The ColorPerfect Help System
This page is intended for those who would like to see what ColorPerfect is like without having to install it on their systems. ColorPerfect has no manual because it has a complete Help system built in, so this page uses the text from that Help system. In the upper right corner of the ColorPerfect dialog box is the Help button. Press it at any time while running ColorPerfect and a Help message area will appear so that you can click the item or activate the pull-down for which you want help. Here we will just browse through the controls. The illustrations show the PC version, but the Mac controls are positioned exactly the same way.
Initial
The initial Help screen has suggestions for getting started with ColorPerfect. We have installed links so that you can follow those instructions here if you want to.
Getting Started Help: ColorPerfect works differently than other color systems. First see Help for the List Menu under Start, (upper right). Next, for the Black number box by the scrollbar, and then for the boxes under that to get the basic idea. Next, either try Help for CC to explore color control or explore Zones and Curves by getting Help for the Curves button and following its instructions to explore Zones. Then review Help for mouse clicks to see how those fit in.
Points of Interest
Start Box
Basic Controls
CC Controls
Ring Around
FilmType Control
Dialog Top Controls
Film List Controls
Mouse Click Actions
Main Panel
Zones Controls
Turn Off Controls
CC Master Panel
Options
Return to C F Systems Plug-Ins Page
C F Systems Home Page
Start Box Controls
or 
StartBox
The Start box appears only briefly when ColorPerfect starts so that you can define what ColorPerfect is to expect.
Choose Color Negative or Positive
Choose ColorNeg for film negatives. Choose ColorPos for first-time work on positive scans or images from digital cameras which may need to have calibration and initial adjustments applied. Choose Touch Up for images which need no initial automatic adjustment, as when further tweaking is needed on images that have already been through ColorPerfect.. Negatives should ALWAYS be scanned or imaged as linear 16-bits/channel (the ColorNeg default) unless that is absolutely impossible. (See Help for the G/L button if you can't do this.) All scans of either positive or negative material should be made with ALL image "enhancements" turned off or disabled and should be scanned in positive image mode (that is, scans of negatives will look like negatives). You should NEVER "convert" to a specialized scanner profile (or any other color profile) as that will inevitably produce inferior results - sometimes spectacularly inferior. ColorPerfect will operate on 8-Bit/Channel images but results for negatives will be very inferior. Monochrome (single channel) images can be worked and will produce monochrome results although color adjustments are still active so you can see what you might gain by using RGB mode. Return to Getting Started
GammaC
The GammaC List Menu is used to choose the Gamma-encoding or other encoding curve under which the image is stored. This depends on the RGB working space used for the image in Photoshop. If you do not know what this means, it is best (and normally correct) to leave this set at 2.2 as this is the default encoding for many working spaces including Adobe RGB 1998 (the Adobe standard actually calls for 2+51/256 rather than 2.2 so we also have this for purists). We have included L* encoding for profiles such as eci RGB 2.0, sRGB encoding for sRGB, and other values of GammaC such as the 1.8 used by Apple RGB, Colormatch RGB and eci RGB 1.0. It is vital that you NEVER convert into any profile prior to using ColorPerfect. If you wish, ASSIGN the profile of your preference. Unless Linear input is selected it is assumed that the GammaC used to read in the image will be the same as the GammaC for the resulting image. See Help for the Option "Gamma C In/Out" if you want these to be different.
GammaC In
When the "GammaC In/Out" Option is selected, this list menu is displayed just to the left of the regular GammaC list menu. The selection in the list menu to the right remains the Gamma C for saving the image while this (left) list menu specifies the Gamma C to be used in reading the image. For example, some digital cameras insist on producing image files saved as sRGB, where you wish to operate using Adobe RGB 1998. You can set the left (input) Gamma C as sRGB and the right (output) Gamma C as 2.2. Assign (do not Convert) the Adobe RGB 1998 profile to the image either before or after using ColorPerfect. When you have selected the GammaC In/Out option the G/L button will disappear. Note that setting the input Gamma C to Linear is the equivalent of setting the G/L button to L when the GammaC In/Out option is not being used.
GL
The G/L button tells ColorPerfect what to expect as the input image gamma. For positive images (ColorPos and Touch Up Modes) the default is G, (that is, with "G" showing) and it is assumed that the input image uses the same storage GammaC as shown in the GammaC pulldown/pop-up. It you do not understand what this means, G is the best (and normally correct) setting for positives. If you are doing linear scans or linear RAW conversions to produce the input image, this button should be pushed to show "L". For negative images (ColorNeg Mode) the default setting is "L" because color negatives should ALWAYS be scanned as linear 16-bit/channel if at all possible. If you can't do this, the default G/L setting for ColorNeg can be changed to "G" using Options - G/L Defaults G. The default can be set differently for ColorPos, ColorNeg, and Touch Up. The default is G for all 8-Bit/Channel images including ColorNeg Mode, but Options - G/L Defaults G:8 allows changing this. If the GammaC In/Out option has been selected, this button disappears.
Recall
This button allows switching among three possibilities for initial settings, based on how much is remembered from the previous image. When ColorPerfect is started, the Initial settings will be as you have specified under Options - Remember. Press the "Initial>Previous" button to change to the exact settings of the previous image, rarely a good idea, but very helpful when needed. The "Previous>Clear" button goes to the next stage, removing all image-specific settings and finally the "Clear>Initial" button completes the cycle, returning to the initial settings as specified. The settings are not meaningful applied across modes, so "previous" refers to the previous time the particular Mode (ColorNeg, ColorPos, or Touch Up) was used.
