Kitz Forum
Computer Software => General software => Topic started by: jid on April 13, 2009, 10:38:56 AM
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Hi all,
Does anyone have experience of the Standard version of this software.
I am considering buying it from Amazon as it is only £25!
I have the trial running and am very impressed by the features and possibilities with the software.
I cannot afford Photoshop CS4 extended at the moment but will be buying it on a student license for £150 as soon as I save enough ;)
I thought £25 for software very similar to Photoshop it will do for the time, then my Dad can have it when I get Photoshop!
Any advice is appreciated.
Cheers
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Thats an excellent price Jamie,I have used a trial and found it pretty good.I think the Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 is better but at that price I might get it myself.
I have always baulked at the price before.
I'm sure Tufted Duck will be along to answer your question :)
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Thats an excellent price Jamie,I have used a trial and found it pretty good.I think the Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 is better but at that price I might get it myself.
I have always baulked at the price before.
I'm sure Tufted Duck will be along to answer your question :)
I have tried Photoshop Elements but didn't like it as much as Paint Shop
I use Paint Shop Pro in school, although its an ancient version, it does the job just fine!
My Dad collects old photos of the village he used to live, and they need sprucing up so to speak:D
Thanks for the advice :)
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Paint Shop Pro is a very good program.
It is not as nice as Photoshop (any version ) to work with..........the GUI is comparatively ugly and clunky and the whole thing is not so intuitive as Photoshop.
It is a long time since I had Paint Shop Pro, and that was in the days when it was a JASC product..........I believe that it is nicer to work with now that it is a Corel product.
I think the question may be...........what more will you get from Photoshop CS4 than you have with Paint Shop Pro. Mainly the ability to prepare images to be sent to professional or industrial printing presses......a bit of overkill if you are going to tweaking and repairing your Dad's photos for home printing.
You may just find that Paint Shop Pro does the job just fine ( which it will ) and that the extra bells and whistles in Photoshop CS4 are superfluous to requirements.
Don't be dazzled by the name Photoshop, it is very, very good but the pro versions such as CS4 are really not intended for just twiddling with your photos.........it is a huge creative tool aimed at pro output...and you pay for that, and pay through the nose in this country.
£25 is a good price for Paint Shop...........is that for a new, unused copy ? If second hand, read up on the requirements for validating etc
If your Paint Shop is a new, unused copy........go for it.............if it is secondhand....be careful
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Just to say that although I have no experience of the later Corel versions, I have used old versions of Jasc PPP and they are excellent. I still use PPP 5 for preparing photos for a Newsletter I edit and for titivating snaps of the grandchildren and I am always surprised how wide ranging its facilties are considering I got it free on a magazine disc! £25 for an up to date version seems a very good buy. Go for it.
Tony
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TD,
Thanks for the advice!
I spoke with my Dad and he has said why bother with Photoshop, you can buy something else with the money!
The photos are usually just saved on DVDs but some I am preparing for printing via Bonusprint so some are worse than others...
The copy I am buying is from and sold by Amazon, brand new:-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paint-Shop-Pro-Photo-X2/dp/B000UZBYAA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1239625146&sr=8-2
The newer version is the Ultimate edition and is about £20 more, but I don't need RAW processing and the other features so I though I would go with the Standard version, which is also sold on the Corel website for £29.
As for UI, I prefer it to Photoshop CS4, as I downloaded a trial, I found Photoshop very confusing compared to Photo Shop which has the "learning center" which for me, as a photo editing novice, is great!
@tony
Thanks for the reply, I too had small amounts of experince with Jasc PPP in school, before they upgraded to a later version, Corel X I think?
Not as good as X2...
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Sensible thinking, jid.
Now, snap up that Paint Shop Pro...............and then dream about what to spend the rest of the momey on.
(Ummmm.....emmmm......had you considered a donation to the Tuftedduck Preservation Society, of which I happen to be treasurer.. >:D )
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Ordered at 3pm dispatched 5mins ago!!
(Ummmm.....emmmm......had you considered a donation to the Tuftedduck Preservation Society, of which I happen to be treasurer.. >:D )
;) :D
I think I might buy a 1.5TB drive replacement for my computer, but I haven't decided yet...
Thanks for all your help TD, most appreciated ;D
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I'm a big fan of PSP... but that is the Jasc PSP before corel took them over.
Once upon a time PSP even had things in that photoshop didnt. Its a bit bulkier these days and slower to load than it used to be, but I must admit I havent tried X2.
Jasc used to be redhot... but I dont think Corel has put as much development into it and it hasnt perhaps kept up as it should... but its a good alternative to photoshop... and a lot of people prefer it due to being easier to get to grips with.
