# Corel Paintshop pro x8 Ultimate



## goooner (Nov 17, 2015)

Anyone using this program? I've become a little disillusioned with Adobe's push for a monthly payment. I have LR 5 with the newest update, and PSE 13. I got PSE13 for very cheap, and for LR I paid around 90€. The Adobe subscription is 12€ here in Europe, and I really do not want to do this.

I really enjoy using LR, and the organizing of my photos using keywords etc. is great. But it seems like Corel has a similar system with Aftershot 2. I plan on getting a D7200 early next year, which means that my LR will not be able to import the NEF files. If I switch to Corel it will probably be for the next 8-10 years, or until they don't support my raw files any more. This deal seems almost too good to be true...

Photo Editor - Corel PaintShop Pro X8 Ultimate

I'm not a pro, but being able to use layers for focus stacking etc. could come in useful in the future. Which means that this program should be able to cover all my needs.

So the question is, does anyone use this program, and/or have a direct comparison to LR/Photoshop?


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## PhotoriousMe (Nov 17, 2015)

I've had a copy of Corel PaintShop Pro for awhile now but it never grew on me.  Now I'm using Corel AfterShot Pro 2 and really like it.  I downloaded the manual which is quite good and it won't break the bank.

Dave


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## ronlane (Nov 17, 2015)

I have no experience with Corel but paying a monthly fee (or annual fee) for LR and PS gives you access to the latest versions of it and you never have to worry about your software not being able to read a file. (well unless you get the newest of the new cameras before Adobe can get the update out.)


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## goooner (Nov 17, 2015)

PhotoriousMe said:


> I've had a copy of Corel PaintShop Pro for awhile now but it never grew on me.  Now I'm using Corel AfterShot Pro 2 and really like it.  I downloaded the manual which is quite good and it won't break the bank.
> 
> Dave


Great, Aftershot 2 is included in that package.


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## goooner (Nov 17, 2015)

ronlane said:


> I have no experience with Corel but paying a monthly fee (or annual fee) for LR and PS gives you access to the latest versions of it and you never have to worry about your software not being able to read a file. (well unless you get the newest of the new cameras before Adobe can get the update out.)


True, but I can buy roughly 6 months of CC for the price that package is going for, and the upgrade prices are also quite fair. Thing is, that if I invest in the new camera body next year, I will probably use it for at least 6-8 years. I will download the demo and see if it is what it says it is. Apparently you can use PS plug ins as well. 
Was just wondering if anyone around here had any experience with either paintshop pro or aftershot 2...


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## Jim Walczak (Nov 26, 2015)

These are just my own opinions...please use them as such...

First off, I have to agree that personally I find this whole monthly subscription thing to be...ummm...stupid.  I will admit that I'm something of an oddball in terms of software, but I simply don't upgrade software unless there's a very specific reason too.  For example, the machine I'm on now...my home built i5 system which I use (mainly) for graphics and video, is still running XP64.  I simply won't update my OS unless I have a very specific reason to do so...and so far, I have yet to see anything in Windows 7 or Windows 8 that interests me at all.  In fact, the only reason I had upgraded my Photoshop from CS3 to CS5.5 a few years back was because I was taking classes at the local college at the time and that's what they were using (and as a student, I got the registered version thru the school for cheap).  Yea, there's a lot of folks who really believe they need the latest, greatest, fastest, most up to date, etc., however I'm simply not one of them, so I just can't rationalize monthly payments for something when the old version works just fine.

This will likely sound quite jaded, however software companies, including Adobe, tend to prey on those who have bought into the hype about having the latest software.  Consider MicroSoft for example...how many people have gotten REPEATEDLY burned by the likes of Windows 95, Windows ME, Windows Vista and Windows 8, yet every time MS comes out with a "new" OS, people flock to Best Buys, with their credit cards in hands that are shaking like drug addicts in need of "a fix"? And Apple is no different...there  have been a few Mac "upgrades" that were little more than abortions (rude, but true), yet Mac loyalists are an equally stubborn breed. With such in mind, my philosophy is simple; "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  If your current software does what you need it to do, then why upgrade?

