- Photo-editing software with a streamlined, intuitive workspace
- Award-winning Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 photographic filters
- 21 high-quality images from Fotolia; custom photo book; free Picture Tubes
- HDR module--merge photos with different exposures to create incredible images
- 50+ adjustment filters and 112 special effects to fine-tune your work
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Product Description
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Corel PaintShop Pro X4 Ultimate gives you the freedom to create your best images--ever. Along with all the photo-editing power of PaintShop Pro X4, you get award-winning Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 photographic filters, your choice of 21 high-quality images from Fotolia, a custom photo book from Blurb and free Picture Tubes. Retouch photos easily to fix common flaws fast or dive into a world of creative options using vector illustration tools, artistic brushes and layers. The new HDR module, photo blending features and an updated RAW Lab put everything you need to manage, create and share incredible photos in your hands! When you're ready to show off your work, sharing to sites like Facebook and Flickr is just a click away!
Key Features and Benefits
If you're passionate about creating great photos, Corel PaintShop Pro X4 is the photo-editing software for you. With new features that will keep you up-to-date on the latest photography trends, along with more pro-levels tools and a streamlined workspace, PaintShop Pro X4 has it all.
NEW Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0--includes over 250 effects and styles, along with 30+ emulated film types in 52 easy-to-use filters
NEW Custom photo book--showcase your best work
NEW Images from Fotolia--download your 21 royalty-free, high-resolution photos from this incredible image bank of photos and illustrations
NEW Picture Tubes--get a selection of Picture Tubes from our extensive collection
NEW HDR module--merge photos with different exposures to create incredible images
NEW Photo Blend--combine photos of the same scene to include the best details and remove unwanted elements
NEW Selective Focus--mimic the effect of expensive tilt-shift lenses and turn a scene into a miniature world
Ultimate Edition Bonus Pack!
Get over $250 in extra value, including amazing Nik creative filters, a custom photo book from Blurb, high-quality images from Fotolia, and a selection of Picture Tubes from our collection!
Professional-quality tools in a streamlined, intuitive workflow
With PaintShop Pro X4, you get the photo-editing tools you need to create the professional look you want. Fix common flaws with standard editing tools. Retouch photos quickly with adjustment tools and filter effects that let you extract unwanted objects, blend colors and apply professional lighting effects.
Stunning effects
Take advantage of over 50 adjustment filters and 112 special effects to fine-tune your work. Merge photos taken with different exposures to create a stunning, perfectly exposed image with the new HDR module. Or experiment with the tonal range to get an intriguing, surrealistic look. The HDR tools in PaintShop Pro X4 are ideal for revealing hidden details in backlit scenes like sunsets.
Get the look of tilt-shift photography without expensive lenses using the new Selective Focus feature. Turn a scene into a miniature world or use it to add depth of field.
Combine photos easily
The new Photo Blend tool lets you combine the best elements from similar shots to create your ideal photo.
Impressive results--fast
With new performance updates, including GPU optimizations, PaintShop Pro X4 is the fastest version yet. More real-time effects--including Noise Reduction, Vibrancy, Tone Mapping and others--let you see the results as you work. Start-up time is drastically reduced, plus the interface is faster and more responsive.
Streamlined workflow
Enjoy an easy and intuitive editing experience with tabbed workspaces that mirror your natural workflow. Move freely between three modes:
- Manage--quickly browse, tag and organize your photo collections
- Adjust--easily make powerful adjustments and quick fixes
- Edit--take advantage of professional tools for photo editing, image composition and graphic design
You can also access the Organizer directly from any workspace, making it easy to review and rate your photos. Use trays to gather and access images from several folders and refer to the new Shot Info panel to instantly see details about the camera and image. New dual monitor support lets you manage your photos on one screen while editing on the other. Plus, try new Adjustment Layers to experiment without changing your source image.
More detailed photos
Brighten shadowy areas of your photo without changing the rest of the image with Fill Light. Try the Clarity filter to draw attention to subtle details, dramatically increasing the texture and depth of your photos.
Custom borders
Apply a custom fade to the outer edge of a photo to emphasize the focal point of your image. With the new Vignette effect, you can use intuitive sliders to control the appearance of the edges by choosing the shape, color and tone, and adjusting the amount of blur, glow and feathering.
