This article was published on September 16, 2014

Athentech’s Perfectly Clear adds pizzazz to photos with updated desktop plug-ins


Athentech’s Perfectly Clear adds pizzazz to photos with updated desktop plug-ins

Let’s face it: Sometimes you have no choice but to salvage a poorly shot photograph. Or maybe you want to enhance a fairly decent shot to look even better.

If we were all perfect photographers, there would be no need for Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, and that’s the point of Athentech Imaging’s upgrade to Perfectly Clear, a photo correction plug-in to Photoshop and Lightroom, released today.

Version 2 of the Perfectly Clear plug-in does what all good plug-ins should: It extends the capabilities of the host software inside the app so you don’t have to launch yet another photo editor.

Beautify_Screen_Capture
The Beautify modules arrive for the plug-in.

The new version features a re-engineered app, providing optimized algorithms that make it faster. A updated noise engine removes noise more accurately despite preserving detail, while the full-resolution zoom feature lets you focus in on specific parts of your picture with added clarity.

The <3 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

The new opacity slider lets you decide how little or much of your edits actually show, acting as a subtle refinement tool. The new split view — a popular feature of the Perfectly Clear mobile app — lets you immediately see both before and after versions of the corrected image as you dynamically adjust the view. Import/Export presets let you share presets with others.

boat screen capture
The mobile version’s slider bar makes its way to the desktop.

While users of the Perfectly Clear mobile apps for iOS and Android are already familiar with the app’s Beautify module, desktop plug-in users had to wait until version 2 to have it.

Like Perfectly Clear’s other modules, Beautify gives you automatic correction via advanced facial detection technology that identifies age, gender and other features, including texture and skin tone. It’s applied automatically whenever there’s a face in the image.

Beautify offers 10 corrections: Perfectly Smooth, Blemish Removal, Dark Circle Removal, Shine Removal, Face Slimming, Catchlight, (adds sparkle to the eyes), Eye Enhance, Eye Enlarge, Teeth Whitening and Skin Tone.

landscape_screen_capture
Enhanced landscape improvements.

Concurrent with the plug-in upgrade, Athentech also announced an upgrade of its Perfectly Clear LAB for businesses to version 5. With a watch folder interface designed for high-volume batch processing, Lab has also received an under-the-hood refresh designed to boost performance.

LAB’s update now incorporates the same speed, noise and Beautify upgrades as the plug-ins, while a new Raw engine supports more raw file types and the app offers better control over PDF image processing.

Perfectly clear
Forget about presets by taking control of adjustments.

Both plug-ins 2.0 and LAB 5.0 are available for download at the Athentech Web Store.

The plug-in package costs $149 (individual package) and $199 (bundle including Lightroom and Photoshop)—a $50 drop in price from previous versions. Existing users can upgrade individual plug-ins for $75 and bundle packages for $99. A free 30-day trial is also available. More pricing information is available on Athentech’s website.

LAB 5.0 is now available for $495 per quarter, with upgrades free of charge for existing customers. A free 15-day trial is also available.

Athentech

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Published
Back to top