Corel Paint Shop Pro X [OLD VERSION]
by Corel
![Corel Paint Shop Pro X [OLD VERSION]](/images/Corel-Paint-Shop-Pro-X-OLD-VERSION-B000AONOLI-L.jpg)
|
List Price: Category: Software See more product details and other editions |
|---|
![Buy Corel Paint Shop Pro X [OLD VERSION] at Amazon.com](/images/buy.gif)
(Click here)
Software Reviews of Corel Paint Shop Pro X [OLD VERSION]
Customer Review: Featured options
Summary: 5 Stars
The software I bought has a lot of neat features for me to use with my projects I want to do. And I really like it because of this. I will probably upgrade later.Customer Review: Excellent!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Thank you for a wonderful product. Perfect Brand New! A++++! Fast Shipping! Customer Review: From an amateur
Summary: 5 Stars
I really like this product. I am not an expert, and is the first I ever used. I was able to get the kind of picture I had in mind. Customer Review: Will cost additional funds to get animation shop
Summary: 3 Stars
I uninstalled an old version of Jasc PSP 7, and it also removed animation shop, which had been bundled in 7. I'm unsure about reinstalling it with this version, so that leaves me the option of buying animation shop at full price from Corel. :\
Version X takes some getting used to. I spent hours trying to figure out the new locations for particular tool settings, and of course nothing you really need will ever be in the help file.
Customer Review: You can do 98% of Photoshop CS2 for 10% of the price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have used Paint Shop Pro since v7. I started out with Paint Shop Pro when JASC was the creator and it was a shareware program and I couldn't afford a more expensive package for the casual, hobbyist use that I gave it.
Later I moved to v8 and used that for some time. I finally made the switch to version X a year ago.
First the good. Paint Shop Pro is INCREDIBLY powerful, yet not terribly difficult to use. It is far less expensive than Photoshop CS2 and does most of what Photoshop can do. By most, I mean MOST. There are very few things that PS does that PSP does not do, and well. Consider this, you can buy a pretty good lens for a DSLR camera with the price difference between these two programs. Which is going to improve your images more - a few extra goodies on an editing program, or a better lens?
More good things... There are several very good books here on Amazon that will teach you the basics, AND the complexities of PSP and have you working with mask layers and adjustment layers in no time at all.
Additionally, Corel supports a very active and robust newsgroup at corel cnews where you can receive nearly instantaneous advice and very useful and accurate help from other Paint Shop Pro users.
Overall, Paint Shop Pro is the bargain of the century when it comes to image editing.
Now the bad. Everyone SEEMS to use Photoshop CS2. So there are hundreds of websites and plugins and books for Photoshop. Not as many for PSP, although they are out there if you look. But since everyone seems to use Photoshop, it is easier to find help or tips when using it. Again, if you are willing to invest the time to read a book, you can learn most of what you need to know about PSP for ~$25 right here at Amazon. But for the people who don't want to read how to use the program, but prefer to go somewhere and ask - there are more people to ask with Photoshop.
Next comes color management. PSP tries to enable color management with limited results. For professionals, Photoshop has this feature down pat and they know what to expect. I've done a LOT of color management and monitor calibration and here's my take... if you aren't a pro, it is just another headache you didn't have before. Unless your monitor is WAY out of whack, most of us will never need to deal with more than a causal gamma adjustment. If you are editing photos to put on the internet or to print at places like Mpix or Ezprints or Shutterfly, you don't need it. If you are a pro, you might need it.
In a nutshell, there are a LOT of people out there using Photoshop CS2 who have shelled out $500+ for the program because they heard it was the best (and it is) and many of them do not have the faintest idea how to use most of the features that make it the best. But they feel good about it because it is Photoshop!
If you are the kind of person who buys generic aspirin at the pharmacy because you are able to disassociate your emotions from the raw fact that it is the same stuff as the brand name aspirin and will work on your headache exactly the same as the brand name aspiriin, then Paint Shop Pro is probably for you. Unless you KNOW what features you need in Photoshop that PSP does not have, then you are going to be fine with PSP. Many users will never use even a large part of PSP, much less Photoshop. So why pay HUNDREDS of dollars more for something you won't use anyway?
Usually you get what you pay for and the less you pay, the less you get. Paint Shop Pro is one of those exceptions. Because of its shareware roots and the excellence of the original programmers, this is an outstanding image editing program, that is extremely powerful for a low price. I highly recommmend it if you are looking for a powerful image editing program at a reasonable price.