MaximumPC 2006 12

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emember the days of souping Tri-X in your basement darkroom? Alienskin’s

new Exposure plugin offers the same results without the harsh smells or

fixer stains.

Modeling its grain structures after the vintage film emulsions that most of

us grew up shooting, Exposure lets you easily give digital images a “film look”

with a simple click. Further tweaking is possible using a slider that lets you

adjust sharpening, blurring, tone, curves, and grain.

The grain component is what fascinates us the most, though. Alienskin said

it carefully created the grain algorithms by digitally comparing film stock with

digital images. For film that hasn’t existed in years, the company found images

shot with the film, scanned them, and then performs the algorithm analysis.

Why would you even want to add grain to digital images? Moore’s law has

improved digital imaging sensors to the point that still images can look too per-

fect at times. By adding film grain—not to be confused with digital noise—to

give a digital image the look of, say, a 1970s Ektachrome slide, you can make

the picture appear more real or give it a touch of style. It’s akin to the argument

audio purists make for vinyl over CDs.

While some photophiles will be pleased with Exposure’s list of film-emul-

sion presets—including Kodak’s famed Tri-X and Kodachrome 64, as well as

Ilford, Fuji, and even GAF—there aren’t quite enough to satisfy everyone. For

folks who want the look of more obscure films, Alienskin lets you download and

install additional free presets. For example, the company offers various Polaroid

presets on its website. Plus Exposure allows you to create your own presets,

which you can even send to friends via an email button within the app.

The plugin isn’t multithreaded, but we found performance to be good on

Pentium 4 and Athlon 64 X2-based machines. To run the plugin, you must have

Photoshop CS or higher, Photoshop Elements 3 or higher, Corel Paint Shop Pro 9

or higher, or Fireworks MX2004 or higher.

While we’ve certainly seen our share of Photoshop plugins that are really

cool but of limited usefulness, Exposure has rapidly turned into one of

our favorite apps. And for $200 it

sure as hell better be.

—Gordon Mah UnG

Alienskin Exposure

Put the darkroom back in your digital photographs

L

ogitech’s new high-end PC racing wheel is about as flexible as it gets:

The gear shift, wheel, and pedals are separate parts, allowing you to

easily—and securely—mount them as you wish on and under your desk,

or perhaps in a custom-built F1 cockpit. Sadly, you can’t swap the G25 out

with the wheel in your real car, which is what we wanted to do after a few

weeks with this product!

Constructed from heavy, durable plastic and stainless steel, and

trimmed with genuine leather—on both the wheel and shifter—these

controls feel like the real deal. The wheel can spin a full 900 degrees, lock

to lock (depending on software support), and the six-speed shifter can be

used in traditional six-speed “H” mode, or sequential mode (push up/down

to change gears). The pedal unit includes brake, gas, and clutch—whoop!—

pedals, all made from stainless steel and equipped with different resistance

levels (that actually feel different in use). Twin force-feedback motors in the

wheel housing deliver instant, realistic, and powerful force-feedback effects

that really enhance the driving experience.

The gear-shift unit has eight buttons plus a directional pad—all of

which are programmable for things like views, ignition, etc. Traditional

paddle shifters are also included on the wheel, and while they are made

of stainless steel, they feel a bit chintzy—there’s no tactile feedback at all

when you use them.

That’s the only real chink (and a minor one) in the G25’s armor—other

than the fact that few games right now support the manual six-speed “H”

transmission (any game should be able to work with the sequential shift

mode). Just Live for Speed and rFactor provide full manual shifting out of

the gate, although Need for Speed: Carbon and GTR 2 will soon, as well.

Other than price, there’s simply nothing else to complain about here. Setup

and installation of driver software went without a hitch. If you’re a serious

driving-game aficionado, you owe it to yourself to own this wheel!

—STEVE KLETT

G25 Racing Wheel

Almost better than the real thing!

88 MAXIMUMPC december 2006

reviewsTes Ted. Reviewed. veRdic Tized

g25 racing wheel

9

alienskin exposure

$200, http://www.alienskin.com

$300, http://www.logitech.com

Be warned: after using the G25, you might not like your car

as much as you used to!

Film might be on its way out, but its look lives on thanks to

alienskin’s Exposure.

9

MAXIMUMPC

KICKASS