Robust RAW Lab
Get a better look at your images with a larger preview area in the redesigned RAW Lab, which now supports more camera models and opens your images faster.
Built-in social media sharing
Share your photos faster with one-click sharing to Facebook and Flickr straight from the Organizer window.
Merge photos taken with different exposures... View larger.
...to create a perfectly exposed image.
View larger.
View larger.
Professional editing power
New! HDR tools: A totally new set of HDR tools in PaintShop Pro X4 is designed to let you take full advantage of photos taken with auto-bracketing features on DSLRs.
You can use Exposure Merge to combine photos taken with different exposure settings to create perfectly exposed images. Ideal for high-contrast backlit scenes, such as sunsets and interior window shots, Exposure Merge lets you bring out color and detail in the foreground, midground, and background areas. PaintShop Pro X4 has built-in HDR-adjustment presets, or you can save and reuse your favorite configurations as a preset.
For photographers who use auto-bracketing often, Batch Merge is a time-saving tool for quickly processing HDR sets. It lets you merge multiple bracketed sets of photos at the same time to achieve a custom, uniform look across a series of HDR photos. Batch Merge lets you save your results to a 32-bit HDR file so you can refine it later. In some cases, this might be all you need to get the look you were hoping for. In other cases, you'll want to adjust the results in Exposure Merge.
New! Photo Blend: Getting a group shot where everyone looks their best just got a lot easier with Photo Blend. This new feature lets you combine the best features from a series of photos to create a perfect image. For example, you can swap out a blinking photo subject from one picture for a better shot of that person. And if the only thing that stands between a good photo and a perfect one is an unwanted element, Photo Blend makes it easy to remove unwanted portions of images. You can even get creative by showing the same person multiple times in a single photo.
New! Fill Light and Clarity filter: Using this one powerful filter, you can fine-tune the brightness and clarity of your photos. The Fill Light/Clarity filter simplifies brightening shadows or darkening light areas without affecting other portions of the image. You can also soften or sharpen subtle yet important details in shots.
New! Selective Focus: This new effect lets you transform a real shot into a miniature model. Selective Focus, often referred to as a tilt-shift effect, lets you intuitively adjust the depth of field and increase saturation to create the illusion of a toy-like miniature scene from a photo. You can also use Selective Focus to draw attention to important parts of an image by blurring out busy surrounding details.
New! Vignette: PaintShop Pro X4 makes this classic photo effect easier than ever to create, tweak, and apply. The new Vignette feature adds a soft outer border that fades to white or black so you can draw attention to the most important part of your shot. Easy-to-use controls let you fine-tune the shape of the edges and the amount of blur, glow, and feathering. In addition, an instant preview lets you quickly see how the effect looks.
Enhanced! Camera RAW Lab: The Camera RAW Lab is now easier to use with a larger preview area and an improved histogram that help you quickly assess your adjustments. In addition, new highlight recovery options mean that you can restore detail in overexposed areas.
Enhanced! 16-bit support: PaintShop Pro X4 has extended 16-bit support to a range of tools and adjustments, giving you even more precision and flexibility when working with RAW formats.
Over 20 tools have been upgraded to 16-bit support, including the Scratch Remover, Paint Brush, Object Remover, Color Replacer, Warp Brush, Mesh Warp, and Background Eraser.
Performance
Enhanced! Application speed: PaintShop Pro X4 has more than 75 performance updates, including GPU optimizations, that help ensure a fast, efficient working environment. Effects, such as Noise Reduction, Vibrancy and Tone Mapping, can now be applied in real time. Skin Smoothing, Smart Carver, Depth of Field, Blur, and Smart Photo Fix have also been refined to offer enhanced speed and performance. In addition, Camera RAW decoding is faster than ever.
Enhanced! Full-screen review: The Quick Review feature has been tweaked to offer full-screen image review so you can quickly and easily view, delete, rotate, and rate your photos.
Usability
New! MUI support: Great if you're working on a multilingual dual-byte system, new native multilingual user interface (MUI) support means that you can display text from multiple interface languages on a single PC. Now, there's never a problem working with photos that have foreign characters in their filename.