Ive bought PSP in the past (pre corel) and IMHO its one of the best pieces of software Ive ever bought for the money. I still use an old version of PSP on this PC and its in use daily (and many times daily at that)... in fact a lot of the images I create for the site are done in PSP, and I have it set as the default editior since its quicker to open than photoshop
It does all I need, it preserves layers.. it works with photoshop plugins ... and the only thing I do tend to do is save as PSDs (photoshop files) rather than PSPs (PSP native file) which it lets me do happily... for ease of transferring files between the 2 progs.
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Sorry it's not much input to what you are looking for, but I recently test drove both "Photoshop CS5" and "Photoshop Elements 7" and with a total price of over $1,500 (dollars) seems a bit over the top.
Out of the 2 programs if I had to chose it would have been Elements 7, which will also handle Kodak RAW files if needed.
However, I will be sticking with my 10+ year old "iPhoto4" program of which I am very conversant with and can do most things that any other program can also do (except for batch files)
My point being:
Sometimes no matter how old the program, it's what you get used to that really matters.
"Even 3 weeks ago I discovered another part of the program that I have always wished it could do" (must read the help files more often)
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@Kitz, yes as I mentioned in a previous post, we used to use an old version in school, and found it excellent for everything and anything you threw at it!
@OF, I see your point, its what you are used to. I have never had software similar to Corel PSP before so I am a newbie to it all so to speak!
iPhoto4 is Apple isn't it? I have tried Mac but much prefer Windows :o I grew up with it so....
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Actually it's "iPhoto Plus 4" which came with my original Mustek scanner, many years ago when I had windows 98, now it's being used on XP.
The scanner was replaced a few years ago, but the software and paint program is still working fine.
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Hope no one minds a newbie putting his two pennyworth in! :-[
I too tried Photoshop elements and found it just a little bit too complicated, maybe it was because I'd got fairly used to Paintshop Pro 8 I think it was, but a pirate copy which kept having to close because it had found a problem, so when I had the chance to buy a legitimate copy of PPP 10 fairly cheap I grabbed it and have been very happy with it.
Wonder if I can get a cheap up grade to PPP X2?? ;)
Ta,
Peter
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>>> Hope no one minds a newbie putting his two pennyworth in <<<
Certainly not, Peter, jump in wherever you want........ :)
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Just seen on Amazon the price has gone up to £48.30... :o (See Jid's link above)
The ultimate version is only £49.43.
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Make sure it's also XP compatible. (If necessary)
Paint Shop Pro Photo X2
Platform: Windows Vista
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I still use the old freebie version of PSP 7 - I have it available for download if anyone wants it, if it's not against forum rules. PM me for details.
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I've just realised I said I use PPP 5! Silly me I meant PSP 5 of course.
Tony
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Just seen on Amazon the price has gone up to £48.30... :o
I got a bargain there then.
Got it this morning and installing it now. It comes with a 150page user guide as well!
Amazon have most likely put the price up as there are now only five left!
They have it for £29 on the Corel website as a download.... http://tinyurl.com/dcvtfh
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I was very tempted at the original price,but as they say, he who hesitates gathers no moss. :D
Will keep an eye out if and when it comes down again.
They have it for £29 on the Corel website as a download....
Tbh,I would rather have the CD version with the printed manual rather than the download version .
I hope it you enjoy using it Jamie. :)
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Tbh,I would rather have the CD version with the printed manual rather than the download version .
They have the CD available too for £29, once again, a limited time offer, not sure when it ends.
Keep an eye on Amazon, their prices do go up and down like a yo yo :o
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They have the CD available too for £29,
and £9 postage charge. :o :no:
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My gosh! It must be wrapped in Gold or something ;) :D
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My gosh! It must be wrapped in Gold or something ;) :D
Not necessarily, P&P and possibly insurance to ensure the customer or the company do not lose out should the package get lost in the post.
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>> Wonder if I can get a cheap up grade to PPP X2??
I should imagine so if you have registered your previous version with them... I often get emails offering me the new version at a discounted price.
The last email they sent offered me the boxed version at NOW ONLY £29.00 inc. VAT valid until 30th April
(My previous version I bought was boxed.......... and as well as the CD also included a fairly thick userguide book with lots of tutorials and how to's)
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Edit
Just noticed the £9 p+p..
....... and also that there is a page2 to this thread where the p+p is also mentioned.
I should imagine that will cover the printing costs of the manual mentioned above... which is a full book.. Just pulled out mine which has 505 pages and is the same size as any of the Sams TeachYourself guides.... and very similar content to it. In fact I got 2 books the 505 page full reference guide and a 200 page "quick start guide".
Although Im not sure if the X2 version includes a full guide like I got with my boxed version... but if it does then considering the sams guides cost around £15-£20 and if youre into that sort of thing its probably worth it.
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It included a big user guide, however only 150 of the pages were in English :o
However very extensive and explains how to "get started" with the features of PSP.