The news
Ulead is revamping its range-leading budget image-editing app, PhotoImpact, adding "innovative features that allow beginners to immediately enjoy success in editing digital photos and sharing images in creative projects". Prices are £50 for the boxed version and £5 less for a download, with upgrades at £30 and £25.
Stand-out selling-point in Version 12 is the new ExpressFix mode. This puts up a simplified interface reckoned to handhold users as they carry out common photo-editing tasks with fully-automatic tools.
A "large" preview screen - with before and after views - lets you adjust colour, exposure and focus with "intelligent" one-click presets. Noise-reduction and SmartCurves tone-adjustment are also said to be fully-automated one-step processes.
Naturally, there's an auto-tool for removing red-eye effects and that's accompanied by a Beautify Skin option to deal with complexion problems. Additionally, ExpressFix mode provides "enhanced" white-balance correction, together with simple controls for rotation, printing and e-mailing images.
Although ExpressFix mode is aimed at image-editing novices, it's also reckoned to appeal to folk who edit on a daily basis - and to offer everyone simple ways to carry out quite complex tasks, including the creation of DVD menus and images for the web pages and blogs.
The package consists of five Ulead applications - the main editor, plus Photo Explorer 8.6 (managing and browsing photos, video and other digital media); PhotoImpact Album 12 (database photo-management); COOL 360 (compositing panoramic images) and GIF Animator 5.05 (yes, for GIF animation).
Things are rounded off by a bunch of goodies that includes 1,300+ royalty-free images, 2,200 web elements and 3,250 customizable effects.
Minimum system requirements are said to be Win XP (SP2) or Win 2000 (SP4); a PIII or equivalent CPU; 256MB RAM; and a true Color or Hi-Color graphics processor with a resolution of 1024x768. In addition, the suite requires 750MB of free hard disk space for the apps and all contents.
To see a full list of enhancements in V12, check out this link. You might also care to read Ulead's press release on page two before sharing your thoughts with us in this thread in the HEXUS.lifestyle.news forum.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community :: discussion thread about this articleExternal.links
Ulead UK - PhotoImpact home pageUlead UK - comparison - PhotoImpact 12 v 11
Ulead UK - free 30-day trial of PhotoImpact 12 (92.7MB)
Ulead UK - home page
InterVideo (parent company) - home page