Category: PHOTO EDITING

Inpixio Photo Studio 10 Mac review

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Version 1.4.61Developer InPixio
Buy https://www.inpixio.com/photo-clip-mac/Website https://www.inpixio.com/photo-studio-mac/?os=mac

 

ABOUT INPIXIO

 

Based in Paris with additional development resources worlwide, InPixio is a brand of Softcity and the Avanquest Group. InPixio is positioned on the key segment of photography and “Mobile to Print”.  Their drive is reflected by a direct presence in all market channels: Apple App Store, Apple Mac App Store, Google Play, Windows Stores etc. Also, by forging close relationships with a network of prestigious partners (Intel, Microsoft, Samsung etc.), InPixio has met the expectations of a public that is ever more attracted to downloaded software and mobile applications.

 

 

INSTALLATION & SETUP

 

Just Drag & Drop the application to your applications folder and you’re done really. InPixio Photo Studio 10 Pro for Mac consists of three individual applications: Photo Cutter, Photo Eraser and Photo Editor. There is NO ‘ check for updates’ button available, nor is a ‘preferences’ !. Its just performing checks on the background for valid serials used. Starting any of the three applications can be done from the combined applications interface (picture below), or by using the seperate applications itself. Inpixio is build for easy use and top results. This new version has a Photo Editor included to provide an overall experience for completion.

 

 

 

INTERFACE INPIXIO PHOTO CUTTER

 

    • First of the applications ( Photo Cutter, Photo Eraser and Photo Editor), Photo Cutter is a handy and easy to use application. Its interface is simple and preferences options are not available nor are extended export functions. The interface is a three stage editing section: Crop , Cut-Out and Photomontage. Inpixio makes editing so easy and fun really! Removing /keeping areas is piece of cake for anybody.
      Load your picture/image
      Choose Crop now or at later stage
      Set brush size for Remove and Keep
      Set quality ( where I feel the Faster method works best ?)
      Select area
      Wait for computer editing
      Check result ( adjust Edge blur to your liking )

The final result of any photo-cutting / background removal, really depends on the pictures composition. Want to remove background from any image with a little difference in contrast between object and background results in a diffycult operation which will not give you pleasing results. Its obvious the software’s algorithm needs to calculate the smallest

  • Now the fun part of InPixio Photo Cutter

Photomontage section provides some starting images to work with, but you can add any image to this section by using the + sign. Below I just show you some steps and a final composition just for show.
It’s all about showing you the easy steps in creating your composition.

How does it work ? To be fair we don’t know which technique Inpixio uses for her software.

Semantic segmentation is a well known computer vision task, one of the top three, along with classification and object detection. The segmentation is actually a classification task, in the sense of classifying every pixel to a class. Unlike image classification or detection, segmentation model really shows some “understanding” of the images, in not only saying “there is a car in this image”, but pointing where and what is the car, on a pixel level.

So how does the segmentation work? To better understand, we will have to examine some of the early works in this field.

The earliest idea was to adopt some of the early classification networks such as VGG and Alexnet. VGG was the state of the art model back in 2014 for image classification, and is very useful nowadays because of it’s simple and straightforward architecture. When examining VGG early layers, it may be noticed that there are high activation around the item to classify. Deeper layers have even stronger activation, however they are coarse in their nature since the repetitive pooling action. With these understandings in mind, it was hypothesized that classification training can also be used with some tweaks to finding/segmenting the object. If you would like to know more about possible techniques check this link https://arxiv.org/pdf/1507.06821.pdf

 

 

EXPORT OPTIONS

 

When I earlier mentioned limited export options, I really mean limited!  There is no other format available as JPEG, which is a shame really. All we get is a simple Save and option for Folder location, which is unsatisfying and a missed chance for a nice product like Photo Cutter. Export options should provide uploads to ‘social media’ and different of saving formats (png, tiff etc).

 

FEATURES

  • Remove Image Backgrounds
    Cutout Defined Objects Easily
    Compose Photo Montages
    Clone Image Sections To Fill Space
    Save Multiple Projects
    Precision Selection With Lasso Tool
    Use Paint Brush For Large Objects
  • Zoom/Navigate Large Images
    Drag & Drop For Optimal Control

Want to have a try for free, to erase an object from a picture? Well Inpixio has a free option https://www.inpixio.com/remove-background/ 

 

 

INPIXIO PHOTO ERASER

 

Well next application InPixio Photo Eraser is again easy to use, but in order to obtain some result you need to fiddle around some time. Erasing objects is in most reviews shown with people in the sea or stuff like that. Anyway, images with large area’s of same colouring and objects like water, field of grass etc. These larger erea’s makes it much easier on the software to calculate replacement pixels. However removing a person in a busy city, is another level all together.
The software is confronted with many different objects, colouring and intensities which makes it a hard job to perform well. No matter how hard you try, enlarging an image will always show its been tempered with.

