Customer Reviews

Corel Snapfire Plus [Ignite Photo Fun]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you want to get the digital photos out of your camera and out in email, this is a good place to start. Snapfire puts the basic functions where you can find them and makes them relatively easy to understand. It helps if you understand pixel dimensions, but it isn't required.

The first thing you need to do is to see how big your photo will be when displayed on the computer screen of the email recipient. Simply open the photo and click on "zoom to 100%." That's the true size. If you drag your photo into the Photo Tray (see more below on dragging restrictions), you can also see the photo dimensions and the file size by placing your cursor over the photo thumbnail.

If the photo is too big and you want to resize it, you can do so from the Edit menu ("Resize") by setting new pixel dimensions (e.g. 800x600) or by setting the new size as a percentage of the original. Then view the resulting photo size by using "zoom to 100%". When it's the right size, save it.

Crop is also easy. You can crop to any shape you want, or to standard proportions (e.g. 4x6). Again, "zoom to 100%" to see the results.

That's pretty much all it takes to get a photo ready for email. My only complaint is that when you have resized a photo and it is still in your editing window, you can't see its current properties (dimensions and file size) without saving it. (When you save it, it is placed in the Photo Tray, and you can put your cursor over it to see the details.)

Snapfire has standard photo enhancement options such as red-eye correction, "quick fix," adjustments to brightness and warmth, and also a "makeover" option which can be used to whiten teeth and remove blemishes. You can also, of course, rotate photos. And you can insert text and add picture frames.

The same options are available in other software, but I like the fact that this product is not so overloaded with options that it is difficult to use. I would find it relatively easy to guide someone through the processes even if they were inexperienced. And it still has all the features I would need.

I haven't used the Download software, but it appears to put the photos into My Pictures, the standard location. When you go to the Snapfire Home page, you first highlight the folder you want to work with using "Find Files" in the left pane. The individual photos in that folder will appear on the right in the main editing screen. From there you can select one photo to edit, or drag multiple photos into the Photo Tray at the bottom for easier access. If you put your cursor over a photo in the Photo Tray you can see its dimensions and size.

One option that I personally like is the ability to unlock the aspect ratio when resizing a photo. If you ever capture photos from a video source, you sometimes may find the photos to be distorted. For example, people may look fat. Unlocking the aspect ratio allows you to fix the photos.

A warning: I tried sending a Slide Show to a friend and they were unable to open it without obtaining Snapfire software. I felt that I was sending Snapfire advertising, so won't be using this feature.

Snapfire and Snapfire Plus are new photo software from Corel. Snapfire was recently released as a free download and Snapfire Plus is a budget priced upgrade which adds more advanced features.

The one thing consumers ask for the most is a photo software that is easy to learn and use. Corel's answer is Snapfire's Message Center. From this one window, you can keep up with the latest news, updates and specials. More importantly, you have easy access to many tips and tutorials.

Snapfire has automated photo downloading from your camera, memory card or CD. Just plug in one of these and the Photo Downloader automatically starts. You can set download options for how it works. Snapfire will automatically rotate your photos when needed, check for and download only the photos added since the last download and automatically delete the photos from your camera after downloading them to the folder of your choice on your hard drive.

Once your photos are downloaded, you can use Quick Review to view photos in full screen mode and use the floating toolbar for tasks such as adding photo information, ratings and captions or starting Photo Fix. Snapfire's Photo Doctor analyzes your photos and makes suggestions for Quick Fix. With Photo Fix, you can pan, zoom and make corrections such as brightness, contrast and focus. Other photo adjustment features, which are similar to those included in Corel's popular Paint Shop Pro, include Fix Red Eye, Rotate and Crop (with a floating toolbar). Other features borrowed from Paint Shop Pro include easy-to-use organizing with Sort by, Search and Calendar Search. Snapfire also has ways to enhance your photos including Black & White and Sepia color effects.

The Photo Tray is a really nice feature which you can use to drag and drop your photos into a common location, grouping them together for a project, emailing to family and friends or printing. Snapfire has a really cool and special way to email photos. Its called Snapfire Show. After you select the photos you wish to send, Snapfire will automatically create a slide-show with built-in transitions, music and motion effects. Your photos are resized and embedded into the body of the email or added as an attachment.

Printing your photos is easy and fool-proof with the built-in layouts including standard 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 8 x 10, 3.5 x 5, wallet size and contact sheets. Snapfire will automatically use your default printer settings or you can change the settings or printer as needed. If you choose to order prints online instead, you can do so with one click of your mouse and the Photo Upload dialog box.

You can also use Snapfire to work with your videos. Just click on a video's thumbnail to view and edit the video in full screen mode. You can even grab a frame from your video and convert it into a photo. For crafters, Snapfire has several built-in project templates for album pages, greeting cards, calendars and collages. Creating a project is as easy as dragging your photos onto the template and using the basic tools to make adjustments, add text captions and position photos.

A trial version of Snapfire Plus (SE) comes packaged with the newest upgrade of Paint Shop Pro Photo XI or can be downloaded from the Corel website.

I have evaluated only the free version of Snapfire, which is pretty polished and seems to work ok for me (I didn't run into bugs), but runs pretty slow on my laptop. I find Picasa 2 and Adobe Photoshop Album to be more full featured. Both run better on my PC, and are easy to use. Picasa 2 is free, and I'm leaning that way. PC Magazine has a good set of reviews of these software packages, so that's a good place to look to learn more.

It's not as good a PaintShop Pro, but you can't expect much for a low price. I wouldn't purchase it again.

Picassa, part of the Google suite of programs, is both better than this program and free! What more do I need to add? The user interface of Picassa is easier to use and more responsive.

I had a trial version for the Corel Snapfire plus before but it expired It is working very well and the price was great.

and i absolutely loved it! it's easy to use, straight forward and includes all the basic needs if you're not someone who's an avid photo-shopper. if all you need are the bare essentials, i would recommend this program.

Snapfire Plus is an upgrade to what my husband had on his computer. He was familiar with the program so he was pleased with the additional capabilities. Service and delivery were excellent.

I think we got duped. This cd does even give us the product. The Snapfire plus "cannot be recognized." We have a very good Dell computer and it is all up to date. We have added and removed the program three times... still not recognized and able to use.

We will try one more time... if still does not "READ" we will be returning to Amazon.

Not recommended

Total waste of my time & money..it just does not live up to it's hype