Product Reviews

Serif isn't particularly subtle about the inspiration for its products. Its video-editing application bears an uncanny resemblance to Sony Vegas, and the image-editing software reviewed here owes a lot to Adobe Photoshop. This imitative approach brings both positives and negatives. PhotoPlus tends to be a step or two behind its muse, but Serif is able to draw inspiration not just from the low-cost Elements but also from the full version of Photoshop.

One key feature it shares with Photoshop rather than Elements is layer masks, which allow parts of a layer to be hidden but not deleted. They're extremely useful for graphic design, allowing layers to fade away as they stretch across the page. Masks are also crucial for creating photo-realistic montages. Other features lacking from Elements include the ability to record actions as macros to apply to batches of images, plus independent editing of the red, green and blue colour channels. It's a little disappointing that CMYK colour isn't fully supported, as this is an essential feature for preparing images for professional printing.

PhotoPlus also offers plenty of features aimed at home users, including a new Makeover Studio. This comprises instructions for carrying out various tasks to improve portrait photos, such as blemish

ADVERTISEMENT

removal, teeth whitening, fake tan and weight loss. Leaving aside the moral implications of all our photos looking like the contents of OK Magazine, it's a great feature that's educational and labour saving. Each task is broken down into simple steps, but if you can't be bothered to follow them, a Do This For Me option automates the process.

As with its competitors, PhotoPlus includes Adjustment Layers, which apply colour correction non-destructively, allowing it to be altered or removed later. Version X2 adds Filter Layers, which does the same for a variety of creative effects, adding the ability to reorder effects as well as alter their settings. This is something even the full version of Photoshop lacks, and is a huge boost to productivity.

Sadly, PhotoPlus X2 is crippled by poor performance. Applying a Gaussian Blur effect to a 10-megapixel photo took from 17 to 66 seconds. In Corel Paint Shop Pro, it took around three seconds, while Photoshop Elements took less than a second. Simpler operations showed less dramatic differences in the three applications' performance, but PhotoPlus was always the slowest. Even actions that should be immediate, such as deleting a layer, took a second or two. It's also disappointing how keyboard short cuts aren't available for selecting different tools.

The bundled AlbumPlus SE Pro photo-management software is straightforward and easy to use, with a good range of tagging and browsing options, but it suffers a similar affliction, and regularly made us wait. Unlike Photoshop Elements' Organiser tool and free software such as Google Picasa, it lacks integration with online gallery hosting.

PhotoPlus offers some significant benefits over Photoshop Elements, but its performance lets it down. If you need sophisticated tools such as layer masks, read our review of Corel Paint Shop Pro X2 in next month's What's New.