Software Review of:
Canon Photo 

System requirements are an IBM-compatible PC with a 166 MHz or higher Pentium processor, Windows 95, 98, ME or NT4, 32 MB RAM, 50 MB free hard disk space, 800 x 600 24 bit true color, CD-ROM drive and a pointing device. Canon Photo is the baseline product. The CD also contains Canon Photo Gold, which includes everything in Canon Photo plus Spin Panorama, Spin PhotoObject and Canon Web Publisher. Canon Gold is an upgrade that can be accessed for an additional $19.99 by calling Canon at a toll free number and obtaining the unlock code. Although I had purchased my copy of Canon Photo with a rebate equal to the purchase price (a new edition has since been released), I chose not to upgrade to Canon Gold. My reasons for not upgrading were based on the quantity of photo-editing software owned, not the excellent low price to upgrade. Installation was effortless with only one small hiccup. After my computer had dialed in to register my copy, everything froze. I performed the reliable ctrl-alt-del; rebooted my machine and everything was smooth from then on.

Upon opening Canon Photo, you are presented with a clean, uncluttered interface that covers the desktop. On the right hand side of the screen is a single control console that enables the user to access all of the available functions and tools. The four button-like icons on the top curve are the primary functions. A click on one of these buttons then permits the user to choose a secondary function and finally the tools that he/she wishes to use. Of course the first thing to be done is to access one or more pictures and this can be done from a disk (hard disk, CD photo disk, floppy disk), a scanner or the Internet. Once a picture is open, then it is time to utilize the tools of enhancement. These include zoom, three different ways to select, several different ways to add color, cloning, text and the removal of red eye and/or dust. In order to do things with your finished picture, click on the share button. Share lets you print pictures, send net cards, make photo pages, or publish to the Web. The final button is the Internet button, which is just one more click away from the Canon Web sites including software, publications and discussions.

I had some pictures that I had taken recently and was anxious to be able to try doing different things with them. One picture in particular was of Karl and I wanted to cut out a bust size only picture and put it into one of the Canon templates. I tried repeatedly to use the selection tools and the crop tool to cut out a picture of Karl and I simply could not get the software to do what I wished. The template that I liked was similar to the ribbon awards that are given for outstanding performance and I was not to be deterred. I finally used the entire picture and just moved it to the point that only Karl was in the picture.

When it was time to investigate the share button I first checked out the print button. This feature makes printing your pictures very easy. The first thing that I really liked was that it gave you a choice of picture size for printing. The sizes include 3x5, 4x6, 5x7, and full size or 8x10. If you choose one of the smaller sizes then you also have the option to print 1 per page or to fill the page. Basic math told me that if I selected 3x5 and ‘fill the page’ I should print 4 pictures on a page. This is how it worked out and before the final click of an OK, the dialog window told me that it would print 4 pictures. There is another feature in the print area that is also quite nice. You can print your picture in nine different ways using sharpness – no sharpening, sharpen a little, sharpen a lot – and ink – less ink, little less ink, and normal ink – to obtain an optimum print. I only tried three of the nine choices using ‘no sharpen, less ink’, ‘sharpen a little, a little less ink’, and ‘no sharpen, normal ink’. I liked the no sharpen, normal ink best of the three because I thought that it had sharper colors, but there was not a lot of difference in the different choices. The print option gave me good color and clear prints. There is only one thing that could improve it and that would be the ability to print different pictures on the same page. At this time especially, I wanted to send pictures out of town and needed one print only of several different pictures. However I had to make multiple prints or waste photo paper (I decided to do multiple prints and let the recipient share them with her sister).

Canon Photo is ideal for the person who is just starting with photo editing. There are enough tools to make changes to your photos and you can access photos from a variety of sources. There are a nice variety of templates to show off your photos in different ways or to create thematic albums. Although hard drive size is no longer a problem, the templates stay on the Canon CD rather than taking additional space on your hard drive. I suspect that Canon Photo Gold may provide a lot more options. The user’s guide is acceptable, although it could provide more information. There is a good on-line Help menu, but it has one flaw – the user has to create the “Find” feature in the Help menu. The Internet site is another source of Help. The Web site is primarily technical support. There are a lot of FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) to explore plus there is easy to access to technical support for other questions or problems. I was disappointed that I could not cut out a portion of a picture. I also was less than pleased with the need to open all of the pictures that I might want to use in the Canon window. I would prefer to have a ‘filmstrip’ or thumbnail strip to keep my pictures in while I am using them. With a filmstrip or thumbnail strip all of the open pictures are viewable rather than only seeing the one picture that is active and on top.

Canon Photo is available for $29.95. I purchased my copy at Best Buy, but have also seen it at CompUSA, Office Depot, Office Max, and Circuit City. I bought my copy with a rebate combination equal to the purchase price and have seen such rebates available regularly at all of the stores that I listed above.