Bibble sold, replaced by Corel Aftershot

DeadJohn · 01-08-2012, 11:25 PM

Around one week ago Bibble Labs quietly announced that they were purchased by Corel. I say "quietly" because it's in the Bibble support forums rather than Bibble Labs - Professional Photo Workflow Software homepage. Old Bibble offices will reportedly remain open and continue software development under the Corel name.

The new product is called AfterShot. Based on screenshots and the feature list, AfterShot looks like a re-compile of Bibble 5 rather than a brand new product.
AfterShot Pro

Quicksand · 01-09-2012, 02:14 PM

I installed and ran the AfterShot trial this weekend, and yeah, there's a lot of Bibble in it. But there's also a lot that's new in the UI, and the weird Kodak Look Profiles are (thankfully) gone.

Unfortunately, this egregious highlight-handling problem is still there, and until it's fixed, I still recommend K-5 users (at least) stay far, far away.

As of yesterday, one of the developers said fixing it is his "#1 priority" (on page 4 of that same thread). But that bug was reported 11 months ago, so we'll see...

DeadJohn · 01-09-2012, 04:59 PM

The magenta Highlight Recovery problem doesn't just affect the K-5. I've seen it on my K-r and some non-Pentax cameras.

I'll install the AfterShot trial after I read reports that the 2 worst Bibble 5 problems are resolved. #1 is lockups - I hear that AfterShot is much improved. #2 is Highlight Recovery. After I hear that HR is working better, I'll test AfterShot and decide whether to pay the $79 upgrade (for essentially the same software as I already own) or pack it in with Bibble and convert to LightRoom.

DeadJohn · 01-09-2012, 08:12 PM

Interestingly, this showed up in my email after I complained about the $79 upgrade:

...We're also happy to offer substantial discounts on AfterShot Pro for current Bibble 5 customers. All Bibble 5 customers can upgrade to AfterShot Pro for only $19.99 (EUR/GBP 14.99 incl. VAT)! For customers who have purchased Bibble 5 in the last 120 days, you'll get AfterShot Pro absolutely free. I will follow up with another email soon to these most recent purchasers. This preferred pricing is only available through the end of January, 2012, and is for the download-only version....

Quicksand · 01-09-2012, 09:41 PM

Arg. That's a price point I'd consider, but ONLY if they fix the highlight problem! Anyone want to take bets as to whether that will be done by the end of January?

**RichardS** · 01-10-2012, 12:05 AM

No bets from me

I'm going to pay the $19 anyway just to keep current. I won't be using it until the platelet sharpening plugin is available.

I had a quick play. The interface change may be positive or negative. It depends how much I have to re-learn, I suppose.

Class A · 01-10-2012, 03:36 AM

The interface looks improved but is still silly in some places. For instance, the local adjustment tab tells you that you need to create a layer, instead of creating one for you.

Does the image wobble during adjustments for others as well? I couldn't live with this kind of nonsense.

Shall be interesting to see whether they will give up their stubborn refusal to not support converted DNG files. They spread a lot of FUD in order to support their user unfriendly decision.

derekkite · 01-10-2012, 06:58 PM

Just got the free upgrade. I had purchased on Oct 31 last year, got an email telling me to call Corel. They sent me a serial number.

audiobomber · 01-10-2012, 10:07 PM

Why did Corel want Bibble? Doesn't Paintshop Pro do similar things?

rtpguy · 01-11-2012, 12:32 AM

Buying out competition isn't uncommon, whether to stifle competition, gain R&D people in the same domain, patents, you name it.

simico · 01-11-2012, 02:51 AM

Originally posted by audiobomber

Why did Corel want Bibble?

To get Bibble's RAW processing engine and implement it in PSP.

I've checked ASP and with default settings it produces images almost identical to K-5 out-of-camera jpg or DCU jpg (using Natural image tone). There are two, probably related differences: images has a slight yellowish tint/cast so they look warmer, and reds are also a bit (or in case of light reds much) lighter and yellowish/orangish. IQ in the shadows seems better than in Bibble 5.2.3. Unfortunately the ugly pink highlights issue is still there and it still cannot produce as much fine details as Lightroom, Darktable, Raw Therapee or DCU.
For me it's not worth to pay any money for the same product with very minor fixes. If they finally fix looooooooong existing bugs and issues then maybe I'll reconsider.

