Verdict: 4 stars HDR Efex Pro 2 manages to make HDR relatively easy, and it produces ‘good’ HDR which is dynamic, rich and exciting. It still wraps it up in a bit too much jargon, but it does produce a good variety of ready-made HDR presets so that you don’t have to get caught up in the manual adjustments if you don’t want to.
Life after Photoshop software reviews
Choosing the right software isn't easy and you often have to try quite a few different applications to find the ones that suit you. We're all looking for different things, and quite often a single piece of software won't do everything that we need.
Some people simply want a Photoshop replacement without the subscription payments, some want an image cataloguing tool that can also carry out photo enhancements, some primarily want an image effects tool for crafting a very particular 'look'. Most of us want a bit of all of these things.
• Always download the trial version if there is one. My best guess at what photographers need is not necessarily right for you.
These reviews are designed not just to see whether the software out there is any good or not, but to explain exactly what it does and how it might fit into your workflow.
I don't review every program out there, only those which I personally consider add something significant to the image-editing process. There are some notable and quite possibly very popular programs not in my review list but that's because – and I don't want to upset any publishers out there – I don't think they're different enough, interesting enough or just plain good enough.
Lightroom CC vs Lightroom Classic
The name is the same, but despite the apparent similarities, these are two very different programs. So what are the key differences between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC, and how do you choose which one to use?
Color Efex Pro review
Verdict: 5 stars . Colour Efex Pro initially looks a little dated, but dig deeper and you’ll find its best filters are very useful indeed and the ability to combine filters into Recipes dramatically expands its potential.
Silver Efex Pro 2 review
Verdict: 5 stars For fans of black and white photography, Silver Efex Pro is just superb. It recreates the depth, intensity and ’soul’ of black and white in a way few other tools approach.
Aurora HDR 2019 review
Verdict: 4.5 stars Aurora HDR 2019 can create dense, wild and dramatic HDR effects, natural-looking images, and anything in between, and with out the ‘glow’ effects and other artefacts that plague other HDR tools. It also goes way further, with local adjustments, even image layers and masks. Brilliant.
Topaz Labs AI Gigapixel 2.1.1 review
Verdict: 4 stars AI Gigapixel isn’t magic and isn’t perfect, but it does take a different approach to other blow-up apps that sometimes comes off. It’s perhaps the least worst solution for a situation you’d rather not be in.
iON 360U review
The iPhone camera is great, but theres a limit to what it can do. For example, its built-in panorama mode is one of the best around, but it only shoots horizontal ‘flat’ panoramas, and meanwhile the world is waking up to the incredible potential of 360-degree spherical imaging. Right now there’s no shortage of 360-degree […]
Lensbaby Trio 28 review
Photographers spend thousands and lens makers spend millions on lenses which are as optically perfect as possible, and then Lensbaby goes and makes lenses which are deliberately bad. Or maybe that’s just how it looks. In fact, Lensbaby’s speciality is making lenses that recapture the charming imperfections that we didn’t know we wanted until they […]
Manfrotto Manhattan Changer-20 3-way camera bag review
Life after Photoshop is all about image cataloguing processing and effects but I also like to pick out interesting bits of kit to try them out, and the Manhattan Changer-20 really caught my eye. I’ve got a cupboard full of camera bags and none of them are exactly right. They’re all good at a couple […]
CyberLink PhotoDirector 9 review
Photographic experimenters and artists are always looking out for new and exciting tools to expand their vision, and CyberLink PhotoDirector 9 does seem to offer some interesting and alternative approaches to photography, including 360 photo and video editing and crossover video and stills imaging. It’s also a pretty powerful all-in-one photo cataloguing, enhancing and […]