PTLens - anyone use it?

[ricktas]

I was wondering if anyone here uses PTlens to fix lens distortion? At present I tend to just do distortion corrections using Photoshop, but PTlens has been around for years and is calibrated for each lens and knows how that lens performs and corrects images based on the lens information in its database.

As a landscaper, I often find I have to correct bowed horizons or when doing the occasional architectural shoot, fix the leaning buildings. So I was wondering if anyone has given PTlens a go and what they think of the results (it gets very favourable reviews)

[wanderer51]

Hi Rick. I have given it a go and it seems to perform quite well. Still umming and ahhring whether to buy it (I downloaded the trial version, works for 10 images...or so the website says), but at US$25 it isn't that expensive.
The only image I have tried it on is an old one and it picked up the Canon 400D and it's 18-55mm 'kit' lens (photo was taken @18mm) from the EXIF data in the image OK, but I had to convert the image to JPEG first as it didn't recognise the CR2 RAW format although it was quite happy with TIFF images. Haven't tried it on an image from my 550D yet.
Still, it seemed quite easy to use. Simply a matter of opening the file, playing with the sliders and bingo, it auto saved the image. For some reason it didn't install as a plugin for PS CS5, only as a stand alone program. The filter file (PTLens.8BF) showed up, but had a 0kb size. However, by copying the .8BF file from the stand alone program over to the PS Filter folder, it then worked from within PS. The beauty of using it from within PS is that it did everything automatically, correcting the distortion of the image, although you can still make further adjustments if required.
I have attached the example I did manually so you can see the result. As can be seen (right hand image), you will have to crop the altered image, so this needs to be taken into account when using it. All in all though, it seems to do a good job....well, from one test anyway.... and is very easy to use. I need to take some more photos and try it out further, but on the basis of this test, I am leaning more on the side of purchasing it than not (if that makes sense!).

[ricktas]

Thanks. agree. I downloaded the trial and it worked well. Posted this thread to see what others thought, cause it certainly seems like a great add-on for PS if you use lenses that are prone to distortion.

[arthurking83]

Apparently it does one of the best fisheye lens 'de-fishing' routines too!

[bconolly]

Waaay too late for this, but yes I use it as an Aperture plug-in and it's exceptional for Barrel Distortion correction. However, anecdotally, most of the people I know who already have Photoshop are happy with it's corrections and don't feel the need to purchase PTLens