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Basic Controls
[+]
This button switches the associated box between the Basic Adjustment panel and the Zone Control panel with the grayscale. The scrollbar List Menu also will select between these two views. To get help on the other panel press Close Message, press this + button, and then press Help again.
Scroll Control
The scroll control List Menu has a complete list of the parameters that can be manipulated using the scrollbar. Selecting an item will switch the scrollbar to that item and, if necessary, switch to the panel where that control is located.
Scroll Bar
The scrollbar can be used to adjust any one of a list of image parameters. Click one of the edit boxes to the right of the scrollbar to select a parameter to scroll or use the list expander just above the scrollbar. Adjustments can be made by sliding the thumb button. Finer adjustments can be made by clicking on the scrollbar above or below the thumb button and finer yet by clicking the up or down scrollbar arrows. Keyboard up-arrow and down-arrow give the same adjustment as the scrollbar arrows and the page up and page down key work like clicking on the scrollbar.
Basic Image Controls
These boxes to the right of the scrollbar are the basic image controls. Use the scrollbar or enter values in the boxes to change these settings. See Options if the scrollbar runs backwards to your preference.
Black
Adding or removing black is the most basic image control. Black should always be adjusted first. In other systems a similar adjustment may be called "lightness" or "exposure". The amount of black added or removed is given in photographic "f-stops" or Exposure Values so that each adjustment by -1 removes 1 stop of black and is twice as bright and each adjustment by +1 adds one stop of black and is half as bright. For entry into ColorPos Mode do RAW conversions so that the image is much darker than desired and use the black control to lighten them. Alternatively use ColorPerfect directly on properly prepared linear sensor data. That way the Highlight control can preserve highlight detail that would otherwise be lost (clipped). See help for Highlight Stops. The basic color corrections for an image are also related to the black correction, see the CC (color correction) control. Return to Getting Started
White
Adding or removing white is the second most basic image adjustment, so it is amazing that other than with ColorPerfect it is very complicated - often impossible - to correctly add or remove white. Adding white is NOT the same as removing black. It is often helpful to think of adding and removing white in terms of adding and removing fog. Removing white can substantially increase image contrast by deepening the shadows. For this reason, the Shadow tails correction is tied to the White control. See help for Shadow: Degree. Adding white effectively adds fog to an image and because real fog is often not pure white, there is a CC White control to adjust the actual shade of added white. See the CC (color correction) control. In cases where B Point needs adjustment, do that before adjusting White. Return to Getting Started
BP
B Point stands for "blackpoint", the most common name for this correction. It is a setting most often best left at its automatically calculated starting value as that is usually better than any manual adjustment. Unlike so many other blackpoint corrections, this one is done correctly. B Point is closely related to removing white, but not identical. It is most often used to compensate for imperfections in light sensing devices or materials. Both the ColorPos and ColorNeg Modes calculate an initial B Point. This automatic calculation is redone any time the image calibration is changed; due to a different film selection or when a FilmType adjustment is made. In the rare case needing manual adjustment this must be done AFTER such selections have been firmed up. Sometimes it might be desirable to adjust differently for R, G, and B, so a BP Color control is provided for B Point. Use it after the primary B Point adjustment to adjust the individual BP Color values similarly. See the CC (color correction) control. Note that the Shadow tails adjustment for White is NOT applied to B Point which is intended to define pure black in the image.
Saturation
The saturation adjustment increases or decreases the intensity of color in the image without changing the color itself and without changing perceptive brightness. This may be the first saturation adjustment to have a sound basis in physics and physiology and we believe the difference in purity of color will be obvious to most people. In addition, on a pixel-by-pixel basis the saturation is stopped when it can no longer be increased without changing the color of the pixel. Oversaturating pixels is impossible. See Fix Saturation under Options concerning a secondary effect of this feature.
For a unique ColorPerfect technique, take saturation down to 0, pure B&W, work the B&W image to perfection using zones and other tools and then bring back the color using saturation. Use the Moderate tool if you have overdone the zones. Return to Getting Started
Gamma
This adjustment applies a common gamma curve to the underlying tones. This is basically the same curve as used for the middle gray slider in Photoshop's Levels except that it is not simply applied on a per channel basis but preserves color integrity rather than ruining it. When you select and use gamma, it will add a third set of grays to the grayscale by the zone boxes to show its effect in addition to any zone effect. The gamma adjustment is made prior to the zone adjustment.
When using FilmType adjustments, pressing the FilmType button so that it shows SubType will also change "Gamma" to "Film Gamma." A Film Gamma can be applied to a FilmType adjustment to scale all of the FilmType gammas higher or lower, considerably expanding the useful range of FilmType. Film Gamma and Gamma are completely independent adjustments. Film Gamma is intended only for fine tuning film calibrations, while Gamma is intended to adjust the tonal scale in an already calibrated image.
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CC
CC stands for Color Compensation. Also see Help for R, G, and B for more details.
