Athentech Imaging Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in

Features
Performance
Verdict



Back in May 2011, we reviewed the Perfectly Clear iPhone App and were impressed by it's results. The software is also available as a Photoshop Plug-in, priced at $199 (approximately £125). There is also a fully-functional 30 day trial available.

Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in Features

The Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in has 10 patented corrections (see table below) which can be applied in one-simple click. The plug-in works on both 8 bit and 16 bit images within Photoshop, both 32 and 64 bit Operating Systems, on layers, on a selection and with actions. The software displays before and after photos can each correction can be manually tweaked. Dependent on your image, there are five presets for landscape, portrait, noise removal, fix dark and tint removal. If you have certain settings which you prefer you can create your own preset.

Corrections
White-balance								Tint correction
Tone								Exposure
								Contrast
Colour								Vibrancy
								Fidelity
Clarity								Sharpening
								Noise removal
Portrait								Skin Tone
								Light Diffusion
								Auto Red-Eye

Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in Performance

Below are a range of pictures that have been processed using the plug-in. The first set of images have all be edited using the various presets settings. Each of the levels can be further changed dependent on your preference.

From the sample pictures it is clear to see that the images are better exposed with colours appearing to have more punch. When you view them large (click on the thumbnails below), the images are clearly sharper and for example, the picture of the Royal Albert Hall, you can see the writing above the door much easier.

The original portrait picture has plenty of red-eye and, although the skin tone looks OK, when you've put the image through the Perfectly Clear plug-in and amend the skin tone and light diffusion, you get a really good portrait shot with superb skin tones and no red-eye.

If you have an image with lots of noise, the plug-in will also help reduce it. You can amend both the strength and detail, although very little difference is to be noticed when changing these particular settings. The noise image below has the mid-levels chosen. Finally, if you have an image with the white-balance not right, the tint removal preset will correct it.

Before		After
Landscape
Portrait
Noise removal
Fix dark
Tint removal

Further examples:

Before		After
Buckingham Palace
Shrek
Royal Albert Hall
Tyrannosaurus Rex
FA Cup
Westminster

Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in Verdict

Price at $199 (approximately £125) the software does represent a fair investment, but the results are generally impressive. If you have limited Photoshop knowledge, the plug-in takes care of many image corrections without any prior knowledge. Also, if you have masses of images to edit, the plug-in can run as an action and save you a lot of time. Some will find it difficult to justify the cost, but there is always the fully-functional 30 day trial for you to test before you decide to purchase.

The Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in will save you time and improve your images with minimal effort.

Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in Pros

Easy to use
Great results
Can be used in actions for batch editing

Perfectly Clear Photoshop Plug-in Cons

A touch expensive

FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL