



What’s more, many edits can be applied locally by way of a Develop Brush, Linear Gradient, or Radial Gradient (and these local adjustment tools are highly responsive, especially compared to some of the sluggish RAW editors on the market).Īt the end of the day, ACDSee RAW is more functional than most of the other RAW editors on the market and highly capable of pro-level editing, yet it never becomes overwhelming. Then there’s the Detail tab – for sharpening and noise reduction – the Geometry tab – for fixing lens and perspective distortion – and the Repair tab – which features a Heal tool, a Clone tool, and a Blended Clone tool, perfect for removing unwanted blemishes and objects from your photos.
#Acdsee photo editor review plus#
The advanced tonal adjustment tools are nice, too, plus ACDSee tacks on a few extra panels for good measure, including a Soft Focus panel (which creates a beautiful glow effect) and a Post-Crop Vignette panel (great for adding finishing touches to your work). Directly below is the White Balance panel, perfect for efficient color correction. Right off the bat, you have a General editing panel, which lets you fine-tune the exposure, adjust the contrast and clarity, and tweak the saturation and vibrance. The ACDSee RAW editor offers everything you need to prepare your RAW photos for online sharing or further editing – whether you’re an absolute beginner or a serious professional. In this section, I evaluate the editing features offered by these two modules. Editing featuresĪs I mentioned above, Gemstone technically includes two editors: the core editor, with its tools and adjustment layers, and ACDSee RAW, designed to process RAW images. It’s a capable program, but it remains simple and unintimidating enough to appeal to users of all stripes. In other words, you can open several documents at once, which display as tabs by default but can also be arranged into split-screen (and other, more complicated) designs.īottom line: While Gemstone features plenty of tools for professionals, the sparse design creates a smooth editing experience that’s perfect for beginners, while the MDI functionality lets you adjust the interface to fit your requirements. Note that Gemstone is a multiple-document interface, or MDI, program. When you first open Gemstone, you’ll see the home screen, which lets you create documents and browse for files: It took me about 20 minutes to familiarize myself with all of Gemstone, including both the RAW editor and the Gemstone editing interface – it really is that easy.

If you’re new to photo editing, you’ll be up and running in no time, while veteran editors can expect to learn the program in less than an hour. Now let’s take a closer look at Gemstone’s individual features, starting with: Layout and ease of useĪCDSee Gemstone boasts a simple layout and an intuitive set of tools.
#Acdsee photo editor review license#
It’s currently available for a free trial, though you can also grab a lifetime license for just $79.99. So while I explore the program’s feature set throughout the rest of this review, if you’re a beginner in need of a fast, easy-to-use, powerful editor, then I highly recommend you check out Gemstone. (If DAM is important to you, consider grabbing one of ACDSee’s other programs, such as Photo Studio Home, to work alongside Gemstone these options offer top-notch photo-organization for reasonable prices.) Sure, Gemstone Photo Editor 12 isn’t perfect – it lacks digital asset management capabilities, and it’s missing a few advanced features – but it performs where it counts, thanks to an intuitive interface, excellent RAW-editing capabilities, and impressive responsiveness. Is it too good to be true? Are there major flaws hiding beneath the simple layout? In fact, you can use Gemstone to cover your entire photography – and even graphic design – workflow, from RAW editing and color grading to advanced masking and more. Graphic-design tools capable of producing text and shapes.A handful of helpful tools, including brushes and selection wands.For significantly less than a hundred dollars, you get: On the surface, Gemstone Photo Editor seems to have it all. So if you’re ready to discover whether Gemstone is a top-notch photo editor – and more importantly, whether it’s right for you – then let’s get started. I’ve spent weeks putting ACDSee Gemstone through its paces, and I share all my findings below. ACDSee Gemstone Photo Editor 12 is a handy program that combines an intuitive design, layer-based editing, and RAW processing into an affordable package.īut given the bevy of editors available in 2022, is Gemstone really worth buying? That’s what I explore in this review.