The CC List Menu has four selections: CC, CC White, BP Color, and Tonal. CC is the basic Color Correction for the image. For those familiar with photographic CC filters, this adjustment is equivalent. Using CC is the correct way to color balance a calibrated image. Gray clicking (press the Help button for Click help) is a fundamental way to color balance and the Ring Around is a powerful visual method. You can also enter or scroll R, G, B values and you can key in an entire filter pack in R, G, or B by using a special form like /10R5B or /10r5G or /5b (for a tutorial click the "R" box). The subtractive primaries C, M, and Y also can be used for keyed-in filter packs.
The same CC principles are used for the CC White and BP Color adjustments although BP Color behaves a little differently. See help for White and for B Point for further details. Tonal is a completely different tool, see help for "B" (as in RGB). Return to Getting Started
CC Red
CC Filter Tutorial: A physically real 10R CC filter is of a light red color, passing (nearly) 100% of red light while passing only about 80% of green light and 80% of blue light. The 10 in "10R" comes from multiplying the filter "density" to blue and green (0.10) by 100. CC filter densities of the same color are additive, so that two sandwiched 10R filters are equivalent to 20R. In traditional color photography color adjustments use combinations of RGB CC filters, for example 10R 5B, called "filter packs." A filter pack of equal density in all three primary colors appears gray. For example 10R 10G 10B, appears gray and has a "neutral density" of 0.1. Since neutral density is equivalent to an addition of Black, by convention such combinations are subtracted out before reporting CC filter packs. Thus a filter pack 10R 15G 5B would have 5R 5G 5B subtracted from it and be reported simply as 5R 10G. In this way, filter packs should not contain CC filters of more than two of the three primary (RGB) colors. The filter pack tells what is happening to the color balance of an image independent of overall lightness. Return to Getting Started
CC Green
The human eye adapts to the prevailing color of the illumination in a real scene, usually giving the impression that the light is white, or nearly so. CC corrections and Color Balance are intended to make this same color adjustment. To work best, the image should be calibrated prior to color balancing. Dark, properly done RAW conversions and properly prepared linear sensor data are sufficiently calibrated, and the ColorPos and ColorNeg Modes provide film lists, calibration (film) file input, and the FilmType tool, all designed to help calibrating other image sources. For digital cameras we recommend turning off all color "enhancements". To use Photoshop's Camera RAW in 16-bits/channel mode, set white balance to Flash and set all other settings to zero except Exposure, which should be set to produce a quite dark image. Also deactivate any curve applied by Camera RAW. For precision work, our original ColorPos and ColorNeg plug-ins provide means for calibrating films and digital image sources. Return to Getting Started
CC Blue
The Tonal option from the CC List Menu is a tool unique to ColorPerfect. It's the first of a planned series of tools that take advantage of the independence of color from image lightness/darkness (Black) which is part of Complete Color Integrity. This tool starts with the RGB values that are the standard percentages of influence each of the three colors has on image lightness/darkness, G being the greatest and B being the least. If you scroll up the R value, the reds in the image will appear lighter and the blues and greens darker. G and B scrolling work similarly, with the three percentages tracking to always add to 100. This simple tool can produce amazing results in an image, and without changing the colors; only the lightness/darkness. To return to the initial neutral default settings, press the ClearCC button or enter -1 into the R box. Return to Getting Started
CC Buttons
In ColorPerfect, CC (color correction) measurements are kept in the three different bins described below, which are added together to get the total CC. In both ColorPos and ColorNeg Modes an initial CC calculation is made as part of the calibration/characterization of the film or digital source. This basic CC is kept in the Calibration Bin. It is generally not visible and will change if the characterization changes, as when selecting a different film or using FilmType. The Active Bin When you work with the CC controls, the CC values shown in the RGB boxes are kept in the Active Bin. Between these is a Reserve Bin intended to accumulate CC values moved into it from either of the other bins. The Touch Up mode does no characterization calculation and so does not have a Calibration Bin.
CCRef
CC measurements are always relative to a reference condition. Pressing this button will move the CC values from the Active Bin to the Reserve Bin and set the Active Bin and display boxes back to zero. The total CC - and image color - remain unchanged. This new zero reference enables you to always have a reasonable scrolling range of CCs. This works the same in all three modes, ColorPos, ColorNeg, and Touch Up and with either Black or White CCs.
ClearCC
ClearCC clears CC values to zero. The outermost Active Bin and the Reserve Bin are cleared to zero CC. For ColorPos Mode the Calibration Bin is also cleared to zero, so that the colors will remain the same as in the original image or rather as altered by the applied characterization and any resulting black level changes. In ColorNeg Mode it never makes sense to zero the Calibration Bin, so this is not done.
ShowCC
Pressing the ShowCC button will display the sum of ALL three bins in the CC boxes for each of the three colors. Releasing the button (PC) or clicking something else (Mac) will restore the boxes to their former values. This works the same in all three modes, ColorPos, ColorNeg, and Touch Up and with either Black or White CCs. (But there is no Calibration Bin for White CCs or for Touch Up.)
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Ring Around
Ring
"Ring Around" is one of the most useful tools for getting good color balance. A ring of nine images is produced with the current image settings shown in the middle. At the upper left are versions shifted to red, green, and blue as marked by small colored squares. At the lower right the complimentary colors cyan, magenta, and yellow are each positioned directly across the center from their compliments. The upper right is lighter and the lower left, darker. The amount of shift is shown in the Ring box in CC units (see CC control). Click a surrounding version with color that looks as good as or better than the center version and the image settings (and the entire ring) will be adjusted 1/2 way to that version. Fine tune by adjusting the Ring setting down and reiterating.
