Review: CrumplePop ToneGrade color correction plug-in 
By Steve Douglas
Last Update: 01 February 2012 07:42 AM
Author: Steve Douglas
It was inevitable that third-party software companies would begin to update their plug-ins for Apple’s new Final Cut Pro X as soon as they could. Some already have, but with limited success, as adjustable parameters in previous sets are not always found in the Final Cut Pro X versions, and I have found that some are not as stable as they may have been in legacy versions of Final Cut Pro.
While CrumplePop has updated their split screen plug-in previously reviewed here and actually made improvements to it in that, for the Final Cut Pro X update, you can add color corrected clips to the many split screen options which will retain the color correction, this review will focus on CrumplePop’s completely new plug-in, ToneGrade for Final Cut Pro X.
There are some similarities to other plug-in packages on the market, but CrumplePop’s ToneGrade comes in at a fraction of the price of their competitors, is completely stable with Final Cut Pro X and offers many advantages in its simplicity of use, the diverse footage types it can be applied to, and how much it can improve your imaging results.
While I wouldn’t quite call ToneGrade a color grading application like Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Looks or a touch up app like Digital Anarchy’s Beauty Box, I would say that ToneGrade can provide you with the tools you need to make the subtle changes to your images color tone that can smooth out the wrinkles in skin or simply make your image pop just the little bit it needs to stand out.
In a nutshell, ToneGrade uses an image processing technique which simulates the properties of high dynamic range photography, quickly allowing you to dial in the small amounts of tone mapping to your image while expanding the details in both your highlights and shadows. Unlike full color grading applications which often soften or smear fine details, I found ToneGrade to be able to grade the image of my clips while retaining or even punching up the small details stylizing it for a greater dramatic appearance.
In Final Cut Pro X, ToneGrade, once installed, can be found in your effects browser under ‘Basics’. Scroll down to the bottom of your folder and ToneGrade will be there waiting for you to apply it as you would any effect in Final Cut X. Making sure your video inspector is open and set to Video, drag ToneGrade on to your clip. You will then see a short list of ToneGrade adjustable parameters for you to use. There are not too many so as to confuse or overwhelm you, but just what you need to accomplish the task at hand. We’ve all seen some effects parameters that really don’t accomplish a whole lot for the image. However, each one of the parameters provided in Tone Grade actually can make a huge difference.
The first parameter, Depth, adjust the mid-tones and highlights. I found that, in its own way, it separates certain details from others creating just what it says, depth. At the same time it crushes shadows a bit, but you can use the depth slider or ToneGrade’s own Exposure slider to bring the blacks back up and balance out the image to your liking.
The Fine Detail slider does an excellent job on bringing up the smaller details like hair or, should you want it, the cragginess in an individual’s skin.
The Coarse Detail parameter is similar, but focuses more on the larger outline details. From my testing, this was the only parameter that should be used parsimoniously as bringing it up too much made the image look rough and somewhat cartoonish. Then again, any parameter adjustment to any plug-in should not be done to the extreme for a well graded and color corrected image.
The Shadow Depth setting further helps to avoid crushing the blacks too much maintaining details even in the darker areas of the image and worked quite nicely.
The Saturation parameter works as any saturate/desaturate tool might work.
ToneGrade can be used to simply smooth out the wrinkles and blemishes to a face as well as sharpen details. The Skin Smoothing slider does just that; it helps smooth skin appearance out without creating a cartoon effect. Use it in small amounts to maintain realism.
Both the Color Cool/Warm and Cool/Warm Intensity sliders adjust the overall tone of the image without effecting the image details. Drag the slider to the left for a cooler effect and to the right for a warmer look.
Usually I avoid using sliders as I don’t find them to be as precise as I like and wind up typing my settings in. Not sure why, but the sliders for ToneGrade were very easy to move about in Final Cut Pro X.
I found that just applying ToneGrade to a clip improved the image with its default settings. Below I applied ToneGrade to a clip of a Sand Tiger Shark on the wreck of the Spar in N. Carolina.
Third party creation of plug-ins strictly developed for Final Cut Pro X was inevitable, and CrumplePop has produced the first plug-in devised only for Final Cut Pro X.
