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Extensis Intellihance Pro 4.0

www.extensis.com

Maureen Shannon, NJPCUG

One of the most popular activities we do with our computers these days is edit digital images. Professional photographers, home u

If you edit photos with the native tools in software, it can take forever to painstakingly adjust the settings to just the perfect point. Each tool opens in a separate window and we can’t see what we just did with the other tool. It’s a constant back and forth effort between tools trying to reach the perfect adjustment and compare it to what we have already done. Auto-adjustments are a help but not always perfect and still may need some degree of tweaking.

 Extensis has created an application that is easy to use and yet enables the user to get professional quality results that are extremely accurate. Editing, manipulating, and other adjustments are available in either a one-click method or by making manual adjustments to

Intellihance Pro is a plug-in for Photoshop or Corel Photo Paint. I am using it with Photoshop as the host application. It looks for the Photoshop executable so it will not plug into other applications other than the two it is designed to work with.

In the past few months, I have done more photo editing than ever before. Having tools to make this job easier has become a priority. As my need to edit images increases, I need to be able to do it quickly, efficiently, and get the best results possible. I have two applications that I really enjoy working with and each of them approaches the method of adjusting the photos differently making them complimentary to each other. Intellihance Pro 4.0 is one of the two that I work with and recommend after having it used it for a while and seeing what it can do. Since this an area in which I am no expert and fiddling with the standard application tools has confused me more at times than helped, I have been very impressed with the results I have been able to get using Intellihance Pro on my digital images. I used it on some of the same images I worked with in another application and the results were excellent. Their side-by-side or multiple comparison views offer an excellent way to view and evaluate the enhancements being applied.  

            (The following bulleted information is quoted from the guide for accuracy)

            Key additions to Extensis Intellihance Pro 4.0

Feature Highlights

The image on the left is a screen shot of Photoshop 6 open with an image to be edited and the Extensis Intellihance menu open. From here there are two choices that can be made….either to select an enhancement from the menu and apply it without opening a dialog window or to open the Intellihance Pro interface and use the Intelligent enhancement settings (automatically make adjustments), the Fine Tune settings for manual adjustments (manually adjust all the settings), or the PowerVariations (this setting shows a percentage of the difference of a single setting attribute, has several different modes, and can view up to 25 steps, supports zooming and panning). You can apply and experiment with any of these adjustments to find the perfect setting and even save a setting as a preset for future use.

(5X5 view) Presets available in Intellihance Pro are designed for specific types of images or problems. Examples are the Digital Camera settings (sharpen turned off because digital cameras have a tendency to adequate sharpness), Drum Scanner, Flatbed Scanner, Photo CD, Bright Enhance, Clean Up, Dark Image Enhance, Darken, Deep Enhance, Despeckle, Edge Enhance, Dust Reduction, and more. Each setting is tailored to the specific effect. You can also use the Fine Tune and PowerVariations to further enhance or color correct the image. Functions (such as switching pane layouts) can also be applied in many instances by using keyboard shortcuts. Applying these settings using the multiple-view options as shown in the example, gives you an immediate choice of which adjustment to select or begin further editing from. Each pane in this example has a different Preset adjustment.

(2X4 view in Fine Tune Mode) The multiple window views are a
 much appreciated feature. Using this method, either a single image can be spread out over multiple window views with various settings or the image can be viewed in its entirety in multiple window settings and as shown here it can be split to show effects on the right half of the image while the left side remains in the original state. Views can be as small as a single image, or 1X1, to as high as 5X5 (25 images in separate setting views). These settings are found on the Intellihance Pro interface in the Layout menu. Multiple views offers the advantage of seeing the settings quickly without having to apply each preset to see which setting works best and saves time in selecting a setting. It also allows you to compare the various settings and see if further adjustments are needed by fine tuning the image in manual mode. A 1X1 and a 5X5 view are also show in this review.

