Cyberlink Offers a PhotoDirector 2011 Beta Special

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.cyberlink.com/stat/events/enu/2011/Q2/photodirector2011/index.jsp?affid=2581_943_508_15497_0_ENU&utm_source=CLHP_Promotion&utm_medium=CLHP_Promotion_15497_photodirector&utm_campaign=CL_Homepage' target='_blank'>http://www.cyberlink.com/stat/event...ign=CL_Homepage</a><br /><br /></div><p><img height="216" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//dht/auto/1307468753.usr15670.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" width="591" /></p><p>Cyberlink is having an offer on Photodirector 2011, their latest photo worflow and editing software, as shown in the above image. The interesting thing about is that Cyberlink claims to match the look derived from Nikon and Canon RAW processing software, which is a reason why I still use Nikon Capture NX2, despite its general slowness and crash-happy temperament. I have downloaded it and my first impressions are that it seems to be a little slow in browsing a library of 12,000 images, but it could well still be indexing the thumbnails. Anyone care to give it a spin and see if the image quality lives up to its promise?<span> </span></p>

[timmy]

Nice find!

I am definitely no expert in image editing, rather a rookie.. But I found this quite easy to use with lots of presets and the possibility to up/download more on the website.

Seems quite light on resources.. I have a Dell E4300, Win XP and 2GB memory, and the software is really quick.

My favorite function is the before/after with a split view where you have half of the photo in "before" and half in "after" when doing adjustments. This might be a function in lots of other software packages, but I warned you that I am a rookie..

:D

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I still prefer my way of checking and unchecking the "Preview" checkbox in Photoshop. That way I get to see changes across the whole photo. It's probably habit as much as anything though!

[ptyork]

I'm not sure this will replace Lightroom for me, but I can guarantee you if I didn't already own Lightroom, I would be STRONGLY considering this instead. This really isn't bad at all. The colors ARE a bit more accurate. Their auto white-balance is very impressive, which is important for us Canon folks. I don't even give Lightroom a guess at it anymore...this one's hitting home runs darn near every pitch. Speed-wise, I notice little difference between the two; maybe even a nod to CyberLink. Noise reduction goes to Lightroom. Auto tone is Lightroom's, as well. CyberLink is also missing over-exposure detail recovery--not a huge deal since Lightroom doesn't exactly perform magic here. CyberLink's HSL controls are pretty near identical to Lightroom, which is a good thing. Lightroom wins for flexibility of publishing (though CyberLink is a bit more intuitive). Lightroom has a ton more effect presets, but CyberLink isn't a slouch here if you include the online repository.

Just my initial thoughts.

Definitely a good find. A DEFINITE no brainer for free. $99 is probably too steep, but IMO it's worth $50, for sure. A no-name company giving you most of what Lightroom gives you at 1/4 the price would be compelling for an amateur DSLR user looking to get into RAW and wanting to move up from Picasa. 1/2 price...not as much.

[Iznotgold]

I had 200 Raw photos sat waiting for processing following a recent trip to Paris. I'd previously used several Beta / trial versions of Lightroom to do my last batch of processing but was baulking at the price of purchasing Lightroom so I thought I'd give this a go.

To be honest the experience was ok but not great compared to Lightroom (I suppose as you might expect given the price difference). I found PhotoDirector to be significantly slower, offered less fine adustment, less options and crashed 3 times on me. This is Beta software so perhaps thats ok for now but I was left with the feeling that this was an interesting alternative that needs further enhancements to meet my needs and would need a lot more work to compete with Lightroom but at its price point it probably isn't trying to.

I'll retry the final release version (for free - having provided feedback) and watch with interest to see how it develops over time.

Cheers David

[ptyork]

Anybody get their release copy?? It was due by June 30 and I definitely never got an email despite submitting a very detailed feedback form. :(

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I got mine, and it's installed!

[timmy]

I've also got mine!