CyberLink Photo Director Review

Good

Similar features to that found in Adobe Lightroom. Pro-level image editing tool. 64-bit support. PC and Mac versions. 30 day free trial.

Bad

Lacks a good clone tool with selectable brushes. Importing photos is necessary which can interfere with existing sorted photo libraries.

Overall

PhotoDirector is a very solid package with a host of impressive editing tools. PC and Mac compatible. 30 day trial is worth trying out.

Editor's Ratings

Download Now

Cyberlink PhotoDirector 5 Ultra is an impressive photo editing package. It can be purchased from retailers or direct from the developer's web site. There are both Windows and Mac versions available.

Software Requirements

The package is under 320MB for the Windows download and even less than that for the Mac package. The Windows package requires Windows XP SP3 / 7 / 8.

Free Trial

A 30 day downloadable free trial is currently on offer from Cyberlink. This provides plenty of time to learn and experiment with the software which has many bells and whistles.

Editing

Editing is really the whole ball of wax with PhotoDirector. The number of excellent editing tools for improving photographs is truly impressive here.

Basic adjustment tools with changes to white balance, adjusting color saturation and more, are all there. There is non-destructive editing, as you'll find with all the top editing packages now. There are also regional brushes which allow for adjustments in one area while leaving the rest of an image unaffected. It is also easy to adjust the colors in different parts of a photograph to bring out the subject and reduce the color balance in other areas of less interest.

Typical photo improvement tools like lens correction, image sharpening and noise reduction are available also to bring up the quality of existing photos.

Creative effects to trim down a human profile for a glossy magazine, remove facial and bodily skin imperfections, whiten the eyes, make the teeth sparkle and other effects to show people in the best possible light.

RAW files can also be imported, edited and exported in record time with PhotoDirector 5. The latest speed improvements over version 4 mean some aspects of RAW file actions can be performed 3x faster now.

Social Sharing

Images and collections can be shared directly on Flickr and Facebook accounts. This makes it easy to take shots, edit them selectively and then share them with your friends.

Compared to Competition

Compared to the same function in Photoshop Elements, CyberLink PhotoDirector 4 actually did a better job in manual mode then Elements as it appears to be able to detect faces more accurately. However, doing the same test with faces previously tagged turned the tables and Elements came out a winner there.

While the addition of facial recognition features has been implemented very well, it is not a unique feature that other suites do not offer.

Conclusion

The Cyberlink PhotoDirector 5 package continues to improve. The editing tools are as good as one will find in any other top package and produce excellent results. The company also have complimentary packages for directing and other creative outlets which are interoperable with this package. Overall, the PhotoDirector package is really impresses.

General Information

  • Special Features  : Many
  • Supported OS(es)  : Windows
  • Support  : 3

Photo Editing Software Features

  • Corrections  : Advanced
  • Batch Editing  : Yes
  • Editing Effects  : 70+
  • 3D Support  : No
  • RAW Processing  : Yes
  • Editing Features  : Advanced
  • Utilities  : Yes
  • Drawing Features  : Yes
  • Input Formats  : All Major
  • Output Formats  : 50+
  • Sharing  : Yes
  • Backups  : No
  • HDR Editing  : Yes
Merchant Price  
Official Website $99.99 View Website

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