Small objects can easily be removed, but a large object in a complex composition is almost impossible to remove. The Cloning feature helps out, replacing an area with a similar (colour ) chosen spot creates a fairly good result. Just check the two images below where a person was removed and the pavement and surroundings have been ‘Stamped and Cloned’. The end result is okay, considering it took me 10 minutes to do the job.

If the result is satisfying is up to you….

 

 

This is about the best one can achieve with non professional tools in complex compositions. Erasing technique is complex, and I guess Photoshop will do a better job with this same image, but Photoshop is not for dummies and this is where Inpixio excels : usability at beginners level and those who are happy with a straightforward approach towards photo editing.

Still I feel Inpixio is doing a great job, and editing is fast and accurate. It does have its limitations but will help the enthusiast in editing their image.

 

INPIXIO PHOTO EDITOR

 

The latest addition in Photo Studio is an editor enabling you to further adjust your pictures and add some special effects. Inpixio Photo Editor is no replacement for Photoshop or Luminar as it is far less equipped with underlaying techniques and features. That said, you can edit your image to your liking with some simple tools. When changing the sliders to your preferred setting, you can set it to default again by double clicking the sliderball. This saves you some time to go back to original setting of the chosen adjustment.

Filters and textures
Creative Blur
Edit Colors
Text tool
Advanced Cropping

Create beautiful photos by adding a blurred effect to all or parts of your image. Draw attention to a certain point in your image by blurring the surroundings, and give your photos an artistic edge.

 

VERDICT

 

Whenever you need to touch up your images a bit, change or delete background, InPixio Photo Sudio 10 for Mac provides professional-looking results. It is really easy to use and doesn’t need any special training. All three applications have minimalistic interfaces and anybody should be able to the job in no time. All provided tools are handy and the Cut-Out feature works really well. Photomontage adds some nice artistic creativity and when done properly results in good compositions. InPixio Photo Studio 10 is Catalina ready and works stable and fast. There is a little critic on the provided export/save function in both applications, as they don’t have a ‘Save As’ format available which is a shame and should be added in a next version. An export to social media would also be a bonus for future versions. Still even without this little critic, InPixio Photo Studio 10 for Mac really is a great tool for anyone to use and deserves our 5 star rating.

 

$ 79.99

 

Digiarty Videoproc review

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Version 3.0Developer  Digiarty Software Inc.
Website https://www.videoproc.com/

 

ABOUT DIGIARTY

Established in 2006, Digiarty is a software company specialized in multimedia software solutions.

 

ABOUT VIDEOPROC 3.0

VideoProc preserves the main feature of MacX Video Converter Pro for Mac, namely, video conversion. It uniquely adopts Intel QSV, NVIDIA CUDA/NVENC, and AMD powered level-3 hardware acceleration tech, thus converting, compressing and processing Blu-ray videos, HDTV/HD-camcorders videos, 4K UHD HEVC/H.264 videos, 1080p multi-track HD videos, standard MP4, MOV, AVI, MPEG and other videos 64x faster than real time.

Apart from fast video converter, VideoProc is also integrated with other useful and powerful tools, including video editor to cut, crop, merge, split and do other edit tasks, music converter to change audio formats, DVD converter to digitize discs, downloader to save online videos and music, and screen/webcam recorder. It is a piece of fully featured video processing software perfectly compatible with the newest macOS Mojave (32bit & 64bit) and lower systems.

It enables you to download videos and music and convert YouTube to MP4, MP3for offline playback. Over 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs help you to convert 4K UHD, MKV, AVCHD, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, VOB, etcto any video or audio format. It offers the world’s first video converter supporting Intel QSV hardware acceleration, 16X faster than before and no quality loss. It also empowers you to record & capture screen video, make photo slideshow, and more.

 

INSTALLATION & PREFERENCES

Installing VideoProc 3.0 is done by dragging and dropping the application in your Mac Applications folder. Thats it, no more stuff to do. Now register your application and you’re all set for a discovery of all its settings and features. VideoProc 3.0 is LOADED with everything you could possibly want from a Video processing application and even ‘more’ !