DeadJohn · 01-11-2012, 09:13 AM

Originally posted by audiobomber

Why did Corel want Bibble? Doesn't Paintshop Pro do similar things?

My understanding of Corel and Adobe products:

PaintShop competes with PhotoShop Elements. They are detailed editors that can go down to the pixel level but have limited catalog capabilities.

Bibble (now AfterShot) competes with Lightroom. They are cataloging and general editing packages but don't support advanced pixel-level editing.

Docrwm · 01-14-2012, 07:01 PM

Originally posted by DeadJohn

My understanding of Corel and Adobe products:

PaintShop competes with PhotoShop Elements. They are detailed editors that can go down to the pixel level but have limited catalog capabilities.

Bibble (now AfterShot) competes with Lightroom. They are cataloging and general editing packages but don't support advanced pixel-level editing.

That fits with how they are marketing it - as an alternative to and directly to Lightroom buyers among others:

Corel announces Bibble-based AfterShot Pro Raw workflow tool

CES 2012: Corel has announced AfterShot Pro, a Raw processing and workflow tool based on Bibble's technologies. Coming just a week after the announcement that Corel had bought Bibble Labs (though several months after the deal was done), AfterShot Pro provides the kinds of photo management and non-destructive editing that products such as Adobe's Lightroom offer. The software, available for Mac and Linux as well as Windows, will cost $99 or $79 for existing Bibble 5, PaintShop Pro X2, Lightroom or Aperture customers. A free trial is available from Corel's website.

Björn · 01-16-2012, 10:17 AM

Originally posted by DeadJohn

Interestingly, this showed up in my email after I complained about the $79 upgrade:

...We're also happy to offer substantial discounts on AfterShot Pro for current Bibble 5 customers. All Bibble 5 customers can upgrade to AfterShot Pro for only $19.99 (EUR/GBP 14.99 incl. VAT)! For customers who have purchased Bibble 5 in the last 120 days, you'll get AfterShot Pro absolutely free. I will follow up with another email soon to these most recent purchasers. This preferred pricing is only available through the end of January, 2012, and is for the download-only version....

Do you have any contact information or instructions for getting that 19.99 upgrade? (I'm a Bibble 5 pro user). Sounds like a really good deal to me

I can only find the 79 upgrade offer on the homepage.

Cheers
Björn

DeadJohn · 01-16-2012, 10:59 AM

Originally posted by Björn

Do you have any contact information or instructions for getting that 19.99 upgrade? (I'm a Bibble 5 pro user). Sounds like a really good deal to me

I can only find the 79 upgrade offer on the homepage.

Cheers
Björn

I received an email with a link to the $19.99 preferred pricing. I won't forward the link because it includes a unique ID that's connected to my personal information. Check the inbox and spam folder of whatever email account you used to register Bibble. Try contacting Corel's 24hrs Sales 1-877-582-6735 if you still can't find the email offer.

Here's an excerpt of the email:

Sender: noreply@bibblelabs.com <noreply@bibblelabs.com>
Subject: Announcing Corel AfterShot Pro with Preferred Launch Pricing

[text confirming Corel's purchase of Bibble Labs and describing the new AfterShot software deleted]
We're also happy to offer substantial discounts on AfterShot Pro for current Bibble 5 customers. All Bibble 5 customers can upgrade to AfterShot Pro for only $19.99 (EUR/GBP 14.99 incl. VAT)! For customers who have purchased Bibble 5 in the last 120 days, you'll get AfterShot Pro absolutely free. I will follow up with another email soon to these most recent purchasers. This preferred pricing is only available through the end of January, 2012, and is for the download-only version.

