Segmentis Fo2PiX buZZ, a photoshop compatible plug-in

Review

he Segmentis Fo2PiX buzz Simplifier plug-in adds a painterly look to photos. The effect is created by what Segmentis calls the “simplifier” which removes

details the image is left in blocks of color. The buzz effect is similar to the cutout filter in Photoshop, but has a subtler more refined look to the output.

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Buzzed

Standard

The user has control over how much detail is removed. One can choose to remove detail in the highlights, shadows, or both. The interactive preview window is small by present standards, although adequate.

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Creative Controls F-stops & Depth of Field

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How to Improve the Image Quality of your Camera

By using a tripod, slower shutter speeds can be utilized allowing the aperture of the lens to be stopped down increasing depth of field
Lens choices for landscape photography

“The wide-angle perspective ... gives the viewer the impression they could walk into the photo”
Becoming a student of Light and Color- Part 1 - Quaility of Light

“I changed, from a photographer that photographs what he finds, to one that starts with a vision and then goes out to produce an image that matches the vision.”
Becoming a student of Light and Color- Part 2- Light , Color, and Composition

“a color only takes on importance when considered relative to the other colors surrounding it."
Long Lens Landscapes

“I am always willing to try for that image with the “wow factor”, and long lenses are definitely an unordinary if not extraordinary way to capture grand landscapes.”

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“most images need at least one of their elements to be pure black, meaning black with no detail, and need at least one of their elements to be pure white meaning white with no detail”
Basic Photoshop for photographers - Part 1

"Today we are making images that we could not even have dreamed of making before"
Basic Photoshop for photographers -Part 2

"Always use a separate layer this allows mistakes to be erased at any time"
Segmentis Fo2PiX buZZ review

"The user has control over how much detail is removed. One can choose to remove detail in the highlights, shadows, or both"
The Filters we use and why

"The question I often hear is “do you still use lens filters”. The answer is yes, because there still is no substitute for capturing the image properly."
The Gas Station- The story behind a picture

“I wanted the picture to interact with the viewer, to encourage the viewer to explore”
Waiting for the right light

"Planning for the light means selecting the time of year and the time of day"
Tutorials and Reviews Index

Buzzed

The watercolor look of the Segmentis Fo2PiX buzz plug-in is striking, and not over the top like some other plug-ins. Other painterly effects filters blur the image or distort it in some fashion. The Segmentis buzz Simplifier simply removes detail.

The small images shown here don’t do justice to the details of the Segmentis Fo2PiX buzz results. The larger the print size, the more the small nuances are revealed.

The watercolor effect as previously mentioned is achieved with a moderate amount of simplifying. Our prints prepared this way always draw attention. Viewers ask if it is a painting, and their typical reaction is to gently draw their fingers across the surface to see if they can feel the paint. The watercolor look and feel is enhanced as our prints are printed on ink jet watercolor paper.

With a higher amount of simplifying a photo can be transformed into what looks like clip-art. On the other hand a very small amount of simplifying yields a very subtle but nice effect. The photo when viewed from a distance, such as hung on a wall viewed from a seated position, actually appears sharper and of better focus. This visual trickery works best on images with many small details.

Although buzz can produce some striking results by itself as shown here, we typically use buzz as a single step of a complete workflow. Workflows include: buzz then cloning in Corel Painter, buzz then applying Photoshop’s Dry Brush filter, and combining buzz with nik multimedia’s Midnight filter.

What’s not to like? The only negative we have found is that this is a memory and processor intensive plug-in. Our film scanner produces a 5,000 X 3,500 pixel image. Buzz cannot process a file this large on our computer. We get an out of memory error. Our computer has 2.0 gigs of ram, a 3.0 gigahertz P4 on Win XP Pro. Reducing the file size down to 3,000 X 2,000 usually results in success. On occasion we will need to flatten the image, save, close, and reopen Photoshop. However on the typical image sizes of digital cameras buzz performs without issue.

There are more creative possibilities than we have shown here. The Simplifier, the version we own, is the most basic of the Fo2pix offerings. For more info visit the Segmentis Fo2PiX web site at the address below. The Segmentis Fo2PiX buzz plug-in is easy to use, produces striking results, and is just plain fun to use.

A trial version can be downloaded at segmentis.com.