First I want to say that Neat Image is a very nice program. I just bought the pro-version of it. I am glad to have found a cheaper alternative to the also very good "Grain Surgery". I have a suggestion that would make it easier to work with Neat Image.
There should be a way to compare the current filter settings with previous filter settings. It could be done with a pair of buttons. The pair could consist of one large and one small button. When you press the small one you should save the image in the current selection and when you keep the big button pressed you should see the saved selection. In that way it would be very easy to compare with earlier filter settings. With several such pair of buttons you could compare with several earlier filter settings.
When you press the big button the settings at the right of the screen should change to the ones used when saving the selection. When you stop pressing the button the current settings should show again. That would make it easy to see the difference in settings.
With best regards,
Peter
Compare with previous filter settings
Peter,
Thank you for your kind words and suggestion. Yes, I more or less understand your idea and it resembles me something of another product.. don't remember its name. Anyway, why not use the filter presets for the purpose of comparison? - You can save one, two, .. as many as you like filter presets, then select an image area and load these presets one after another and compare the filtration result, which will be automatically produced for every preset loaded. Yes, it may require some file saving/opening operations in the current version of NI. But in the nearest update (which will come really soon), this will be done easier and you will be able to select a preset faster.
Yes, you might have that even faster if there were several designated buttons. Unfortunately, there seems to be not enough space for 20 more buttons in the filter settings panel... Therefore, I propose using presets.
Vlad
Thank you for your kind words and suggestion. Yes, I more or less understand your idea and it resembles me something of another product.. don't remember its name. Anyway, why not use the filter presets for the purpose of comparison? - You can save one, two, .. as many as you like filter presets, then select an image area and load these presets one after another and compare the filtration result, which will be automatically produced for every preset loaded. Yes, it may require some file saving/opening operations in the current version of NI. But in the nearest update (which will come really soon), this will be done easier and you will be able to select a preset faster.
Yes, you might have that even faster if there were several designated buttons. Unfortunately, there seems to be not enough space for 20 more buttons in the filter settings panel... Therefore, I propose using presets.
Vlad
Re: Compare with previous filter settings
Thank you for the quick reply.
I have now tested with different filter presets.
When you click on the selected window you have a possibility to go back and forth beetween the original and the filtered selection. This is very good.
What I would like to see is quick way to compare with the last filtering - without any delay for processing. In that way you could see if the new filter settings is better than the last or not. When I switch between the filter presets I have difficulties too see small changes. I need to go back and forth several times to be sure about the difference.
My earlier suggestion with the buttons would make that possible. It is not so important to be able to compare with more than the last filter settings.
So two buttons would probably be ok.
With best regards,
Peter
[/b]
I have now tested with different filter presets.
When you click on the selected window you have a possibility to go back and forth beetween the original and the filtered selection. This is very good.
What I would like to see is quick way to compare with the last filtering - without any delay for processing. In that way you could see if the new filter settings is better than the last or not. When I switch between the filter presets I have difficulties too see small changes. I need to go back and forth several times to be sure about the difference.
My earlier suggestion with the buttons would make that possible. It is not so important to be able to compare with more than the last filter settings.
So two buttons would probably be ok.
With best regards,
Peter
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phlegmatic
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2003 10:36 pm
before and after
Agree with peterb about the need for a quick before and after.
If two buttons is difficult how about scrolling with the mouse wheel to select the different presets in the filter window ( now that it pops up in version 2.3 ). I really like the pop up windows for filters and noise profiles
phlegmatic
If two buttons is difficult how about scrolling with the mouse wheel to select the different presets in the filter window ( now that it pops up in version 2.3 ). I really like the pop up windows for filters and noise profiles
phlegmatic
Compare with previous filter settings
I also agree with peterb that it would be very useful with a possibility of quickly changing between the result of two filtering settings for a preview selection.
The additional methods of changing filter settings in NE 2.6 is not useful at all for this purpose
Neat Image is an excellent and very powerful program, probably the best available. Using it is straight forward and easy.
However, if you would like to really optimize a filter setting it suddenly becomes very difficult and slow. It is very good that you have many powerful ways to control how the filtering is done, but there is no good way to efficiently compare two filter settings to each other as you can with the situation before and after filtering.
I am looking for a possibility similar to what 's possible today by clicking on the selection to see the unfiltered selection, but instead I'd like to be able to switch between the result of two filtering settings.
It is very important that the switching is very quick and simple as I'd like to go back and forth over and over again while comparing different aspects of the picture in the preview selection.
I hope that this would be possible to implement without changing the user interface at all except for a new checkbox in the settings.
This is how I hope it could be done:
A new checkbox in the settings: X activate preview switching to previous filter setting.
The switching can be activated by an unused keyboard key like CTRL or TAB and be working like this:
When the key is pressed the results from the alternative filter settings are visual, when it is released the results from the current filter settings are visual.
If only one filter setting has been used in current session, do nothing when the key is pressed.
If a new preview area is selected, calculate the results from the current filter settings first and make it visual, then in the background calculate a preview from the alternative filter settings and be prepared to show it if the key is pressed.
I think that an addition like this would be very useful for many users to make it easier to create optimal filter settings. My experience so far with Neat Image is that every picture has its own ideal filter setting.
Tester
The additional methods of changing filter settings in NE 2.6 is not useful at all for this purpose
Neat Image is an excellent and very powerful program, probably the best available. Using it is straight forward and easy.
However, if you would like to really optimize a filter setting it suddenly becomes very difficult and slow. It is very good that you have many powerful ways to control how the filtering is done, but there is no good way to efficiently compare two filter settings to each other as you can with the situation before and after filtering.
I am looking for a possibility similar to what 's possible today by clicking on the selection to see the unfiltered selection, but instead I'd like to be able to switch between the result of two filtering settings.
It is very important that the switching is very quick and simple as I'd like to go back and forth over and over again while comparing different aspects of the picture in the preview selection.
I hope that this would be possible to implement without changing the user interface at all except for a new checkbox in the settings.
This is how I hope it could be done:
A new checkbox in the settings: X activate preview switching to previous filter setting.
The switching can be activated by an unused keyboard key like CTRL or TAB and be working like this:
When the key is pressed the results from the alternative filter settings are visual, when it is released the results from the current filter settings are visual.
If only one filter setting has been used in current session, do nothing when the key is pressed.
If a new preview area is selected, calculate the results from the current filter settings first and make it visual, then in the background calculate a preview from the alternative filter settings and be prepared to show it if the key is pressed.
I think that an addition like this would be very useful for many users to make it easier to create optimal filter settings. My experience so far with Neat Image is that every picture has its own ideal filter setting.
Tester
Thank you, Tester.
Yes, your idea is very constructive and useful. In fact, it has generated an interesting discussion in our team regarding possible ways to implement such a feature. It will be implemented as it seems, but we are not yet sure how it will exactly look like. - There are some hidden dangers with implementing it the way you propose so we are now considering several options. Thank you for stimulating this discussion!
Vlad
Yes, your idea is very constructive and useful. In fact, it has generated an interesting discussion in our team regarding possible ways to implement such a feature. It will be implemented as it seems, but we are not yet sure how it will exactly look like. - There are some hidden dangers with implementing it the way you propose so we are now considering several options. Thank you for stimulating this discussion!
Vlad