Loading the Software and Images
This software can be downloaded from the manufacturer's web site as a trial version which watermarks the corrected images, and a serial number obtained later using a credit card if you decide to register it which will prevent further watermarking. Installation was fast and problem-free on a Windows system; it is also available for Mac.When the program is run, a 'Start up guide' appears which tells you enough to use it (you set it not to load.) When you close this, a normal file open dialogue then appears, allowing you to select one or more files in the normal way using the shift and control keys. The first file will load and the others are put in a queue.
The image displays in the left hand two thirds or so of the window. To its right is a set of four tabbed dialogue pages, and under this a number of global buttons. Normally it is best to maximise the program window. Before using the software you should set suitable preferences, entering the preferences dialogue, either from the preferences button or the File menu. The software can load JPG, TIFF (8 or 16 bit per channel), and BMP files. It can convert files to save in the same formats, although only 16 bit TIFF files will save as 16 bit.
Although the default preferences are generally useful, there are some basic setting you will need to make. By default, EditLab is set to edit images (rather than profiles or color circuits.) You need to specify the working colour space (Adobe RGB (1998) for me), and what should be done on opening files with other spaces.When each image loads, you can either choose to reset all settings to default, to apply settings from the previous image or to use the automatic SmartColor corrections. I found it most useful to use the previous settings.
You can also set where to save corrected files, and whether to add a suffix or prefix to file names. You can choose JPG, TIFF or BMP format, and a slider enables you to set the JPG quality. Some SmartColor preferences will be mentioned later.
When the image loads, it will use the settings chosen in preferences. Make sure the Preview box is checked to see the effect of any changes on your image. Global buttons enable you to try the previous settings or SmartColor. If neither of these give a correct image, or close, you will need to go through the 4 tabbed dialogues in order to produce a correct image. Make sure the SmartColor Mode box is not checked if you want to retain your sanity!
Neutrals and Levels
The tabs are arranged in a logical order and you work from left to right. First is the Neutrals dialogue, and you set these by using the SmartColor button in the tab (which only alters settings in the tab), or by clicking on areas you know should be neutral in the image. This should remove any obvious colour shift in your images.The second tab shows the image histogram, and below it three triangles to set black, mid-grey and white points. The SmartColor button usually sets all three correctly for on-screen use, clipping the histogram slightly when setting the start and end of the histogram to 0 and 100. This is not suitable for reproduction, when you normally set the beginning of the histogram to around 4 or 5 to allow for dot gain and the brightest non-specular highlights to around 95 or 96 to retain highlights. After some experimentation I found it easiest to alter the SmartColor preferences so that it only adjusted the grey point, and to set the black and white by hand.
You can see the effects of changes made within any tab, by extending the panel using the arrow at its base, then unchecking the preview box. It would be nice to have an easier method, perhaps pressing the right mouse button to display the 'before' view.
The third tab handles Brightness (overall and shadows and highlights), Contrast and Saturation. In general the SmartColor button gives a useful starting point for this panel, but gave some oddities.
SmartColor recommended an increase in saturation for most of my images. For a high percentage it suggested a value of +40, which was usually about twice what was needed. For pictures that contained objects with highly saturated colour, it suggested a reduction, although these normally also required a small increase.
SmartColor did not suggest an alteration in contrast for any of the images I tried, although some needed it. The contrast setting also seemed to be rather coarse; although it ran from +/-100, I have yet to find a need for settings greater than +/-5.
Although SmartColor made some adjustments to overall brightness, it did not seem to alter either the shadow or highlight levels, even where this was obviously needed. Most of my images were improved by increasing the shadow level, and a few needed highlights reducing.
Again, you can preview the effects of this tab by using the check box at the bottom of the extended panel. It is also possible to view (only) the curve produced by the brightness and contrast changes.
Memory Colours
The fourth panel is where the real power of iCorrect resides, with its hue selective handles and its ability to match reference 'memory colours'. The three predefined are skin, foliage and blue sky.Inside the ring are the 'before' handles, and outside the 'after' handles. A black dot on the before handle of any pair shows which is the current active pair. You can set a handle to any colour in your image.
You can make your own memory colours - useful in jobs with pictures of lots of people in the same colour clothing, or in front of the same background for example. You can also edit those provided. I find English skies generally have a more cerulean hue, while our lush English lawns are yellower and brighter than 'foliage'. You may also find 'skin' gives some a deeper tan than natural.
To use a memory colour, clicking on the skin or whatever in a few places, then the appropriate memory color button, and the change is made. You can adjust the result by moving the after button and adjusting the Brightness and Saturation sliders.
At any stage in the process, once you are happy with the changes you have made, you simply click on the 'Edit Image' button to save the file and go on to the next in the queue.
Workflow
Although it takes some time to describe how to use the software, it is logically laid out and relatively obvious in use. To go through the whole process of working on all four tabs takes perhaps a minute for a typical image. You can increase throughput considerably as many pictures can be dealt with simply by applying the previous settings.The loading of multiple images into a queue obviously speeds up processing, with the next automatically being presented when you finish one. A further productivity increase is provided for pictures taken under identical conditions by using batch processing - called 'ProcessQ' - which applies identical corrections to the whole queue.
Some Wishes
If you have to process large numbers of images in a short space of time, and just need to ensure correct colour and contrast, then this software could be almost all you need. It will also save you a great deal of time compared to loading the images into a full editing program such as Photoshop, as it both simplifies and automates the process.The naming of the 'Edit Image' button is one thing that points to the lineage of this program as a Photoshop plugin. A change in name is surely needed for the standalone version.
There are also some missing facilities that need to be provided without the backup of Photoshop. The two most obvious are the capability to crop images, and the ability to save at different output sizes and resolutions. A third feature I'd like to see is a simple automated dust removal feature, for dealing with those annoying spots we sometimes get in identical places on a whole series of images. This would enable you to locate the spot on one of them, then automatically apply an algorithm like Photoshop's healing brush to remove it from image as it was loaded.
Conclusion
The real strength of this software is that it will improve your images. I used it on several hundred while writing this review, some of which were direct from my raw converter, others I had already worked on with Photoshop. I was able to improve virtually all of them, although in some cases the differences were slight.If you do not have software that can use the plugin version, then this is worth buying and using. If you do have Photoshop, then you may prefer the plugin version. If you are working with fairly small numbers of images, you would normally need to work on them in both EditLab Pro and Photoshop. If you work with large numbers of images then you will probably find the standalone version a time-saver.
There are other approaches to getting the colour in your photographs to look right. EditLab Pro is based on a practical idea of 'memory colours' and it works to make pictures that look right.
