How we test software

Six of these programs come in both Mac and Windows versions. These were tested on a dualcore Mac with 8GB RAM running OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Two, Corel PaintShop Pro X7 and Serif PagePlus X7, are Windowsonly. These were tested on a dual-core PC with 4GB RAM running Windows 7. Given the performance difference between the two machines, allowances were made for operational speed.

The eight applications were evaluated using a range of criteria:

The range of tools: not just editing options, but image management.

Raw conversion quality – an increasingly important factor for today’s photographers.

Ease of use and interface design.

The range of effects, and the quality of results.

Suitability for users of different skill levels. The brief was principally to bring together all the leading commercial image-editing programs on the market to see how well they catered for the evolving needs of digital photographers. We use reviewers with longstanding software experience, both with the products being tested and their previous versions. market to itself. Cyberlink PhotoDirector 6 offers many of the same tools with a more amateurorientated twist, while Capture One Pro 8 is bearing down on Lightroom from the professional end of the market, with its own cataloguing tools and a highly competitive set of raw image adjustments.

It’s interesting to compare the results from these different raw conversion tools. Adobe Camera Raw, as used by Photoshop and Lightroom, is by far the best-known and most widely used raw converter, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best. DxO OpticsPro takes raw conversion quality to the extreme, using lab-developed camera and lens profiles and constantly developing technology to deliver results you may not have realised your camera is capable of.

The old versus the new

Digital imaging is going through some exciting times. So where does this leave old favourites like Corel PaintShop Pro and Serif PhotoPlus? Both have proved popular with PC owners looking for lower-cost solutions, but times are changing. Which companies are ahead of the curve, and which are trading on past glories? And can any of them topple the mighty Adobe from its perch?