onOne Software’s Perfect Layers is FREE for Aperture
By PhotoJoseph
August 24, 2012 - 7:59am
I don’t know how long this has been the case, but onOne’s Perfect Layers is free! This is a plug-in for Aperture that gives you one of Aperture’s most-missing features — layers.
I have the entire Perfect Photo Suite installed, and Perfect Layers acts as the host, or starting point, for any Perfect Software tool you want to jump into. I’ve only had it installed for a short while, as I needed the tool Perfect Resize (which is unbe-freakin’-lievable, and I’ll be writing about that soon), so I can’t actually comment yet on how well the Layers function works. But needless to say, at unbeatable price of FREE, you probably should go download this now.
Anyone with any experience with Perfect Layers, let’s hear about it in the comments!
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Comments
on August 24, 2012 - 10:37am
I’ve been using the free Perfect Layers for a few months now with Aperture - it’s simply great. There’s also a free version of Perfect Effects, which gives a good sampling of the borders, effects, and textures onOne has. And you can apply presets others have made from Perfect Effects. A fantastic tool for the best price on the planet.
Check out Brian Matiash’s Perfect Inspiration, a weekly installment where Brian uses the onOne suite to stylize a photo. Perfect Layers and Perfect Effects are used prominently, along with other tools (not necessarily all onOne’s) depending on needs.
Scott
http://scottdavenportphoto.com/
on August 24, 2012 - 10:53am
I just got my copy! It appears that this is a good marketing idea, give away the going out version, with hope that we will buy the new one. Great idea, we all win.
on August 24, 2012 - 12:14pm
I got it about 6 weeks ago.Great tool, and very powerful. The free tutorials are very well done, and are essential to see how to use the product effectively. It is a great plug-in for Aperture. Hard to beat the price. It is good marketing, too. I will probably buy Perfect Resize but I think I’ll wait to see what you write about it.
on August 24, 2012 - 12:22pm
Fab! Got it.
Let’s see what she can do…
on August 24, 2012 - 12:48pm
Looks like Photo Effects 3 and Photo Frames 4.6 is also free…check it out on their website!
on August 24, 2012 - 11:42pm
I use both Perfect Layers and Perfect Resize. I just printed a 40 x 60 on metal of Toroweap, and it is incredible: http://dlplumer.smugmug.com/Portfolio-Favorites/Fine-Art/i-55RNx8r/0/L/1…
Daniel Plumer Photography
on August 24, 2012 - 11:49pm
Is Perfect Layers 2 Plugin really free and fully functional, or is it a water down trial version with the attempt to up sale you?
on August 25, 2012 - 6:09am
No luck with downloading, Got an error with no communication. a pitty
on August 25, 2012 - 7:51am
looks cool, I will give it a spin too :)
on August 25, 2012 - 9:52pm
In relation to my question above, I guess I just have to find out on my own
on August 26, 2012 - 2:10am
@_SesHat_: As the headline of the above article suggests it’s free. I just downloaded the package, installed it and did a few tests. Looks as if it is really fully functional. Maybe used as a plugin in Aperture (or LR) or even as a standalone app. Files created can then also be opened in Photoshop (PSD files used, layers are recognized).
Pretty cool, isn’t it?
Thanks, Joseph for your pointer. I just needed more time to take photos and work on all this nice stuff… ;-)
Regards, d-light
on August 26, 2012 - 2:40am
Daniel,
What resolution did you start with, and what did you resize to, for your 40 × 60 print? That’s HUGE!! I’ve done 30 × 45 without resizing first (starting from 5616 wide [21 MP camera], so at 45” that’s only 125 dpi) and was pleased with the image but it could have been better. When I did my gallery 20” × 30” prints, I did resize all the way to 300 dpi which was a 54 MP file. Your prints, at 40 × 60 @ 300 dpi would be 12,000 × 18,000 = 216 MP!
I’m very curious to the starting point and the final quality of the print at that size.
40 × 60… wow… fantastic.
-Joseph
@PhotoJoseph
— Have you signed up for the mailing list?
on August 26, 2012 - 8:12pm
onOne is fussy about your colour model, so be careful.
Frankly, I think Pixelmator as an Aperture-friendly app used as an external editor is better that the onOne layers app (which is pretty cool). But free is a pretty good deal.
I’m trying out the whole suite and will report back.
Hugh
on August 27, 2012 - 9:10pm
I have it, as well as Perfect Effects and Frames. The one major limitation is the lack of many of the layer styles available in Photoshop. Some effects I’ve used or seen in tutorials require styles, like Luminosity, which Perfect Layers doesn’t have. Also, while you can access the free version of Perfect Effects from Perfect Layers, you can’t use the Frames from within Layers; that is a separate plug in for Photoshop or Aperture.
It does work for adding layers capability to Aperture but it is really designed to get you interested in buying the full program.
on August 27, 2012 - 9:54pm
Thanks Donald, that’s kinda what I expected ~ it just being an up sale attempt because nothing really is for free. I hate to try free stuff and then get bit by their bug and buying into the entire suite ~ at some point all these applications do the same things just in different ways IMO
on August 27, 2012 - 11:01pm
I’ve had the entire Suite for well over year but for some reason I just can’t get into it as much as the Nik plug-ins. The on-one work flow and adjustments just seems cumbersome compared to how the Nik plugin’s work. I do really like the perfect resize, especially for sizing for canvas wraps and up-sizing for large prints.
I'd much rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
on August 29, 2012 - 1:17am
Removal Failed. Downloaded and ran the Remove onOne Files.app.
Result: The Operation couldn’t be completed
(OSSStatus error - 67049)