Take Advantage of Preferred Pricing for Corel AfterShot Pro
Bibble Labs Download Center[24-character personal ID]

01-16-2012, 10:17 AM	#14
Björn Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40	And how to get that price for upgrade? Originally posted by DeadJohn Interestingly, this showed up in my email after I complained about the $79 upgrade: ...We're also happy to offer substantial discounts on AfterShot Pro for current Bibble 5 customers. All Bibble 5 customers can upgrade to AfterShot Pro for only $19.99 (EUR/GBP 14.99 incl. VAT)! For customers who have purchased Bibble 5 in the last 120 days, you'll get AfterShot Pro absolutely free. I will follow up with another email soon to these most recent purchasers. This preferred pricing is only available through the end of January, 2012, and is for the download-only version.... Do you have any contact information or instructions for getting that 19.99 upgrade? (I'm a Bibble 5 pro user). Sounds like a really good deal to me I can only find the 79 upgrade offer on the homepage. Cheers Björn

01-16-2012, 10:59 AM	#15
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833 Original Poster	Originally posted by Björn Do you have any contact information or instructions for getting that 19.99 upgrade? (I'm a Bibble 5 pro user). Sounds like a really good deal to me I can only find the 79 upgrade offer on the homepage. Cheers Björn I received an email with a link to the $19.99 preferred pricing. I won't forward the link because it includes a unique ID that's connected to my personal information. Check the inbox and spam folder of whatever email account you used to register Bibble. Try contacting Corel's 24hrs Sales 1-877-582-6735 if you still can't find the email offer. Here's an excerpt of the email: Sender: noreply@bibblelabs.com <noreply@bibblelabs.com> Subject: Announcing Corel AfterShot Pro with Preferred Launch Pricing [text confirming Corel's purchase of Bibble Labs and describing the new AfterShot software deleted] We're also happy to offer substantial discounts on AfterShot Pro for current Bibble 5 customers. All Bibble 5 customers can upgrade to AfterShot Pro for only $19.99 (EUR/GBP 14.99 incl. VAT)! For customers who have purchased Bibble 5 in the last 120 days, you'll get AfterShot Pro absolutely free. I will follow up with another email soon to these most recent purchasers. This preferred pricing is only available through the end of January, 2012, and is for the download-only version. Take Advantage of Preferred Pricing for Corel AfterShot Pro Bibble Labs Download Center[24-character personal ID]

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01-08-2012, 11:25 PM	#1
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833	Bibble sold, replaced by Corel Aftershot Around one week ago Bibble Labs quietly announced that they were purchased by Corel. I say "quietly" because it's in the Bibble support forums rather than Bibble Labs - Professional Photo Workflow Software homepage. Old Bibble offices will reportedly remain open and continue software development under the Corel name. The new product is called AfterShot. Based on screenshots and the feature list, AfterShot looks like a re-compile of Bibble 5 rather than a brand new product. AfterShot Pro

01-09-2012, 02:14 PM	#2
Quicksand Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Ohio (formerly SF Bay Area) Posts: 1,519	I installed and ran the AfterShot trial this weekend, and yeah, there's a lot of Bibble in it. But there's also a lot that's new in the UI, and the weird Kodak Look Profiles are (thankfully) gone. Unfortunately, this egregious highlight-handling problem is still there, and until it's fixed, I still recommend K-5 users (at least) stay far, far away. As of yesterday, one of the developers said fixing it is his "#1 priority" (on page 4 of that same thread). But that bug was reported 11 months ago, so we'll see...

01-09-2012, 04:59 PM	#3
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833 Original Poster	The magenta Highlight Recovery problem doesn't just affect the K-5. I've seen it on my K-r and some non-Pentax cameras. I'll install the AfterShot trial after I read reports that the 2 worst Bibble 5 problems are resolved. #1 is lockups - I hear that AfterShot is much improved. #2 is Highlight Recovery. After I hear that HR is working better, I'll test AfterShot and decide whether to pay the $79 upgrade (for essentially the same software as I already own) or pack it in with Bibble and convert to LightRoom.

