PhotoScape

Edit pictures of all types with the numerous tools and filters available.

Whether you're a photographer or you just like editing pictures, Photoscape is a program that you'll enjoy using. You have almost everything that you could need to edit pictures at your fingertips. The best thing is that the program offers instructions and tips for editing your pictures, making it a program that can easily be used by someone who is new to the world of pictures. You can view the pictures that you're going to work with before rotating them, cropping them, or adding filters. There are numerous filters that you can add to your pictures that include black and white settings, antique settings, and borders. After editing your pictures, you can save, share, or print them.

Menus are located on the side of the screen where you'll find the tools needed to edit your pictures. Each menu option is highly detailed so that you know what it does to your images. Some of the menu options allow you to eliminate some of the issues in pictures that don't look that great or combine several together to create a collage. Aside from the filters that are available, there are special effects that you can add, frames, and text features to add words to your images. Perhaps the best thing about this program is the simplicity of the interface. It's attractive to look at and easy to use. The program adds fun to taking pictures because you know that there are several options for changing the appearance if you want to add fun designs or designs that are a bit more elegant. You can use the pictures that you create on cards, invitations and other materials that are printed or shared online.

Photoscape, a software that gives you a full range of tools for enhancing and editing your photos, will help you to create the memories of a lifetime. What's advantageous about this software is how you can turn it into a slideshow that you can post and show your friends. Photoscape offers up the all-in-one photo editor with major capabilities, including:

• Batch Editor
• Viewer
• Editor
• Combine
• Page
• Animated GIF
• Screen Capture
• Raw Converter
• Brightness Color
• Backlight Correction

This free program gives users some hidden gems, but the thing to keep in mind is how it can be a little confusing without the right understanding. You have seven main features with this software, and you can see the images in your folder displayed as a thumbnail. The thing to understand is that page, merge and print features will all work about the same, but they do have nuances that will make certain applications more useful. For example, if you want to take advantage of "Print," you should print the hard copy of your images. With this, you can design the size and fit as many of these pictures as possible.

The Page Feature of Photoscape

With Photoscape's Page feature, it works similar to designing image size and fitting the pictures, but it uses pixels when it creates a montage of the images for blogs and web use. Using the Page feature, you cannot create digital art or overlap like you might do with Serif CraftArtist Compact, but Photoscape does let you create montages. The software from Photoscape offers some pretty basic tools for adjusting the color, brightness, plus levels and filter tools. The filters with this system are unusual. For example, you have "Region" which will select a specific point as your focal point. With the Fake Tilt Shift option, it can make your wide photos look more like a miniature model. It does this by faking your depth of field, and it adds a blur.

What Else Photoscape Includes

Photoscape includes some of the filters that you might expect. For example, you have Vignetting and Antique Photo. When you compare it to CameraBag 2, Photoscape seems like it might be lacking in the department of creating vintage style images. However, you have to understand that CameraBag 2 specializes in these types of images. For example, when you look at the vignette styles, they receive the labels from #1 to #10. Using this system, you can click through the labels and preview the best one.

Another area that Photoscape seems to be lacking is in the Film Effect filters area. They seem a step behind CameraBag 2, and it can even feel somewhat confusing. In fact, if you do not know about 35mm transparency film, then you should skip the Film Effects in Photoscape entirely because it will be too confusing.

What Photoscape is Not

If you want free software that has an artistic touch with fine art filters, then Photoscape will most likely not satisfy you. You can juggle your images between the application, and you can use Photoscape to crop the images. Photoscape has a crop ratio that lets you set your final print ratio, and you can crop the imaging to match. The ratios have additional standards like 4x6 and 8x10 prints. In addition, you have a whole bunch of unusual prints. For example, you can use FotoSketcher, a free to use software, that will let you create fine art with the images you have. After that, you can take them back to Photoscope and print them off.

One of the areas where Photoscape fell short is that they have no history and no layers. Also, if you do not like a specific effect, you will have to undo everything that you applied before that effect. That can be extraordinarily tedious. In addition, the remove blemishes and red-eye feature did not work as well as what it could have. You have some tools that have a more high-end feel like Xara Photo or PhotoPlus X5.

Full of Features

Where Photoscape does excel is that they have many features that let you optimize, print, edit and enjoy your photos. The fact that you have a free alternative to Photoshop, the value cannot be understated. Granted, it might not reach the same level as Photoshop, but you do have an excellent alternative to that software, and Photoscape makes editing photos more fun. The program is also navigable and easy to use. From the main window of the program, you can choose the things that you want to do. For example, you can optimize photos, view pictures and print your photos onto a single page. You can also add dozens of filters and add special effects that will make the photos stand out.

Checking out the Smart Interface

The most striking element of Photoscape is how you have an uncommon interface design. In many ways, this system is much easier on the eyes than what you might receive with Photoshop, and it has easier navigation to help a beginner go through it. The best part is how this software does not cost you anything. You do not have to invest a sizable sum of cash like you might with Photoshop to test it. All you have to do is test it and decide if it is the right photo editor for you. For a free software, Photoscape offers some features that will far exceed your expectations. Because it does not cost you a dime, it is easy to forgive the poorly implemented areas and the bad design in other areas.