Enhanced! Workspace: PaintShop Pro X4 has been redesigned so you can move between photo workflows in a click. The application has three tabbed workspaces each dedicated to a different stage in the digital-photography workflow. The Manage workspace gives you everything you need to review and organize your photos. You can find the most frequently used image-correction tools in the Adjust workspace, and the Edit workspace provides you with a full range of professional-level editing tools. No matter which workspace you're in, the Organizer palette is always displayed, so there's no need to go to a separate workspace or application to find more photos.
New! Dual monitor support: Because you can never have enough screen space, PaintShop Pro X4 lets you manage your photos on one monitor and edit on another.
Product Description
Corel PaintShop Pro X4 Ultimate gives you the freedom to create your best images - ever. Along with all the photo-editing power of PaintShop Pro X4, you get award-winning Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 photographic filters, your choice of 21 high-quality images from Fotolia, a custom photo book from Blurb and free Picture Tubes.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
182 of 208 people found the following review helpful
By Scoot395
Format:Software
...for the first time since 1998, I will not be buying the latest version of Paint Shop Pro.
I have been a loyal user of PSP since version 5, back when JASC Software was the company developing and publishing it. Paint Shop Pro has always been an exceptional program, and it was made even better by its affordable price tag. But now it saddens me to see what Corel has done.
Like a couple other reviewers have stated, Corel has chosen to stuff this program with bloat and design rather than function. In fact, I would go so far as to say this new interface is very counter-intuitive. For example...
There is an Organizer palette at the bottom of the screen that reappears no matter how many times it is turned off. Some people may find this palette useful, but there is no way to permanently turn it off. I DO NOT need an organizer palette, I know where my images are and I am very capable of getting to them. I would much rather have my editing pane utilize the space taken up by this useless palette.
Manage/Adjust/Edit tabs at the top of the screen are a joke. In previous versions, everything contained in these tabs was available in the drop-down menus. Now, Corel wants you to switch tabs to access each type of function, and to make matters worse the tools in the Manage and Adjust tabs are not in a tool bar but in yet another palette on the left side of the screen which robs you of even MORE work space! Also, if you have an image open in the Edit tab and then switch to the Adjust tab, guess what... the image closes and you have to REOPEN it. But, Corel must have missed something, because if you are in the Edit tab you have the full array of drop down menus, which include all the file management and adjustment functions available on the other two tabs... so WHY do the other two tabs even exist???
Apparently, Corel doesn't like you being able to browse a file tree to find your images. On the left you can search your Collections tab, or choose the Computer tab which looks like it would let you open up an Explorer-type file tree... not so. You can click on your C: drive, but nothing opens up. All that happens is the [+] next to it disappears and no tree system opens. You can go up to the Open icon at the top and get a file-tree, but if you use the Manage/Adjust/Edit tabs the image is closed and you have to reopen it.
It appears that most of the people buying this product are being misled. Contrary to Corel's claims, there is NOT much new in this version of PSP. (As some people may not realize, things like effects filters that are listed in What's New are not really features. Those are add-on plugins.) Everything is rearranged, and Corel is referring to their pretty Manage/Adjust/Edit tabs as a new feature, but people, EVERYTHING in these tabs was present in X3 and even X2! They just moved stuff around! The only new features are some effects, and there appears to be only two of those... Selective Focus and Vignette. And both of those can be downloaded as third-party filters... They are saying that things that have been in PSP for YEARS are new features, for example, the window with all the photo information. That has long been available in the Image menu under Image Information. Adjustment Layers is another old feature they are claiming is new...
The amount of time I have put into using this product so far has been very frustrating. I cannot fathom what was going through the minds of Corel's programmers when they thought up this product. It is the same old, same old... except they have taken quite a few steps backward with the interface. There is nothing streamlined or flow-oriented about it.
As a long-time PSP user, I would suggest to other previous PSP users that you stick with what you have. If you are a new user, I would suggest that you download the trial version from Corel's website before you hand over your hard earned money.
I have been a loyal user of PSP since version 5, back when JASC Software was the company developing and publishing it. Paint Shop Pro has always been an exceptional program, and it was made even better by its affordable price tag. But now it saddens me to see what Corel has done.
Like a couple other reviewers have stated, Corel has chosen to stuff this program with bloat and design rather than function. In fact, I would go so far as to say this new interface is very counter-intuitive. For example...
There is an Organizer palette at the bottom of the screen that reappears no matter how many times it is turned off. Some people may find this palette useful, but there is no way to permanently turn it off. I DO NOT need an organizer palette, I know where my images are and I am very capable of getting to them. I would much rather have my editing pane utilize the space taken up by this useless palette.
Manage/Adjust/Edit tabs at the top of the screen are a joke. In previous versions, everything contained in these tabs was available in the drop-down menus. Now, Corel wants you to switch tabs to access each type of function, and to make matters worse the tools in the Manage and Adjust tabs are not in a tool bar but in yet another palette on the left side of the screen which robs you of even MORE work space! Also, if you have an image open in the Edit tab and then switch to the Adjust tab, guess what... the image closes and you have to REOPEN it. But, Corel must have missed something, because if you are in the Edit tab you have the full array of drop down menus, which include all the file management and adjustment functions available on the other two tabs... so WHY do the other two tabs even exist???
Apparently, Corel doesn't like you being able to browse a file tree to find your images. On the left you can search your Collections tab, or choose the Computer tab which looks like it would let you open up an Explorer-type file tree... not so. You can click on your C: drive, but nothing opens up. All that happens is the [+] next to it disappears and no tree system opens. You can go up to the Open icon at the top and get a file-tree, but if you use the Manage/Adjust/Edit tabs the image is closed and you have to reopen it.
It appears that most of the people buying this product are being misled. Contrary to Corel's claims, there is NOT much new in this version of PSP. (As some people may not realize, things like effects filters that are listed in What's New are not really features. Those are add-on plugins.) Everything is rearranged, and Corel is referring to their pretty Manage/Adjust/Edit tabs as a new feature, but people, EVERYTHING in these tabs was present in X3 and even X2! They just moved stuff around! The only new features are some effects, and there appears to be only two of those... Selective Focus and Vignette. And both of those can be downloaded as third-party filters... They are saying that things that have been in PSP for YEARS are new features, for example, the window with all the photo information. That has long been available in the Image menu under Image Information. Adjustment Layers is another old feature they are claiming is new...
The amount of time I have put into using this product so far has been very frustrating. I cannot fathom what was going through the minds of Corel's programmers when they thought up this product. It is the same old, same old... except they have taken quite a few steps backward with the interface. There is nothing streamlined or flow-oriented about it.
As a long-time PSP user, I would suggest to other previous PSP users that you stick with what you have. If you are a new user, I would suggest that you download the trial version from Corel's website before you hand over your hard earned money.
82 of 92 people found the following review helpful
By 5055
Format:Software
If you're an avid PaintShop Pro user of previous versions, you may want to know before hand that it has completely changed. If you decide to buy the new version, just make sure you have the correct mind set for these new changes...If you're not a person for change, then you may want to hold off for a bit. Me on the other hand, these new changes were something different for me, but in no time I adjusted to them quite fast. The new changes are noticeable to point out, and you will soon realize how beneficial and great these features are. Here are a few of the changes in the new version...
NEW Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0--includes over 250 effects and styles, along with 30+ emulated film types in 52 easy-to-use filters
NEW Custom photo book--showcase your best work
NEW Images from Fotolia--download your 21 royalty-free, high-resolution photos from this incredible image bank of photos and illustrations
NEW Picture Tubes--get a selection of Picture Tubes from our extensive collection
NEW HDR module--merge photos with different exposures to create incredible images
NEW Photo Blend--combine photos of the same scene to include the best details and remove unwanted elements
NEW Selective Focus--mimic the effect of expensive tilt-shift lenses and turn a scene into a miniature world
NEW Interface--Complete re-design of the interface has been implemented. Built for ease of use
NEW Windows 7 Integration--Now includes taskbar previews of your layered projects.
**You can also go to the Corel site, just so you know a bit more about What's New!**
The only thing I did not like, is the integration with the Windows 7 taskbar previews while dealing in layers, as far as I know...You cannot turn this off. It is a minor setback, and can be dealt with.
Overall, this is a very positive change from Corel, and I like where the PaintShop series is heading....Which is indeed headed in the right direction so far. This is a professional package, for an affordable price. I definitely choose this over Photoshop any day, just because of the price and features of the product. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes to edit or create certain image projects who are on a budget, but can still achieve professional results. Get your hands on this, it will definitely be helpful if you need it. Like I said, it is headed in the right direction...From here on out....This product will only get better and better.
*UPDATE 09/14/2011*
I have been tinkering around some more, and would like to point out a couple of menu options that have been changed in this new version.
When doing a mirror effect (Ctrl M) in previous versions, you would go to Image, Mirror to do so. In the new version, they have renamed it to Image, Flip Horizontal. I just wanted to point this out, just in case people got confused.
For those of you who like the old classic look and would like to change it, and not use the Graphite/Darker theme...I am sorry to say, I am almost positive you can not change this anymore. For me on the other hand, I think the Graphite/Darker look is more easy on the eyes and more appealing.
About a third party plugin:
If you use Filters Unlimited Plugin, some images require you to open using a non transparent background when editing. If you run into problems while using this plugin, just make sure to Open with the Transparent box unchecked...You'll know what I mean if you run into problems. That is of course if you utilize this third party plugin.
NEW Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0--includes over 250 effects and styles, along with 30+ emulated film types in 52 easy-to-use filters
NEW Custom photo book--showcase your best work
NEW Images from Fotolia--download your 21 royalty-free, high-resolution photos from this incredible image bank of photos and illustrations
NEW Picture Tubes--get a selection of Picture Tubes from our extensive collection
NEW HDR module--merge photos with different exposures to create incredible images
NEW Photo Blend--combine photos of the same scene to include the best details and remove unwanted elements
NEW Selective Focus--mimic the effect of expensive tilt-shift lenses and turn a scene into a miniature world
NEW Interface--Complete re-design of the interface has been implemented. Built for ease of use
NEW Windows 7 Integration--Now includes taskbar previews of your layered projects.
**You can also go to the Corel site, just so you know a bit more about What's New!**
The only thing I did not like, is the integration with the Windows 7 taskbar previews while dealing in layers, as far as I know...You cannot turn this off. It is a minor setback, and can be dealt with.
Overall, this is a very positive change from Corel, and I like where the PaintShop series is heading....Which is indeed headed in the right direction so far. This is a professional package, for an affordable price. I definitely choose this over Photoshop any day, just because of the price and features of the product. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes to edit or create certain image projects who are on a budget, but can still achieve professional results. Get your hands on this, it will definitely be helpful if you need it. Like I said, it is headed in the right direction...From here on out....This product will only get better and better.
*UPDATE 09/14/2011*
I have been tinkering around some more, and would like to point out a couple of menu options that have been changed in this new version.
When doing a mirror effect (Ctrl M) in previous versions, you would go to Image, Mirror to do so. In the new version, they have renamed it to Image, Flip Horizontal. I just wanted to point this out, just in case people got confused.
For those of you who like the old classic look and would like to change it, and not use the Graphite/Darker theme...I am sorry to say, I am almost positive you can not change this anymore. For me on the other hand, I think the Graphite/Darker look is more easy on the eyes and more appealing.
About a third party plugin:
If you use Filters Unlimited Plugin, some images require you to open using a non transparent background when editing. If you run into problems while using this plugin, just make sure to Open with the Transparent box unchecked...You'll know what I mean if you run into problems. That is of course if you utilize this third party plugin.
36 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Software
By Lynn Page Webmaster/Newsletter Editor Crystal River Users Group (CRUG)
I have had the opportunity to spend a little time looking at Corel PaintShop Pro X4 and am pleased with the changes to an already excellent product. I will be doing a full review for my user group (CRUG) but want to provide a few initial observations.
The Getting Started/Welcome screen that opens in front of the workspace will be a benefit to new users and I found it worth the little time it took to look through the explanations. PSP X4 has moved to a more traditional tabbed interface most of us have come to love. The easily spotted tabs in the middle of the title bar make it simple to move between the Manage, Adjust and Edit tasks whether you have the application full screen or not.
The Manage tab contains the Organizer in the bottom pane and a Navigation pane on the left. In the past I generally did not use the Organizer very often but did note some nice features on the Manage tab. The auto hide feature for the Navigation pane provides room for a much nicer preview of a selected photo. Dedicated photographers will appreciate the additional information about the photo displayed in the right pane. The Organizer task bar now includes a Share icon to easily share a photo through email or on FaceBook or Flickr. There is also an icon to Auto Group photos taken within a period of time up to a minute. What I liked the best is that PSP remembers where I was in the Organizer and goes to that location when I return.
