Many image organising and cataloguing tools can send images to other programs for further editing. These may be specially designed ‘plug-ins’, if you’re using Photoshop or Lightroom, or regular standalone programs (‘external editors’) in the case of Capture One, say. The edited image is then returned back to your ‘host’ program.
Verdict: 3.5 stars DxO FilmPack 8 sets out to replicate the look of classic analog films and processes with true scientific and historical accuracy. Does it succeed? Yes, but while its renderings are faithful and evocative, the absence of local adjustment tools can give you some workflow headaches and it lacks the madness/genius of Nik Analog Efex.
Verdict: 3.5 stars DxO ViewPoint 5 is a specialised distortion and correction tool which has some clever features but is a bit of an awkward fit with most editing workflows, partly because it can’t open and correct RAW files and partly because most applications you might launch it from have distortion and perspective correction tools of their own.
There are many different ways to create compelling black and white images in regular photo editors, but there are also software plug-ins dedicated to black and white effects and analog film simulations. So do you actually need them?
Verdict: 4.5 stars CameraBag Pro is a photo editing tool from a company you might never have heard of, at a price which might make you think it can’t be very good. Well, it’s not clear why this software isn’t better known, but the bottom line is that it’s very good indeed. It comes with 200+ photographic effect presets, and they’re of a pretty high standard, plus all the tools you need to modify these and make your own. It even does basic photo enhancement and file browsing. It’s quirky and weird – at first – but at this price, and subscription-free, it’s an absolute steal.
Plug ins and external editors are part of most photographers’ workflows. But how do they work and what’s the difference?