BTW...on the issue of RAW files, you may wish to do a bit of research on that regarding Lightroom.  Ok...I can't speak to LR specifically (I find Lightroom rather annoying), however when I recently upgraded to my D7000, no...my Adobe Camera RAW would no longer recognize the newer NEF files (which has happened with other camera upgrades).  With Photoshop, I just downloaded the ACR update (free) and wa-lah - I was back in business.  No mess, no fuss.  I honestly don't know if LR is the same, but it may be worth checking into...the camera makers update their product lines rather frequently, so it would make sense for Adobe (and others) to offer added support without having to upgrade the whole stinkin' package.

Now on the issue of Coral vs. Adobe...honestly, that's a tough call.  I've used Coral many times at the Fab Lab up at the college and it's a VERY good program, *however* I grew up with Adobe...I've been a Photoshop user since '96, so I find Coral to be INCREDIBLY annoying.  I've often called Coral the "Anti-Adobe" in that everything in Coral seems to work completely backwards of how it does in Photoshop.  That said, someone who grew up with Coral would likely have similar feelings towards Adobe (just as with the whole PC vs Mac debate).  Either way, I think it also depends greatly on what you do and how you do it.  If your only goal for example is basic image processing, wow...even Gimp does that *quite* well!  In that regard, I honestly think it's more about personal preference more than anything.  The only thing I can really offer there is that should you decide to make the change, do be prepared for a learning curve and a few weeks of frustration...again Coral is a good program, but if you're used to Adobe, you'll probably be pulling your hair out for a while until you get used to it.



Again, just my own opinions.


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## KmH (Nov 26, 2015)

Adobe was being robbed blind by pirated copies of it's software.
They knew that about 1/3 of all their software out there was stolen.

So thank all those that stole Adobe software for the subscription pricing model.

However with the subscription pricing model I spend a bit less per year to always have the latest and greatest CC/Lightroom updates than I did with the previous upgrade pricing when new versions were finally released every 18 to 24 months or so.
And, the latest and greatest tools, features, and functions CC/Lightoom updates include are definitely editing time savers, a key point for professional image editors.

Also note that both Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC are professional grade applications, not consumer grade applications. Even at full retail pricing before ($699) Photoshop CC/LR subscription is way less expensive than other pro grade software applications, say like AutoCAD ($140 a month) and SolidWorks (get a Quote).


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## Jim Walczak (Nov 27, 2015)

KmH said:


> Adobe was being robbed blind by pirated copies of it's software.
> They knew that about 1/3 of all their software out there was stolen.
> 
> So thank all those that stole Adobe software for the subscription pricing model.




While there's obviously a lot of pirated copies of PS out there, I think it's rather naive to blame Adobe's choice to go subscription on that...after all, in terms of "pro software", does Autodesk not offer student versions of it's own software for free?  What's more is that Photoshop has been around a fairly long time now and this pirated software issue is nothing new at all...it's not like someone at Adobe looked up a year or so ago and said "gee...we're loosing money to pirates" and decided on subscription as a solution.

While it may be easy for some to try and take the moral high ground and point fingers here, I think it over-looks the corporate mentality aspect of this.  As a person who's not only a photographer, artist and musician, but also as someone who's married to a software applications developer, I do have some unique, if not intimate insights regarding this issue.  I'm not trying to justify or rationalize the infringement of intellectual property, however to suggest this was somehow Adobe's primary motivation regarding their choice to move to a subscription service is pretty foolish...after all, there's _still_ pirated/cracked copies of CC running around out there.  The move to subscription really changed nothing at all there.

Something to think about.


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## SCraig (Nov 27, 2015)

Paintshop Pro and Aftershot are night and day different.  They are both image editors but have always been radically different in how they work and the quality of the editing.

Paintshop Pro has been around for many years.  It was originally developed by a company named JASC that was then bought by Corel.  I haven't used the more recent versions, I still have version 4, and it is just OK software.  The RAW conversion module used to be absolutely horrible but should have improved over time.

