Serif PhotoPlus X6 Review

Good

Contains all features that Photoshop offers at an attractive price.

Bad

Costly compared to other similar software.

Overall

Serif's editor sits in the middle between lesser equipped rivals and better equipped, more expensive image editors.

Editor's Ratings

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The Serif PhotoPlus X6 is both an editor and an organizer. There are actually two packages here, so the task of editor and image librarian (if you will) are separated out. This is either a great thing for a simplified user interface or an annoyance for users who prefer to have everything at their fingertips inside a single photographic package.

The Organizer is accessed via the center of the main panel at the top of the application. The Organizer does a fair job of things. Hard drive folders can be shown, as well as Image Albums which pulls images stored in various drive locations into a single album (for instance, three different trips to the Greek Islands stored in different folders but shown in a single photo album).

It is also possible to create Smart Albums using your own keywords, tagging and so forth. With new albums, thumbnails don't populate particularly quickly we noticed, but the organizer is workable.

Interface

The main interface for editing is very similar to Photoshop CS6 and anyone who has at least a passing familiarity to that package will recognize the look. The vertical tools panel sits down the left hand side, main image in the center of the screen, and the Adjustments panel, including layers, is situated on the right hand side.

Editing

Many of the editing features match Photoshop, but are executed in different ways and the results do not always keep pace.

The non-destructive cropping tool is similar to Photoshop CS6, with a roll back feature.

Adjustment Layers is one of the latest features to be added which again bears resemblance to improvements in CS6.

The Raw Studio which is a specialist function to import and adjust RAW files to correct issues like lens aberrations outdoes Photoshop Elements which lacks this detailed feature, but the results fall short of what the bigger brother, Photoshop CS6 can deliver. RAW files are difficult to get right, with a need to increase color levels and get into the finer details. Not every package can offer what is needed. Serif PhotoPlus offers some useful RAW editing, but for heavy RAW editing, Photoshop is still the better option.

Conclusion

Serif PhotoPlus therefore is a bit of a hit and miss affair. It looks like Photoshop, but it does not quite act like it and the results are not as reliable. While there are some interesting editing tools, you cannot get as good results with them as their Photoshop equivalent. For buyers who are looking for something cheaper, but still high powered then PhotoPlus might just be the ticket. Just don't expect super fast speeds and top results for your efforts. It is better than other less well featured packages, but it's no Photoshop either.

General Information

  • Special Features  : Yes
  • Supported OS(es)  : Windows
  • Support  : 2

Photo Editing Software Features

  • Corrections  : Yes
  • Batch Editing  : Yes
  • Editing Effects  : 20+
  • 3D Support  : Yes
  • RAW Processing  : Yes
  • Editing Features  : Yes
  • Utilities  : Yes
  • Drawing Features  : None
  • Input Formats  : Yes
  • Output Formats  : 20+
  • Sharing  : Yes
  • Backups  : No
  • HDR Editing  : Yes
Merchant Price  
Official Website $89.99 View Website

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