Problems Using Neat Image

Penguin · Post by **Penguin** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:21 pm

I've been using Neat Image for a few weeks on my photos of Italy taken with my Nikon D50 DSLR. It's done wonders with my ISO 1600 photos inside churches and museums, as well as the day I accidentally set my ISO to 1600 for a day's worth of shooting (live and learn)!

However, I can't get it to work correctly unless I do everything manually. For example, I set Auto Match On but it won't auto match to my downloaded D50 profiles - I have to pick the matching one myself (it doesn't pick any device noise profile). Also, I tell it to use the Filter and Sharpen action, but it keeps picking Default. What am I doing wrong?

Also, I use the plug-in with Microsoft Digital Image Pro 10, and the plug-in follows the options I've set (Auto Match and Filter and Sharpen) that the standalone program will not. However, using the plug-in with Digital Image 10 destroys the EXIF data in the file.

Than you for any answers you have to these problems.

Post by **NITeam** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:55 pm

So, if Microsoft Digital Image doesn't preserve the EXIF then you have to use the standalone Neat Image, that's right.

Regarding profile matching, I have just tried to open a sample D50 image (ISO 200) and matched it against the profile set (Nikon_D50_JPEG.zip). This worked as expected, a profile was loaded. I don't have an ISO 1600 image so I cannot check such image myself, if you would send one to the support address then I would try to reproduce the effect you observe.

Along with an image, please describe the Options | Job Defaults and Matching settings you use. There may be something in these settings that prevent normal matching. Or your images may be in some way special.

Vlad

Penguin · Post by **Penguin** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:58 pm

Ok, just like any other computer user, I didn't give you ALL the information: Neat Image starts correctly when I run it from the desktop, but it doesn't pay any attention to its option settings to Auto Match and Filter and Sharpen when I start it from within a photo viewer program like ACDSee or XnView. If there isn't a workaround for this, I can live with doing it manually of course.

As for Digital Image Pro and Neat Image, it's the combination of the two that destroys the EXIF data. While I like Digital Image Pro, I can try another editor to get around this problem.

Thanks again for the quick reply - your great program has great support to match, and that's not a trivial thing nowadays!

Post by **NITeam** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:08 am

The trouble with ACDSee, XnView, Digital Image Pro is that they don't provide EXIF information to plug-ins so Neat Image cannot match it against the profiles. You have to use a plug-in host that does provide the EXIF to plug-in. For example, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

Hope this helps.
Vlad

Penguin · Post by **Penguin** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:29 pm

Thanks for the reply, but Digial Image Pro is certainly providing Neat Image with EXIF information, because it DOES auto-match and auto filter and sharpen correctly when using the plug-in. The saved file just doesn't have any EXIF information in it.

Running Neat Image from ACDSee or XnView is simply starting it from another program with a photo highlighted. The standalone program is running, NOT the plug-in, and it does not auto-match or auto filter and sharpen when run this way. The standalone does work correctly when run from the desktop, so it's strange that when run from another program it doesn't work. (You should try this to verify this behavior.)