Corel PaintShop Pro 2023 Review

Full review

PaintShop Pro has always been the leading alternative to Adobe Photoshop Elements for those looking for something slightly less expensive. This software offers all the tools you need in an easy-to-use interface. We looked closely at the Corel PaintShop Pro to discover its best features.

Setup

You need Windows 11 or 10 with the latest service packs installed in order to use PaintShop Pro. There's also a requirement for a 4GB of RAM and 3GB of free hard drive space.

Importing

When it comes to RAW camera images, PaintShop Pro gives you the RAW Lab. Here you can manually adjust large sets of RAW photos as you load them into the computer.

Photo editing

The makeover tools can remove red eye, whiten teeth, remove blemishes (for those old age wrinkles) and even add fake tans. Boost the color in one area of the photo without affecting the look of the entire picture. Also useful is the Smart Carver tool, which lets you remove unwanted objects from your pictures without leaving anything to reveal they were there. This tool also allows for the expansion or contraction of objects without distorting them.

There are some new and slightly "gimmicky" photo editing tools in the latest release. For example the "Thinnify" feature is designed to make people look slimmer. Well, we can tell you now it doesn't really work. You might look slimmer, but you also end up looking rather odd.

One new tool we thought was actually quite useful was the Watermark feature. If you upload a lot of images onto the web and you want to copyright your images, this tool will automatically watermark your images. You can upload your own watermark, set the opacity, size and location and then batch process your files. Particularly useful if you're a professional photographer.

If you like to edit photos you've taken with your digital camera, there are plenty of useful effects such as One-Step Noise Removal and lens distortion corrections. You can also create depth of field and blurred effects very quickly, without having to create the effect with the camera lens itself. Merge HD photos you've taken at different exposures at the same scene to produce a detailed final image.

The PaintShop Pro package allows you to use layers and create artistic effects such as drop shadows as well as embossing and reflections. To really get the most out of Paint Shop Pro, it's well worth getting to the Smart Photo Fix tools. The full range of photo editing options is expansive and finely tuned - intermediate and more experienced users will appreciate the precise tone, color balance and exposure adjustments you can make using the program, while beginners can use the automatic settings.

When you save an image you have been working on, the original is automatically saved into a sub folder located within the original folder, so if you ever make a mistake you can always relocate the original.

Features

Batch processing is one useful PaintShop Pro feature. If you've made significant changes to one photo you can apply those changes to a whole batch of other photos.

One interesting feature is the video and photo slideshow, where you can create combined video and photo presentations using the pre-designed templates. You can also capture stills from your HD video.

There is no online storage included.

Organizing

If you've got more photos than you know what to do with, you're going to need an effective organizational system. Fortunately the PaintShop organizer is a quick way to sort, tag and rate your photos as you load them into your computer. The thumbnails and previews allow you to more easily find what you are looking for while the tag and rating system also separate out your favourites.

The photo loader tool automatically detects when a USB mass storage device is connected to your computer.

Sharing

Send your photos directly to Flickr, Facebook and YouTube. The automatic photo resizing feature makes it easy to send pictures quickly by email.

You can also create photo books and other projects to show off your photos in the Creative Projects area. If you simply want prints, order them online or print them off on your PC.

Ease of use

PaintShop Pro is speedier and easier to use than previous versions and we didn't discover any performance issues when running the program on our PC.

The package as a whole is easy to use although there are some more advanced features that can take a little time to get the hang of. If you want to carry out a simple photo edit, the Express Lab mode is designed to speed-up simple image editing tasks and fix those common flaws that pop up in most photos.

PaintShop Pro has a new graphite workspace. It’s a bit too dark for our liking, but if you don't like it, it's still possible to switch back to the classic interface.

Help & support

There are plenty of tutorials and guides to help you get to grips with the program and also hone your photo editing skills. The Learning Center is particularly useful and allows you to improve your skills while getting on with the process of editing your pictures. Browse through the knowledge base and ask questions in the forums. Email support is available.

Overall

Corel PaintShop Pro 2023 has it all - everything you need to edit, store and share your photos in one easy-to-use and effective package. The photo editing features are particularly advanced and both beginners and professional photographers will find what they're looking for in this package.