Aftershot was originally a program named Bibble 5 by Bibble Labs.  They, also, were acquired by Corel and the software immediately renamed Corel Aftershot with essentially no changes other than name and logos.  Bibble 5 was excellent software with a fantastic RAW module.  Corel relegated Aftershot to the background and remained focused on Paintshop Pro for a number of years.  I have Aftershot version 1 and watched their site for a long time for upgrades.  I'm glad to see they eventually released version 2 since I honestly thought they had scrapped it.

Paintshop Pro has always been an OK editor, but not great in my opinion.  Again, I emphasize that I haven't upgraded my copy in a number of years.  I still use PSP4 but only to add a small watermark to my photographs as well as resizing them for my web site.  It is compatible with SOME Photoshop plugins but not all, however this is something else that may have improved over time.

In addition to Painshop Pro and Aftershot I also have Nikon Capture NX2, Photoshop, Lightroom, and DxO Optics so I have a choice of software to use.  I prefer Capture NX2 over them all and use it for the vast majority of my editing.


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## limr (Nov 27, 2015)

I've always used Corel and never had any reason or desire to switch. It's a robust editor and only seems confusing I suppose if you're used to a different program. Still, that's just a matter of getting used to what certain tools are called and where they are found. 

Caveats: I've never used Photoshop or Lightroom so I can't make any direct comparison. Also, I can't speak to RAW conversion or file management because I shoot film and my scanned images are already jpegs.


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## 407370 (Nov 27, 2015)

Been using the same version of PSP for about 14 years. Downloaded PS / LR trials and hated them so never purchased.

The later versions of PSP might be worth a look at when version 7 is not capable of getting the results I want.

Below example done with PSP V7.04:
Before:


 
After:


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## dannylightning (Dec 4, 2015)

i have a version of corell paint shop pro, i think X6,   seems like a good program..   made a few album covers for bands with it,  learned how to make peoples eyes different color,  add and remove things from photos and all kind of stuff.  over all its pretty good IMO

i like it but its hard to use at fist but there are plenty of youtube videos and what not that show you how to do things on there.  

i recently got photo shop CC and well, its a bit of a pain too but i have not done much with it yet.   also seems like a pain in the butt but than again i am new to it.   seems a bit easier to use from what i have done with it so far. 

there is also a free editing program called gimp that allot of people really seem to like.


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## jcdeboever (Dec 4, 2015)

You will see more and more online software as Windows will be done soon enough and Linux/Unix based OS's pretty much rule devices these days. 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## goooner (Jan 11, 2016)

So I downloaded this software to try out the 30 day trial. Aftershot Pro 2, and Paintshop Pro. I was looking for a Lightroom alternative that is a once off investment. Unfortunately this was too good to be true. It might have been user error, but I had huge problems creating a catalogue of all of my photos (not too many around 20k). I mostly used Aftershot, as it is 'equivalent' to LR that I've been using. 

When trying to import my Pictures folder it crashed after about 5 minutes (or 12k photos imported). I 'solved' this problem by importing all the sub-folders separately. I did a web search and tried the suggestions, but none seemed to work. The key word system was also not as 'user-friendly' as LR. I gave it a good go, and played around with some D7200 test files I took at our local phtoshop. Aftershot crashed quite frequently. Did not spend too much time with Photoshop, as it is more an editor than a photo managing/editor system.  After repeatedly crashing I decided to give up. Like I said, it might have been user error, or system related. I still have a i5 'sandy bridge' with 8GB ram, and a SSD . Running Win 10 (64bit).


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## ratssass (Jan 16, 2016)

I've used PSP from PSP3-PSP X7.Got nothing bad to say whatever.Still use it on occasion.Bought Lightroom 3,when it came out,and fell in love.Then LR4 came out,along with LR5.Received Elements14 for Christmas 2014.Wasn't too familiar with Photoshop at the time,but learned that many functions were quite similar....too a point.Fast forward to about Aug 2015,went with the Adobe photog subscription package ($10-$11/month) ,and never regretted it.While I have no problems with PSP,I think it kinda washes out improvement/updates/cost wise.Plus,I'm really digging the 3D stuff on Photoshop.


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