They are to be congratulated on doing a great job of it. Some real thought and effort have obviously gone into bringing this plug-in to the Final Cut Pro X community. On another note, I am known for frequently commenting on a company’s website and its user friendliness. As I have noted before, CrumplePop has always maintained excellently produced video tutorials for any of their plug-ins. The three separate video tutorial for ToneGrade were all well done and easily accessible. CrumplePop even has a couple of other plug-ins I didn’t know existed called ‘Paul Irmiter: Dacar set for light looks, and an interesting set of ‘Noir Moderne’ dramatic lighting effects. If their quality is as good as ToneGrade, I will have to check them out myself; soon.
CrumplePop’s ToneGrade plug-in for Final Cut Pro X was provided to the reviewer free of charge for the purpose of an objective review. In no way, is the reviewer obligated to provide either a positive or negative review. It is available to purchase from CrumplePop for $75.00.
Steve Douglas is a certified Apple Pro for Final Cut Pro 7 and underwater videographer. A winner of the 1999 Pacific Coast Underwater Film Competition, 2003 IVIE competition, 2004 Los Angeles Underwater Photographic competition, and the prestigious 2005 International Beneath the Sea Film Competition, where he also won the Stan Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography and 'Diver of the Year', Steve was a safety diver on the feature film "The Deep Blue Sea", contributed footage to the Seaworld Park's Atlantis production, and productions for National Geographic and the History channels. Steve was a feature writer for Asian Diver Magazine and is one of the founding organizers of the San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. He is available for both private and group seminars for Final Cut Pro and leads underwater filming expeditions and African safaris with upcoming excursions to the Cocos Islands, Costa Rica, and Hawaii. Feel free to contact him if you are interested in joining Steve on any of these exciting trips.
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Comment(s):Very balanced and erudite review, Alex. Thanks for taking the time to cover the topic in such extensive and useful detail.
Posted by StephenFrink on 11/17 at 10:19 AMVery well done Alex! Thanks for the effort and thorough review. And the WA Clownfish is super.
Best rgds,
Michael Patrick O’NeillPosted by Michael on 11/17 at 11:58 AMA great report Alex, It looks a great in the
subal housing & is very compact.
Very Well Done,
AndyPosted by AndyBarker on 11/17 at 01:43 PMThanks for a great review Alex. I always love to read a review of a new camera from someone who has major experience with its brothers and sisters. Not to mention the joy I felt when seeing your hand-modeling photo.
Posted by James Wiseman on 11/17 at 03:04 PMThanks guys (need hairier arms, James). I was asked question about the 105mm VR - and how it fits in the older style Subal ports. Felt my answer was worth repeating here.
Didn’t take the 105mm VR to the Red Sea, but with the correct port I am sure it is fine on the D700, as it was on the D3. It is best with Subal’s dedicated 105mm VR port (this is what I used it with on the D3), but Martin Edge used his with the old 105mm port on his D300. On my D2X, I have always used a home made port extension ring.
The downside of the official Subal 105mm VR port (as I stated in my D3 review) is that there is no room in there for a dioptre.
Posted by Dr. Alex Mustard on 11/18 at 01:27 AMThanks a lot for this review. For non professional users as i am, these bodies & housing are a dream. Thanks to let us dream !
Posted by divocean on 11/18 at 03:49 AMWow, great review Alex. I’m a Canon guy and will probably never have the opportunity to shoot the Nikon but I really enjoyed your effort. The images you are able to achieve are simply breath taking. Thanks!
StevePosted by Steve Williams on 11/18 at 10:46 AMHi Alex,
First off. Great review and coverage of this particular housing and options. You state “the underwater world provides very few opportunities to utilise this feature above ISO 400”, but don’t forget the guys diving in temperate (cold, green and dark) waters! I myself am pining for any U/W setup that can handle higher ISO’s in the water I mostly dive in. My D80 -not in the same league- fails miserably at ISO400 and higher here in the Netherlands.
Posted by Arne on 11/19 at 06:24 AMAlex,
Great review!
