ArcSoft PhotoStudio 6 reviewed

ArcSoft's PhotoStudio is a basic digital image editor designed to accommodate the needs of novice and intermediate users and some advanced users who simply want a quick way of touching up digital photos, getting rid of red-eye, and adding special effects. There are some really attractive and useful filters built into PhotoStudio, but the general editing, image management and output feature set has not grown significantly since 2005. The software therefore remains nowhere near the powerhouse that Adobe provides with Photoshop Elements 7, but it may suffice quite well for a wide range of digital photographers. A huge disappointment is the lack of templates for greeting cards, frames, borders, calendars, or even those for printing multiple photos on one sheet. A final kick in the teeth is the unhelpful online Help menu and its lack of a search engine. ArcSoft's PhotoStudio 6 is outdated and outdone by almost all other paid-for products. If your needs are basic you'd be wise to download GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. For those wanting it all, Adobe's Photoshop Elements 7 remains king.