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#21
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What is the Best Software for Fixing Pictures?
Marty Fremen wrote:
Barry Goodthrall wrote: What is the best software to quickly fix photos. Before rushing to say Photoshop, while I agree for more complex digital photo manipulation it can't be beat, I want something that does common corrections the average novice often needs, such as red eye, bluring , dust removal, lighting adjustments, etc quickly. Ideally what program has the best "one step fix" function? Irfanview will do red-eye, blurring/sharpening, and has an auto-levels control which in one click will try to optimise the brightness/contrast/colour, however this somewhat hit and miss, sometimes it's great, sometimes goes too far, and sometimes not far enough. Usually worth trying though since you can always undo the result and fix the shot manually. Dust removal is a much trickier thing as it needs some intelligence on the part of the software. Polaroid did a free dust & scratches removal program which can be used by itself or as a plugin from within photoshop. It highlights what it thinks is dust and lets you deselect the stuff it got wrong before fixing the image. That's about as good as it gets I think unless you have a scanner with an infra red channel. Unfortunately I don't have a specific URL for the program but their site is http://www.polaroid.com and the program is also known as PDSR. The best software for photography is the one that you will use. That's an over simplified answer. If you do not currently not using any software, then I would suggest Photoshop Elements. The reason being, if you turn Pro, you will want to switch to Photoshop CS3. The learning curve will be shorter in this scenario. Otherwise find a program that corrects the problems that occur in your photographs...red-eye, color correction, etc. I hope that this helps. This could get to be a long news thread. Michael |
#22
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Serif Photoplus free offer details....
"KGB (KGB)" wrote in message ... On Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:41:03 +0100, Adrian C wrote: wohwagen wrote: Serif are currently giving away 5 of their older programmes for absolutely nothing (you pay 89p for the CD & P&P) They make a half-hearted attempt to sell you the latest version when you telephone them for the free software - but that's it. The down side - and I have this verified here - is that Serif readily sell name and address details of applicants to junk mail outfits. If you do order the (mostly worthwhile!) software, make it clear to them that you don't want your postal mailbox spammed. -- Adrian C Hi The other downside in my experience is that whilst the software is very good and the retail products reasonably priced, the company itself is very, very, hard sell. The free offer (whilst genuine) is basically a ploy to get you on the end of a phone by giving away out of date software so they can try and sell you their latest offering. Phone the contact number and, far from being half-hearted, they will go to any lengths to persuade you to upgrade to the latest product - or perhaps I was just unlucky. The last couple of times I have phoned Serif for the activation code for a free download, the latest product started around £100 (special price as an existing customer, Sir). When I said I was only interested in the free product, the price dropped, eventually bottoming out at around £25 (I have just had a word with my supervisor and he is prepared to offer a very special price just for you...). When I still refused, they got quite abusive and came very close to accusing me of ripping them off by only ever using their free programs (not actually true - I have bought Serif software on more than one occasion in the past). When I stuck to my guns, insisting that all I wanted was the activation code for the free download, they eventually gave me it, after threatening to bombard me with sales calls for not upgrading (I never actually received any further sales calls from them, so obviously they were bluffing). I came very close to reporting them to Trading Standards. Having said that, I have been using Serif products from the mid 1990's and find them extremely good - especially the free ones!!!! Dealing with the company on the phone however is another matter - just grit your teeth and keep reminding yourself that the software is free. To be quite fair, I haven't had my postal mailbox spammed with the exception of a "special offer" letter from Serif a couple of times a year. By the way, if you visit http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/ you will find most of their earlier software as free downloads. Just remember, when you do phone for the activation code, stick to your guns and don't let them bully you. Regards KGB Serif stuff, esp the early stuff, is quite simply, ****E. |
#23
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What is the Best Software for Fixing Pictures?
On Sep 4, 10:44 am, "HEMI-Powered" wrote:
shoot, an estimate of your skill so far with graphics and your camera, and what you expect some software to do for you. -- HP, aka Jerry If I was going to do something more complex I would use photoshop. But I am trying to find a program for my mother who is a novice so what I would like is a program that with a very few steps could fix the most common photography errors such as lighting, blurs, dust (in the case of scanning), red eye, etc. What would really be great would be a "one step fix" that just looks at the photo and makes the needed corrections. In short, I would like a program that fixes photos without any thinking, (well without lots of thinking) from the person using the program. Again, if more complex editing is needed she would send the photo to me where I would use photoshop. So, I mean best in meeting those qualifications. |
#24
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What is the Best Software for Fixing Pictures?
On Sep 4, 5:04 pm, "Joseph Meehan" wrote:
Unless you define "Best" there can be no "Best." Your skill level, the features needed, the cost, the ease of use, your tolerance for errors, likely continued support etc. There are a lot of good ones out there. -- Joseph Meehan Again ease of use would be the key component. How well it does with correcting common photo porgams with as few steps (and thinking) as possible. And if you can't think of "the Best" how about a short list? |
#25
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What is the Best Software for Fixing Pictures?
On Sep 7, 3:38 pm, Michael Calverley wrote:
Marty Fremen wrote: scenario. Otherwise find a program that corrects the problems that occur in your photographs...red-eye, color correction, etc. That was my question. |
#26
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What is the Best Software for Fixing Pictures?
"Dave Cohen" wrote in message news:d4jDi.6616$2N2.2035@trndny03... Dennis Pogson wrote: Barry Goodthrall wrote: What is the best software to quickly fix photos. Before rushing to say Photoshop, while I agree for more complex digital photo manipulation it can't be beat, I want something that does common corrections the average novice often needs, such as red eye, bluring , dust removal, lighting adjustments, etc quickly. Ideally what program has the best "one step fix" function? Faststone will probably do all you wish and it's free from- http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm Dennis. FastStone is the best I've come across for a free utility that does almost everything. It stops short of paint brush tools, layers etc and for that I'm using PhotoPlus. I've used PSP version 7 and if I had to buy a package today would probably get the latest version of that, but would still use FastStone for quick corrections. My default viewer is Irfanview, it's good for bulk resize/resample and file move. Dave Cohen Has anyone mentioned PICASA, freely downloaded from Google? I like it a lot. |
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