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Basic Controls Continued
AutoColor
This scroll control will take you through a sequence of possible color balances for the image. These possibilities are secondarily derived from the nature of the scene and the scene lighting. For a calibrated image, a good color balance is very often achieved at some point in the scrolling range, but in unusual cases this automatic approach may not work well. Note that the Ring around is another tool for color balancing. Also be aware that an image first has to be in calibration before it can be properly color balanced.
FilmType
FilmType is a calibration tool. For best results, images MUST be in reasonable calibration before other adjustments are made. Dark, properly done RAW conversions and properly prepared linear sensor data both are sufficiently calibrated, and the ColorPos and ColorNeg Modes provide calibration film lists, calibration (film) file input, and this FilmType tool, all designed to help initially getting the image into calibration. For images with unknown film types, or problem image files which appear to have been mishandled, FilmType scrolling was invented by C F Systems to optimize human eye judgments for approximately calibrating digital images. First, click an area in the image that should be close to a middle-gray, using a shift-click if necessary to force it to gray. Then start scrolling FilmType, gradually exploring the entire range of the scrollbar. Find a "sweet spot" where the image begins to look "right" in darker areas and especially in the highlights. At the sweet spot, click the FilmType button and scroll in SubType mode, which makes the overall color effect weaker or stronger. Again, stop where it looks best and then try FilmType again in a small region around the setting you chose before. Alternate between Film-and Sub-Type until the image looks most natural. See Help for the FilmType button for more.
FilmType Button
(Read FilmType box Help first.) Once you have found the best FilmType number, you can use it for just this image or you can see if it will work well with other images from the same source. The FilmType number is Film.Sub where each is three digits. This can be recorded and later keyed in directly to try for another image, as a starting point for FilmType scrolling. If results for several images from a similar source yield similar FilmType numbers, you have a reasonable calibration for that image source. You can save this calibration in a User film file (*.negpos for ColorNeg or *.colorint for ColorPos) by typing a name into the Film List box and using Add/Chg to record and Save to save to the film file. Note that as you use the FilmType tool, a set of RGB gammas is listed in a box at the lower right. These gammas are the calibration that is sent to the film file. Pressing this button also changes the "Gamma" control to "Film Gamma." Adjusting Film Gamma will expand or compress the dynamic range so that you can better tune the calibration. Film Gamma is applied to the FilmType gammas in the display box and when saving the calibration as a new film.
Moderate
"Moderate" as the verb; to make less extreme. In editing the zone curve most people tend to overdo it, especially on the first try. The Moderate control will decrease (or increase) the deviations from normal proportionally for all zones. Each time Moderate is selected, it starts with a value of 1.0, meaning no change. Values below 1.0 will decrease the amount of the zone adjustments and values above 1.0 will increase the adjustments. If you complete your Moderate adjustment and go on to other things and then come back to Moderate again, it will restart at 1.0, which means no change from the current state. Adjustments of Moderate can be alternated with editing the + marks for the zone curve, a very powerful combination for adjusting the light/dark relationships in an image.
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Controls at Top of Dialog
Undo
The Undo controls allow you to go back and forth through previous settings you have made. Understand that exactly what should constitute such a previous setting is a matter of personal preference, especially with regard to scrollbar settings, and your preference will never exactly match ColorPerfect's. There are a maximum of about 50 previous settings saved. Unless you specify otherwise (see Options) the Zoom state is not preserved, so you will retain the current Zoom as you go backward and forward. Also note that you can change the Zoom setting as you go backward and forward.
Revert <<
This button will restart Color Perfect. This is the only way to bring back the initial Start panel once it disappears. The Start panel allows choosing between ColorPos, ColorNeg, and Touch Up Modes, specifying linear or gamma-encoded input defining Gamma C.
Ahead >
This button will advance one setting. This only works if the previous step was to go back (undo) and repeated clicks will of course only take you through settings that you had gone back through immediately before this.
Back <
This button will go back one setting each time it is pressed.
Save List
The Save List allows you to save specific stages (states) during your ColorPerfect image editing session and can also be used for comparing adjustments. The function is similar to Undo, but the saved states can be restored at any time during the session. The Save List starts at A. Press the <+> button when you want to save the current state of your edit. That state is then stored under A and the list will advance to B. You can save editing states in this manner any time you wish, up through the letter K. To restore a saved state, select it from the list. Note that when you press the <+> button, the current state will be saved under whatever letter the list shows, so if sometime after you restore a state you want to save a state again, you likely will want to select the last letter on the list first so you do not replace an already saved state. If that last letter is not K you can be sure that it's unused. When holding down the Shift key while selecting a letter from the list, the selected state will NOT be restored. This allows you to easily replace states on the list.
Zoom
The Zoom List Menu will select from a list of several possible preview image magnifications. 100% zoom shows actual pixels and the lowest percentage shown will put the full image into the preview. Control-Clicking (or right-clicking on the PC) a point in the preview will cause that point to be used to center zoomed previews. The zoom level and the center point can be changed at any time. By default, the zoom state is NOT saved as part of the Undo or Save List processes. See help for SaveZoom (under Options) if you prefer it otherwise.
