photo-editing

CyberLink PhotoDirector 2011 is the first photo-editing program from the company behind PowerDirector, a top-rated video-editing tool. It's due to go on sale later this month for $99.95.

However, if you're game to be a beta tester and provide a little feedback, you can get PhotoDirector 2011 absolutely free.

To get started, just click the above link, then provide your name and e-mail address. You'll receive instructions for downloading the PhotoDirector 2011 beta. Test-drive the software, then e-mail the feedback form to CyberLink no later than June 20.

By June 30, you'll receive an e-mail … Read more

Acorn is an easy-to-use but still relatively feature-filled image editor that provides a lower-cost alternative to professional editing programs. With its slimmed-down interface--just a single palette and a document window--Acorn feels much like Apple's iLife applications, but it still provides a full array of editing features, including multiple layers (with masks), vector shapes, filters (such as tilt-shift, plus support for Quartz Composer compositions), blending, gradients, text and drawing tools (including a Brush Designer for custom brushes), and a hex color picker.

What makes this app most appealing is its ease of use and raw speed: Acorn takes full advantage … Read more

Adobe Systems, with a Photoshop-like demo on an iPad yesterday, is beginning to show more of the fruits of its tablet-computing labor. And it's a good thing, too, because there's no guarantee the company's power in desktop software will extend to tablets.

It's no secret Adobe Systems is working on graphics programs for tablets--indeed, John Nack, the leader of Adobe's tablet work, has been soliciting advice about exactly what to do since last year and Adobe has demonstrated other Photoshop features on Android and iPad tablets. But the fact that the company is shedding more … Read more

Adobe Systems released Lightroom 3.3 that supports 15 new cameras; adds profiles to automatically correct optical problems with dozens of lenses from Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and Sigma; and corrects a long list of bugs.

Lightroom, like its top rival Apple Aperture, is geared for editing and cataloging photos, especially those in the higher-quality but ungainly raw image formats recorded directly from camera image sensors. Raw formats therefore must be created for each camera, and though only higher-end models can shoot raw, there still are a lot of new models to keep up with.

New to Lightroom 3.3--and to … Read more

What's clogging up more PCs these days than adware, bloatware, and malware combined? Digital snapshots, that's what. Everybody's got a digital camera, and isn't afraid to use it. Meanwhile, My Pictures fills up with folders labeled by dates or, worse, meaningless alphanumeric codes, and the idea that you're going to get around to sorting it all out "someday" slips into a running joke--as in it's a joke how quickly you run away from the job. Obviously, you need help, but let's start with all those pictures: What you really need is … Read more

SunlitGreen PhotoEdit Portable is a lightweight program that allows simple corrections and changes to digital images. The program won't replace more full-featured software like Photoshop, but it's a great choice for putting the finishing touches on your images.

The program's interface is plain and intuitive, with menus and a toolbar across the top and a large area for viewing the image you're working on. Too many image editing programs we've seen have had fancy-looking interfaces at the expense of usability, and we're happy to say that SunlitGreen PhotoEdit doesn't fall into this trap; … Read more

Adobe Systems pushed out updates Wednesday to both its Photoshop Express online photo tool and photo-editing app for Android devices that bring some noteworthy improvements.

The biggest change, besides an increase in overall speed on the Web version of Photoshop Express, is that the site no longer requires users to register in order to use it. Unregistered users can now upload their photo, make edits, then download it without any administrative barriers. Adobe has also separated each tool into its own unit, similar to what it does with the library and develop modules of its Photoshop Lightroom software.

As part … Read more

It was only a matter of time, but three months after acquiring Web-based photo editor Picnik, Google has gotten around to integrating the service into Picasa Web Albums.

Now, if a Picasa Web Albums user wants to make a quick edit to a photo, they can do so without leaving the photo page. Previously a user would have needed the software version of Picasa installed, or to use an external editor (such as Picnik)--both of which made for a disjointed experience.

While a seemingly minor move, it's the first step by Google to integrate the Picnik editor into … Read more

Adobe on Thursday released a beta version of an update to its new Photoshop CS5 software that adds the ability to automatically correct lens problems in raw image files.

The Camera Raw 6.1 update beta uses profiles of several cameras and lenses to automatically fix color problems called chromatic aberration, geometric problems called distortion, and darkened corners called vignetting. In addition, in the raw files, photographers can manually change the perspective of a photo somewhat, for example making the converging lines of a building parallel in a shot taken from the ground looking up.

The update also adds support … Read more