I have two questions: Are these plugins really worth their money when compared to the Photoshop Extract function or any other Photoshop way of masking? And if so, which of the following two is best and why, Corel's Knockout2 or Extensis' MaskPro3? People with experience using both or either of these, please chime in with your comment?
#1
To be honest, I own Knockout 2, have worked with both MaskPro3 and base Extract tool ... none of which are really as intuitive as the examples and literature make them out to be. In the long run, I've always found out that using the Quick Mask is easier, more precise and faster than the countless amount of tweaking and sampling you have to do to get a good resuld from any of the masking programs.
Just my opinion, of course.
#2
I don't know about MaskPro 3, but I was not impressed with MaskPro 2. Knockout is very useful, but has a fair learning curve. There are times that a mixture of methods is the best: quick mask, pen tool, Knockout, etc. What Knockout excels in is more realistic transitions with soft edged masks and obliteration of edge colour casts.
#3
I don't think they are. Like Bludvlz I find using quick mask with my graphic tablet a lot faster and a lot easier. Extract works pretty good for something's, but the secret to it is to get as small a border on what you want to mask as possible. That means zooming in close with a small brush size and going at it slowly.
For the best in masking get the book Channel Chops. It hasn't been updated in ages but it is still very relevant and a must have book.
Robert
#4