Optipix image-optimizing software is the brainchild of Chris Russ of Reindeer Graphics (www.reindeergraphics.com), John Russ of North Carolina State University, and myself. It all started with an intensive struggle on my part 5 years ago to find a way to handle extreme contrast with digital cameras and scanners. I was basically looking for a way to make a Zone System for digital photography. I finally discovered a manual routine in Photoshop® that takes two images either from a digital camera or scanner, one overexposed for the shadows and one underexposed for the highlights, and combines them together to make one image with a greater dynamic range than you can get from one image. This manual routine is now included as part of Expert Tips and Tricks in Photoshop CS. Optipix 3 does the same thing except it does it much faster. Much faster.

Optipix 3 is really a volume of plug-ins for Photoshop that includes Dynamic Range Optimization (getting the best possible quality). It also includes Refocus and Detail Sharpener that help to optimize detail in an image. The Safe Sharpen plug-in allows a one-step safe sharpen because it doesn't affect the colors of the image like some other sharpening routines. Optipix’s Auto Contrast optimizes the overall contrast of both black-and-white and color images like no other single-step contrast routine and is especially useful for underexposed and low-key images. New, also, to Optipix 3 is the Interactive Interpolation and JPEG Cleaner. Other plug-ins include Edge Enhancer, Blend Exposures, and a sub-pixel Nudge tool for aligning images.

Optipix 3 is not just an action or an Automate application. It is an application that has been designed from the ground up and coded by two computer scientists (Chris and his chief engineer Brent), using the very latest in digital imaging science developed by NASA and others. Chris’ major software package, Fovea Pro 3, quantitative image analysis software, is renowned in the scientific and medical communities.

My contribution to this project has always been to advise Chris on what photographers need to accomplish with sometimes difficult, image-processing problems.

Optipix Pro is the new advanced version of Optipix that will be ready soon. It has a whole new interface and will have a total 32 bit workflow in Photoshop.