01-09-2012, 08:12 PM	#4
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833 Original Poster	Interestingly, this showed up in my email after I complained about the $79 upgrade: ...We're also happy to offer substantial discounts on AfterShot Pro for current Bibble 5 customers. All Bibble 5 customers can upgrade to AfterShot Pro for only $19.99 (EUR/GBP 14.99 incl. VAT)! For customers who have purchased Bibble 5 in the last 120 days, you'll get AfterShot Pro absolutely free. I will follow up with another email soon to these most recent purchasers. This preferred pricing is only available through the end of January, 2012, and is for the download-only version....

01-09-2012, 09:41 PM	#5
Quicksand Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Ohio (formerly SF Bay Area) Posts: 1,519	Arg. That's a price point I'd consider, but ONLY if they fix the highlight problem! Anyone want to take bets as to whether that will be done by the end of January?

01-10-2012, 12:05 AM	#6
RichardS Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia Posts: 2,418	No bets from me I'm going to pay the $19 anyway just to keep current. I won't be using it until the platelet sharpening plugin is available. I had a quick play. The interface change may be positive or negative. It depends how much I have to re-learn, I suppose.

01-10-2012, 03:36 AM	#7
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	The interface looks improved but is still silly in some places. For instance, the local adjustment tab tells you that you need to create a layer, instead of creating one for you. Does the image wobble during adjustments for others as well? I couldn't live with this kind of nonsense. Shall be interesting to see whether they will give up their stubborn refusal to not support converted DNG files. They spread a lot of FUD in order to support their user unfriendly decision.

01-10-2012, 06:58 PM	#8
derekkite Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Nelson B.C. Posts: 3,782	Just got the free upgrade. I had purchased on Oct 31 last year, got an email telling me to call Corel. They sent me a serial number.

01-10-2012, 10:07 PM	#9
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	Why did Corel want Bibble? Doesn't Paintshop Pro do similar things?

01-11-2012, 12:32 AM	#10
rtpguy Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: NC Posts: 206	Buying out competition isn't uncommon, whether to stifle competition, gain R&D people in the same domain, patents, you name it.

01-11-2012, 02:51 AM	#11
simico Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Budapest Posts: 821	Originally posted by audiobomber Why did Corel want Bibble? To get Bibble's RAW processing engine and implement it in PSP. I've checked ASP and with default settings it produces images almost identical to K-5 out-of-camera jpg or DCU jpg (using Natural image tone). There are two, probably related differences: images has a slight yellowish tint/cast so they look warmer, and reds are also a bit (or in case of light reds much) lighter and yellowish/orangish. IQ in the shadows seems better than in Bibble 5.2.3. Unfortunately the ugly pink highlights issue is still there and it still cannot produce as much fine details as Lightroom, Darktable, Raw Therapee or DCU. For me it's not worth to pay any money for the same product with very minor fixes. If they finally fix looooooooong existing bugs and issues then maybe I'll reconsider.

01-11-2012, 09:13 AM	#12
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833 Original Poster	Originally posted by audiobomber Why did Corel want Bibble? Doesn't Paintshop Pro do similar things? My understanding of Corel and Adobe products: PaintShop competes with PhotoShop Elements. They are detailed editors that can go down to the pixel level but have limited catalog capabilities. Bibble (now AfterShot) competes with Lightroom. They are cataloging and general editing packages but don't support advanced pixel-level editing.

01-14-2012, 07:01 PM	#13
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by DeadJohn My understanding of Corel and Adobe products: PaintShop competes with PhotoShop Elements. They are detailed editors that can go down to the pixel level but have limited catalog capabilities. Bibble (now AfterShot) competes with Lightroom. They are cataloging and general editing packages but don't support advanced pixel-level editing. That fits with how they are marketing it - as an alternative to and directly to Lightroom buyers among others: Corel announces Bibble-based AfterShot Pro Raw workflow tool CES 2012: Corel has announced AfterShot Pro, a Raw processing and workflow tool based on Bibble's technologies. Coming just a week after the announcement that Corel had bought Bibble Labs (though several months after the deal was done), AfterShot Pro provides the kinds of photo management and non-destructive editing that products such as Adobe's Lightroom offer. The software, available for Mac and Linux as well as Windows, will cost $99 or $79 for existing Bibble 5, PaintShop Pro X2, Lightroom or Aperture customers. A free trial is available from Corel's website.