FIRST EXPOSURE
Corel PaintShop Pro X5
By Stan Sholik
While Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop/Bridge remain the imag- ing softwares of choice for most profession- al photographers, photo enthusiasts on the Windows platform have many options that
likely fit their needs and budgets better than those programs. One in
particular that offers enthusiasts many of the features of
Lightroom and Photoshop/
Bridge—and adds several
that these lack—is Corel
PaintShop Pro. The latest
version, PaintShop Pro X5,
adds even more functionality to further separate it
from its competition, which
includes Adobe Photoshop
Elements 10 and Serif PhotoPlus X5.
PaintShop Pro X5 (PSPX5)
combines image browsing
and image editing using either the Computer tab for
browsing or the Collections
tab for adding images to the
PSPX5 database for editing.
These are found in the Navigation palette of the Manage
workspace. Adding image
folders to the database is
quick and easy, and thumbnails appear almost instantly.
PSPX5 is very fast in performing all of the operations
I used, faster in many ways
than the competition despite
still being a 32-bit application. PSPX5 also imports
video files and allows playback, but provides no other
support for video.
But I found it strange that
you could not import photos from a camera card. You can import
directly from your camera or a scanner, but not from a compact flash
or SD card. You must use Windows or the camera manufacturer’s
software to import your photos to your hard drive, and then import
them into the PSPX5 collection. It is unusual, but certainly workable,
once you are familiar with the workflow.
PSPX5 retains the attractive and functional Graphite workspace
that Corel introduced in version X2 and the tabbed navigation
between the Manage, Adjust and Edit workspaces introduced
in version X4. The interface in each tabbed workspace seems
almost infinitely customizable. Palettes can be docked or floating,
and you can set them to be hidden or to auto-hide and reopen
on mouse-over. Each palette header has three tools to control
this function, and there are
menu options and keyboard
shortcuts too.
But the addition of new
and enhanced features in
all three workspaces makes
PSPX5 worth the upgrade for
previous users and worthy of
consideration by non-users.
The new Map mode feature in the Manage workspace is integrated with
Google maps to locate your
photos based on location information. For photos containing GPS information, the
process is automatic.
For photos lacking GPS
data, reverse geocoding is
possible. Simply navigate
to the location in the Map
mode and drag your photos
onto the map. If you use a
GPS device that produces
a tracklog, you can also import the KML file and the
photos will be positioned
along it. Corel actually does
its pricier competition one
better by including altitude and direction data
in the GPS readout when
it is available. However, I
would like to be able to view
the map much larger than
PSPX5 allows.
Once the GPS data is added to your photos, PSPX5 adds that
location to the Places tag in the Collections tab of the Manage
workspace Navigation palette. This allows you to quickly see all of
the photos taken in a specific location, or quickly find the vacation
photos you took. If you are concerned about privacy when posting photos online, you can easily delete the location information.
Facial recognition is another new feature in the Manage