128 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY
CYBERLINK
CyberLinkhasbeencreating
editingsoftwaresincewhat
seemsliketimeimmemorial.
With somuchknowledgeand
experience,it’sno wonderit’s
at thetopof its gamewiththe
latestversionof thepopular
PhotoDirectorseries.
Ontopof theusualin-depth
rangeof exposurecorrection
tools,whichallowyouto
perfectyourRAWfiles,it has
also increaseditsfunctionality
by addingmanynewandvastly
improvedfeatures.Thelayers
systemhasreceivedthemost
notablerevamp.Forthefirst
time,youcantakeadvantage
ofAdjustmentLayers,groups
and LayerMasks.It alsoadds
a cr eativeAI system.TheAI
StyleTransfertoolusesdeep
learningto recogniseaspects
ofyourshots,andapplythe
styleof yourchoiceto turnit
intoa painting.It’sa pretty
impressivefeat,andratherfun
atfirst,thoughmaybenotone
fortheseriouseditinggurus.
Fornewuserswhoarejust
aboutto taketheirfirststeps
intoimageediting,thedifferent
to olsaredividedintotabs,and
welllabelled.Thismeansyou’re
unlikelyto getlostwhenyou’re
lookingto createan effect
ormakean adjustment.If you
don’twantto getintothe
minutiaeof editing,youcan
bypassanycomplicated
techniqueswithease.Presets
exist,whichgiveyoua unique
lookwiththeclickof a button,
whileExpressLayerTemplates
actin a similarfashion,though
addcreativeoverlaysthrough
multiplelayers.Onceagain,
it’sall ratherfun,thoughmay
notappealto prousers.
Whilesomeof thefeatures
mayseemaimedtowardsa
morebeginnermarket,there
aremanyfeaturesthatare
extremelypowerful.We would
considerthe360°editoras
oneof thebestavailable,and
thephoto-to-videotoolsare
greatforcreatingsomething
unique.VibrantMotionStills
allowsyouto makecomplex
cinemagraphsas easilyas if
youwereusinga smartphone
app,andthemultiple-exposure
fe aturetakesstillsfroma single
videoclipandstitchesthem
togetherintooneshot.It may
notbe a challengerforthetop
spot,butit hidessomefun,yet
powerfultools.
PROS
Ratheruniquetool
se t andfeatures
Offersa simple,yet
funapproachto editing
yourimages
CONS
Somepartslack
th e professionaltools
ofothersin test
Easy to overdo it
R ATING
AbovePhotoDirector10 includesa lotof powerfulfeatures,as wellas funeditingpossibilities.The AI
StyleTransfertool,forexample,usesdeeplearningto turnyourshotsintofunkyworksof art.
AbovePhotoDirector10 featuresa simple,butveryhandylibrary
fe aturethatallowsyouto keepyourimageswellorganised.
MINIMUMSPEC
OS:Windows7,
Mac OS 10.11
RAW conversion: Yes
System requirements:
2GB RAM, Intel Core
i series
PHOTODIRECTOR 10 £64
PRO EDITS
Along with the range
of creative options,
PhotoDirector also
houses a pretty
powerful series of
tools to perfect your
RAW edits and correct
your exposure.
OVERLAYS
Of the many creative
tools in the latest
version, the included
overlays are a great
way to add a fun and
funky twist, such as
this film burn, giving
a vintage vibe.
#5
GetIntoGear
