask may serve as the base for many others, and when the original is changed, the others update in real time!

Photoline supports pages, external file layers, "smart objects" (smart objects in a PSD are kept intact - even the Illustrator content can be edited DIRECTLY in the latest betas of Photoline!), a non-destructive liguify layer (which can be stacked and "reversed" in effect with the opacity slider), adjustment layers can be combined in a "super" adjustment layer for easier layer management, a really nice vector selection tools, full vectors (which, unlike Photoshop, render at the highest resolution or at the document's native pixel resolution), HSV/HIS workflow, and so on, and so forth.

Transformation of layers is by default non-destructive, unlike Photoshop (first one has to convert to a smart object).

The biggest workflow enhancer for me was the fact that layers in THE SAME layer stack can have ANY colour mode, bit depth, and size. No longer is it required to switch image modes when I wish to create a CMYK or LAB version. The background layer decides on the output. This means I can switch to a CMYK version, and switch back to RGB WITHOUT losling ANY information in my layers.

It also means I can add a curves adjustment layer, switch that curves adjustment to Lab, HIS, HSV, RGB mode on the fly, and there is no need to switch image modes again.

And, as I stated before, the external app link is quite unique and incredibly useful to have. I can send vector layers to InkScape, edit them with more elaborate vector tools, and then save. The result updates in Photoline, and I can continue editing until I am done. I can send bitmap layers or the entire document (if supported in the external app) to other bitmap tools, and use those as "plugins". Super handy.

Are there caveats compared to Photoshop? Yes, of course. There is no animation, no 3d, and for digital painting I would look elsewhere. The one thing I miss most is the Refine Mask option in Photoshop. Arguably the RAW processing can see improvements. I use Krita for digital painting (superior to Photoshop for this type of work in my opinion), 3dCoat for 3d work (again, no comparison to Photoshop), and a combination of DxO, Raw Therapee, and Photoline for RAW developing. For animation and video, I would never use Photoshop - far too primitive and limiting. I use applications such as Blender, Fusion, DaVinci, TVPaint, and other tools for that type of work. Which allow me to work "Adobe free".

There are many things Photoline does better than Photoshop. And other things are missing. As always, there is no single perfect application, and it depends on one's individual workflow whether it hits the requirements.

Thanks.

I'm still not tempted but it certainly reads well.

 

[Herbert123]

The more alternatives we have, the better, I think. Affinity Photo is also shaping up quite nicely - it will get 32bpc support soon.

 

[Saleen1999]

Lyle,

I just tried to download the stand alone program for Windows 7 and every time I import a photo, I get lots of error messages and it won't work. Do you know why? I am using PS CC

Melissa
Adobe Photoshop CC 2014
http://upload.pbase.com/mnewco

 

[lylejk]

Not sure Melissa; I haven't used the stand-alone since Ol' Betsy (my last PC) died on me (and I've not re-installed it). You don't need the stand-alone to run the plugin itself; you can just use Photoshop or even Irfanview.

 

[Isola Verde]

Lyle,

I just tried to download the stand alone program for Windows 7 and every time I import a photo, I get lots of error messages and it won't work. Do you know why? I am using PS CC

Melissa
Adobe Photoshop CC 2014
http://upload.pbase.com/mnewco

I see you've also got PSP8 ??

If so, VirtualPhotographer may work as a plugin for that...

Compatible with Photoshop® CS3 and older, Photoshop® Elements, Paint Shop™ Pro®, Photo-Paint and other popular imaging applications. Install on Vista 32-bit, Windows XP, 2000, ME or '98 operating systems.

Loading…

www.optikvervelabs.com

But no promises from me!

Peter

 

[Henry Richardson]

I upgraded to PSCC and it is 64-bit. Virtual Photographer will only run in a 32-bit program and I'm looking for something that will run VP as well as let me fade the applied filter. Are there any cheap (or free) programs that I should look into?

You can still download the PS CC 32-bit version, but it you have to download manually since you are running on a 64-bit OS. Here is the link:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/download-photoshop.html

I think that you can have both the 64-bit version and the 32-bit version installed. You can use the 32-bit version of PS CC when you want to use Virtual Photographer or any other 32-bit plug-ins. Let us know how it goes.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

 

[Rondo15]

Irfanview.

 

[Allen Gerdes]

Yes, Virtual Photographer works with PSP8.

Regards....Allen