A little IT advice.

[Ron Kruger]

Mainly I looking for the Spyman to comment, but will welcome anyone's opinion on this http://www.magix.com/?id=...gd5silver/000/ohne/screen
Is it worth the computers space to download a trial version?

[blackcloudbrew]

I've never heard of this before and while that doesn't mean much of anything, it's also an indication that this is, well, worth what you might be paying for it. If they have a free trial, go for it and check it out. You never know about this stuff. From my perspective you have to look at the track record. PhotoShop is ungodly expensive and they upgrade it too often but it's the gold standard. You have PaintShopPro and Correll in the second tier and lots of also rans that pop up and then fade away.

For my $0.02USD, I'd be unlikely to examine it. YMMV

[davidhampshire]

had you read a good review of this,  ron?     

[Pacerr]

Check the comments on DPR.

H2

[spyglass]

Hi T-man,

In terms of software this would be a cute plastic tricycle for a toddler. You are much more advanced and require control that this software is not capable of offering. Imagine your work as a song. This software would be a single tone knob (not even separate treble & bass knobs). Programs like  Photoshop in comparison are like a full  recording studio racks with a Graphic EQ, compressors, reverb, chorus, stereo effect processor, etc.
Simple editing software allows you wash and surface polish your image. Advanced editing software puts the power of total creation in your hand and is only limited by your imagination.

Xara Photo & Graphic Designer is a nicely little packaged piece of software designed for home use where people want any all in one solution to do basic editing, simple desk top publishing, and quaint illustrative work. For under $100 it is not possible to cover all the bases (jack or all trades, master of none) The software offers fast and easy preset effects that can be applied to images and pages. At first they seem efficient and fun, but soon appear predictable and syrupy. (go to Youtube and search for "Xara Photo & Graphic Designer" and watch some of the product demos. You can see how limited the software is. It would acceptable for home use and casual armature photographers.

Layers, channels, blending, and masks are the corner stone of any good photo editing software. Next is the range of tools available and the amount of detailed control offered with each. Good software also gains the support of 3rd party so books, plug ins, actions, filters, brushes, etc are abundant. No end to the number of Youtube videos showing "how to" and tutorials (I scan trough and watch hours of Photoshop tricks and tips each week).

You can run around trying all sorts of different software, but who has the time. You buy a top notch camera, premium glass, dedicate your time to obtain a worthy image, why would you settle for anything substandard in dealing with the final step in the process. (kind of like having great equipment and sticking a cheap $40 filter on the end of your $1200 lens). Buy a decent piece of software, become familiar with it so that your work flow is smooth and efficient.


Spyglass  

[Ron Kruger]

Thanks for the comments everyone. For years now, I've downloaded and tested most every new software that came along, but something told me this one was just a step above free software (maybe not even that), and to tell the truth, I'm tired of testing.
Besides, I'm really satisfied these days with my combination of CPU4 for RAW, ACDsee for JPEG tweaking and Photoshop (which these days I only use if I need layers, blending, cloning, healing, larger files and some of the other advanced tools).
In fact, CPU4 is so good and user-friendly (Pentax finally got it right), that I could get by for 90 percent of what I do for prints and publications with it alone.