Software Review of:
Photo Studio 
2000 

To start with the most important information Photo Studio 2000 by ArcSoft requires a Pentium based PC running Windows 95, 98, 2000 and/or NT. It also requires 32 MB or more of RAM, 40 MB free hard disk space, a mouse, a CD-ROM drive and a 16-bit color display card. It supports TWAIN compliant cameras and scanners, most popular ink jet and color printers, and a wide range of image file formats. Photo Studio is capable of most of the same photo editing tasks as most other photo-editing software. In addition you can create panoramic pictures, make customized stationary, design presentations, create slide-show presentations and use multiple tools to manipulate photos.

But let me return to the manual that accompanied Photo Studio. The manual though less than 3/8” thick covers all aspects of what can be done with Photo Studio. It covers Menu items and tools with each type of picture manipulation spelled out in short, simple, easy to read directions. In addition to installation, getting acquainted, and basic editing commands; there are chapters on images, working with colors, painting and retouching tools, enhancing, special effects, adding text, albums, working with layers, working with macros, saving and printing, and sharing on the Internet. The manual ends with the tutorial and an appendix. Although I do not usually have time to read a manual cover to cover before writing a review, with Photo Studio I did read the manual through, skipping only the chapter on sharing photos on the Internet. I also checked out the appendix. The second part of the appendix is a glossary devoted solely to Digital Image Editing. The glossary is a great help but even better is the first section of the appendix that describes and defines the file formats that are used. I found this single page of information to be infinitely beneficial.

Now it is time to use Photo Studio. I started with the tutorial and from the beginning I ran into a snag. The entire tutorial is based on a sub-folder that presumably is installed when the software is installed. This sub-folder has a number of pictures that are used in the tutorial to enable you to learn how to layer, use photo-editing tools and use each of the different palettes. Somehow, the tutorial did not install on my computer. I even attempted to re-install the software and still never did find the folder titled “tutorial”. This was unfortunate because the tutorial was based on photos that were only attainable through the tutorial folder. So, what do I do? I did the only thing I could do and improvised. I was able to utilize the sample pictures and follow the directions given in the tutorial to create a picture that was compiled from several different pictures. I called my picture “Cactus in Big Bend”. There are so many tools in Photo Studio that it is mind-boggling. I found the “fade” tool to be very easy to use. I also had a really successful feeling when I used the eraser tool to “erase” some background on one of my layers. I have tried this “eraser stuff” in other photo-editing software but met with limited success and excessive frustration. This eraser tool is easy. My favorite tool was the brightness/contrast tool. When using this tool, a dialog window opens with two copies of the picture that you are working on — before and after. When making changes, the after picture reflects the changes that are being made. This makes it easy to see/compare the effects and make more intense changes or even return to the original if, after all, the changes are not an improvement. There is a lot to learn in Photo Studio and I haven’t even begun to get started. This is one photo-editing software that will make it possible to be really creative. 

Once I master some of the palettes and tools, there is another aspect to Photo Studio that the editor of PC Alamode will love. It is possible to use ArcSoft Photo Studio to do screen captures. To do this you go to file and choose “Capture”, which will open a dialog box that enables you to capture a window, the contents of a window or the entire desktop. It is also possible to convert a color image into grayscale. That makes two more features that I will need to practice with in order to utilize.

In this day of sharing photos over the Internet via e-Circles, AOL Friends and other programs, I must mention one more feature of ArcSoft Photo Studio. Photo Studio 2000 offers direct access to PhotoIsland.com which is ArcSoft’s premier photo sharing Web site. In fact, during installation, a shortcut to PhotoIsland is placed directly on your desktop. You must register but then you are given an allotment of web space for digital images that you can share with family and friends.

ArcSoft produces a full line of photo editing/manipulating software and is carried in most of the same stores that carry other computer software. I saw ArcSoft products at CompUSA and at Best Buy. Photo Studio 2000 is available on the web site at <www.arcsoft.com> and sells for $39.95. This is a very low price for this powerful photo-editing tool.