If I had one complaint, it would be that the Fix Red Eye function which Corel's Learning Panel does say can be used for pets whose eyes glow a different color (like, for example, evil) is kind of spotty. It was kind of a nice touch, actually, and a good shortcut for more adventurous users. The filter allowed me to create a false depth of field and refocus the image on one element of my yawning cat.
Users will probably want to just manually adjust the images, which is mercifully easy in PSP Photo X2.Ĭorel's software offers several additional features and effects, but Depth of Field (shown above) was one I actually enjoyed a bit.
Since Zoe (my cat) was already pretty good to go in this photo, the program suggested settings that wound up making the image too bright, blowing it out and making her muzzle full-on white instead of cream-colored.Īlso available is an option dubbed Express Lab, which is really just a much larger control screen for Smart Photo Fix and thus probably more desirable to use.Īs a general rule the auto-fix options seemed to just blow out the images, but your mileage may vary.
It includes a Suggest Settings button which may or may not help your photo. Take, for example, the Smart Photo Fix, which offered some fairly simple sliders for adjusting the image quality. Using the Learning Center panel makes things simpler by offering a sort of "one stop shop" of quick fixes and adjustments. Like its various photo editor kin, Corel's Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 has a wealth of effects and filters at its disposal.
Maybe I just want to move some files, eh?
Beyond that, I don't need Windows and Corel asking me what I want to do with the flash drive I just plugged in. Microsoft, through Windows 7, is trying to break developers of the habit of just dumping "quick launchers" in the system tray. The process appears easy enough to get rid of, but the fact that it was installed at all bothers me. On the subject of file management, I do want to point out another minor annoyance with the Paint Shop Pro: It installs a process that runs in your system tray and pops up whenever you plug in flash memory. Worse still, of the options in the Get Photos list (screen capture above), not one of them is just "load from computer." I had to go to the menu bar at the top of the screen to import pictures of my feline associate from my hard drive. Fresh off using Adobe's Photoshop Elements 7, I still hate this convention. One thing that does rub me the wrong way is the reoccurring use of Organizer bins, which work like the footage bins in video editor suites, rather than like photo browsers with which most users are familiar. You can, of course, disable the Learning Center if you're comfortable enough with the software (or simply have too much lingering Clippy trauma), but I found it to be pretty invaluable. The Learning Center makes me want to this software to recommend to my mother. To say I love this feature would be a grand understatement.
Within this panel are options for wizards, or if you select any tool or filter, it will explain what is does and how to use it. To that end, Corel does something very smart with their software in the form of the Learning Center panel on the left side of the screen. In many ways that makes this kind of software simple to review just check out the available effects and auto-fixers. Consumers aren't paying for the potentially confusing wealth of options and power involved in something like Adobe Photoshop CS4 they'd rather just have something they can tinker with a bit and get the results they want.
One of the primary concerns when selecting a consumer-grade photo editor suite (as opposed to a professional grade) is newbie-friendliness.