[Confused]

Hi everyone

Corel® announces the latest version of Paint Shop Pro® Photo X2 which FINALLY supports PEF 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

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Last edited by Confused; 09-07-2007 at 04:52 PM.

[Lowell Goudge]

Great news. I'm surprised as Corel usually e-mails me with upgrade offers, you beat them to the punch!

[Confused]

Hi Lowell

Hope you got my E-mail ? The HDR feature looks like something I might well be interested in experimenting with, although I have to add that quite a few of the HDR images I've seen elsewhere on various sites such as Flickr seem slightly unreal (unnatural) to my eye in certain respects. I'm still on v 8.10 of PSP so I've naturally ordered the upgrade, as I couldn't see any sense in investing in a version that wasn't capable of editing K10D RAW files !

Best regards
Richard

[borno]

Good news, I've been waiting to see when they were going to add the k10d- I guess they were waiting for the new program. I might have to try it as I'm using jasc paint shop pro 7 now if I really need to do more than basic raw conversion-which isn't often as I'm not too good at that stuff and that old program is an antique (I'm too cheap to buy into the whole adobe thing) I have been using capture one 4 beta for a week or so now as a raw converter and think it is really good and the price was great (LE was free with my sandisc card) together they might be just what I need.

[pentaxshooter]

Just curious...Is Corel the image editor of choice for those people outside the USA? I've noticed lots of canadians using it.... If you have Corel, do you ALSO have photoshop?

[attack11]

someone should tell corel that there's a whole industry based on hdr sensors for digital cameras hahaha. marketing department ftw!

[Lowell Goudge]

Just curious...Is Corel the image editor of choice for those people outside the USA? I've noticed lots of canadians using it.... If you have Corel, do you ALSO have photoshop?

FYI Corel is/was a Canadian company EH!

Seriously, I began with Jasc PSP8, which became Corel, and have been pleased with the package in general terms, however less pleased with Corel and the changes they have made to the interface.

PSP X2 is similar to PSP X, with respect to the browser interface, but different than PSP XI which I liked better.

I do not like the merging of the browser bar into the desktop, or when separate, the fact that even with auto hide the browser is always on top.

it should have the lowest background priority unless active. It is a real pain that way because occasionally photos open with the individual frame bar for the pho directly behind the browser bar.

Additional dislike is that I have to reindex all my photos every time the software evolves, meaning going through all 40,000 photos with the browser open, and the thumbnail in the active pain. It wont build thumbnails automatically unless the thumbnail is in the display window

[Confused]

Hi "Attack11"

Re your comment:

someone should tell corel that there's a whole industry based on hdr sensors for digital cameras

This comes direct from Corel's advertising 'spiel':

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!

SHOCK. HORROR. HOLD THE HEADLINES FOLKS !!!! Oh yeahhh !

I also had a quiet giggle about that little 'gem' too.....Wow, HDR must really be some kind of TOTALLY new concept ?.....NOT !!!

Best regards
Richard

[matix]

As a long time, since version 7.0 user of PSP, I think this X2 is the best ever with the exception of the browser issues, preferred it on the left side like versions up to 9.

Otherwise, the new appearance and express bar is excellent.

Re the Pentax compatibility, this seems only to be for PEF, not DNG which is a dissapointment, all of my RAW up until now have been DNG for greater compatibility. Guess I will have to continue with Bibble Pro, it is a great RAW editor and converter.

Phil

[LeoTaylor]

When I clicked check for updates my PSP-11 came back with none. I went to Corel's web site and there was PSP-12. One feature caught my eye, processing multiple files. I've used BATCH mode but it seems to error out with half the new scripts I write, and some of the scripts that worked with PSP-10.

I just upgraded to PSP-11 only 1.5 months ago due to an offer that popped up when I started PSP-10. I think they knew that they would soon replace the version they offered me. I think they are afraid to pop up another upgrade so soon...

I wrote Support a letter and mentioned how irate IPhone users were when people who purchased between 3 and 10 weeks ago were shafted. Apple soon relented and offered those people a $100 credit. I'd like to see Corel offer people like me a reduced price upgrade. I don't expect free, but I don't like $59 to upgrade a product they pushed on me 1.5 months ago.

We'll see!

[Confused]

Hi Leo

Ahem.......I believe I see Capitalism rearing it's ugly little head yet again ! The phrase 'Caveat emptor' springs to mind......

Best regards
Richard

[hinckc]

I just got this (X2) over the weekend, and tried the HDR merge. I've been curious to try a couple HDR's for a while, but hadn't had the chance, or software.

Moral of the story, I was dissappointed. I seem to get at least that much dynamic range out of a PEF slightly under exposed, and pushed a bit via Histogram adjustment with PSP XI, although I haven't lost the ability to push my gamma in X2.

I'm planning on posting a seperate thread (with more details) on this, maybe tonight, but I'm curious to see what anyone else thinks about X2's HDR merge vs. any other HDR software they've tried.

Btw, I upgraded from XI, and it was opening my K100D's PEF files before I got X2.

-Chris

[Confused]

Hi Chris

Your statement:

I've been curious to try a couple HDR's for a while

also rings true with myself and so I'm naturally intrigued to discover what can be achieved using this fascinating technique.
I have noticed an increasing number of HDR photographs being reproduced in various publications over the last few months and although some of them are quite convincing, I've also observed a large number which appear decidedly unnatural, at least to my jaded old eyes ! I am still using PSP version 8.10, although I've just ordered the upgrade to X2, mainly for its K10D RAW file handling abilities. Having owned my new toy for only just over a month or so, editing RAW images has previously been a non issue for me, for two simple reasons. The K10D is not only my first DSLR, but also the only camera I've owned which is capable of capturing either DNG or PEF images ! Anyhow, I look forward to hearing your full opinion of PSP X2 in due course,

Best regards
Richard

[fletcherkane]

I have PSP XI and it has had support for Pentax Raw for some time. I am suprised that X2 did not come with the ability to read pentax raw...

[Confused]

Hi fletcherkane

Re your observation that:

I am suprised that X2 did not come with the ability to read pentax raw...

I had assumed (probably naively) that PSP X2 is supposedly now capable of both reading and editing PEF and Pentax DNG files respectively, so are you intimating that it can't ? Just so I'm absolutely clear on the matter, would you mind elaborating a little more on your statement for me ?

Best regards
Richard