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GIMP PLUGINS

(14.03.2008)

    What is it all about?

    I will collect in this article information about the most important (for a photographer) plugins (or scripts) for GIMP. Since GIMP 2.4 is the latest stable branch I will focus on plugins compatible with it and update this article as new plugins will be released. I do not try to review those plugins just introduce them.
     
    Article will be updated therefore check the date next to title to see if there is something new. If anybody wants to find more plugins just visit http://registry.gimp.org/.

    Plugins (scripts) for GIMP 2.4

    1. Pandora

    This scripts helps creating panoramas. It is not the same as dedicated software but it allows to start doing a simple panoramas - just stack images as layers and run Filters -> Combine -> Arrange as Panorama. There is a lot of manual work needed.

    2. Contrast Fix

    This scripts does some pretty good job if one needs to get some more dynamic range. It is easy to use and allows to get some details from underexposed or overexposed images. Worth a try. Scritp-Fu -> Darla -> Contrast Fix

    3. Hot Dot

    This is maybe not the most important plugin as getting rid of dead pixels in GIMP is easy but doing it on ALL the shots may take some time while the script will do it on a whole folder much faster. Script-Fu -> Darla -> Hot Dot.

    4. Purple Fringle

    This scripts helps to get rid of purple fringe or chromatic aberration. It is a common optical error therefore every photographer should be prepared to fight with it. Script-Fu -> Darla -> Purple Fringe.

    5. UFRaw

    Propably the most important plugin for GIMP as it allows to open RAW files in GIMP (in fact UFRaw works as a plugin or stanalone program). UFRaw has many options starting from color management, ending at wavelet denoising and may be considered as open source version of Adobe Camera Raw for Photoshop. Just install it and open a RAW file with GIMP. Please note that UFRaw is capable to create 48 bit per pixel colors but current GIMP support only 24 bits.

    6. MathMap

    This plugin is for developers wanting to write their own algorithms. It allows to execute code on any image and (for example) does some geometrical transforamtion, blend two images in a very special way or even paint something new. If you want to write your own tools - this is a great way to start. Filters -> Generic -> MathMap.

    7. Shadow & Highlight

    This may be one of more usefull scripts. It is easy to use and allows to get some more details in shadows and highlights. Results are really nice (I was not able to see any halos).

    8. Liquid Rescale

    A new rescaling technique that keeps the most imporatnt parts of the image unchanged. Very promising technology - see the explanations here. Just check the dependencies! Layer -> Liquid Rescale.

    9. Smart Sharpen (Redux)

    An advanced sharpening script. If refocus plugin is used it allows user to use it and tune the result, if not it is simple and easy to use. Filters -> EG -> Sharpen (Smart Redux).

    10. GREYCstoration

    Propably the most advanced plugin for GIMP. The main purpose of GREYCstoration is to denoise the image. Code is slow and hard to use but in some cases renders beautifull and noiseless images. Just remember to give it some time to process. Filters -> Enhance -> GREYCstoration.

    11. Black&White

    A very simple black and white conversion with few presets. Good starting point in BW photography. Filters -> EG -> Black and White.

    12. DRI

    Put two versions of the same photo (with different exposure) as leyers (upper layer must be the darker one) and run this script. The result is a DRI image (image with extended dynamic range). Filters -> EG -> Dynamic Range Increase.

    13. Shadow recovery

    A very simple method of recovering shadows. No complicated interface. Filters -> EG -> Shadow Recovery.
     

 

Copyright 2007, Jacek Góźdź
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