VideoProc 3.0 is the absolute top application for anyone interested in editing video ! The updated interface is modern and well played out. Some screenshots of available codecs, formats and the toolbox are shown :

 

 

So you must be impressed with this extremely well sorted and provided tools. We are anyway ! Its absolutely loaded with features.

CODECS & SPEED

So we’re about testing the speed and provided features/tools of VideoProc 3.0. The new interface is great and more up to date really.

 

SUPPORTED VIDEO & CODECS 

This VideoProc 3.0 processing software supports 320+ video formats and 50+ audio formats, so that it can handle nearly any video or audio that you throw into it. It easily converts and compresses 4K/1080p HD videos between MKV, MP4, MOV, M2TS, AVCHD, AVI, MOD, TOD, HEVC/H.265, H.264, MPEG4, MPEG2, etc., and converts audios among MP3, AAC, M4A, M4R, FLAC, AIFF, OGG, etc.

PROCESSING SPEED

Equipped with Intel QSV, NVIDIA CUDA/NVENC, and AMD level-3 hardware acceleration tech, Hyper-threading technology, multi-core CPU utility, and AMD 3DNow! Tech, VideoProc can process videos at a speed of up to 5X faster than similar programs in the market while preserving 98% video audio quality of the original media file.

File used: .mov codec ; 500 Mb ; conversion to 4k best quality .mp4

VideoProc 3.0 tells you which codec supports Hardware Accelleration (HWAccel) or not. Change the quality setting to LQ(low Quality) or HQ(High Quality) and the conversion will take shorter or longer. Still VideoProc 3.0 is the fastest converter on this planet so you might as well choose HQ.

*remark:   Conversion speed depends on your Mac’s hardware configuration ! Our Mac’s are not the latest high tech versions but late 2013.

Check this link for more info about HW Acell. https://www.videoproc.com/video-process/full-gpu-acceleration-benefits-4k-video.htm

 

All Profiles are nicely shown in the scroll list.

 

BUILD IN YOU-TUBE DOWNLOADER , CAMERA and RECORDER

VideoProc 3.0 does not only provide converting tools but also contains a great screen recorder and recorder for iMacs iSight camera. Both record in good quality ( settings ( low, medium,high ), after finishing auto open your default media player.
This is just a feature-rich, high quality and really fast video converter having all the tools to make your life easier. Its just that simple in use that there’s really not much to discuss left. It does the job brilliant and even more, so are you looking for the best converter VideoProc 3.0 will not disappoint you.

DISCOUNT 50% LINK: LINK

 

VERDICT

So we have finished testing VideoProc 3.0 and we are impressed with its performance, number of available codecs and additional tools like the screen recorder, camera recorder and ability to download straight from you-tube. It works really easy and fast with a quality finish of your precious video. I cannot find any real flaws in this product ! It absolutely is the best video converter/editing software combination application on the market, offering more then just a basic converter. It looks great, is loaded with features and tops it all with the fastest conversion time found ! The fantastic ‘Toolbox’ offers great options for editing your precious video. We have not found any competitor offering as many editing tools as VideoProc. So looking for the very best video converter/editing application around ? Look no further, this is a hard to beat application. Top scores all around 10 to of 10 !! Well done Digiarty.

 

$ 42.95

 

Photo Size Optimizer review

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Version: 1.71Developer: EffectMatrix
Website: http://www.effectmatrix.com/mac-appstore/image-mini.htm

 

ABOUT EFFECTMATRIX

EffectMatrix Software Studio is a professional provider for multimedia software, Paint for Mac Graphic Design applications and the related information to the international users. Since founded in Year 2002, it has been playing a more and more important role in this area. At present, there are various professional DVD, video and audio tools which are highly reputed and recommended by numerous users for the easy-use, fast-speed and powerful-function. Based on the same pursuance of providing excellent integration software and personal application to meet the different needs from numerous multimedia fans, EffectMatrix Software Studio and eTinySoft work together as cooperating partners with shared resource and independent identity.

 

WHY WE NEED IMAGE OPTIMISERS

Being a home user or business, we all deal with images everyday. As our mobiles are more and more the main interface for pictures, our pictures-collection is growing each day. Business emails many times have image-attachments which are too large to send without compression of some kind. Websites have many photo’s/images in their media files. Its all about visual information which many times say more then a thousand words. But WordPress users which is about 70% of all websites build, face a problem of maximised image size of 2mb. If more the image will be refused to upload. As there are 200.000.000 live websites there is a huge group facing the same problems. The internet provides many online compress tools which may fit your needs, but better have your own image compression utility. As there is a number of utilities to choose from, we hope our pick of Photo Size Optimizer will persuade you to consider.

