14 DAY TRIAL // Ashampoo Photo Commander 11 comes with a slightly changed interface that increases ease of use by better highlighting the functions for each module available and the utility currently accessed.
The newly released Ashampoo Photo Commander 11 went through improvements that touch on both functionality and usability.
New technology allows for better touch-up operations, while the automatic file version backup ensures that you can revert to the original image even if modifications have already been saved.
Just like the terms for testing the suite (10 days of trial to which another 30 are added if you register), the price has not changed either ($49.99/€49.99).
Ashampoo Photo Commander is not a suite to go to just for a quick image optimization or for the organization of large photo collections; you can use it for viewing the pictures (either in full-screen or slideshow mode), add shapes and text, create collages, calendars, HTML albums, or stich them into panoramas.
Moreover, the bundle can search for duplicate files or batch process them: rotate, resize, convert, adjust contrast, brightness, temperature, hue, saturation, and apply effects.
The installation process, on the other hand, has been greatly simplified by eliminating the express install procedure, which also pushed additional software on the system. The current method is clean and straightforward.
Launching the application for the first time shows a tutorial that explains the basic areas of the main application window: toolbar, folder-tree, and preview and content areas for the selected folder.
Looks are slightly modified in this revision, making the toolbar and the modules available in the product more visible.
The interface is still quite crowded by default, which recommends working with the package on larger screens. However, you can easily fix this by making some layout adjustments and hide panels you do not need at all times.
On the right-hand side of the application screen there are the methods for viewing the images on the disk: by location or the date they were taken.
A third option allows you to create an album with various photos from the content area by dragging and dropping them; this can be easily done as long as you do not move too fast.
If you need to sort the items in the content area by specific criteria, Photo Commander does not fall short of options. It can arrange them by format, rating, date, name, or common IPTC/EXIF metadata.
As soon as you pick an image, it is displayed in the center of the screen, with EXIF details and properties running down at the bottom, together with a graphical representation of the color distribution in the picture.
The list of optimization tools available in the current edition of Ashampoo Photo Commander has been enriched with tools such as Effect-Pen, Tilt-Shift-Effect tool, and expanded options for the Repair Pen.
New effects have also been added to the list (Soft Blend, Motion Blur, Zoom Blur, Noise, Splash, Bulge, Twist, Wave, Glass, and Video) and the developer added real-time preview. Thus, in the effects list the preview thumbnails show the image you’ve selected, not a generic one.
With the Effect-Pen you can actually draw the effects in the picture. You can adjust the opacity, strength, or the size of the brush, which does not work too well, especially when zooming in and out of the image. No additional features are available, such as selection tools.
Using the Tilt-Shift tool you can achieve a miniature effect of the subject in the photo. The tool is automatic but you can adjust the levels for blur, contrast, saturation, and the angle. The result is pretty good for such a quick job.
The new de-noise options available in the suite under the Optimize button can improve the general appearance of the picture and offer functions that put into balance the speed and quality of the task.
The Repair-Pen instrument now comes with several options that allow you to select the objects or scratches you want to remove either by making a selection with the lasso or with the marker.
The Quick-Fix module is exactly what it sounds like: an area with easy to use tools. The optimization procedure is automatic and the user input is reduced to a minimum, where possible. There aren’t complicated tools so no special knowledge is required.
The best part is that Photo Commander saves more than one version of the modified image and you can check multiple final results and choose one.
After improving the images in the Quick-Fix module, Ashampoo’s product provides several ways to present them. You can create slideshows (complete with background music), HTML albums, personal calendars, or collages.
Furthermore, you can stich two images together to create a panoramic view of a landscape or merge two pictures into a photo mix. Regardless of the presentation mode you choose, you receive guidance all throughout the process, mostly under the form of a three-step wizard.
Photo Commander can batch process images and apply several modifications. This function is particularly handy for quickly rotating, applying effects, converting, watermarking, or resizing multiple images at once.
Furthermore, the batch processing option in the content area offers plenty more options. These include creating a GIF animation, sending by email, creating a calendar/slideshow/photo mix with the selected items, burning them to a CD/DVD, or running the JPG optimizer (if the case).
Ashampoo Photo Commander has been designed with the beginner user in mind, so working with it is far from being a tough job. However, on lower-specced systems it may become noticeably slow.
The Good
From organizing the images on the computer, easily finding them and performing automatic optimization to wrapping them up into collages, slideshows, or calendars, Ashampoo Photo Commander has it all.
The Bad
The Truth
Note: We have 21 Photo Commander 11 licenses to give away. In order to win one of the codes on the line, you are expected to come up with a smart comment, positive or negative, about the application.
The comments should be posted in the section below, by April 29. The winners will be notified by the end of the next week; needless to say that we need valid email addresses. Winners for this campaign:
