K10D RAW Support AT LAST in Corel Paint Shop Pro® Photo X2 !

Hi everyone

Corel® announces the latest version of Paint Shop Pro® Photo X2 which FINALLY supports RAW file editing for Pentax's K10D/100D/110D etc. There are also some nice additional features which include:

1. NEW High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photo Merge
When shooting high-contrast scenes, HDR Photo Merge lets you do the impossible. Shoot one photo for the shadows and another for the highlights, and combine both to optimise the detail. This is impossible to do otherwise with any digital or film camera!

2. NEW Express Lab
Process an entire folder of photos all at once without sacrificing power for speed or having to open each one. Perform rapid edits such as cropping, straightening, blemish and red eye removal. With your first draft done you’re ready to dive in and do more detailed work on a select few images.

3. NEW Makeover Tools – Thinify® and Eye Drops
Two brand new Makeover Tools give you even more choice when retouching your photos. Thinify makes anybody you click look instantly thinner and Eye Drops removes the bloodshot red to restore the whites of the eye.

4. NEW Scan Slicer
Now it’s easy to cut up images that have been scanned in together - simply select the new ‘Crop to New Image’ option and each time you ‘OK’ a crop, it will be put into a new document.

5. Improved Save, including Auto-Preserve Originals
Never accidentally overwrite an original file again! This feature checks to see if this is the first time you have saved and automatically saves the original version one folder deeper on your hard drive. Restore to Original is always available as a safety net.

Best regards
Richard

Blimey. It's lonely out here on my own. Does NOBODY else use Paint Shop Pro anymore ?
I thought there might at least be SOME replies to my original post ??

Best regards...the LONESOME cowboy !!
Richard

Photoshop is the "industry standard" and although there will be users of other programs, PS probably accounts for a very, very high percentage.

I've never used Paint Shop Pro, but I know there are keen users out there.

Additionally, many use a stand alone RAW converter (like Silkypix, Capture One, or Lightroom) that removes the need for specific support in the image editing application... and gives better quality images as well

As John rightly says, Photoshop is probably "the" standard. I've used Corel Photo Paint and Paintshop Pro but have always found the image adjustments in Photoshop (and Photoshop Elements) to be quicker and more intuitive.

But that's only my opinion

Matt

If you want to retain as much image quality as possible, it's generally better, as Matt says, to use a specialised RAW converter, of which Silkypix is an excellent example, and then use an image-editing program to do any other adjustments that you may deem necessary.

Personally, I seldom see a need for further adustments.

G

Despite it being the industry standard, I wonder how many on this list actually do use it and which version. I don't doubt it will be the majority use application but would it be as high as, say, 75 per cent? For me, Bibble Lite and its plugins do 90 per cent of what I want out of an imaging application and I use the GIMP for the rest. I'm not the only person who refuses to shell out 400 odd quid for an imaging programme am I (or am I ?)

Adrian

Capture One LE and Photoshop Elements 4 for me. Can't justify cost of full photoshop, Elements does all I really need.

Dan

We'll never know, because even a poll will only tell us how many PS users there are who bother to answer polls.

At the camera club I would guess 90% plus of the members are PS users, mostly CS2 but quite a few 7. And a growing minority of CS3.

And they've all paid out several hundred pounds for them? No need to answer that, I don't want you to incriminate half your club.

Dan

Have downloaded a trial version PSPX2 - and have to say it thankfully seems faster than previous versions (last trialled version X I think and it was painfully slow on my machine).

I do like the HDR tool - very quick and easy to get acceptable results. As I can upgrade rel cheaply from a previous version (7), I might just do that!
Andy

The short answer is that I have no idea and it's not really for me to ask. I assume that they have.

What I can tell you is that the clubs own copy of PS7 was purchased for £580 or so, and the upgrade to CS2 cost an additional sum that I forget, but may have been around £135.

Organisations certainly cannot dodge the issue, and individuals will find it more and more difficult to once Vista becomes the norm. I presume this is much of the reason for introducing Vista?

Well, I'll happily admit to using PSP (now upgraded to X2).

I've tried the others and this one fits my style of use and preferences and I'm very happy with the results I get from it.

I did play with Bibble for some time for RAW processing, but it exceeds my needs. I've also tried PS and PSE.

I can't justify the extortionate (IMHO) price of PS when I won't use 99% of its features where I can find 90%+ of the ones I need from software that costs a fraction of the price.

One thing I'd certainly say, PSP is very slow compared to, say, Bibble which is like lightening in comparison, but I'm patient enough

Hi Jonathan (chirpy)

I totally agree with you when you state that:

and perhaps more to the point:

Adobe PS is a prime example of software-engineered 'Bloatware' gone hopelessly out of control, as the company simultaneously continues to 'fleece' it's well-heeled European customer-base, whilst trying to stem the massive haemorrhage of lost revenue, caused by millions of illegally pirated copies which seem to circulate virtually unchecked around certain areas of the world !
As an aside, I recently downloaded the latest trial version 4.9 of BIBBLE Pro in order to have a quick 'look-see' and was totally GOBSMACKED to discover that there is
NO UNDO button !....ANYWHERE !! I understand that the original RAW file is left untouched by the software, but this is BASIC STUFF by modern standards ! It's almost like something out of the Dark Ages although granted there are Prehistoric key-strokes available, but I simply refuse to work this way. Despite the many apparent benefits of the software, I have temporarily dismissed it from consideration until someone in this outfit finally sees sense and 'pull's their finger out' to fix this stupid anomaly !
I have just ordered the X2 upgrade from Corel, having previously used v 8.10 quite happily for a number of years and wondered how you are getting on with the new software. I would like to keep v 8.10 running separately, but fear that X2 may well 'trash it' in the process ? What has been your experience with X2 thus far ?

Best regards
Richard

I have to say that I totally agree about the rip-off pricing of PS. When companies charge such outrageous prices it almost becomes a moral duty to rip them off back by using pirated software.

My motto is: If you can't do it in Silkypix, it's not worth doing.

A bit extreme, perhaps, but it works for me. Most of the time.

G

Now that I have a set of ND and ND grad filters I can do more when taking the picture, BUT for some pictures a merge is needed to get the sky and foreground balanced. A RAW converter can't do that, neither can it remove a dustspec from an image. I resolved part of the problem by buying Artizen which does the merging and tonemapping very nicely.