Curves -vs- Levels

[Foxhound]

Is there a difference between using Curves in other applications as opposed to using level's in PSE3? I've always thought that both gave you the same output as far as color controll using the black/grey/white points.

[Wendy]

Foxhound,

You have far more control when using Curves .. and it is much easier to make small adjustments.


Wendy

[southpaw]

Hey Wendy,

I don't know if I totally agree with more control, lol. I do agree that it is much easier to make small adjustments.

Southpaw

[Wendy]

Southpaw,

Using levels you can only adjust on three points ...... curves ... well how many points do you want http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/ubb/smile.gif http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/ubb/smile.gif


Wendy

[southpaw]

Wendy,

Wow... i feel like saying "nu-uh", lol.

With Levels you have input and output controls on RGB, R, G, and B... if you're in RGB of course. Curves has the same thing. And both can be "numerically" adjusted on both input and output.

Curves http://www.woodwinds.us/osx/pictures/pdf/curves.pdf

Levels http://www.woodwinds.us/osx/pictures/pdf/levels.pdf

Because they both can be numerically adjusted on input and output, and on each individual color, you must be able to do the same things with curves as well as levels. Although, you may be able to do the same thing, curves will adjust input and output simultaneously making it a much faster tool for editing once a person gets used to it. So, all I was saying is that they *can* do the same thing, curves is just like a 100 times more efficient on some things, that's all.

Besides, Levels works on the actual specific real numbers that are in the colors, and Curves work on the percentages of affecting the actual real numbers. In that way, they are very different tools.

And you are so right, you can adjust curves on a ton of points if you want. I was just playing with that in fact. It is a very cool function... and it would be nice if it was in elements 3. I think Adobe considers it mathematically possible to produce the same result with levels... given enough time...

Southpaw

[This message has been edited by southpaw (edited 11-22-2004).]

[southpaw]

Wendy,

I think we might agree to disagree on this topic. I personally don't believe the Curves tool is more powerful than the Levels tool, just more automatic, where the Levels tool is more manual. You may believe the Curves tool is more powerful than the Levels tool, but I don't really think the belief means that much disagreement. The reason I say this is because I think we agree that these are great tools that both work very well, and we almost or do think of them as a standard for any photo image editing program.


Forum readers,

I will tell y'all how I have access to the Curves tool in Elements 2, even though I don't have any of the add-on tools available in books. The Canoscan scanner I have, comes with ScanGear CS software, that includes the Curves tool. So on every image I scan in, I have Curves tool functionality before I close the Scanner software that I opened through the import menu as ScanGear function.

Comparison Link http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ProductCompareAct&fcategoryid=104
Just look for your platform being supported and ScanGear CS software at this link, and you can find a scanner with that software as well, if you wish.
(Only LiDE 80 and 9950F are Mac supported; Both the LiDE 80 and 9950F include ScanGear CS software, and the 9950F also includes Photoshop Elements 2 for free.)

Hope that helps someone who really wanted to be able to use the Curves but didn't have it.

Southpaw


ps - the website has Elements 2 listed as fact for 9950F, but the intro page to the the LiDE 80 says Elements 2 comes with it... being that 9950F is 299 and the LiDE is 129, I think that 9950F is more likely to have it.
This walmart link to an LiDE 80 says that the LiDE 80 has Elements 2 included as well. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?produc t_id=3371573&cat=4439&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A163385%3A4439 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3371573&cat=4439&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A163385%3A4439)
~who knows~

However, many of you might already own a scanner. And if so, maybe Wendy knows another way to get the Curves tool for Elements 2 or 3?

[This message has been edited by southpaw (edited 11-22-2004).]

[Mark77]

Curves plus other tools for Photoshop Elements 2 and 3. Works on Mac and PC version.
http://northlite.50megs.com/ps/shipley.htm

[southpaw]

Thanks for the link. I'm sure this works for Windows users. However, I've tried his first set with PSE2 and now his 2nd set, and I've just never got it to work on PSE2 on mac.

Southpaw

[Wendy]

Southpaw,

It will work on the Mac .. the problem is all to do with unzipping the file and then moving the folders around: I found this on another forum:

One is to get rid of the extraneous folders. Read the instructions for where things should go, but take a look at how deeply your existing filters and effects are located in their respective folders and then peel off the many extraneous layers of folder around the working parts of the Shipley stuff.

So you want to have Applications>PE3>Previews>Effects>Extra or Extra tools>then the actual atn and psd files, for instance. There were two or three more folders around those when I expanded the file. (You don't need the special utilities his site suggests. Just drag the expanded files where you want them.)

Also, someone recommended that after you install them you should launch PE and navigate to the psd files in each of the three Shipley folders: extra.psd and Extra Tools.psd in Effects and extra.psd in Filters, open each one and do a save as under the same name without making any changes to help associate it with PE 3.

Then quit, trash the caches as recommended in the instructions, relaunch and give PE a couple of minutes to rebuild the thumbnails.



[This message has been edited by Wendy (edited 11-30-2004).]