I'd always liked MGI's Windows-based PhotoSuite photographic software package, but I had such a terrible time installing version 3 that I almost didn't try the new 4 Platinum Edition. I'm glad I did, because the current version is the best so far. Installing it takes longer than I think it should--I watched patiently as progress graphs and other graphics appeared and disappeared--but after this minor ordeal the program was a delight to use.
The Platinum Edition is more than just a photo editor; it includes many different Web tools, but all of us pixographers haven't been forgotten. This latest version supports Photoshop-compatible plug-ins and has a new Photo Sprayer tool that lets users paint with pictures from several built-in image libraries. You can also create cutouts and insert them into photographs or projects using an onscreen guide that you won't find in Photoshop. All of these tools, including the Effects brush that applies different effects in selected areas, are a joy to use.
The color and style of the interface nicely combine ease of use for beginners with tools that more experienced users can grab and put to work. The opening screen provides icons that let you capture, prepare, compose, organize, share, or print images. Working with any of these aspects of the program is enhanced by onscreen information that provides both help and clickable buttons to support your imaging tasks. The program is slightly finicky about what file formats it will accept: It will open image files from Kodak's Picture CD but not PhotoCD.
Like PhotoSuite 3, the new version is built around Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which may explain some of the glitches and crashes I experienced with the last version. MGI's concept of having the browser integrated into the software allows users to interact with Web sites such as Kodak's PhotoNet Online in a more seamless way. The other benefit of browser integration, at least as MGI sees it, is that it's easy to send photographs through Web-based e-mail services as well as providing a WYSIWYG Web-page creation area and direct connection to downloadable content available on PhotoSuite.com.
The package includes an enhanced version of PhotoTapestry, a montage creation tool in the style of Arcsoft's PhotoMontage, but with a simpler interface. You can use your own images, or one of the 30,000 thumbnails included in the package. You don't have to install them if you don't want to; to help conserve hard-disk space the program can grab them off one of the CDs in the package. PhotoTapestry seems to match its small image files better to my original images than PhotoMontage, and I was able to create mosaics from more complex photographs.
PhotoSuite 4 is aptly named; it's a suite of imaging tools designed for digital imagers at both beginning and intermediate levels. It's fun to use, too.