 

HOW DOES COMPRESSION WORK

A digital sensor is capable of capturing far more information than the human eye can process. Therefore, some of this information can be removed during compression without the viewer noticing. The compression mechanism looks for any large areas of repetitive color and removes some of the repeated areas. They are then reconstructed in the image when the file is expanded.

The two types of compression are lossless and lossy:

Lossless Compression is similar to creating a ZIP file on a computer. Data is compressed to make it smaller, but no quality is lost when the file is extracted and opened at full size. An image that had been through a form of lossless compression is identical to the original image. TIFF is the most commonly used file format that uses lossless compression.

Lossy Compression works by discarding some information, and the amount of compression applied can be chosen by the photographer. JPEG is the most commonly used file format for lossy compression. It allows photographers to save space on memory cards or to produce files suitable for emailing or posting online. However, it should be noted that each time you open, modify, and then resave a lossy file, a little more detail is lost.

 

PHOTO SIZE OPTIMIZER

  • One-click photo size optimization on Mac OS X.
    Easy management: When a folder dragged into the application, Photo Size Optimizer for Mac will work on it immediately.
    Support 70 types of image formats:
    JPG, BMP, PNG, GIF, PDF, PSD, PNT, RGB, ARW, BMPF, CUR, CRW, CR2, DCR, DNG, EPSF, EPSI, EPI, EPS, EXR, EFX, ERF, FPX, FPIX, FAX, FFF, GIFF, G3, HDR, ICNS, ICO, JP2,
    JFX, JFAX, JPE, JFIF, JPF, MPO, MAC, MRW, MOS, NRW, NEF, ORF, PICT, PIC, PCT, PS, PNTG, PNGF, PEF, QTIF, QTI, RAW, RAF, RW2, RWL, SR2, SRF, SRW, SGI, TRIC, TIFF, TGA, TARGA, TIF, XBM, 3FR, 8BPS
    Photo sharing becomes more easier.
    More choices:
    Lossless mode (png, jpg, gif);
    Lossy mode (jpg);
  • Lossless mode will save space > 20%. Lossless mode compresses and reduces large image size significantly but keep the original resolution, quality.
  • Lossy mode will save space > 50% with minor quality loss.
  • Resize option in the interface

 

INTERFACE & COMPRESSION RESULTS

The images below show just some examples of compression results. The first two examples show the LOSSLESS option, where least compression is obvious. It also shows the difference between images ( color buildup ). The first added image gets a 6.5% reduction, while the second gets a whopping 20% reduction. So there is no fixed reduction in LOSSLESS mode.

We now do the same images but choose the RESIZER/SQUEEZER option and get huge compression on both images. A whopping 98% file reduction on is astonishing really. When set to 2560 * 1920 pixels the reduction still is about 90%.

Original image size 4.9 MB compressed to 473 KB !! How’s that for excellent compression !

 

THIS IMAGE IS 473KB LARGE !  Good enough for any website in terms of sharpness I think.

 

 

To show you the compression result on pixel size, the Before/After image below shows a full 200% zoom in just 1 part of the picture above. The head-feathers of the horses ( yellow-red) are enlarged.

 

COMPRESSION EXAMPLE

Example 1:  LOSSLESS compression almost no visual difference

 

Example 2: RESIZE/SQUEEZE compression ( 90%) show the expected differences when 200% zoom is used.

 

VERDICT

So we come to the close of this review and ask ourselves ” Is Photo Size Optimizer doing a great job ? “. Well its a definite YES it does! Its so easy and simple to work with, yet it does a true mathematical trick in the background. We just click and take every result for granted, but there’s more to it then just click a button. Photo Size Optimizer has great compression results and still leaves a little room for experimenting with sizes. So, if you’re looking for a image compression tool for your business or as website owner
this little gem needs your attention. For professionals we can only hope it will in future include Lossless compression on TIFF, RAW files. Try it and buy when you’re also convinced of its use. A job well done EffectMatrix.

 

$ 29.95

 

MacX Video Converter Pro review

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Version 6.2.0Developer  Digiarty Software Inc.
Website. https://www.macxdvd.com/mac-video-converter-pro/

 

ABOUT DIGIARTY

Established in 2006, Digiarty is a software company specialized in multimedia software solutions.

