A Franzis "Projects" program I don't have (partly as I'd do this in Photoshop normally).

Note this is Neat Projects #1 and the current version is #2.
There are Standard and Pro versions of both, so of the four versions this is the lowest, but so is the price.

I find Franzis makes some excellent software (e.g. Sharpen Projects and B+W Projects, which are as good or IMHO better than anything equivalent out there), some very good software (e.g. HDR Projects, which can give very good results if you read the manual) and some fun software that while not worth lots of money allows creativity (e.g. Analog projects). I suspect this is in the middle category.

Oh and if you haven't registered a Franzis program before the first time is a bit lengthy (disclosure, that said "bitch" in the first draft), but use a real e-mail address on their site and it's easier the next time. What I did (I have a Franzis account and have bought stuff from them):

* Unzipped the archive, note there isn't a GAotD wrapper, Windows and Mac versions are included.
* Run Setup.exe (I'm on Windows).
* A dialogue pops up asking for registration info, I click the "Internet" button in it. That takes me to the Franzis site.
* I fill in my Franzis logon info on the page I arrived at (otherwise you'll have to make and verify a new logon). This was done at 11:18am.
* E-mail arrives in about a minute (send time was 11:18).
* Enter details from it (customer number and licence key) in Setup.exe dialogue, it installs version 1.13, 64-bit.
* It (by default) runs the program at the end of the install.
* This asks for the licence key again, luckily it's still in the Windows paste buffer.
* I look in "C:\Program Files\Franzis\NEAT projects" and see it has an old version of FreeImage.dll, which is the library that decodes Raw images from your camera (you don't care if you only plan to use it with JPEGs). I replace this with the newest version I have (once I've shut the program down so don't have a sharing error)...
From:
FreeImage .dll 6562,304 .a.. 16-01-17
To:
FreeImage .dll 6924,800 .a.. 26-02-19
Alas usually you can download later versions from Franzis, but the downloads haven't been updated so you have to go to:
https://freeimage.sourceforge.io/download.html
and download the DLL (second link down the page)
Unzip the archive and choose the correct (x32/x64) copy of FreeImage.dll from FreeImage\Dist (which is 3.18.0.0, same as the one I used). I did install and test this exact file and it does work with supported cameras. You don't need the archive afterwards.
!!! If someone from Franzis is out there can you please update:
http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDllprojects_Win64.zip
and
http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDll_projects_Win32.zip
or provide more recent links?
Anyway, the bad news is it still isn't that new a library and won't support the very latest cameras, but it's later than what you started with. However JPEGs should work pretty well so not a big issue.

After that it's all pretty straightforward to use the program, just make sure you have enough images to see all the background...

JohnL  –  3 years ago  –  Vond je deze reactie nuttig? ja | nee (+46)

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" note there isn't a GAotD wrapper"

Just FWIW, Franzis usually uses their own wrapper on GOTD, which like the old GOTD wrapper expands the real setup file in the User Temp folder.

<i>" note there isn't a GAotD wrapper"</i> Just FWIW, Franzis usually uses their own wrapper on GOTD, which like the old GOTD wrapper expands the real setup file in the User Temp folder.
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mike  –  3 years ago  –  Vond je deze reactie nuttig? ja | nee (+6)

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Upon starting the setup, a pop-up windows shows:

"
Windows protected your PC
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk.

App: Setup_Win.exe
Publisher: FRANZIS Verlag GmbH "

Then 2 buttons:
Run anyway Don’t run

This is usually happens to me when the publisher's unknown. But, why is it showing with the publisher known and displayed.!!!!

Strange, is it not?!

I don't have any extra anti-virus software, only windows 10 built-in.

Wanderer  –  3 years ago  –  Vond je deze reactie nuttig? ja | nee (+14)

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I thought this might be a foreground remover just like background remover! This program wants you to make 3 times a bad picture.. No use for pictures you only have one of.

J  –  3 years ago  –  Vond je deze reactie nuttig? ja | nee (0)

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"I thought this might be a foreground remover..."

InPaint type functions are somewhat common nowadays -- they try to sort of stretch-replicate the background to fill in where objects, e.g. people, are removed. That doesn't always work that well when the background isn't more or less uniform. NEAT projects makes a composite photo that's more accurate because there's no guesswork or interpolation, and should work on any background, not matter how complex. The big gotcha is that you have to have identical photos -- e.g. use a tripod -- the objects you want to remove have to be moving -- so you have an unblocked view of every part of the background -- and you might have to wait a while if those objects are slow moving. And of course it's something you have to plan on doing when you take the shots, so as you say, it's of no use with a single photo you've already taken.

FWIW, Photoshop has had this for a while now, though I don't think this method's ever been terribly popular because of those gotchas. At the same time, crowds are often part of a scene's ambiance -- we've all seen photos of empty streets because of the pandemic, and it just looks weird or maybe spooky -- so I'm not sure that many people want to remove them from their photos.

<i>"I thought this might be a foreground remover..."</i> InPaint type functions are somewhat common nowadays -- they try to sort of stretch-replicate the background to fill in where objects, e.g. people, are removed. That doesn't always work that well when the background isn't more or less uniform. NEAT projects makes a composite photo that's more accurate because there's no guesswork or interpolation, and should work on any background, not matter how complex. The big gotcha is that you have to have identical photos -- e.g. use a tripod -- the objects you want to remove have to be moving -- so you have an unblocked view of every part of the background -- and you might have to wait a while if those objects are slow moving. And of course it's something you have to plan on doing when you take the shots, so as you say, it's of no use with a single photo you've already taken. FWIW, Photoshop has had this for a while now, though I don't think this method's ever been terribly popular because of those gotchas. At the same time, crowds are often part of a scene's ambiance -- we've all seen photos of empty streets because of the pandemic, and it just looks weird or maybe spooky -- so I'm not sure that many people want to remove them from their photos.
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mike  –  3 years ago  –  Vond je deze reactie nuttig? ja | nee (+7)

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