Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 [OLD VERSION]
by Jasc Inc.
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Software Reviews of Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 [OLD VERSION]
Customer Review: Outstanding software
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always loved Paintshop Pro, beginning with Version 3. For many years I have been using version 5.03 without problem and with great results. When Version 8 came out and I read the reviews, I knew I had to finally upgrade. I am not disappointed one bit. I have used various versions of Photoshop, including Elements, but I still come back to Paintshop and prefer it for many reasons that I will not go into here, except for one: PRICE. For the money, this program should get 6 stars. Like other profressinal level graphics programs, you have to have the computing power to run it well. A 2+ processor (AMD or Intel) allows it to work without probmems, and 512k memory helps as well. You do need a 1+ processor and 256k memory and with that you will wait some, but it will run. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn from the ground up or who has some familiarity with other high-end graphics programs. The improvements to this version over 5.03 are tremendous. It is like a whole new program but with some nice elements remaining. The manual with it is huge and there is much support on line.Customer Review: You can't go wrong with PSP8
Summary: 5 Stars
As a pro-am photopgraher I can't say too many good things about this gem of an application. PSP has matured over the years into a full featured image editor that can compete with anything Adobe can produce in this price range. I use PSP along with Adobe Elements as they both have their minor nuances. It is unlikely that you will be left wanting any more features or capabilities with this package. Although it is so feature rich that it can take some time to find all of the capabilities...buy it, spend the time and have some fun.Customer Review: PSP8 and PSP7: A Comparison
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been a user of Paint Shop Pro since version 3 and over the past year I've used version 7. I recently upgraded to version 8, thanks to the very affordable price. Without a doubt, Jasc typically makes great software at a very reasonable price. Compared to PSP7, PSP8 offers several advantages. One of the biggest is that on complicated images with multiple layers, it no longer takes several seconds to do simple operations like flood filling. The general performance of the painting component is much faster than before. PSP8 also brings with it a new interface more akin to Photoshop. It is much cleaner and more compact. There is a ton of information right at your fingertips now in centralized locations instead of scattered across various floating menus. Indeed, the whole package is a lot more organized than before.
There are other minor new features that are nice additions. One great addition is the emergence of a freehand pen tool that allows you to more easily draw with the mouse by smoothing any curve you draw (similar to Macromedia Flash). The sensitivity is adjustable. There are also a few new special effects. Another new function is scripting. For all of those tedious graphic manipulation tasks where you find yourself doing the exact same thing repeatedly, you can automate routine actions using scripting. Again, another great idea. Previous in PSP7, Jasc offered automatic color, contrast, and saturation enhancements for any photograph. Here, they've integrated them into the "one step photo fix" feature that, as advertised, tries to fix an entire picture in the push of a button. To my surprise, it works remarkably well.
However, there is a negative side to PSP8. It has a host of strange quirks and bugs. Perhaps thanks to the rewrite, some parts of PSP8 are unstable. While the program doesn't crash per se, it doesn't function like it should in some cases. In several cases, I've observed the Undo function breaking completely or even undo'ing the wrong portions of the image. In another case, a saved file did not save correctly when using the PNG exporter. And yet the worst part is that these bugs are rather nondeterministic. They occur sometimes and not others. Without a doubt, PSP8 would have benefit from more testing as even with the most recent patch installed, it hasn't earned my trust yet unlike PSP7.
If you can tolerate the quirks, however, you gain a significant increase in speed when dealing with complex multi-layered images. It's a toss, really. If you're like me and you deal with such images, you might deal with the bugs and enjoy the speed increase. For the casual user, though, I would be cautious recommending this one over PSP7.
Customer Review: The best value in high-function photo editing
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been a long-time user of PSP going back to the shareware days. Over the years, and with the purchase of a digital camera about three years ago, I've slowly learned how such programs really work and what is possible. (Hint for newbies: a big key is layers!)PSP 8 is a great improvement with a lot more info shown on the screen now and within easy reach. The tool controls are always available. The scripts are great. JASC has terrific service and they send the only e-mail newsletter I actually read (you can opt out, but it's actually useful).
To put this in perspective: I shot a wedding recently on film and had film-transport problems causing creases and scratches on many photos. I had the negatives digitized at high resolution, and was able to repair or rebuild all the important photos and fix up most others. We're talking >200 photos. Every problem I faced, PSP had the tools to solve.
If you're new to photo editing, there are the simple operations like one step photo fix, and easy contrast and saturation adjustments. But when you need something more, or are ready to expand your artistic reach, Paint Shop Pro will be ready to unleash all its power for you.
Customer Review: Pretty Good Graphics Editor
Summary: 4 Stars
I've used lots of graphics editing programs and this one is the best & easiest for the money.I upgraded from PSP7 and PSP8 was a bit buggy but the final upgrade 8.10 finally made it great & JASC mailed me the new CD with final upgrade without me having to even ask :)
Those of you that miss the way PSP7 LOOKED ...just load the PSP7 Workspace on PSP8 and TADA! There you have it, PSP7 setup again!
I don't know who the heck said all the good reviews are from people working for the company but I know I don't work for them, I'm just a stay at home mommy with a love for graphics...but if you'd like to hire me JASC, Gimme a call! LOL
I have NO bugs since version 8.10 and it runs fine on my P4 1gb ram WinXP computer.