The Adjust tab is a beefed up version of the Express Lab. With the addition of controls for color balance, brightness/contrast, fill light/clarity, local tone mapping, and digital noise removal it can now truly handle many if not most routine photo fixes. Selecting photos for adjustment is simple as the Organizer is readily available in the bottom pane. I may now find myself starting on the Adjust tab instead of going directly to the full editor.
The full features of PSP X4 are available on the Edit tab. The Organizer is again available in the bottom pane and a single click of its Show/Hide Navigation Pane icon opens it to the left of the image in the workspace. So I no longer have the need to keep Windows Explorer open to get to my photos. I have focused my time in looking at some of PSP X4's new editing features while quickly reviewing some of my favorites. To look at the new HDR exposure merge I took a series of photos from our stairway landing towards the morning sun behind a wall of windows. My camera does not have an automatic setting for this so I just manually selected an aperture and altered the shutter speed. After selecting the set of photos that looked the best creating a single merged shot was simple. In Edit select the photos to merge form the Organizer panel then in the File drop down menu select HDR and then Exposure Merge. PSP starts the process. In the merge step you can choose settings and do custom editing. I just clicked Process to move on to the next step. Here you can choose from preset settings or make your own adjustments to temperature, contrast, highlights and midtones before clicking process. After completing the merge I adjusted the perspective of my photo before trying out the new Fill Light/Clarity adjustment. It is great for saving photos that may seem too dark. Use the sliders to bring light into the dark areas while maintaining detail. It is a wonderful tool. Next I used the new Vignette photo effect to create a faded white edge and finally added a photo frame. This resulted in a photo ready for display from a series of unusable shots.
Another new and notable feature in PSP X4 is Photo Blend. It is a simple way of getting the best parts of a series of photos. Just paint in the potions to keep on each photo and paint out the areas not wanted. I tried it out and was able to get the whole family looking good. Photo Blend is straight forward enough for anyone to try. No need to worry about understanding layers and filters.
These new features make PSP X4 a definite upgrade candidate or a perfect choice for someone looking for a photo editing application. As with any upgrade there is a learning curve and I did have a couple of little stumbles. My major one was that it took me a while to realize the workspace is tabbed. After duplicating an image I could not find it so by the time I realized my mistake I had 3 copies. It also took me a minute to try the esc key to cancel and back out of Smart Photo Fix.
I have also been using PSP X4's extensive artistic capabilities. It is easy for a user like me to just focus on editing digital photos to get the best possible image. By doing that we miss out on the wonderful array of artistic effects available through PaintShop Pro. The artistic features make PSP X4 a great tool for scrap-bookers and beginning digital artists as well as photo editors.
I have had the opportunity to spend a little time looking at Corel PaintShop Pro X4 and am pleased with the changes to an already excellent product. I will be doing a full review for my user group (CRUG) but want to provide a few initial observations.
The Getting Started/Welcome screen that opens in front of the workspace will be a benefit to new users and I found it worth the little time it took to look through the explanations. PSP X4 has moved to a more traditional tabbed interface most of us have come to love. The easily spotted tabs in the middle of the title bar make it simple to move between the Manage, Adjust and Edit tasks whether you have the application full screen or not.
The Manage tab contains the Organizer in the bottom pane and a Navigation pane on the left. In the past I generally did not use the Organizer very often but did note some nice features on the Manage tab. The auto hide feature for the Navigation pane provides room for a much nicer preview of a selected photo. Dedicated photographers will appreciate the additional information about the photo displayed in the right pane. The Organizer task bar now includes a Share icon to easily share a photo through email or on FaceBook or Flickr. There is also an icon to Auto Group photos taken within a period of time up to a minute. What I liked the best is that PSP remembers where I was in the Organizer and goes to that location when I return.
The Adjust tab is a beefed up version of the Express Lab. With the addition of controls for color balance, brightness/contrast, fill light/clarity, local tone mapping, and digital noise removal it can now truly handle many if not most routine photo fixes. Selecting photos for adjustment is simple as the Organizer is readily available in the bottom pane. I may now find myself starting on the Adjust tab instead of going directly to the full editor.
