For those who don’t know the tool: Optics is a photo effects plugin and standalone app from Boris FX, using tools from Sapphire and Particle Illusion inside Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Apple Photos, Capture One and Affinity Photo.
Host hopping arrives
Optics 2026.5 moves beyond its Adobe-only plugin lane. The release adds plugin support for Apple Photos, Capture One and Affinity Photo, while keeping Photoshop, Lightroom and the standalone application in the same license. Nobody needs another export detour just to add a light leak.
So photographers can keep more of the finishing pass inside the host they already use. The toolkit now fits RAW finishing, portrait retouching, background treatment, look building and quick still-image VFX without forcing every job through Photoshop.
The licensing model stays single-seat in spirit. One license covers all supported host applications and the standalone version. For small shops and solo retouchers, that matters more than another majestic slider with a dramatic name. Or some bloody GenAI.
Lightroom users keep the earlier workflow, but the new hosts make the tool more interesting for mixed pipelines. A photographer can start in Capture One, send an image through the plugin, or use the standalone version when a host roundtrip makes less sense. Test that handoff on duplicate files before a client gallery gets involved.
Analog mess, politely caged
S_FilmBurn is the new analog chaos machine. It recreates overexposed film effects using high-resolution scans of damaged celluloid. The controls cover light leaks, lens flares, natural film grain, perforation ghosts, leader elements and burnt sprockets.
That list is nicely specific. It also means the filter targets the kind of imperfection artists usually fake with overlays, stock elements or a shoebox of dubious scans from 2009. Here the burn sits inside the effect stack, with controls for a gentle edge kiss or a full theatrical accident.
S_Grunge gets a more practical update for portrait and editorial backgrounds. It now includes hand-painted, high-resolution stamp presets based on oil paint, chalk, ink, sponge, splatters, florals and damask patterns. A seed slider changes the look, size and colour of the stamps, and the generator includes more than 60 presets.
For portrait workers, that is the release’s least noisy but possibly most useful bit. A small texture set can produce many backdrop variations without reshooting, repainting canvas, or pretending a wrinkled sheet is “fine in post”. The customisation options include per-element colour changes, so the background can follow the subject rather than fight it in a tiny velvet jacket.
Sapphire also gets an updated presence inside the release. The included update adds S_FilmBurn, enhanced S_Grunge presets, eight new pro lens flares and curated presets. The official wording leans cinematic, but the practical reading is simpler: more lens and texture looks are now available in the photo workflow.
Particles, masks and colour knobs
Particle Illusion gains new handmade particle sprites designed for photographers. The update adds improved animations, better camera control, more than 30 additional presets and cinemagraph export at various frame rates.
That part is quite usefull for social and editorial stills work that now end up moving, looping or twitching quietly in the corner of a campaign page. Sparkles, smoke, fire, sci-fi and magical elements can be added to photos, then exported as cinemagraphs instead of stopping at a static composite.
Face ML adds two automatic segmentation options: nose and neck. The same feature already covers facial regions such as skin, eyebrows, eyes, lips, mouth, teeth and beard. For retouching, selective colour and local effect work, that can cut down hand-drawn masks. It does not remove judgment. It removes some of the boring tracing. Good deal, provided the masks survive your actual faces.
Color Mixer is the calmer addition. It uses sliders for hue, saturation and luma channels, includes 16 presets and lives in the Optics Essentials, Landscapes and Portrait filter categories. The controls are not a replacement for a grading environment, but they put common colour moves in the same stack as lens flares, masks, film damage and backgrounds.
The release also updates UpRes ML for more accurate results. That is the kind of tool that deserves a controlled test before it touches paid work, especially on skin, hair, typography or fine fabric. New machine-learning helpers can save time, and they can also invent confidence very efficiently.
Borders, pets and the money bit
The Borders category adds tintype and wet plate textures created using traditional techniques. The frame set includes more than 10 new presets, and users can adjust individual border elements to build their own versions.
THIS IS IMPORTANT
The Gilded Paw Looks Collection is the separate paid oddity in the basket. It includes 10 Looks for turning digital photos into Victorian-style portraits using tintype, wet plate and antique studio photography techniques. The pack uses the newest Optics 2026.5 tools, including S_Grunge, borders and particles. It is on sale for $24.95, with a regular price of $49.95, and requires access to Optics 2026.5.
That is very specific, extremely down our lane, and quite cool. Victorian pet portraiture is not every studio’s Tuesday. Still, presets built from the same new tools can be useful as recipes, even when the final image does not need to look like a spaniel inherited a haunted estate. Your Cat, on the other hand, is the natural heir of… everything.
– all of these are on default, no messing about with the myriad of options.
Pricing for Optics is $9 per month, $99 per year, $149 for a perpetual license (Yes, those exist. I know, feels odd these days, but … ), or $49 per year for an upgrade and support plan on Windows and macOS. A single license gives users access to all supported plugins and the standalone application. Active Optics, Boris FX Suite or Vegas Pro Ultimate subscriptions, plus active Optics upgrade and support plans, receive the 2026.5 release as a complimentary update.
As usual, new tools and innovations should be tested before use in production. Try the new host plugins with copies, check roundtrips, compare mask edges, verify cinemagraph exports, and make sure your favourite preset does not quietly eat your colour pipeline.
And finally edit all your pet pictures!
https://borisfx.com/products/optics/#whats-new
https://borisfx.com/products/optics/
https://borisfx.com/products/sapphire/