Tails
The Highlights and Shadows boxes control the level of detail seen in the brightest and darkest areas of the image. To do this, the tonal scale is compressed according to these settings. The boxes showing numbers track the percentage of actual highlight and tails clipping, but be aware that clipping is not necessarily bad nor is it always easily visible. Rely on your eyes for best judgment of image quality.
High Stops
This selects the number of photographic f-stops to preserve above the brightness that would be clipped without this correction. ColorNeg Mode handles color negatives properly for this, but intentionally adjust exposure to considerably darken your RAW conversions or use ColorPerfect directly on properly prepared linear sensor data to make this work best in ColorPos Mode. Experiment with the settings for RAW conversions, but 1.0 to 2.0 in High Stops often works well. Note that image values yet brighter than High Stops will (and should!) clip.
High Range
This controls how far down into the bright areas the highlight compression should extend, on a standard pixel basis. For example "235" means that all pixels that have average brightnesses 235 and above will be involved in the compression.
Shadow Degree
This controls the degree of shadow compression and thus also how far up into the dark tones will be lightened. The measurement is relative. This control works in connection with negative White adjustments (which darken the shadows), but the control does not affect BPoint adjustments, which are typically made automatically.
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Film List Controls
ColorNeg Film List
ColorNeg User Film List
ColorPos Film List
Film List
In ColorNeg Mode, the Film List List Menu shows the film calibration choices available for the selected Maker. If the list does not show your exact film or you don't know your exact film, try a few that seem closest. For the "User" Maker and for ColorPos Mode, where there is no Maker list, the film list is drawn from the current *.negpos file (ColorNeg Mode) or *.colorint file (ColorPos Mode). In this User mode, the name showing can be edited to Add a new film to the list, and films can be deleted from the list as well. These lists need to be saved to file before you exit ColorPerfect or you will loose any changes made therein. ColorPos always has a "Normal" film listed and ColorNeg always has a USER film "B&W Start." These special films cannot be altered or deleted and have the R, G, and B gammas all set to 1.0 to serve as reference points.
Maker
In ColorNeg Mode there is a list of Makers - manufacturers of color negative film,. Selecting one will update the Film List so that it shows all built-in films made by that manufacturer. In addition to actual manufacturers, the Maker list includes Legacy, a very approximate way of trying possible film types (we recommend using the FilmType scroll for this), My Films, a list of manufacturer's films you personally use (see Help for the My Films button) and User. In User mode (which is the only mode for ColorPos) you can develop and handle your own list of film or digital camera calibrations.
Clear Film
This button will clear the entry in the FilmType box (to its left) and will also clear any calibration back to complete neutral. That is, except for a possible Black correction, the image appearance will be as entered and the film gammas will be set to 1.0; a clean slate. Clear Film appears only in ColorPos Mode.
Add - Change
In ColorPos Mode or in ColorNeg's User Mode, you can edit the name in the Film List List Menu. Add/Chg will add a new calibration under this name to the list so it can be accessed in the future. The only way to produce new calibrations in ColorPerfect is with FilmType Scrolling, (see Help for the FilmType box), so if you have produced a FilmType calibration that you think will be useful, enter a new name for it in the Film List box and press Add/Chg. This action will only save the new name for the current session. To save it permanently, use the Save button to put it on file with the rest of the current Film List. When FilmType is activated, it puts "FilmType in use" in the Film List box. Edit that into the film name you want and use Add/Change to record your new film. Don't forget to Save if you want to keep the new film for future use.
Delete Film
In ColorPos Mode or in ColorNeg's User Mode, you can delete the currently selected entry in the Film List List Menu. Pressing Delete will remove the entry just for the current session unless you also use the Save button to save the current Film List to file.
Save Film File
Pressing this button will save the current film list to a file. On the PC (Mac does this differently) a file save dialog box will come up and allow you to replace the currently selected film file or to select another one or to enter a new file name. The saved file will then become the currently selected film file and if you exit ColorPerfect by pressing OK, it will become the default film file for the next session. Different files and different default files are used for ColorNeg Mode (*.negpos) and ColorPos Mode (*.colorint). Touch Up Mode has no associated film file.
Load Film File
Pressing this button will load the film list from a file, replacing any current film list. On the PC (Mac does this differently) a file open dialog box will come up and allow you to select a file name for the save. The loaded file will then become the currently selected film file and if you exit ColorPerfect by pressing OK, it will become the default film file for the next session. Different files and different default files are used for ColorNeg Mode (*.negpos) and ColorPos Mode (*.colorint). Touch Up Mode has no associated film file.
My Films
The MyFilms button lets you build and maintain a list of manufacturer's films which you use most often, for easier access. The +MyFilms button appears when the Maker list is set to a manufacturer (that is, not to User or My Films). Pressing the button will add the currently selected film to your MyFilms list. When the Maker list is set to MyFilms, your selected films will appear in the Film List and the button will change to -MyFilms. Pressing the -MyFilms button will remove the currently selected film from your MyFilms list. User films cannot be placed on the MyFilms list and the MyFilms list is not affected by the Save or Load buttons.
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Selection and Mouse Click Reporting
UseSelection
Set up a selection on the image in Photoshop before calling ColorPerfect and you can make completely different edits to the portion of the image inside and outside of the selection. Checking Use Selection puts you into this dual mode; select In(side) or Out(side). Any editing prior to checking Use Selection applies to the entire image. To illustrate, one common use of this feature is the treatment of scenes with a bright sky and darker foreground. Select the bright sky area. An easy start is to first adjust the image so the highs are completely blown, use Select - Color Range to get just the sky, save the selection in another image, revert to the original image and load the selection just saved. Clean up the selection if necessary and Select - Feather just a few pixels. Then ColorPerfect edit the image based on the foreground and Use Selection to pull down the too bright sky. Practice will perfect this technique and lead on to other uses.
