ACDSee 14 review

1 / 2

Photo-management and photo-editing software is converging, with managers such as Google Picasa offering increasingly sophisticated editing tools and the likes of Photoshop Elements including its own Organizer module for keeping on top of photo libraries. ACDSee has dropped the full name of this software, which used to be called ACDSee Photo Manager. That reveals its primary purpose, but it’s not short of editing features. There’s sophisticated colour correction including tone curves, RGB colour balance and noise reduction. Many of the creative effects are too gimmicky for regular use, but two of the new additions are extremely impressive. Lomo skews colours and darkens the corners of the frame to evoke the vintage film-like appearance of a Lomo camera. Orton simulates another photographic effect that dates back to the days of film photography, superimposing a sharp and blurred image and boosting contrast to give photos a romantic, dreamy haze.

This is an impressive package that successfully distinguishes itself from the competition, offering more power than Picasa and a faster, more tightly integrated workflow than Photoshop Elements. Ultimately, though, it seems a little overpriced. If it were to drop to around £30, we’d wholeheartedly recommend it.