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View Full Version : ACD Systems Releases ACDSee 9 Photo Manager


Jason Dunn
09-14-2006, 04:03 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.acdsee.com/products/acdsee/index' target='_blank'>http://www.acdsee.com/products/acdsee/index</a><br /><br /></div>Another new version of ACDSee? Wow, it seems like version 8 just came out not too long ago! I'm a big fan of ACD Systems products, and use them constantly throughout my day. I'm using ACDSee Pro more than anything else now, but for most people ACDSee 9 will do the trick - it looks like they've also lowered the price for the full version by $10, selling it now for $39.99 USD. If they've also ditched the product activation (like they did with ACDSee Pro), this product will no doubt be a real winner. I'm particularly pleased to see the inclusion of the Shadow/Highlight tool - I've rescued and improved more pictures with this tool than I can count. It's simply <i>awesome</i> and I can't recommend it highly enough. Sure, you can do the same thing with in Photoshop with Levels, but the ACDSee tool is amazingly simple to use.<br /><br />"VICTORIA, British Columbia – ACD Systems International Inc. (TSX: ASA), makers of ACDSee™ photo management and creative editing software and Canvas™ technical illustration software, announced the release of ACDSee™ 9 Photo Manager for photography enthusiasts. With the release of ACDSee 9, ACD Systems once again sets the industry standard for both speed and usability in a digital photo management software.<br /><br />With the release of version 9, ACDSee continues to be the fastest and most powerful software available for viewing, organizing, enhancing and sharing digital photos. Impressive new features in ACDSee 9 include Quick View mode, desktop Showroom, the Shadow/Highlight tool, Private Folders, Auto Categories, Calendar Events View, and more. <br /><br />The Quick View mode in ACDSee 9 allows you to see your photos onscreen instantly – whether you're opening an image attachment to an e-mail, or double-clicking on a JPEG from Windows Explorer. ACDSee continues to lead the industry with innovative advancements in photo viewing. ACDSee Showroom brings photo memories right onto the desktop. All a user has to do is set a folder path to their favorite shots, then sit back and watch. A sleek movable window appears that displays their photos in sequence or random.<!> <br /><br />ACDSee 9 also has a powerful new editing tool called Shadow/Highlight that saves photos you would've probably deleted. The Shadow/Highlight tool provides stunningly easy, instantaneous, and effective automatic photo correction for photos that are either too dark or too bright. In ACDSee 9 users can also fix red-eye with a single click using an improved red-eye reduction tool.<br /><br />Private Folders protect personal photos in a secure area so only the user with the password can view them. If you have photos or files that you want to remain confidential, just move them to a Private Folder, set a password, and ACDSee Photo Manager keeps them under lock and key. <br /><br />ACDSee 9's Auto Categories takes the pain out of organizing your photos by doing it for you. When Getting Photos from any device, ACDSee now automatically matches your photos up into convenient categories based on their camera information, IPTC data, ACD database information, and file properties.<br /><br />The Calendar Events View automatically organizes your photos based on the date they were taken. That means your photos get displayed in an organized event list, which you can personalize with a unique description for each event. <br /><br />"The major industry trend in photo software is toward creating simpler and faster applications combined with increased power and effectiveness. ACD is leading the trend with its newest release of ACDSee 9, a program that is easier-to-use than any previous versions without compromising the company's commitment to adding innovative features and time-saving solutions," said James Latham, vice president of Marketing for ACD Systems. "ACDSee 9 is an excellent combination of our legendary speed and some exciting technological innovation. An example is ACDSee 9's Auto Categories feature, which makes it much less time-consuming to organize photos; or the new Shadow/Highlight tool - a powerful feature for instantly correcting poorly exposed photos."<br /><br />System Requirements<br />Hardware<br /><br />Intel Pentium® III / AMD Athlon processor or equivalent (Intel Pentium® 4 / AMD Athlon XP or equivalent recommended) <br /><br />256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM recommended) <br /><br />100 MB free hard drive space (1 GB recommended) <br /><br />High Color display adapter at 1024 x 768 resolution (1280 x 1024 recommended) <br /><br />CD/DVD Burner – for creating CDs and DVDs <br /><br /><br />Software<br /><br />Windows® 2000 or Windows® XP <br /><br />Microsoft® Internet Explorer™ 5.0.0 (6.0.0 recommended) <br /><br />TiVo® Desktop Software – to publish images to your TiVo <br /><br />Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 – for Microsoft DirectX file format support, and to create slide shows and screen savers <br /><br />QuickTime® 6.0 – for QuickTime file format support <br /><br />Ghostscript® 8.0 – for PDF support <br /><br />Windows Media® Player 9.0 <br /><br /><br />Pricing and Availability<br />The full version of ACDSee 9 Photo Manager is available in English for $39.99 (USD) via electronic software download and $49.99 (USD) in select retail locations. Upgrade licenses from previous versions of ACDSee are available for $29.99 (USD). Volume licensing for ACDSee 9 is available with discounted pricing starting at five user licenses. For more information visit our website at <a href="www.acdsee.com">www.acdsee.com</a>. <br /><br />About ACD Systems<br />Headquartered in British Columbia since 1993, ACD Systems International Inc. (TSX: ASA) is one of the world's leading developers and marketers of digital imaging software, including the renowned ACDSee image management tool and Canvas, an advanced cross-platform technical illustration and graphics program. ACD has delivered value to a global marketplace through Internet distribution and partnerships with manufacturers and developers. ACD has millions of consumer and business users, and over 33,000 corporate customers including many Fortune 500 companies. For further details, please visit <a href="www.acdsee.com">www.acdsee.com</a>. <br /><br />ACD, ACD Systems, ACDSee, and FotoSlate are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACD Systems Ltd. in Canada, the United States, or certain other jurisdictions. Trademarks of ACD Systems Ltd. are used under license by ACD Systems of America, Inc. Canvas is a trademark or registered trademark of ACD Systems of America, Inc. in Canada, the United States, or certain other jurisdictions. Trademarks of ACD Systems of America, Inc. are used under license by ACD Systems Ltd."

Vincent Ferrari
09-14-2006, 06:12 PM
I loved 8.0 BUT the RAW conversion was so God-awful I refused to use it. They were cool enough about giving me a refund, though. Support for my Rebel XT was new at the time and only came in the pro version, so I figure that has somethign to do with it. Frankly, it was great in every other aspect.

Jason Dunn
09-14-2006, 06:17 PM
Specifically, with the RAW conversion, do you mean the end result (colour space or something?) wasn't good? Or just the process/tools?

Vincent Ferrari
09-14-2006, 07:28 PM
The end result. They were noisy to the point where I thought I had stuck pixels in my LCD.

The tools were great, and I was even able to live with some of the slowness, but the image quality was really not worth what I paid to get it. I ended up getting comfy with Canon's RAW utilities which, up until I got my Mac, I used exclusively.