Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Amazon and other e-tailers are offering it for free after rebate, which is how I picked up my copy.
After purchasing my first DSLR recently (Canon Rebel XT - LOVE IT!), I started really getting into photography. The camera included a basic editor and organizer (Arcsoft and Zoombrowser) which are good programs, but I wanted something more powerfull for editing, organizing, and creating things like slideshows and albums. Of course, I want Photoshop CS2, but I can not justify the outrageous cost. So for the cost of shipping, I thought I'd try this out...
At the time, I did not realize Studio was not a full version of Paint Shop Pro version 9 or 10 - I have not used either of the full versions, but I understand there are many filters and advanced features missing from Studio that may have been useful to me.
Nevertheless, PSP Studio is still very usable and it offers a complete, though somewhat basic, set of features for the beginner. I was up and running quickly, creating much better pictures instantly without spending a bunch of time in help. I was even able to figure out how to select people out of a pic and merge with others, using layers and adding effects. The results were good and I was pleased.
In addition to the photo editing features, there are some good graphics creation and editing capabilities that look like they could be fun and useful.
I ended up liking Album a lot, though there were some annoyances, like less than optimal, somewhat clumsy navigation. The slideshow feature is nice but feature poor. I really liked the create features. My 3 year old daughter loved the quick-and-dirty photo albums I created after an outing. I liked it so much, I bit on the upgrade offer and ordered version 6 because it included some XTra theme packs that I was considering buying for Album 5.
Album 6 is better than 5, especially with the theme packs, and worth the 30 or so dollars if you are looking for a good, but not great, organizer.
Both the Paint Shop Pro Studio editor and Album programs perform very very well. Load time is a bit slow (not bad) but once you are up and running, its very snappy and efficient.
But less than 2 months into using Studio, I found that I had outgrown it. The photo editing is not as powerfull or full featured as its competitors. Though the basic filters are included (unsharp, add/remove noise, etc) they are quite limited compared to others. One option I was looking for was a levels tool, but apparently it does not exist in Studio.
Finally, there is no RAW support in Studio, and neither Album 5 or 6 allow you to view RAW files at all (though 6 includes a basic RAW editor, I prefer Digital Photo Professional that came with my camera).
One other thing to consider..there is MUCH more free content available online for users of Adobe products than there are for Panit Shop Pro. When looking for info like tutorials and how-to guides, even when targeting Paint Shop Pro, you find countless Photoshop resources, but limited PSP sites - PSP content is there, but much harder to find, especially for this trimmed down Studio version. Even though much of the Adobe content is for the full CS2 version, much of the feature set overlaps with Elements, so it is often usable (at least for the basic features) and there are still more Elements specific resources than PSP.
I downloaded a copy of PhotoShop Elements 4 2 nights ago, and was very impressed. Much better organizer with RAW support, and the editing features and slide show features are much, much better than any of the products I have mentioned, alone and combined. The program is a bit sluggish, but not horribly so, and the interface is nice and intuitive. I'm willing to pay for these new features so I ordered a copy of Elements 4.0/Premier 2.0 bundle.
I would give Studio a 3 if it was over the $30 price point, but for free it deserves a 4.
If you are just looking for something basic for a casual, family photographer that might even get a little ambitious, or you think you will just be doing basic to moderate editing and organizing, this a really great solution for free. But if you expect to develop your skills as a photographer or want to create more fancy slideshows and such, consider Photoshop Elements 4.
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