I got an emailing from Jasc Software that PaintShop Pro 9 is now available. Some of the features are for fixing pictures taken with digital camera users, like:
* Noise Removal Filter scans photos and removes noise while preserving textures.
* Chromatic Aberration Removal Filter helps eliminate the colored glow that appears around the subject’s edges.
* Fill Flash Filter brightens dark or underexposed shadows.
* Backlighting Filter compensate for overexposure.
There are other features, too. Upgrade price is $55 when you download it; there is a $10 discount right now.
Jasc is still trying to figure out how to market a cheaper version. After product changes and name changes, they've come up with PaintShop Pro Studio ($35 download) that provides these fixes to digital photographs:
* Improve common lighting problems.
* Get the red out of people and pet eyes.
* Automatically make fuzzy photos crisper and dull shots brighter.
* Remove or cover unwanted elements, such as power lines in the background.
* Soften and smooth facial lines.
* Add sparkle to eyes. Whiten teeth. Improve skin tone. Even manipulate body shape.
* Combine the best elements of several photos to achieve group shots.
* Remove tears, holes, scratches, water damage, and cracks in your favorite old pictures.
* Bring faded photos back to their original color. Or colorize black-and-white snapshots.
* Make new photos look vintage.
I don't plan to upgrade: I got PaintShop Pro 8 and I can't stand how long it takes to load. And the changed user interface is w-a-a-y too complicated. I don't have time to have to make all those extra clicks. At some point, software stops being useful; its bloatedness decreases productivity (cf: Word).
My daughters, who are very good with PaintShop Pro (that's their picture at the top-right), like using v8. I continue to use v6, because: (1) it loads in an instant; and (2) I use it mostly for touching up screen grabs I need for my books. The other thing I find it's good for is printing multiple photos per page.
Update
PSP9 can now be downloaded as a free, time-limited beta.
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