The images above help to give you an idea how different each film setting is. The overall tonal range, grain, contrast, and saturation are quite different from film to film as is the grain. It's the grain and the control over it that really makes Exposure a plug-in worth owning. Click on the images above for an enlargement.

In the two examples below you'll see side-by-side cropped photo's. These have been cropped at 100% magnification in order to give you an enlarged view of the quality of the film grain that Exposure generates.   Unlike other programs that try to simulate grain by adding more noise "dots," Exposure creates grain that truly looks film like. You cannot appreciate the film-like quality on a 4x6" print, but make an 8x10" or 11x14" enlargement and the difference is noticeable.

Exposure's Film Grain vs. Photoshop Noise

In the next two side-by-side photographs I took a color photograph of downtown Portsmouth, NH and added a b&w film filter to it in Exposure. I then tried to duplicate the output using LEVELS and NOISE within Photoshop to try to simulate the same film look.



Exposure is much more than what it seems. Yes, Exposure is a powerful plug-in for photographers who would like the ability to simulate the look of current and discontinued film stocks, but the software also helps to speed up other image enhancements with easy-to-use sliders to control curves and more advanced algorithms for tools such as focus (sharpness & blur), Color (Filter, Saturation, Cooling & Warming), and full control over grain - allowing you to add variable levels of grain in shadows, midtones, or highlights. You're even able to adjust grain size and color variation. By default, all changes made within Exposure's pop-up control panel do not affect the original layer. Instead a new layer is created, allowing you to quickly create a few scenarios to compare.