Paint Shop Pro XI does have some terrific tools, say reviews, and many of its features compare to Photoshop CS2. PC World magazine says Paint Shop Pro is easier to use than Photoshop, with an excellent red-eye removal tool and good background manipulation features. Paint Shop Pro allows the user to work with multiple layers on a photo. This feature allows for more extensive image manipulation possibilities and is common in better photo-editing software, but it’s not seen as often in less-robust photo editors. Experts say it’s easy to grow into Paint Shop Pro once you master the basics, as you are not confined to the wizard system for editing photos.
About.com's Sue Chastain includes Paint Shop Pro in her top two picks for both beginner and advanced photo editors, giving testament to the flexibility of the program. Chastain makes note of a new feature in Paint Shop Pro XI that allows users to easily change the colors of elements in a photograph. Paint Shop Pro includes several built-in effects tools from beginner to advanced, ranging from simple red-eye correction, to color and contrast auto-fixes, to an animation shop for creating animated GIF's. Included is a utility for editing RAW photo files (Elements also supports RAW files). However, most reviewers, including PC Magazine's Galen Fott, say there aren't enough improvements in Paint Shop Pro XI to merit an upgrade if you're already using PSP X. Paint Shop Pro only works with Windows 2000 or XP.
Like Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop Elements is lauded for its advanced functionality combined with an easy-to-use interface. Since Elements is also made by Adobe, it shares some features with Photoshop CS2, including the Healing Brush, which erases wrinkles and blemishes. Reviews note that the dust filter available through Photoshop Elements is the best available (aside from Adobe Photoshop CS2), and several one-click functions such as red-eye repair and photo-repair (color, contrast and cropping fix) work very well. The helpful 'Hints' floating palette and tutorials assist first time users. There is also a tool for merging photos, which will resize, skew and blend multiple images. Experts say the layer adjustments are on par with Corel Paint Shop Pro.
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