 

ABOUT MACX VIDEO COVERTER PRO

MacX Video Converter Pro offers a wide codec support. It enables you to download videos and music and convert YouTube to MP4, MP3 for offline playback. Over 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs help you to convert 4K UHD, MKV, AVCHD, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, VOB, etc to any video or audio format. It offers the world’s first video converter supporting Intel QSV hardware acceleration, 16X faster than before and no quality loss. It also empowers you to record & capture screen video, make photo slideshow, and more.

IMPORTANT NOTICE !

➡ First Mac video converter that supports to convert any video for the newly released iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Huawei Mate 10.

 

WHATS NEW IN VERSION 6.2.0

  1. Unique: No. 1 fast conversion speed taking advantage of unique Intel QSV tech and Auto Copy tech. Convert a MKV video (H.264+ac-3, 1920×1080, 02:07:22) to MP4 in only 15 min. 6 times faster than Handbrake, 10 times faster in auto copy mode than in normal conversion mode.
  2. New & Hot: Handle 4K video easily. Convert 4K UHD, HEVC/H.265, MKV, MP4, MOV,AVCHD, M2TS, AVI, WMV, etc to any video/audio format. Upscale 1080P HD to 4K.
  3. New: Convert video codecs to H.265/HEVC for better playback on iPhone iPad Mac. Compress up to 50% video size with zero quality loss.

 

USING MACX VIDEO CONVERTER PRO

With a simple interface, this Mac video converter gives you just drag-drop and some mouse clicks to convert your video file. Its really easy to convert your video file! Just add the video and select the output codec wanted and don’t forget to set the output quality by. moving the
bar to ‘low’ or ‘high’      , the huge number of codecs will be more then enough for any user.

 

CODECS AND SPEED

Converting a video to highest quality codec like HD or 4K takes time, but compared to other converters MacX really converts fast without losing quality at all.

Intel Quick Sync Video hardware acceleration technology, this Mac video converter can convert any videos with 5X faster speed than others, no matter MP4 MKV MOV AVI or 720P, 1080P, 4K 8K video.

 

SUPPORTED VIDEO & AUDIO CODECS

Built in 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs, MacX Video Converter Pro enables you to convert any video to over 180 video formats and 14 popular audio formats on Mac OS X (macOS High Sierra included), such as H.265/HEVC to H.264, MKV to MP4, AVI to MP4, WMV to MOV, MKV to AVI, VOB to MP4, FLV to MP4, AVCHD to MOV, MP4 to MP3, etc

 

BUILD IN YOU-TUBE DOWNLOADER , CAMERA and RECORDER

MACX Video Converter Pro does not only provide converting tools but also contains a great screen recorder and recorder for the iMacs building camera. Both record in good quality ( settings ( low, medium,high ), after finishing auto open your default media player.
This is just a feature-rich, high quality and really fast video converter having all the tools to make your life easier. Its just that simple in use that there’s really not much to discuss left. It does the job brilliant and even more, so are you looking for a converter try MacX Video Converter Pro you will not be disappointed.

   

 

Discount Coupon: VCPAFFNEW50 ($59.95, Now: $29.95/50% OFF)

VERDICT

So we have tested MacX Video Converter Pro and we are impressed with its performance, number of available codecs and additional tools like the screen recorder, camera recorder and ability to download straight from you-tube. It works really easy and fast with a quality finish of your precious video. I cannot find any real flaws in this product ! It absolutely is one of the best video converters on the market offering more then just a basic converter.

 

$ 29.95

 

 

Circular Studio Mac review

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Version 1.8Developer BrainFeverMedia LLC
Website http://www.brainfevermedia.com

 

ABOUT BRAINFEVERMEDIA

Founded in 2010, Ohio USA. BrainFeverMedia is known for their range of photographic editing tools as SkyLab Studio, LensFlare Studio, Reflect Studio and Circular Studio for Mac and iPhone.

 

INSTALLING CIRCULAR STUDIO

Open the .dmg file and drag the app to the applications map. After opening  the application you’ll notice there are no preferences to be set from the menu. The menu is basic and has few options. All editing is done from within the application and require no special settings.

 

USING CIRCULAR STUDIO

At first glance you might feel tools are missing but just look at the ‘Preferences & Tools’ below and you will find enough tools to help you create some stunning editing effects for your photo’s. Once you get the hang of it, you start the feel more comfortable with Circular Studio. The interface is well designed and feels logical as do the editing tool-settings. No real need to perform more complicated masking techniques like professionals do, but just basic skills are adequate for using this application.
The amount of provided ‘Presets’ are fair. I hope future editions will include some more as circular-element addition needs to blend in your photo like it was the real thing. The usability of creating a circular transformation strongly depends on the composition of the original photo. You need a fairly clean and wide front view (examples 1 picture) in order to make it shape in a circle in without losing photo information. Any photo can be used to get some spectacular editing results, but in order to get something like the examples your original photo needs to have a specific composition.
That said, it still does a pretty good job with many photo’s. Making a nice composition all comes down to your personal creativity. Circular Studio has the potential to really make your photo exclusive looking.

