PhotoPlus Reviewer's Comments

PhotoPlus 11 from Serif offers all the standard tools for editing photos and some advanced ones like image extraction and screen capture. Unlike the top rated product, it does not have an organizing function. You’ll have to use AlbumPlus 4— free with this product—but using two programs makes for duplication of functions and more work to get the results you want. 

Ease of Use:  

PhotoPlus 11 is not as easy to use as other photo editing. Many terms are technical and thus confusing.  During installation, you are asked select the file types to associate with the program without a listing of types to choose from.The layout is well designed. It mimics Adobe Photoshop's layout basic tabs for each function. Icons are difficult to distinguish from one another.

Importing:  

Open images from a digital camera or import from a scanner. There is no automatic transferring of photos when you plug in your digital camera.  You can also capture images from the Web with Screen Capture. 

Editing:  

PhotoPlus offers many features to enhance photos or create unique images. For routine photo editing, use QuickFix Studio to fix red-eye, change lighting effects and color saturation, sharpen, crop, and straighten images easily.

Many sophisticated editing tools are available too. Old photos? Use the Scratch Remover to repair areas of your photos while maintaining the original area’s color. Extract a part of one image and move it into another photo with the Edge Marker tool.

Adding text is more difficult than in other programs: no real time typing on the photo and manipulation of text is extremely limited.

Bonus Feature

Instant Artist: Turn your photos into art reminiscent of the masters. Try Expressionist, Impressionist, or Van Gogh. 

Sharing:  

Share by email, send-to-disk.  

Output Capabilities:  

PhotoPlus 11 supports the most common image formats including PDF. Use Export Optimizer to balance size and quality for both Web and print output. You can view your images side-by-side as you make adjustments. 

Organizing:  

PhotoPlus comes with a second program, Album 4 at no additional charge, to provide organizing features. Two programs are not better than one, look to the side-by-side comparison chart for a photo editing program that includes organizing—you will save time and avoid frustration. 

Help/Support:  

PhotoPlus 11 comes with a 25 PDF tutorials to take you through a variety of edits and projects.  While you work, click on the how-to tab for help. You can also contact customer support, technical support, and access both a glossary and a forum monitored by Serif technical support staff. 

Summary:  

PhotoPlus 11 offers more than basic photo editing tools for potentially great photos. However, there are better without adequate sharing and organizing functions, PhotoPlus 11 falls behind more comprehensive programs in TopTenREVIEWS' rankings.