On1 effects scam update#
On1 effects scam software#

I’ve left my original review here unmodified and only update after the article so people can see my original thoughts.

On1 effects scam software#

Software changes and evolves over time, so while in February 2009 I was impressed with Focus Magic, I hadn’t tried other products at that time that offered alternative solutions to the same problem. Now I just had an Anonymous post to this blog that suggested that because I don’t get a commission on Focus Magic that my change of heart is biased, so I’d like to publically address that claim. To my eyes, I think InFocus is the hands down winner. I encourage you to check out my review of InFocus here and see if you agree as I’ve done comparisons using Focus Magic, Sharpener Pro, and InFocus. I felt it was a big improvement over Focus Magic, but since then Topaz Software’s InFocus has entered the scene and trumped both products. In my previous update to this article I had recommended Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro’s Creative Sharpening features. Personally, I'm going to stick with the Kelby or other sharpening methods instead of using the out of focus filter, but I'll definitely try Focus Magic on images which are the result of shaky hands when I'd like to save a shot. I don't get a commission or anything, but I would appreciate if you could put the URL of this article in the Notes edit box and let them know this is where you heard about the product. The cost of this product is only $45 which is pretty inexpensive by add-in standards these days, so if you like the results you can order a copy at the Focus Magic web site. For the Motion Blur, I think Focus Magic did an incredible job, but your results will vary depending on how you turn the knobs. Others may prefer the Focus Magic version, so I'll leave it up to you as to which you think is better. When it comes to the focus fix, I much prefer the Kelby sharpening version although it could use some Noise Ninja help. I haven't tried sharpening it, but I can see how this photo is significantly better and ready to accept sharpening with less garish results as the original. Here's the results using my previous photo for which I'm not sure if the problem was out of focus or motion blur, but odds are it was motion blur since the bartender was holding a Canon 1D Mark III with a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens for the first time (which combined weigh about 8 or so pounds!):īy George, I think it actually did a pretty impressive job of restoring this photo to something more usable. The results were actually quite impressive, so if you actually can figure out the source of the motion blur then this might be a great tool to help you salvage an otherwise blurry photo.

Fortunately, their web site does a good job of demonstrating this feature so I took my best guess as shown here: There's no auto magic here, so you just have to experiment until you figure it out. Perhaps over time your eyes will get trained to make this easier, but I found it rather difficult to discern. This filter is a little harder to use because you have to figure out which direction the motion blur occurred and that may not be immediately obvious. I discovered that I had forgotten to test that feature of the product, so this update includes my findings. One of my blog readers, Bob Heath, point out his favorite feature of Focus Magic is its Fix Motion Blur filter.

The results appear below (don't forget to click the images to see larger 30% versions of the originals): Before After Focus Magic Out of Focus Fix After Kelby Channels Book 2-Pass Sharpening Fix Motion Blur Filter ( NEW) In the end, I just accepted the default and decided to try the 2-Pass LAB Sharpening trick in Scott Kelby's Photoshop Channels Book to see if it could do any better. The directions say to adjust the blur width as necessary, but I never really found that I was satisfied with the results. The user-interface seemed simple enough yet right away I became skeptical when I saw the after photo in the preview window:įocus Magic 'Fix Out of Focus Blur' filter After all, this was my first pub that I had visited and it had been recommended by my Irish co-worker, so I really wanted to save it. I had a pretty bad picture that a bartender in a pub in Dublin, Ireland took of me so I thought I'd use it to see if I could fix this photo. The information from the web site led me to believe this might be a cool product, so I decided to check it out. Somewhere recently I ran across an ad for Focus Magic which claims it can fix out of focus and blurry pictures better than the Unsharp Mask automatically. NOTE: My original review forgot to test an important feature of this product, so I ask that you re-read the NEW portion of this article and the conclusion again.