Problem with Flexcolor

[benjamin_s.1]

<p>Hi folks,<br /><br />I have the following problem using Flexcolor (4.8.8, think this is the current version): When you open files in Flexcolor they are first somewhat blurry and pixeled and after the CPU worked a little they turn fine. Nothing strange so far. The same appears when you zoom in, unless you have a very fast computer maybe. I have a Macbook Pro C2D 2,4, it needs some time <img title="Wink" src="http://www.hybridphoto.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" alt="" /><br />BUT, when I set the zoom factor larger than 50%, my pictures remain "pixeled". I gave my computer some minutes but nothing changed. When I use the magnifier-tool on the other hand, and set the zoom factor to 100%, I get perfectly resolved frames, but I´m not able to view the whole picture at 100%. I can also export the files as Tiff and open these in iPhoto for example, where I can look at them in a wonderful 100%-view. Why can´t I do the same in Flexcolor? Is it just me or is this a bug? <br /><br />Best regards, Benjamin</p>

[john_a5]

<p>I don't know that it is a bug, but I have never found a way to use flexcolor to get a full image at full resolution. You always need to use the magnifier tool and unless you are working on a 3f file, the scanner needs to rescan the portion you select to get it to 100%. Nothing sounds out of the ordinary to me.</p>

[benjamin_s.1]

<p>Thank you very much. I always send my slides in for scanning and do not own the scanner myself, so I will have to get along with this as it seems...</p>

[john_a5]

<p>Well, if you have flexcolor, you would be much better off having them scan your slides as 3f files, which is essentially a scanner RAW file. Slides don't have as much density range as negatives, which can really benefit from this approach, but it might be helpful for you in any case. The 3f scan puts all the information that the scanner can possibly extract from the slide/neg into one file. Like a raw, you can then output a light and a dark version that align perfectly if you need to lighten an area or darken one. It is hard to do without once you realize its power. A 3f scan can be done at a specific resolution or at the full resolution of the scanner and takes no more time to scan than when it makes a 16bit tiff.</p>

[benjamin_s.1]

<p>Thank you too! I already ordered them as 3F from the start on, but I still haven´t realised all of Flexcolor´s potential. Is there an easy way to create a light+dark version of a file or do you have to do it all manually via brightness/shadow detail setting? And how do you align the files? Do you use Photoshop for this? Any advice on using Flexcolor is appreciated by me :-D<br>

Best regards, Benjamin</p>

[john_a5]

<p>Flexcolor is pretty much a manual sort of thing and so you need to make your changes manually, although, you can save an environment that you can then apply to other files. So, if you get a 1 or two stop darkening that you like, all neutral color balance for the original, you can save it as "2 step light reduction" and then go to it in your profiles the next time you want to darken 2 stops.</p>

<p>Alignment is easy and done in PS or I assume elements as well. You just open both files in PS and then with the select tool, grab the file you want on top, hold down the shift key and drag the file over the other one (keep holding down the shift key). It will align perfectly as long as you didn't crop differently in flexcolor for the two files. I never crop in Flexcolor for this reason, as I never know when I might want to go back and grab an area to overlay later. I crop only when I make the final output and then save that file separate from the layered file I worked on.</p>