Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

In Photoshop Elements 6, Adobe introduced an aspect of what academic researchers are
calling “The Moment Camera,” a technique in which the precise moment of capture
may be spread over several seconds. Here, in group photography, it proves very useful,
allowing you to combine the best facial expressions and body language from a series of
shots. In this way, the Photomerge technology in Photoshop Elements lets you optimize
a group photograph, avoiding the risk of (for example) someone blinking at the
critical moment and spoiling an otherwise perfect shot.
Comments
Some reviewers are more effusive about Photoshop Elements than about the main
Photoshop product; others say it moves down-market with each successive release. There
is no doubt that Adobe has turned it into a distinctive editor, no longer a cut-down
version but one with new features designed to appeal to home users. As more features
are added, it becomes increasingly complicated to use, despite all the hand-holding, so
perhaps the spin-off process will occur all over again with selected elements of Photoshop
Elements repackaged into...Photoshop Fragments? In a sense, this has already happened
in the form of the excellent and easy-to-use online service Photoshop Express.
Version: Photoshop Elements 6 (2008)
OS: Windows XP Professional, Home Edition, or Media Center Edition with SP2; (4.0)
Mac OS X
RAM: 256MB (512MB recommended)
Supported file formats: Major RAW formats; major image formats
Price level: Approx. $100
Address: Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704, United States
www.adobe.com
ArcSoft PhotoStudio
Vendor: ArcSoft
Purpose: All-round photo editor for beginners, with some advanced features
Chapter 10 ■ Image Editors 123
Description
ArcSoft PhotoStudio is a photo editor with easy-to-use features suitable for beginners,
but has some more advanced functions too, including layers support. There are the
standard controls for adjusting exposure, color, and sharpness. It has good selection tools
such as Magnetic Lasso and Magic Cut for separating objects and people from their
surroundings. If you make a mistake, there are 99 levels of undo. Red-eye removal is
well-implemented—you simply click on the eye to remove the redness automatically.
ArcSoft PhotoStudio is big on special effects, with Oil Painting, Watercolor, Charcoal,
Wet Brush, Pastel, Impressionistic, Neon Edges, Bulge, Pinch, Stretch, Magic Mirror,