 

FEATURES

  • Presets                    – A wide selection of presets from sky objects and centers to clouds and lens flares.
  • Customize               – Customize each circular element type.
  • Professional Filters – Make beautiful and unique photos with Circulars professional filter choices.
  • Lens Flares             – Add flares and lens textures for a stylized and artistic look.

Reflect includes a wide selection of presets from calm water and ocean waves to ice and metal.

 

PROFESSIONAL EDITOR
– RAW file support
– True color 16 bpc support
– 64 bit pipeline for highest quality processing
– Preserves exif data
– Supports photos up to 8000×8000 pixels

 

REFLECT STUDIO SCENES

  • Sky Objects
    Centers
    Clouds
    Lens Flares

Below you find some examples created from my personal photo’s: Krakow Castle Poland.

Choose a picture with a fair clean and wide (examples 1 picture) front view for best circular transformation. For natural looking compositions try to avoid busy front views to create your own astonishing artistic photo impression.
I tried some normal pictures with different compositions but all with full designs, and they will not produce the even circle center rather center the shot with figures disorientated. Even these transformations might produce an artistic photo. Bottom line is that not every picture will be good to transform.

I really enjoyed playing with all possibilities  offered. Anyone should be able to produce some great looking pictures, regardless of your choice. Circular Studio is a must for anyone enjoying the creative part of photo editing.

I only found the export options a bit disappointing really. The right export options would be so much better !

 

EXAMPLES

 

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VERDICT

We really enjoyed editing with Circular Studio. It definitely is an editing tool able to produce some artistic professional results. This application offers great value for your buck. Great pricing and lots of tools and adjustments make this something to shop for. So is it perfect ? Well nothing is perfect in life but as an editing tool its getting close to what is claims to be. Get the export options upgraded as shown above and you make even a professional happy. Most users will be more then happy the way it deals with export and saving options, but the professional to be just needs a little more. Still we have a very nice piece of software to work with. Its got all the tricks to make you an editing magician. Like to do this kind of editing? Don’t think twice just get it.

 

$ 29.99

 

 

Reflect Studio Mac review

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Version 2.7Developer BrainFeverMedia LLC
Website http://www.brainfevermedia.com

 

ABOUT BRAINFEVERMEDIA

Founded in 2010, Ohio USA. BrainFeverMedia is known for their range of photographic editing tools as SkyLab Studio, LensFlare Studio, Reflect Studio and Circular Studio for Mac and iPhone.


INSTALLING REFLECT STUDIO

Open the .dmg file and drag the app to the applications map. After opening  the application you’ll notice there are no preferences to be set from the menu. The menu is basic and has few options. All editing is done from within the application and require no special settings.


USING REFLECT STUDIO

At first glance you might feel tools are missing but just look at the ‘Preferences & Tools’ below and you will find enough tools to help you create some stunning editing effects for your photo’s. Once you get the hang of it, you start the feel more comfortable with Reflect Studio. The interface is well designed and feels logical as do the editing tool-settings. No real need to perform more complicated masking techniques like professionals do, but just basic skills are adequate for using this application.
The amount of provided ‘Presets’ are fair. I hope future editions will include some more as reflection-element addition needs to blend in your photo like it was the real thing. The usability of adding a reflection-element strongly depends on the composition of the original photo. You need a fairly clean horizon view in order to make it blend in without losing photo information. You can adjust the diffuse setting etc. but layers are on top and can be blended only when objects are not part of your horizon.
That said, it still does a pretty good job with many photo’s. Making a nice composition all comes down to your personal creativity. Reflect Studio has the potential to really upgrade your photo. Adding preset elements like ‘ Fog’ and is part of this application.

 

FEATURES

  • Presets                    – Reflect includes a wide selection of presets from calm water and ocean waves to ice and metal.
  • Customize               – Customize each reflection type, adjust wave size, fog, blur, color, etc.
  • Professional Filters – Make beautiful and unique photos with Reflect’s professional filter choices.
  • Fog and Haze         – Add atmospheric effects like fog and haze for inredibly realistic horizons.
  • Lens Textures         – Add surface and glass lens textures for a stylized and artistic look.
  • SciFi Surfaces        – Take your photos to another dimension with SciFi computerized floor surfaces.