The full features of PSP X4 are available on the Edit tab. The Organizer is again available in the bottom pane and a single click of its Show/Hide Navigation Pane icon opens it to the left of the image in the workspace. So I no longer have the need to keep Windows Explorer open to get to my photos. I have focused my time in looking at some of PSP X4's new editing features while quickly reviewing some of my favorites. To look at the new HDR exposure merge I took a series of photos from our stairway landing towards the morning sun behind a wall of windows. My camera does not have an automatic setting for this so I just manually selected an aperture and altered the shutter speed. After selecting the set of photos that looked the best creating a single merged shot was simple. In Edit select the photos to merge form the Organizer panel then in the File drop down menu select HDR and then Exposure Merge. PSP starts the process. In the merge step you can choose settings and do custom editing. I just clicked Process to move on to the next step. Here you can choose from preset settings or make your own adjustments to temperature, contrast, highlights and midtones before clicking process. After completing the merge I adjusted the perspective of my photo before trying out the new Fill Light/Clarity adjustment. It is great for saving photos that may seem too dark. Use the sliders to bring light into the dark areas while maintaining detail. It is a wonderful tool. Next I used the new Vignette photo effect to create a faded white edge and finally added a photo frame. This resulted in a photo ready for display from a series of unusable shots.
Another new and notable feature in PSP X4 is Photo Blend. It is a simple way of getting the best parts of a series of photos. Just paint in the potions to keep on each photo and paint out the areas not wanted. I tried it out and was able to get the whole family looking good. Photo Blend is straight forward enough for anyone to try. No need to worry about understanding layers and filters.
These new features make PSP X4 a definite upgrade candidate or a perfect choice for someone looking for a photo editing application. As with any upgrade there is a learning curve and I did have a couple of little stumbles. My major one was that it took me a while to realize the workspace is tabbed. After duplicating an image I could not find it so by the time I realized my mistake I had 3 copies. It also took me a minute to try the esc key to cancel and back out of Smart Photo Fix.
I have also been using PSP X4's extensive artistic capabilities. It is easy for a user like me to just focus on editing digital photos to get the best possible image. By doing that we miss out on the wonderful array of artistic effects available through PaintShop Pro. The artistic features make PSP X4 a great tool for scrap-bookers and beginning digital artists as well as photo editors.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Photoshop, or Apple it ain't
If you're not tech savvy, many of the features will prove challenging. But then again, you're not paying a Photoshop or Apple price either.
Published 4 days ago by Ed
5.0 out of 5 stars
This truely is the Ultimate package
I haven't even used the full capacity of the Corel PaintShop Pro X4 Ultimate software and consider it to be fantastic. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Donnie Darko
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of features
This software has lots and lots of features--which is great if that's what you're looking for. It can be a little overwhelming if you just want to do some really basic photo... Read more
Published 15 days ago by dephal
1.0 out of 5 stars
Careful with this product!!!
I have been a Paintshop Pro user for several years coming along through the versions. Last before X4, I used X3 for some time and it's a pretty good program for a hobbyist to use... Read more
Published 17 days ago by AQBob
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice feature set
I upgraded to this version for the HDR feature; It works well at combining multiple exposures (over and under exposed, to create one photo where all parts are nicely... Read more
Published 19 days ago by R Gibbons
5.0 out of 5 stars
MS Paint on Steroids
This is a powerful drawing program with lots of tools and options. I encouraged my 12 year old grandson (who does good stuff with Paint) to use it but he was intimidated by the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Richard Jackson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fair priced + easy to use = Excellent value!!
I've been a PaintShop Pro user for quite some times and have been through several prior version of PaintShot Pro releases. Read more
Published 1 month ago by H. Wang
4.0 out of 5 stars
Revised Opinion
I've been using Corel PaintShop Pro X3 and then X4 for about two years.
I started having difficulty when the MS Internet Explorer and then Firefox crapped out. Read more
I started having difficulty when the MS Internet Explorer and then Firefox crapped out. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Patman
5.0 out of 5 stars
I needed a photo handling program.
I built a new advanced computer and needed a photo handling program for it. So I purchased this (on sale) excellent program. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Urban Underbrink
3.0 out of 5 stars
Love Corel Paintshop but hate all the ads and pop ups.
I have used Corel Paintshop for years, and I love the simplicity of their pogrom. However, I am only giving this 3 stars because of all the ads and pop ups that come up every time... Read more
Published 1 month ago by nikmarks
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