That's cool, Dafydd. Thanks for the clarification.
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After a cursory test drive of this new PhotoDirector program, I can see that as a tool for the photography enthusiast, PhotoDirector has it’s potential.
However, in the context of an application that provides the type of image manipulation support, that the average PowerDirector user usually needs and wants (e.g. Mask creation, Isolation and building of layers, Cropping, Transparencies, Cloning, etc), it doesn't appear that PhotoDirector fills that bill.
But I suspect that it wasn't Cyberlink’s intention that it would. They seem to be going for a different market share. One that caters to still photographers.

So if you are a still photography enthusiast, then check out PhotoDirector. My understanding is that it can do things that comparable post production photo enhancement programs, costing 3 times the price can do.
But I think that perhaps there has been a bit of a misunderstanding here, that PhotoDirector was going to be Cyberlink’s version of Photo Shop or Suma, or Paint.net., etc. Or at least that's what I was expecting.
It would have been great to have something like that as an integrated part of PowerDirector. But it isn't. So for now, I think I’ll pass on adding PhotoDirector to my arsenal.


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I agree. It has some features that I really like and does some things better than my older copy of PhotoShop, but it's missing some things that I have to have. As such, it won't replace anything I am using now. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

I tried this program for about 20 minutes and then un-installed same. This program is not any better than some of the free programs you can download.
Where are the layers, masks, full HDR capalities and etc and etc. I see nothing that I would use. They sure are not in competion with Adobe and Serif (a British company). Might be good for a beginner to do simple photo editing.
Cyberlink is the best Video editing program for the price than any I have tried. The others I have tried don't come close to measuring up to PowerDirector.
Cyberlink should stick to what they do best! Windows 8 Pro 64bit
Cameras. Panasonic AG-HMC40, GoPro Hero 3 Black
Edition.

From some of the comments made, it seems like people are lining PhotoDirector up beside PhotoShop or other high end graphics software. I'd say that's probably an unfair comparison. To be generous, it's not clear from what people have said how much has been explored within the software.

Has anyone had a play with the adjustment brush or gradient mask tools? These allow you to tweak/manipulate selected areas of a photo.



The Adobe product most likely to be compared with this is not PhotoShop, but LightRoom http://tv.adobe.com/watch/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3/what-is-lightroom/ - many of the features are the same.

It seems to me that PhotoDirector is for (a) Photo Management/Cataloguing & (b) Photo Correction/Manipulation, with some "production" options.

Certainly, it's not everyone's cup of tea. Fair enough. Certainly, there is freeware that has some similar features. That could be said of most multimedia software.

Cheers - Tony


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I agree with Tony, really. Looking at the portfolio of products CL develops and markets, PhotoDirector fits into an empty niche but dovetails into an existing interface style. As its (careful?) PR blurb says
 Most Intuitive Workflow
 Import and Manage
 Select and Perfect
 Export and Share

There doesn't appear to be any reference to "editing" and, indeed, it is not an image editing tool but more of an image management, adjustment and sharing software. It builds on the ability to not only share and adjust images easily etc, but also to share your "special" templates with a wider community through DirectorZone.

It is obviously aimed at a particular market, with limited editing needs, but with an established UI, support community and functional requirements.

Personally, it holds little of interest to me, but it will meet the needs of certain sections of the existing customer base and of others, I suppose. I can't judge the price point really but, as others have said, there's lots of competition on functionality and price out there so.......

Cheers
Adrian

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Valid points, so I guess my point is that if I have to have a separate photo editing software anyways, why would I need this? I am sure that most people don't 'perfect' photos to the point that I do and this would be perfect for them, but it won't replace what I am already using.

I love the ability to adjust colors independent of each other, but that's not something I would pay for without other useful features. I think the import and export process is probably more than most people want to deal with just to place a photo on their favorite social network site, but that's just my opinion. I do like the software and if the price were lower, I would definitely reconsider because I found very little wrong. It's just not a complete solution for what I do and it seems a bit pricey for someone who just wants to remove red eye. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

Well, I'd be considered a newbie -- this is the first photo management software I've used, other than what Windows provides. That said, I find that PhotoDirector extends my reach considerably!

For one thing, I appreciate the selection parameters, including the star-rating, flagging, and color labels -- a nice variety of ways to catalog what I've got. And although it's not in place yet in my "lightroom," I'm happy to see a provision for using a second monitor.

Someone in an earlier review complained about the issue of "exporting" in order to finalize a project, but I find this to be more a semantic issue than an operational one. I like the fact that adjustments can be undone, collectively or selectively, before "exporting," and the original image isn't lost.

I haven't yet establshed "preferences," but I expect that I'll find plenty of application for that option once I'm more practiced with the software. I can imagine interesting effects that might be used to establish one's personal style ....

-- Jim-el

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/forums/show/82.page

heres the link for the Photodirector forum page if anyone wants to post there. DZ has also started an area for PhotoDirector presets which i think was a good idea.