Reflect includes a wide selection of presets from calm water and ocean waves to ice and metal.

 

PROFESSIONAL EDITOR
– RAW file support
– True color 16 bpc support
– 64 bit pipeline for highest quality processing
– Preserves exif data
– Supports photos up to 8000×8000 pixels

 

REFLECT STUDIO SCENES

  • Water
    Oceans
    Beaches
    Ice
    Floor surfaces
    Tiles surfaces
    Sci-Fi

Below you find some examples created from my personal photo’s: Krakow Castle Poland.

The original Wisla river is calm and wide ! Choose a picture with a fair straight horizon for a reflection-addition  scene, for natural looking compositions or create your own astonishing photo impression. I really enjoyed playing with all possibilities  offered. Anyone should be able to produce some great looking pictures, regardless of your choice. Reflect Studio is a must for anyone enjoying the creative part of photo editing.

I only found the export options a bit disappointing really. The right export options would be so much better !

 

 

 

EXAMPLES

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VERDICT

We really enjoyed editing with Reflect Studio. It definitely is an editing tool able to produce some professional results. This application offers great value for your buck. Great pricing and lots of tools and adjustments make this something to shop for. So is it perfect ? Well nothing is perfect in life but as an editing tool its getting close to what is claims to be. Get the export options upgraded as shown above and you make even a professional happy. Most users will be more then happy the way it deals with export and saving options, but the professional to be just needs a little more. Still we have a very nice piece of software to work with. Its got all the tricks to make you an editing magician. Like to do this kind of editing? Don’t think twice just get it.

 

$ 29.99

 

 

Camerabag Photo Mac review

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Version: 3.0.1Developer Nevercenter
Website http://nevercenter.com/camerabag/photo/

 

ABOUT NEVERCENTER

Nevercenter Ltd. Co. is a private company founded in 2003 and based near Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] The company is a small team devoted to the development of software for Windows, Mac, and mobile platforms. Prominent titles include:

  • Silo, a 3D modeling application using subdivision surfaces for Windows and Mac OS.[2] Originally released August 2003; Silo 2 released August 2007.[3]
  • CameraBag, a photo editing app available for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. 2012 Mac App of the Year Runner-Up.[4] Originally released for iOS in September 2008 as a vintage photo filter app,[5] Mac support was added in September 2009. The program was then redesigned and updated to “CameraBag 2” in 2012 as a full image editing application for Mac and PC, with the iOS version of CameraBag 2 following soon after.[6] 
  • In 2016 Camerabag Photo was redesigned and updated to version 3.0

 

CAMERABAG PHOTO

Every photographer novice or experienced needs software to edit photo’s. It is one of the great digital features computers and software nowadays present. Customizing your own photo’s to your liking takes some skills if you’re using Adobe Photoshop or any other advanced photo editing software. For many people this is just a bridge too far! This is where more basic software like CameraBag Photo comes in handy.
CameraBag Photo is a no nonsense photo editing tool presenting the user nearly 200 preset filters and the ability to adjust any filter to your liking. Handling RAW photo’s is a nice added feature for real editing.

  • Hue Mask
  • HSV Mask
  • Luminance Mask
  • Highlights/Midtones/Shadows
  • 4-Way Color Wheels
  • Advanced Contrast
  • Multi-Document Tabs
  • Pixel Inspector
  • Animated Hover Previews
  • Dynamic Preview Chooser
  • Collapsible Tool Sections
  • Updated Look
  • Color Management (Mac)
  • Side-By-Side Image Editing
  • Render Queue
  • Speed Improvements
  • Dozens of New Filters

 

INTERFACE

The interface is clean and easy to use. On the right side we find the full scope of filters and normal customizations tools. Choosing a Preset from the sidebar and you’ll notice the change of your photo on the fly!
This making it much easier to choose any preset instead of trying any. If you’re comfortable with a chosen preset, just click and the main photo will change to the preset settings.
The bottom bar will now show adjustable settings to finetune your photo.

Another aspect of CameraBag Photo is saving your personal optimized settings as a ‘Preset’ allowing you to edit other photo’s in a personal and consistant way. Give it your personal touch to define and set yourself from the crowd.

 

QUICKLOOK

Choose a Preset folder/category and press/use the Quicklook button. A full array of default presets within the category is displayed is one overview allowing you to choose any desired preset.

