Paint Shop Pro Photo XI Just Released
Another week, another big announcement from Corel. This time they announced Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI. I have not worked with the product so I can only judge a few things from the press release.
The first thing I noticed was that the name of the product has been changed. The word "Photo" was added. That doesn't mean there was a major change in the program as much as Corel is just trying to make sure that people realize the software is good at working with photos.
Looking through the list of new filters and effects definitely caught my eye. There are some cool new things in there. The new Snapfire Plus (in an SE version) is also included for managing files. I liked that support for Painter and Painter Essentials files were added. But it doesn't say that Corel PHOTO-PAINT files are supported! This is the second release after Corel acquired Paint Shop Pro and it still doesn't support CPT files. If that is truly the case, shame on Corel for not allowing the products to work together better.
This announcement did leave me with a lot of questions. My main image editor is Corel PHOTO-PAINT. I have used Paint Shop Pro and I find it a very good product. It just isn't the right product for me because the interface is so different from what I know. Please, PSP users, no need to try and convert me. I know you like it and I have nothing against it.
My questions come from Corel's statements on product positioning. They claim that Corel PHOTO-PAINT is their "professional" tool. Again, their words, not mine. I know the main reason is because PHOTO-PAINT works directly in Lab, CMYK and RGB. Paint Shop Pro can't work natively in CMYK.
So if PSP is the mid-level product (again, not my words) and PHOTO-PAINT is the pro level product, shouldn't PHOTO-PAINT have all of the same features as PSP? As far as photo editing goes, PSP has many more features. It even has native RAW support though it wasn't that great in PSP X. I hope it has improved in PSP XI.
This all goes back to my recent comments on Corel's new acquisitions. Corel's history shows that they don't really do a good job of blending products into the family. The Paint Shop Pro development takes place in a Minnesota office. CorelDRAW Suite development takes place in Ottawa. Based on the lack of synergy between the two product lines, it is really obvious that these offices are in two separate places.
I really hope Corel will make me eat these words. I would love to see a major upgrade to Corel PHOTO-PAINT that adds more filters and effects geared towards digital photography. I would love to see native RAW processing that is every bit as good or better than what we had with RAW Shooter Essentials. I would love to see the technology used for Painter's brushes brought in to PHOTO-PAINT.
C'mon Corel, you've had Painter for a long time. You've had two PSP product cycles to integrate it better with Corel's other graphics products. Show me you can buy products and integrate them into your product family. Please! If you do, I'm sure that you'll find a very nice increase in revenues to justify the work.
The first thing I noticed was that the name of the product has been changed. The word "Photo" was added. That doesn't mean there was a major change in the program as much as Corel is just trying to make sure that people realize the software is good at working with photos.
Looking through the list of new filters and effects definitely caught my eye. There are some cool new things in there. The new Snapfire Plus (in an SE version) is also included for managing files. I liked that support for Painter and Painter Essentials files were added. But it doesn't say that Corel PHOTO-PAINT files are supported! This is the second release after Corel acquired Paint Shop Pro and it still doesn't support CPT files. If that is truly the case, shame on Corel for not allowing the products to work together better.
This announcement did leave me with a lot of questions. My main image editor is Corel PHOTO-PAINT. I have used Paint Shop Pro and I find it a very good product. It just isn't the right product for me because the interface is so different from what I know. Please, PSP users, no need to try and convert me. I know you like it and I have nothing against it.
My questions come from Corel's statements on product positioning. They claim that Corel PHOTO-PAINT is their "professional" tool. Again, their words, not mine. I know the main reason is because PHOTO-PAINT works directly in Lab, CMYK and RGB. Paint Shop Pro can't work natively in CMYK.
So if PSP is the mid-level product (again, not my words) and PHOTO-PAINT is the pro level product, shouldn't PHOTO-PAINT have all of the same features as PSP? As far as photo editing goes, PSP has many more features. It even has native RAW support though it wasn't that great in PSP X. I hope it has improved in PSP XI.
This all goes back to my recent comments on Corel's new acquisitions. Corel's history shows that they don't really do a good job of blending products into the family. The Paint Shop Pro development takes place in a Minnesota office. CorelDRAW Suite development takes place in Ottawa. Based on the lack of synergy between the two product lines, it is really obvious that these offices are in two separate places.
I really hope Corel will make me eat these words. I would love to see a major upgrade to Corel PHOTO-PAINT that adds more filters and effects geared towards digital photography. I would love to see native RAW processing that is every bit as good or better than what we had with RAW Shooter Essentials. I would love to see the technology used for Painter's brushes brought in to PHOTO-PAINT.
C'mon Corel, you've had Painter for a long time. You've had two PSP product cycles to integrate it better with Corel's other graphics products. Show me you can buy products and integrate them into your product family. Please! If you do, I'm sure that you'll find a very nice increase in revenues to justify the work.
posted by Foster D. Coburn III at
10:00 AM
1 Comments:
I agree. Photo-paint is in desperate need for a major upgrade. I am increasingly forced to Photoshop for my fine art work. I still use Photo-paint for client work where I am on the clock and the dollar and efficiency are on the line. I can't hold that postition much longer. Paint Shop Pro, though I teach it at Photoclubs just doesn't have the ponies under the hood yet. I love painter but have so little use for it in day-today circumstance. It is interesting to note that at the Minneapolis Digital Photographic Society, Photoshop, PSP and PS Elements have about equal shares as tools of choice. When I demo'd Photo-paint in conjunction with HDR, they were stunned. No one knew it existed.
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