Pixiq

Hi Craig, it sounds like you're speaking from a platform, rather than from actually using the product. If you have PSE, or PS, then move along, nothing much new to see here. Except maybe that you can preview the blend mode before applying. The Masking Bug is also not in PSE or PS either and is great for building rectangular or circular masks. And finally you'll probably be finished editing in the time it takes Photoshop to load. It's like a size 17 spanner vs an adjustable wrench. It does what it does well, but only does that. In every post I've made about it since seeing last November, I've said it's an external editor, not some magic hyped product.

Just because a product is available, doesn't mean you need to buy it. Personally I think this tool is great for those that already own Perfect Suite 5.5, and those that want an effective layers tool that doesn't need a 1Gb download to work. I've had a discussion with Bob Campbell from onOne UK, and he's adamant that this is the market they're aiming at, and that it's a large enough market to actually develop for.

Yes, there was bad press over the original wording, but to be honest, you'd be throwing the baby out with the bathwater if that's your reason for not wanting to see value in this. One excellent thing did come out of that, Jeffrey Friedl's plugin for layering Smart Objects in Photoshop. But you have to have Photoshop for that to work. I do, and I like it a lot. But I like this too, because it's small and works.

Hi Eric, much as I'd like Lightroom to have blend mode brushes like Aperture, it simply doesn't. The effect of a multiply layer is not the same as an exposure brush and it is certainly hard to emulate in Lightroom. As is head swaps, texture layers, image blending and sky swapping. Another use would be for Multiplicity shots.

As for parametric editing, I've used Lightroom since 2006. Jan 10th to be precise. I've a good idea of the limitations and abilities of Lightroom. In fact there's a whole bunch of stuff out there in other peoples books that came from ideas I've had and workarounds that I created or found. I instigated the first set of shared presets for Lightroom, based on the fact that they were text files, found where they lived, and passed this on.

The whole 'I don't see a use' vibe is like someone saying they don't see a use for a Lotus or a Ferrari. They cost too much and use a lot of fuel. Well, that hasn't put them out of business. onOne feel there's a market and have put their money where their mouth is to create a product for that market. The product works well and has nice features that Photoshop and PSE don't. It's not for you. Great! But that doesn't mean it isn't what someone else isn't looking for. Personally I've said repeatedly, that the person getting the best value with this program is someone that already owns Perfect Photo Suite 5.5, because it's a free addition. And as part of that, with the regular promotions, this can effectively be bought for £30-40 per app in the suite.

As for PSD sizes, there are also export options for JPEG. I tend to keep my working files as long as possible, in case I need to go back and rework them, so size isn't really an issue, especially with the low cost of drives anyhow.