Click
The Click Mode box (lower right) shows which click mode is in effect for clicking into the preview and the two boxes above that show the original RGB values of the clicked point and its RGB values after the click takes effect.
Click Mode shows the current way in which clicking the preview image will be interpreted.
Gray - Click an image area that should be gray (neutral) and CC (color correction) will adjust.
Zone - While a zone is active click will make an area take on that zone value if possible.
Curve - While curve is showing, click a +, hold, drag up or down and let go to edit the curve.
Ring - While ring around is showing, click any surrounding box to adjust 1/2 way to it.
Control-Click - Will re-center the preview at the clicked point for the present and future zooms.
Shift-Click - During either Zone or Curve will adjust Black (all zones), and during Gray will force adjust CC so that clicked area is gray even if change is extreme.
Alt-Click (Option-Click) - During either Gray or Zone will display values without making adjustment and during Curve will add or remove a + point.
Before
Before lists a zone value followed by R, G, and B values. The zone value is the value of the last point clicked prior to any editing changes resulting from that click. The R, G, and B values are the RGB values of the point in the original calibrated image, that is, after the first CC "bin" corrections. This box is updated for Gray and Zone mode clicks only. For FilmType scrolling, this box may first show an instruction to gray click before FilmType scrolling and then during scrolling, it will show the "Gammas" involved in the FilmType calibration process.
After
After lists a zone value followed by R, G, and B values. The zone value and the RGB values are the values at the last point clicked after any editing changes resulting from that click or those that would have resulted from the click if the Alt (Mac:Option) key had not been pressed. This box is updated for Gray and Zone mode clicks only.
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Main Box Controls
[+]
This button switches between the Main Panel containing miscellaneous information and the Turn Off Panel, which allows toggling on and off various adjustments that have been applied to the image. To get help on the other panel, press Close Message, press this + button, and then press Help again. The Start panel that initially comes up in this space can only be brought back by reverting (<< button).
FilmFileName
This box shows the name of the currently active Film File, *.negpos for ColorNeg Mode or *.colorint for ColorPos Mode, On the Mac, when in file saving or file loading mode, the name in this box can be edited to specify the desired file name.
SmartClip
This only appears in ColorPos Mode. Positive images, particularly from digital cameras, often have one or more of the color channels clipped. This can result in tinted highlights - sometimes heavily tinted - particularly when highlight compression is used. When this happens, SmartClip will even out the clipping in the three colors (R, G, and B) so that the highlights are no longer tinted. If you do not see this highlight tinting effect in your images, it is best to leave SmartClip unchecked.
Options
There are options available to tune some actions or appearances of ColorPerfect to be more like you expect or prefer.
To get help on the options, press Close Message, press the Options button, and then press the Help Button again.
Curve
The Curves button places the zone curve across the preview image. (For zone help, click the "60" box by the scrollbar - if it doesn't show click Close Message and then click the + button by the scrollbar.) The zone curve runs from dark (0) at the left to light (100) at the right. Zone points are fixed at intervals of 10 (10, 20, 30,...) along the curve. Control zones show as + marks on the zone curve. They can be edited by clicking above or below a +, or by dragging it upward or downward and releasing the mouse. Control (locked) zones are held fixed except for the one being edited. All non-locked zones between the edited control zone and its adjacent control zones will follow its movements. Control zones can be turned on or off by Alt-clicking (Mac: Option-clicking) their position on the curve. Dragging a + while the Shift key is depressed will move the entire zone curve so that all tonal values will become lighter or darker; that is, the Black control will be adjusted to do this. See Moderate, as a companion to zone curve editing and see Options if you wish to reverse the direction of the editing functions. Return to Getting Started
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Zone Controls
Zones
ColorPerfect controls the light/dark tonal curve underlying the colors via a "zone" concept. The zone scale is based on visually uniform L* from 0 = black to 100 = white. (L* is the same L used in the Lab mode, but ColorPerfect does not use Lab.) Note that the Black control effectively moves the ENTIRE zone curve lighter or darker. The Grayscale next to the zone boxes shows each zone value on the right and the original image value that will be adjusted to that zone on the left.
ZoneValue
Entering a zone value into a zone box will adjust the tonal scale of the image while preserving natural color. Neither traditional RGB curves nor Lab curves do this correctly. For instance, with the 60 box active, entering 55 will lighten all image tones around 55 to around 60. Scrolling also works and clicking a point in the image will attempt to adjust all tones of that zonal value to 60. For more zone help, click the Curve Button or a zone select circle. Tabbing will enter the number, but the cursor will remain in the selected box.
ZoneLock
These zone selectors set the control points of the zone tonal curve. For example, if only zones 30, 60, and 80 are selected and zone 60 is adjusted the surrounding zones 40, 50, and 70 are smoothly adjusted as well, but the other selected zones remain locked so that 30 and below stay unchanged and 80 and above stay unchanged. For more zone help, click the Curve Button or a zone box.
