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Before & After: Version A/B Comparison

During extended grading sessions, human vision rapidly suffers from chromatic adaptation fatigue (often mistaking warm skin casts for neutral). Alcedo Studio provides an A/B Visual Comparison System, enabling objective evaluation of your grade against the original unadjusted frame or side-by-side comparison between multiple named versions.

Launching A/B Comparison & Assigning Sources​

You can initiate comparison mode at any time from the main viewport toolbar or the Versions panel:

Unadjusted vs current grade with split divider Using the interactive split divider to evaluate before and after treatments

Two Primary Evaluation Scenarios​

  1. Before vs. After:
    • Click Compare in the canvas toolbar.
    • Side A automatically loads the "Unadjusted" raw baseline, while Side B displays your latest grade.
  2. Version A vs. Version B:
    • Open the Versions drawer on the left and click Compare.
    • Use the Source A and Source B dropdowns to select any two saved version branches (for example, comparing "500T Warm Film" against "Tri-X High Contrast").

Comparison Layouts & Interactive Controls​

Entering comparison mode reveals the Comparison Controls inspector on the right:

A/B source, layout, swap and close controls Switching flexibly between split divider, side-by-side, and stacked modes

Layout ModeVisual InteractionBest Practical Use
DividerAn interactive vertical line spans the canvas. Dragging the divider smoothly reveals either side with pixel-for-pixel spatial alignment.The most popular micro-inspection mode. Ideal for checking skin shine, eye sharpness, noise reduction boundaries, and subtle vignette falloff.
Complete Images: Left / RightSide-by-side layout rendering two full, un-occluded frames.Evaluating macro contrast balance, warm/cool color separation, and overall compositional mood.
Complete Images: Top / BottomVertically stacked layout displaying two complete frames.Examining horizon line balance and sky-to-ground contrast in panoramic or wide landscape crops.
Swap A and BInstantly flips the visual positions of Source A and Source B.Neutralizes subjective left-to-right reading order bias.

Operational Mechanics & State Safeguards​

  • Focused Review: While comparison mode is active, GPU resources are dedicated to dual-buffer composition. Parameter sliders and version switching are temporarily locked to prevent accidental parameter mutations during review.
  • Retry Mechanism: If video memory pressure delays frame generation, click Retry to re-trigger the dual-render pipeline.
  • Instant Exit: When finished, click Close in the top bar to return to standard editing.

With your adjustments refined and verified, proceed to Export Workflow: Batch Queue & Presets to deliver your finished images!