Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

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The Digital Photographer's Software Guide
Among PictureMan Pro’s later features (v.5.0+) is a smart resize algorithm that allows
you to create high-quality photo thumbnails and enlarge images up to 1,000 percent
without significant loss of visual sharpness.
Comments
Formed in 1990 as a spin-off from the Soviet space program, STOIK Imaging is a significant
player in the photo software market, developing code on an OEM basis for
partners worldwide. PictureMan was the first image editor to be optimized for Intel’s
MMX technology. It has all the features that many photographers look for, including
consistent color management and accurate color correction. By using 48-bit color (16
bits per channel), the developer avoids the degradation problems encountered with 24-bit
color (8 bits per channel) processing, without seeking a full non-destructive solution.
Degradation of the image is simply less likely to be noticed at the higher bit level.
PictureMan is certainly worth trying because of its competent image-editing features.
Its user interface looks a little dated, but it has some excellent smooth filtering algorithms,
ideal for portraiture and nature photography.
Version: PictureMan 5.0.2 Pro (2008)
OS: Windows 98, 2000, XP, and Vista
RAM: 256MB
Price level: Approx. $200
Address: STOIK Imaging, Ltd, P.O. Box 48, Moscow 119049, Russia
www.stoik.com
StudioLine Photo Classic
Vendor: H&M Software
Purpose: All-in-one package for organizing, editing, and backing up a collection of images
Description
One of a family of products, StudioLine Photo Classic 3 Plus is a versatile package that
combines image viewing, organizing, and editing with layout, publishing, and backup.
It is a serious product, aimed at enthusiasts and professionals. A cut-down, basic (and
free) edition is available for novices.
StudioLine Photo Classic has a customizable interface that is laid out attractively in the
modern style with switchable panes. There is a quick-step bar to guide beginners, a slider
control to vary the size of the thumbnails, a property pane that displays information
about the images, input features for ranking images with a five-star system, and an editing
pane that shows the image tools currently being used.
The organizing utilities let you sort your images into albums and folders, mimicking, if
necessary, the folder structure on your hard disk. You can place shortcuts within folders,