Moderate
"Moderate" as the verb; to make less extreme. In editing the zone curve most people tend to overdo it, especially on the first try. The Moderate control will decrease (or increase) the deviations from normal proportionally for all zones. Each time Moderate is selected, it starts with a value of 1.0, meaning no change. Values below 1.0 will decrease the amount of the zone adjustments and values above 1.0 will increase the adjustments. If you complete your Moderate adjustment and go on to other things and then come back to Moderate again, it will restart at 1.0, which means no change from the current state. Adjustments of Moderate can be alternated with editing the + marks for the zone curve, a very powerful combination for adjusting the light/dark relationships in an image. Return to Getting Started
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Turn Off Controls
TurnOff
The Turn Off panel features switches used for quickly turning off and on various adjustments that have been applied in ColorPerfect. Note that the circle selectors near the scrollbar, next to Black, White, B Point, Saturation, and Gamma will switch those elements individually. All of these switches apply to both the preview AND the final image. The All switch will turn off all editing, and All But Black is provided to allow bringing in an intentionally dark image and lightening it (Black adjust) in ColorPerfect in order to preserve highlights. Zones turns off all zone curve adjustments and Tones turns off the Tonal adjustment found under the CC List Menu. Highlights and Shadows turn off the tails compression, and the CC switches turn off the three possible CC adjustments.
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CC Master Controls
CCMaster
The CC Master panel provides a means of applying commonly encountered CC (color compensation) settings from one image to other similar images. Images taken on the same film or with the same digital camera under similar lighting conditions usually require similar or even identical color compensation. Insert the settings determined for one such image and then Apply them to other similar images. Note that the CC Masters for ColorPos and ColorNeg are completely independent.
Carry Over
Checking this box will cause the currently selected setting in CC Master to be directly applied to the next image loaded into ColorPerfect.
Select
This List Menu has a list of ten possible names to be given to stored CC settings. A name can be selected for applying already stored CC data to a new image or to be used for storing the current CC settings for future use. To make a new name for storing current CC settings, any name can be changed by typing to replace it. There are ten names on the list and the name length is limited.
Save
This will save the current list of CC Master names and settings to a file. On the PC (Mac is done differently) a File Save dialog box will come up allowing you to specify the file name and location. The file will be *.negcc for ColorNeg Mode and *.poscc for ColorPos Mode.
Load
This will Load a list of CC Master names and settings from a file. On the PC (Mac is done differently) a File Open dialog box will come up allowing you to specify the file name and location. The file will be *.negcc for ColorNeg Mode and *.poscc for ColorPos Mode.
CC
If this box is checked, when the stored settings are applied to a new image, the CC settings will be applied. The settings are applied either by using the Apply button or initially, via the CarryOver option. In normal operation this box is checked.
Black
If this box is checked, when the stored settings are applied to a new image, the Black/Lightness settings will be applied. The settings are applied either by using the Apply button or initially, via the CarryOver option. In normal operation this box is not checked. This option is only helpful for images that are very similar.
BPoint
If this box is checked, when the stored settings are applied to a new image, the BPoint settings will be applied. The settings are applied either by using the Apply button or initially, via the CarryOver option. In normal operation this box is not checked. This option is only helpful for images that are extremely similar.
Insert
This button will take the current CC settings of the current image and store them under the name shown in the CC Master List Menu. If you later OK out of ColorPerfect the settings will be saved (unlike User film list names). The Save button can be used to put the CC Master list into a file. The Active Bin, Reserve Bin, and the Calibration Bin CC values are added together for this operation as this is what is generally required for this to work well.
Apply
This button will take the CC settings stored under the name shown in the CC Master List and apply them to the current image. The Calibration Bin CC values of the image are not altered and the CC values in the Active Bin and Reserve Bin adjusted to form the correct total CC adjustment, as is required to make this work well.
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Options
ScrollDirection
ColorPerfect has a completely different - much more accurate - approach to color image editing. The basis for this is explained on the web page:
http://www.c-f-systems.com/CompleteColorIntegrity.html.
In this system the most basic image treatment is adding and removing Black. Technically it makes more sense when scrolling Black upward to make the image more black; darker. But because "everyone" is used to lightness controls for lightening or darkening images, we have set the default so that scrolling Black upwards makes the image lighter, which should reduce the initial confusion. After you gain familiarity with the system - or even from the start, for purists, you can use the checkboxes under Options - Scroll Direction to reverse the action of several scrolling parameters. Initially Black and Zones operate in reverse to reduce confusion, but all other corrections scroll in what we consider to be the correct direction. The directions for Black, Zones, and also White can be changed by checking the appropriate box. These changes will be saved and applied in the future (unless you Cancel).
FlatGraph
The default for the curve display is a flat graph across the middle of the preview image. Photoshop does its seemingly similar - but really very different - "Curves" plot starting as a diagonal line from lower left to upper right. Unchecking the Flat Graph box will cause the graph to take this second form. We find this confusing in practice because when plotting zones you must pull the curve down to lighten the image. But some people may prefer it. This change will be saved and applied in the future (unless you Cancel).
SaveZoom
Zoom settings are not saved as part of the Undo or Save List features. The current Zoom setting is retained while going through Undo or Save List. If you prefer having the Zoom settings saved for Undo and Save List processing, check this box. This change will be saved and applied in the future (unless you Cancel).