As I mentioned in my email; I ordered my housing. Good news is that Ryan should be shipping it tomorrow, unfortunately not in time for Friday’s first Manatee outing with Michelle and Carol. A minor detail to add is that the housing has an extra bulkhead. I have Ryan creating a USB port for me so that I will be able to use Nikon Camera Control and have a laptop on a table for my pool stuff for immediate review without having to take the card out etc. How cool is that!
JeffPosted by loftus on 11/19 at 05:16 PMAlex,
Great review!
Ryan should be shipping my housing tomorrow. Yesssssssss!
Unfortunately not likely to be in time for my first manatee outing on Friday with Carol and Michelle.
A minor detail to add, is that the housing has an extra bulkhead. I’m having Ryan fir mine for a USB connection. The plan is to use Nikon Capture Pro on a laptop for my pool stuff. Immediate download and review without having to open the housing to download the card. How cool is that!
JeffPosted by loftus on 11/19 at 05:19 PMI agree about temperate waters, Arne. Check out my D3 review from Canada.
Good stuff, Jeff. Will you be able to control your camera through the USB? That way you could just sit in a chair and leave the camera on a tripod in the pool!Posted by Dr. Alex Mustard on 11/20 at 01:53 AMI’ve downloaded a trial of Nikon Camera Control Pro, and it looks like you can control the camera as well as take pics with the camera and see the images immediately on the computer screen. Yeah, I could set up the lounge chair and maybe get the model to serve me a beer before diving in. :)
Posted by loftus on 11/20 at 04:21 AMHello colleagues,
thanks for the great review. I have a Subal D3 housing and I´m currently considering fitting an USB port for polecam work, so my question is:
Who´s Ryan, is he from backscatter.com?
Posted by Andrej Belic on 11/20 at 08:26 AMRyan is at Reef Photo; they advertise on the sidebar on the front page
Posted by loftus on 11/20 at 08:57 AMDr. Mustard,
Thank you for the extremely informative review, and the photos are stunning as well. In particular, it is reassuring to hear your thoughts about the D700 vs. D300 as I already have Subal’s D300 housing and am totally in love with the 10-17. When Nikon’s high resolution SLR is shipping I will revisit the idea of upgrading to FX, and this review along with your D3 review provide an excellent framework for lens selection and technique when making the jump. Thank you again.
SterlingPosted by sterlingz on 11/20 at 12:01 PMAlex,
Thanks for the nice review. I guess you would not recommend the D700 to people (like me) who lik eto keep using their Tokina DX (10-17) lense? D300 would then probably be a better option? Albert KokPosted by albert kok on 11/28 at 07:27 AMHi Alex,
Interesting review. I’m tempted by the low light performance and getting a wider angle back with the 60mm macro, but it’s interesting to see that the smaller sensor of the D300 has advantages too. I just started using a Tokina 35mm macro, which has the same angle on a DX sensor as the 60mm on a FX, but it focuses too close to the front of the port to use it’s full magnification.
I wondered which port that is on the front of the housing shown here?
Bernard
Posted by BernardPicton on 12/22 at 01:08 PMHi Bernard,
The D700 is a very interesting camera - but for what I suspect you need it for the D300 really has every base covered.
This port on the camera here is one of the variety of 4” domes that Subal made. The most well know was the one for the 20mm, but they made a variety on longer ports too. I am not sure that they make them anymore. Peter Rowlands tends to use them for studio shots because they look nice and don’t obscure too many features of the housing (unlike a larger dome port).
Alex
Posted by Dr. Alex Mustard on 12/24 at 05:49 AMHi Alex,
Thank you for the great review.I agree with Arne. Don’t forget the cold water people around the world. Here in the northwest we get some great kelp forests in the summer that are not as tall as the California kelp. This allows the sun to come streaming in. Too bad you couldn’t have taken it down to San Diego and run through the kelp in the summer and see if you still don’t see a need for High ISO. Come on up to Seattle or Nanaimo and see if you can’t find use for the High ISO.
I do have a question. I am using a D70s with the 6 Mega pixel DX sensor and older focusing firmware. Would it be worth it to move up to FX sensor, newer firmware and double the pixels that the D700 would provide or stay with DX, double my pixels and better firmware the D300 provides? I am already compensating for not seeing the full frame in my view finder, so that is not a problem.Posted by Chogless on 10/10 at 09:47 AM
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