Other Software > Found Deals and Discounts
Sagelight Image Editor - pay what you want promo (Apil 2010)
Rob Nelson:
Hi, Everyone.
I thought I'd let you know where everything is at with Sagelight.
* 1. Sagelight Version 4.0 is very much alive. It has been delayed by some factors, not all of which I can go into, but I can go into one:
* 2. Because it's been delayed for various reasons, I was able to keep up with development. I have developed a very large volume of code and technology. The technology has been along two lines: powerful functions and making them easy to use, but also a lot of core image processing math -- I've developed a lot of new technology designed to keep images more pure but also to make things more intuitive and easy to use.
* 3. I am just a few short days away from the pre-release I've been mentioning, and will hopefully have a beta of it out in two days.
* 4. One of the delays has been that the new technology is extensive and fairly complicated. Writing it in SSE2 code and SSE4 code has been quite a task (actually, I'm surprised at the increase in speed you can get out of SSE4 vs. SSE2). Since Sagelight supports non-SSE4 computers, it means having two routines for each function that uses SSE.
* 5. Much of the UI has been revamped, particularly in what used to be called the "Pro Quick Edit Mode" in order to make it the default mode. I've added a layered system with Local Contrast, Soft Light, Hard Light, Smart Contrast, Saturation, Curves, etc., all with controllable mask layers.
* 6. Once I get this pre-release out, then I will be updating into Version 4.0 fairly constantly. The main issue about not having a release for a while is that I revamped the engine and internal UI, so it took awhile to put it all back together. That clearly wasn't the best plan -- so, now that it is all-but put back together, future releases will be far more discreet so I can keep updates on a much more regular schedule.
* I am 99.5% done with this pre-release, and I don't think it will be more than 2-3 days before I have it out.
About the lifetime version sale.
I've been doing that for a couple reasons. One, I have been delayed on getting version 4.0 out, so it's my way of saying thanks for waiting. But, also, I really don't like the idea of raising the price. I think it's necessary because I think it's been proven to me that to keep it cheaper causes higher-end features to not get looked at. I saw this first-hand with the original version Lightbox. So, I am very happy to give out the lifetime licenses for $39.95 for the time-being until I get to a certain point with getting version 4 out. I appreciate the support, and I do believe it will be well-worth it in just a little while when I get out a few planned updates.
I will be ending the lifetime promotion and the current price at some point in the near future, which is a little undefined. But, here is the basic schedule, and I won't change the pricing until at least pre-release #2, and then will figure out how to work it out incrementally after that.
1. pre-release #1. Has a revamped UI in the "Pro Quick Edit Mode", Power Curves, Vibrance, Vibrance Curves, user-loaded/saved profiles, 3 new saturation algorithms designed specifically for color reproduction, a number of other technology items like Highlight Preservation. Direct C*I*E LAB and HSL color space modes, as well as XYZ, Yxy, HSB, HunterLab, YCrCb, and other modes via the Power Curves. Re-designed masking and resizable mask display windows. Overflow display (for lost black points & white points), a number of general items like more Photo Filter algorithms designed for perceptual-based color, Separate Channel Display (in RGB, C*I*E LAB, and HSL color space modes). A number of other things.
2. pre-release #2. This adds some things I couldn't get in this first pre-release, and should come 2-3 weeks after pre-release #1. Notably, this adds Edge Sharpening in the L channel, with a user-defined/shaped mask for the edges. A multi-processor version of CLAHE, a derivative of which also turns out to be quite amazing for local contrast, high-pass blending functions (for CLAHE, but also general masking, which has some very interesting qualities), more blending modes (difference, high-pass, soft-light, etc.), various UI updates (based on requests), downloadable tutorial templates/profiles, and a RAW control-panel with demoasic selections, as well as an algorithm to detect highlight overflows for RAW files (that will suggest you reload it with Highlight reduction on where it will help)
3. 4.0 Release. This is the official release of version 4.0. This major component in this release is the layer system that will replace the UI in the Pro Quick Edit Mode (called the Kayak Mode now) that will become the default, or at least switchable with the Quick Edit Mode. This will work a little like Lightroom in some sense (as a context), where you have controls like the Local Contrast Slider, Vibrance, Saturation, Soft Light, Smart Contrast, etc., but will be plug-n-play where you can add and remove layers (for example, it is very convenient to have two local contrast layers, one with a higher radius, one with smaller one, etc.) as well as adjust the mask and curve-mask (where it exists) for each layer, and change the order of most layers.
After that, I have a number of items I will steadily add to it since I have the engine back together in its new format. It's always been layer-based, but this makes it much more powerful!
Anyway, I'll have the pre-release out in just a couple days now, and I will put up a video later with a demo of what I'm working on. I think I have just one example up right now at www.sagelighteditor.com/newsagelight1.html (as well as the one pointed to at http://www.sagelighteditor.com/discussion.html). I'll put the discussion board back up when I get this pre-release out.
Well, I hope that helps! I've been working very hard on version 4.0, and your support has been very appreciated.
Rob
Curt:
Thanks for assuring us of version 4, Rob.
Kind regards from newly Sagelight lifetime license owner, Curt ;)
Edited:
Extra glad to see the low price even included VAT.
cthorpe:
Any hint as to how long the 39.99 lifetime sale will last? I want to buy a copy, but I would like to put it off as long as possible.
C
Curt:
-based on Rob's sections 1 and 2 (pre-release #1 and #2 schedules), I think it is safe to expect the price won't change before next pay-day / new-year. But it is of course not for me to promise ;-)
cranioscopical:
@Rob Nelson
Thanks for posting about this, Rob.
Looking forward to see what you've been doing with Sagelight!
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