Photoshop CC 2015

[allachie9]

Having just upgraded my version of Photoshop CC to Photoshop CC 2015, I've been reading up and watching You Tube tutorials on the new features.

One particular feature that caught my eye was the 'de-haze' filter.

I've had an image that I wanted to use in a slideshow, but could never get it to look very good on screen.
It's an image of The Star Ferry crossing Victoria Harbour, between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, taken on a very damp, misty and murky, but very atmospheric afternoon.

Here's the original -

Star Ferry (Before) by Alan Butterfield, on Flickr

Now, here's the processed version after using the 'de-haze' filter -

Star Ferry (After) by Alan Butterfield, on Flickr

I'm personally very impressed with how this filter works.

[M_Six]

I tried it on a few pics and it does seem to help, but it doesn't do much you couldn't already do with a few clicks. More of a time saver than a real breakthrough.

[Kwando]

That's pretty neat.

[biggripper]

I haven’t played with it yet but it does look promising.

[mkPOTO]

whoa thats cool. I have been using it to do text for videos. Love it!

[allachie9]

Originally Posted by Railgun

It may be compression artifacts...can you post the processed photo in a smaller res, higher quality image, or link to one? I'd like to see whether it really adds noise to the image.

Thanks!

There does indeed appear to be a small increase in noise, but not excessively so. If I were processing the same image to use for something like an A3+ print, I'm pretty sure I could remove the noise from wherever it mattered either by using Raw Filter in Photoshop or, my preferred method, using Topaz De-Noise 5.
But as this was simply a first attempt to see what the filter could produce, without any extra effort, I'm still pretty impressed.
I prefer not to put higher quality images on the internet.
Thanks.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by allachie9

I prefer not to put higher quality images on the internet.

Same here. Nothing larger than 1024x768. Rarely a need for larger for the web.

I was playing with the De-Haze filter today with some shots from the plane, where you get lots of haze. It does tend to add noise and that gets exacerbated by sharpening. You really need to play give-and-take with the various sliders to get the best balance.

[allachie9]

Originally Posted by M_Six

You really need to play give-and-take with the various sliders to get the best balance.

That's where our skill as digital photographers comes into it
It's not just about the software's capabilities.

[Alamat]

That does look great,....maybe I should upgrade mine too...

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I tried it on a few pics and it does seem to help, but it doesn't do much you couldn't already do with a few clicks. More of a time saver than a real breakthrough.

I agree - I actually have many of the Topaz plug ins, and use them just to save the time. I think I've had them installed since CS4 and just carried them all the way through CS6.

[allachie9]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

I agree - I actually have many of the Topaz plug ins, and use them just to save the time. I think I've had them installed since CS4 and just carried them all the way through CS6.

Yes, me too. I think my favourite Topaz is De-Noise 5.
But it's good to try all these things, what works well on one image, may not perform quite as well on another.
If you're into creating effects, sometimes Fractalius will work better than Topaz Glow, other times vice versa.

[R12ax7]

I was skeptical when i saw an Adobe produced youtube video showing how it worked, but this past week I finally had a chance to put it to the test and it really did exactly what it says. My scenario was similar to yours, shooting out across an inlit towards Atlantic City on a muggy day and the de-haze cut right through it. It did seem to increase the contrast and the black levels a bit (and as others have said the noise if you are shooting at a higher ISO), but you could easily dial those back down and still get the benefits of the de-haze effect.