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Tiffen Dfx Essentials Creative Digital Effects Software | 
| Brand: Tiffen
Category: Photography
Buy New: $59.95
(as of March 11, 2010, 11:56 PST.)
New (4) Used (3) from $46.99
Rating:  19 reviews
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows Xp, Mac Os X
Media: Electronics
Operating System: Mac OS X
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 8 x 6 x 2
MPN: DFXESS
Model: DFXESS
UPC: 049383063639
EAN: 0049383063639
ASIN: B001W0XZYA
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | 37 filters with hundreds of presets | | • | On-screen tutorial with audio | | • | Preview allows you to see the effect before applying the filter | | • | Easy-to-use interface | | • | Works with Windows and Macintosh |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Based on the success of its original award-winning Dfx Digital Filter software, Tiffen now introduces Dfx Essentials, a selective version of its predecessor. Dfx Essentials software is an introduction to digital photo enhancement available for Windows or Macintosh. This easy-to-use digital filter simulation software is a "select, click and apply" application that comes with a step-by-step video tutorial with audio. Create and save custom setups Import most file formats (camera raw, Kodak Cineon, dpx, tif and jpg) System Requirements (Windows) - Windows XP Pro, XP Home or Vista 1.0 GHz processor or faster Intel or AMD processor 1GB RAM (2 GB+ recommended) 1GB available disk space for caching and temporary files Open-GL capable graphics card Display with 1024 x 768 resolution or higher (1280 x 1024 recommended) Three-button mouse System Requirements (Macintosh) - Mac OS X 10.4 and above Macintosh 1.0 GHz processor or faster PowerPC G5 or Intel processor 1GB RAM (2 GB+ recommended) 1GB available disk space for caching and temporary files Display with 1024 x 768 resolution or higher (1280 x 1024 recommended) Three-button mouse
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
Better than Photoshop for those quick jobs January 14, 2010
Boomzilla (Seattle, WA USA)
This package is a great stand alongside" solution for pro's who don't have the time or inclination to launch Photoshop, or for beginners who want rapid solutions with ease. Max 5 min install from opening the box and the package leads you through image updates with ease. It has sufficient presets to give great results to those new to image manipulation and re-touching as well as great configuration for those with more advanced skills who want to get their look just right.
Get More Creative WIth Filters July 23, 2009
W. R. Stockstill Jr. (Marietta, GA United States)
If you are hitting a creative wall in your photography you may want to start trying filter effects. However, all that glass in all those different sizes adds up. Or, you may have a point and shoot camera that doesn't take filters. Here's the solution. Digital filter effects by Tiffen is a fun way to add a touch of art or fun or drama to your digital photos.
Pros
For the price of about 1 good filter you get the use of dozens
Relatively ease to use, but not the easiest program
Cons
Most basic point and shoots probably aren't interested in filters
There are great free programs that do much of the same thing and even easier to use (Opanda's PhotoFilter).
Overall, not a bad program, it needs some tweaking. For the money, I would probably go with the available freeware.
 Good at some specific things, but clunky user interface July 16, 2009
B. Christensen (Santa Barbara, CA United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Note: This review is for the Mac version of the Tiffen Dfc Essentials product. I am an avid novice photographer and I shoot a Canon 40D, using Aperture for most of my post-capture photo refinement. I shoot about 200 to 600 photos a week, and manage them all in an Aperture catalog, which stores all the EXIF and other meta data as well.
I do not use Photoshop or other "heavy duty" image editing applications, so I was hopeful that Dfx Essentials would be a nice addition to my basic Aperture workflow. If it was offered as a set of Aperture plug-ins, I think that the Tiffen Dfx Essentials tools would rate four or five stars. The filters and effects are extremely flexible and can easily achieve some very nice effects that are either not possible or much more difficult with Aperture. Some of the effects are just plain goofy, but for the most part the filters work very well and are very useful for portrait and still life photography (e.g. blurring, halos, highlighting, color enhancements, b&w effects and filters, etc.)
However, the Mac version of the application suffers from a very poorly designed user interface in my opinion. I'm not sure what the engineers were thinking, but they may have been trying to emulate the Mac experience without ever having actually used a Mac before. The colors are dark gray, and the file browsing menus are a weird cross between Windows and Mac, but are more confusing than either.
This interface causes the workflow to be much more difficult that it should be, in my opinion. For example, to edit an image in Tiffen Dfx that you are looking at in Aperture (my starting point for workflow), I have to save off a version of the file somewhere easy to find (like in a folder on my desktop) and then open Dfx up, use the terrible file browser to find and select the image (which must be done by memorizing the file name because it lacks thumbnail images), and then conduct the editing in Dfx. Once the image is finalized in Dfx, it must be imported BACK into Aperture as a separate file from the original master (thereby breaking the association to the original file).
After a couple of weeks of using Dfx, I found this process to be more of a hassle than I was willing to deal with for all but the most specific types of projects which Dfx does particularly well (like black & white effects and blurring backgrounds)
Overall, I believe it is a nice tool for those "special" photos that you want to retouch before having them printed, but the clumsy user interface (on a Mac) make it just too unpleasant to use frequently.
 digital filters that simulate glass filters June 18, 2009
Jim
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tiffen, over 69 years in business, is best known as a manufacturer and supplier of glass photographic filters. I own a Tiffen UV filter, which I purchased from Amazon, and keep it on my Panasonic Lumix FZ28 digital camera as lens protection. I've been tempted to purchase additional filters, but know that I'm just too lazy an amateur photographer to experiment with and change them in the field. Tiffen's digital filter software was created by Tiffen in collaboration with Digital Film Tools, which is an offshoot of a Los Angeles motion picture visual effects facility. The software allows me to experiment and play with ease with simulated versions of Tiffen's optical filters while eliminating the need to carry around and protect a collection of glass filters.
I recently needed a head shot of myself for informal use on a website. I wanted to modify an image I had in a Photoshop Elements folder but didn't have a clear idea of how I wanted the end result to look. With Tiffen's Dfx Essentials digital filter software I was able to quickly preview how the image would look with different preset digital filters applied. I selected one and saved it, and the entire task from opening Tiffen's software to selecting and applying a filter to uploading the image to the web took under five minutes. The whole process went faster and was simpler than it would've been had I used Elements or Paint Shop Pro.
In addition to applying single filters with the software, one can apply multiple filters by adding filters one by one as layers, and one can alter the parameters of all filters, which is to say that all of the preset filters are customizable.
Tiffen Dfx Essentials digital filter software will not replace Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 on my PC, but it is a handy tool to have available when I want to quickly apply simulated filters to digital photos.
Readers considering purchasing this software may want to visit Tiffen's website where they can view a tutorial for the software, which is the same tutorial that comes with the software CD itself. At the same site may be found links to reviews of the software written by professional photographers for trade publications.
Excellent alternative to using real filters June 17, 2009
sweetsting
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
To begin with this product accomplishes what it promises...Add filters of about 37 kinds to any and every pic u want to use it on.
Besides its very easy to use.
Can be used on both my mac and windows.
Since i also got the corel painter..photoshop etc...this one is not as great with digital effects...
But for the money this one is reallllllly awesome.
It is a standalone application into which u need to add photos to edit..but thats not so bad..u have to do that with any program.
U can use different filter to see which one u really like and can easily delete or rechange ur pics without changing anything permanently.
Simple easy to use tool...without too much to run around understanding.
Since its a Tiffen product everyone into digital photography will know this is something all digital photographers can use.
Easy interface...very userfreindly.
Highly recommend.
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