FixSaturation
Saturation changes are limited on a pixel-by-pixel basis so that the color does not change; that is, saturation stops before clipping of pixels and the consequent distortion of color begins. By allowing saturation to go right up to the limit, it means that one of the colors, R, G, or B has been driven to fully off, 0, or that one of the colors has been driven to full scale on. This can result in a histogram with quite a few pixels either at 0 or at full scale, giving the appearance of excessive clipping even though there may be no clipping at all. While there is no harm in this, people who depend upon histograms may find it disconcerting. With this box checked the saturation algorithm is modified to stop a little short of the limit, removing the clipped appearance from the histogram, while causing a nearly invisible difference in the final image. It's your choice as to which you prefer. This change will be saved and applied in the future (unless you Cancel).
Remember
ColorPerfect normally starts with the previously selected film type and an automatic estimate of color balance, BPoint, and lightness and with neutral values otherwise for ColorNeg and ColorPos Modes, while Touch Up Mode starting values are chosen to have no effect on the image. The Remember settings specify starting with selected settings remembered from the previous image. If you are dealing with series of similar images, you may want ColorPerfect to start with the settings you had worked out for the previous image. The Remember settings do not extend across modes as that never makes sense. For example, if the previous image was in ColorNeg Mode and you are now working in ColorPos or Touch Up Mode, the previous settings will not be remembered regardless of the Remember settings.
Remember All
Remember all image settings from previous image.
Remember Selection
Remember selection settings. If the image had different settings for inside and outside the selection they will be remembered and the image will open with selections active (if there is a selection).
Remember Calibration
This will remember the complete calibration from the previous image including the black setting, BPoint setting and CC settings. Touch Up Mode has no calibration or BPoint settings.
Remember White
Remember the white setting from the previous image.
Remember Saturation
Remember the saturation setting from the previous image.
Remember Gamma
Remember the gamma setting from the previous image.
Remember Zones
Remember the zones settings from the previous image.
Remember Highlights
Remember the highlights tails settings from the previous image. You may want to keep this option checked once you have become familiar with its effects.
Remember Shadows
Remember the shadows tails settings from the previous image. You may want to keep this option checked once you have become familiar with its effects.
Hide RAW CC
Unlike color negatives, images for ColorPos Mode typically do not have extreme color casts and this button should be left unchecked. However, some methods of operating directly on RAW data from digital cameras do start with extreme color casts which the ColorPos Mode initial guess will normally greatly improve. If you are operating in a way which requires large initial color corrections, check this box. Checking the box has no immediate effect, but will affect later calibration actions.
GL Defaults as G
This option sets the normal default for the G/L button in 16-Bits/Channel mode, which tells ColorPerfect whether you are using a Gamma-encoded or a Linear image as the source. With the option checked, the button will come up as G, Gamma-encoded, and unchecked, the button will come up L, Linear. This default can be set differently for ColorPos, Touch Up and ColorNeg Modes. The original setting is G for ColorPos and Touch Up and L for ColorNeg. This option remains settable even when the GammaC In/Out option is selected, but then will have no effect until the GammaC In/Out option is turned off.
GL Defaults as G for 8-Bit
This option sets the normal default for the G/L button in 8-Bits/Channel mode, which tells ColorPerfect whether you are using a Gamma-encoded or a Linear image as the source. With the option checked, the button will come up as G, Gamma-encoded, and unchecked, the button will come up L, Linear. This default can be set differently for ColorPos, Touch Up and ColorNeg Modes. The original setting is G for all modes. This option remains settable even when the GammaC In/Out option is selected, but then will have no effect until the GammaC In/Out option is turned off.
GammaC In/Out
Ordinarily the same Gamma C is used to read in an image and to save the edited image. The most common exception is when the image to be read is Linear, and the G/L button is used to specify that. However, some workflows require the input and output Gamma C values to differ. For example, some digital cameras insist on producing image files saved as sRGB, where you wish to operate using Adobe RGB 1998. Selecting this option will place a new GammaC list menu to the left of the normal one in the Start box. The list menu to the left selects the input Gamma C and the one to the right selects the output Gamma C. You will still need to Assign (do not Convert) the desired working profile to the image and this can be done either before or after using ColorPerfect. When this option is selected, the G/L button will disappear.
CCMaster First
Ordinarily the Main Panel comes up when the Start Panel disappears. Checking this option will cause the CC Master Panel to come up when the Start Panel disappears. For Touch Up the Main Panel will come up regardless of this option setting because there is no CC Master for Touch Up.
High Clip
This setting is used in estimating the initial lightness/darkness setting (Black level) for the overall image, and it also is used in the initial estimate of color balance. It is used each time a new calibration is applied, such as when a film type is chosen or scrolled. The default setting of 0.005 generally behaves well, with larger numbers going toward lighter and smaller numbers, darker. A number entered as a negative will be used as positive, but will be forced to be applied immediately. Separate values are kept for ColorPos and ColorNeg Modes.
Shadow Clip
This setting is used in estimating the blackpoint (B Point) for the overall image, including the BP Color adjustment. It is used each time a new calibration is applied, such as when a film type is chosen or scrolled. The default setting of 0.005 generally behaves well, with smaller numbers making the image lighter and less contrasty and larger numbers, darker and more contrasty. A number entered as a negative will be used as positive, but will be forced to be applied immediately. Separate values are kept for ColorPos and ColorNeg Modes.
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