What started as a series of plug-ins for Photoshop family of programs is now a full-featured, standalone photo editor. Perfect Photo Suite 8 is, in fact, a full-featured, standalone photo editor that also integrates seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, and even Apple Aperture. So it gives you, in theory, the best of two worlds: connects with the program you already have, but can also be used independently, offering you all the best tools a photographer needs to create extraordinary images.
Key new features include the Perfect Enhance module for essential photo adjustments, the Perfect Eraser with content-aware fill technology, the Perfect Batch processing utility for applying workflows to multiple images at once, and a re-engineered Perfect Effects module with twice as many filters, customizable presets, and integrated FocalPoint technology.
The decision of onOne Software, a leading developer of innovative digital photography solutions, may have something to do with the new business model Adobe adopted. When Adobe decided to “rent” Photoshop for a monthly fee, some months ago, many photographers disagreed and started to look for alternatives. Well, it seems Perfect Photo Suite 8 wants to be, as the creators suggest, the Photographer’s Choice for Photo Editing.
The new capabilities present in Perfect Photo Suite 8, alongside its eight modules, one-click presets, tools for automated enhancements, and powerful controls allow photographers to enhance, retouch, and stylize images in a layered workflow, replace backgrounds, create high-quality enlargements, and prepare images for output—giving them the ability to express their creativity and transform their photos quickly and easily.
“We are extremely excited about Perfect Photo Suite 8,” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. “This version is the result of what photographers have been asking for, not only from us but from the industry as a whole. We’re grateful for the contributions and feedback the photography community has invested in our effort and we believe that we’ve created an extraordinarily powerful image editing tool that meets their specific needs in return.”
After a successful public beta program for Perfect Photo Suite 8, many photographers had a chance to try out the new version and give their feedback. “The attention to your user’s needs is unmatched,” said Rebecca Lyyski, owner of Lyyski’s Designs. “As a graphic designer and photographer with an elevated workload, your product has made editing my professional photography a pleasure instead of a chore,” she adds. Greg Lambert, public beta user and onOne Software photo contest winner shared, “Perfect Photo Suite 8 continues to evolve by refining its existing capability, streamlining the interface and providing some new and exciting tools and presets to enable photographers to produce the images they visualize when they press the shutter button.”
Perfect Photo Suite 8 can, in fact, be looked upon as a photographer’s tool. Imagine a Photoshop version with the tools photographers mostly use. That’s, somehow, what you find in this new offer from OnOne Software. Photographers have asked Adobe, for a long time, for a solution in that direction, also as a way to, eventually, reduce the price of Photoshop. Now another company presents a program that points in that direction and may be a viable solution to some.
To make things even more interesting, the new Perfect Photo Suite 8 is available in three editions: Premium, Standard, and for Adobe Lightroom & Apple Aperture.The Premium Edition works with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, Apple Aperture, and as a standalone application. It is priced at $179.95. Owners of previous versions of Perfect Photo Suite Premium Edition can upgrade for $99.95. For a limited time, orders of Perfect Photo Suite 8 Premium Edition will include a special collection of Professional Presets and The Essential Video Guide to Perfect Photo Suite 8, which provides a comprehensive collection of getting started training videos for Perfect Photo Suite 8—for free ($80 value). This offer ends on December 3, 2013.
Perfect Photo Suite 8 for Adobe Lightroom & Apple Aperture works with Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop Elements, and as a standalone application. It is available for $129.95; upgrades are $79.95. The Standard Edition works as a complete standalone photo editor and is available for $79.95. For more information on Perfect Photo Suite 8, visit http://www.ononesoftware.com.
Now, the story could end. But it does not. Adobe has reacted. They’ve a new offer for photographers. Last September they announced a version of Creative Cloud for photographers, but there was a catch: you had to have Photoshop CS3 or later to qualify for the special pricing. Now Adobe has no requirements. The new price is $9.99 per month, for everyone. Signing up – for one year – gives you access to Photoshop CC, Bridge CC, Lightroom 5, 20GB of cloud storage and Behance ProSite. Adobe says this is a limited offer, until December 2, 2013. But the way things are going, I guess the offer will be extended. Their “renting” structure may not be working the way they expected!