 

HOW IT PERFORMS

CameraBag is as stated earlier working very nice. It provides the novice user tons of possibilities to enhance and edit their photo’s. Adjustments are made easy with sliders well defined and presented in a clean interface.
The more experienced user will soon see the limitations of the software but can still make use of fast presets and save for export to for instance Macphun Luminar. Camerabag Photo boasting 200 presets can really make life easier.

Overall speed is good. The full adjustable settings are easy to work with. If you’re looking for a ‘bag of tricks’ this is the software to get. No hassle no pain, a great photo is your gain. ( that even rhymes )

The New TAB function from the menubar provides a split screen showing the picture before-after editing. You may choose this step any moment working on a photo, keeping an almost perfect photo aside before making more changes.

 

SEE IT IN ACTION

CameraBag Photo YouTube play

LISTING of TOOLS

Basics
  • Exposure
  • Contrast
  • Saturation
  • Temperature
  • Multi Tool
Photographics
  • Vignette
  • Grain
  • Sharpen
  • Blur
  • Circular Blur
Borders
  • Basic Border
  • Fill Border
  • Image Border
Advanced Light
  • Tone Curve
  • Gamma Curve
  • Advanced Contrast
  • Shadows/Highlights
  • Dynamics
  • Brightness
Masks
  • Hue Mask
  • HSV Mask
  • Luminance Mask
Utility
  • Watermark
  • Dead Pixel
  • Aspect Ratio
  • Exact Size
  • Maximum Size
Advanced Color
  • Coloring
  • Coloring Curve
  • R, G, B Curves
  • Color Wheels
  • Component Curve
  • Hue Shift
  • Hue Exposure
  • Hue Saturation
  • Split Tone
  • Color Balance
  • Color Mixer
  • Filtered B+W

 

VERDICT

The final verdict of CameraBag Photo is good. It is a well designed and great looking piece of software enabling the user to easily edit their photo’s. It has nearly 200 presets covering most areas of photo editing.
Handling RAW material makes it usable for advanced users. CameraBag Photo is your private ‘bag of tricks’ setting you apart from the crowd.

 

$ 20.00

 

 

FotoMagico Pro review

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Version 5Developer Boinx Software International GmbH
Website https://boinx.com/fotomagico/

 

FOTOMAGICO PRO

Having tried and tested most slidebuilders, nothing comes close to FotoMagico 5 Pro, the software is easy to use for home users aswell as professionals who want to impress their clients.
What better way to have a slideshow impress your audience, with stunning image quality and unmatched transition and audio options. A true winner for the photographer who wants the best available.

 

INSTALLATION and SETUP

FotoMagico 5 Pro is easy to install, and additional folders for use of your private music and photo’s are imported by just simply drag & drop them in the desired sidebar.

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Starting a new project presents you some choices to make. Great to see that 4k is supported as many users will have a qualifying setup to take full advantage of todays image quality.

Schermafbeelding 2016-04-13 om 14.04.52

 

NEW PROJECT

It really is easy to setup your new project. Start with creating an Intro for your slideshow. There are pre-installed intro’s available, so is a full film directory setup ready to be used.
A nice clean overview is presented of all available transitions.

Once you have dropped all images and audio-folders in the sidebar, you may start dragging and dropping them into the Timeline and Audioline.

 

FotoMagico 5 Pro can automatically import photos, music, and video. When the sidebar is showing the Images, you can see Apple’s Aperture, iPhoto, or Photos, under the ‘Libraries’ section of the sidebar. If that is not enough, you can add a folder of your choice under the ‘Folders’ section of the sidebar.

 

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Sofar really easy! FotoMagico 5 Pro has a variety of Music, Intro and Transition options. Make your choices and set all options as desired.

In any image-square, choose image position, zoom level, and rotation. Animation can be unset in Settings at any time.
As mentioned there are two main editing modes in FotoMagico 5 Pro: Storyboard and the Timeline.
Added audiotrack is adjustable by settings

 

Schermafbeelding 2016-04-13 om 16.20.00

 

To learn tricks and tips, go to the File menu, and select Open Demo Slideshow. This demo slideshow  will show you a lot of what you can do with this software.
Once you’ve finished your slideshow, you can export your slideshow in various ways:

 

Schermafbeelding 2016-04-13 om 16.30.27

 

VERDICT

FotoMagico Pro is by far the best Mac program for your video or image presentations. Slideshows are rendered fast with great image quality. If you consider yourself to be a professional photographer or you wish to impress your audience FotoMagico will earn you and itself a five star rating. For the first time a slidebuilder really impressed me.

 

€ 99.99 / Pro