The 2X1 setting, seen on the left, is an example of a single image split into two so that enhancements can be made on the right side and the left side remains in the images original state. Using this view, it is very easy to make fine tuning adjustments and view the immediate effects while comparing each adjustment to the original. It is also handy when applying presets and determining which one is best suited to the specific problems found in the image. Intellihance Pro can also zoom in and out of these settings offering even more viewing opportunities while the image is being worked on.

This example is shows the three adjustment mode settings. The first if the Intelligent Adjustments, in the center is the Fine Tune mode, and the last is the PowerVariation mode. Each of these modes has a drop down menu with other selections that can be applied for complete control of the enhancement being applied to the image. The Histogram settings are available in each mode (the graph at the bottom of the settings – adjusts the master settings, RGB, and Saturation).                      

Paper & Ink settings adjust the Dot Gain and Limits and changes Total Ink Limit on CMYK or Grayscale images. This intelligent adjustment reflects the printing industry standards for the following types of paper : Coated Commercial 150 LPI, Uncoated Commercial 133 LPI, Uncoated Commercial 133 LPI, Coated SWOP 133 LPI, Uncoated SWOP 120 LPI, Uncoated SWOP Newspaper, and Proof.

The “Image Grid Output” is useful to print designers because they can print out the grid and see how it will actually print rather than try to rely on monitor settings which can only approximate the calibration settings between the devices. Any comparison view in Presets or PowerVariations can be printed out so that you can compare how each of the panes will look when printed and then you can make any necessary adjustments.

I found this product to have a very user friendly interface making it easy to make manual adjustments or test the wide variety of presets in order to see which one is the best. All of the image attributes are editable in the various mode settings and the view options are outstanding. I obtained very good results using Intellihance Pro 4.0 on the images I selected to color enhance.  I added two stock photos below as examples and more will be in the web site review. In the first image that has adjustments to the right half of it, I used the Fine Tune Mode. In the second photo, I applied the Quick Enhance setting to it. Professional users and hobbyists will both benefit from using this product to edit their images and will have excellent results with little difficulty learning to use it.

System Requirements: Windows – Adobe Photoshop 4.0 & up, or Corel Photo Paint 8.0, Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, Pentium processor, 32 MB RAM. My System: I am using Photoshop 6.0 as the host application, Windows XP Professional as the OS, with a Pentium III 866 MHz, and 512 MB RAM.

For more information on this and other Extensis products, visit their web site at www.extensis.com.

Interface Views & Tool Settings 

Larger examples of the Photos used in the review along with 
extra screen shots of the interface settings. I hope this will provide you a better overview of the enhancement options and how many adjustment variations are available.

Stock Image opened in Adobe Photoshop 6 with view of the Extensis Intllihance Pro 4.0 menu open

This example is the image opened in the Intellihance interface 
with a 2X1 view - the image is split in half and the adjustments are made on the right side and can be compared to the original on the 
left - manual enhancements added to the Heavy Cast Removal Preset - sized to "Actual Pixels"
(The 2X1 & other settings are found under the Layout Option)

Image opened in a 5X5 view with each pane showing a different 
preset setting & the original image in the upper left corner - 
sized to "fit"

 
Another Stock photo shown in a side-by-side layout, using one 
of the Preset options - sized to "fit". 

Same image using the Fine Tune Mode and a 4X2 Layout - 
Size = Actual Pixels

4X4 image view - size = repeating image - Presets

PowerVariations Mode - Changes are made in percentages - 
4X2 Layout - Sized to Fit

 Intelligent Setting 

 Manual Mode - PowerVariations Mode - tool settings only

Histogram view - and Histogram Menu Choices

This is a photo taken at my sister's wedding with 35mm camera. 
The peach color is washed out on the tux accents. Using the 
deep enhance preset and switching to Manual Mode, I brightened up the color a little. This is a more subtle adjustment - not all enhancements that are needed are dramatic.

Final Selection 

View of the Paper & Ink Setting - this option is available 
only when CMYK and Grayscale are used

Image Grid

Click Here for Photo Comparisons