Section: Mac Software, Apple Software, Graphics / Design, Reviews
Provides: Photo post-processing
Format: Download
Developer: MacPhun LLC
Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.6
Price: $19.99
Availability: Now
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Here, we get a bit of lesson in the difference between iPhone apps and Mac apps, and what happens when you move one to the other. FX Photo Studio for iPhone is a wonderfully fun and powerful app that makes it easy to jazz up your photos and share them with friends. FX Photo Studio for Mac does exactly the same thing, but…I don’t know. It seems lacking, although it’s not. I guess I’ll attribute that to expectations and competition.
The first problem is lack of iPhoto integration. From what I’ve heard form developers, that could be Apple’s decision. Regardless, it’s an unfortunate omission, as you have to export your photos from iPhoto and import them manually.
Once you do have your photos in FX Photo Studio, though, it’s still fun to play around in. Your picture loads into the main area of the screen, and your filter options are lined up at the bottom. Click the filter you want to apply (or just use arrow keys to cycle through them), and the effect quickly fades onto your photo. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can click the die icon and it’ll grab a filter at random.
Most filters allow you to make some adjustments, usually via sliders. It’s not Photoshop level control, and that was a little off-putting at first. When I’m looking at images on the Mac, I expect to have that amount of control. Once I got back into the iPhone frame of mind, though, I started enjoying myself, because although I can’t get exactly what I want, finding out what I can get is fun. And considering you can layer the effects, it’s possible to spend a ridiculous amount of time on one photo just to find out where you end up…although I’m admit I’m thankful for the undo button.
Aside from keeping the controls simple, MacPhun also kept things convenient. There are a lot of filters here (159), but you can easily mark your favorites for easy retrieval. You can also choose to display only certain effect styles if you have a particular look you’re going for. If you like certain effects you’ve created, you can save them as presets.
You also get some formatting options, such as a rather impressive crop tool and basic rotation features.
Your canvas can be controlled, as well. Images can be viewed side by side for comparison, you can zoom in and out on your image, and you go full screen to hide the distractions of your desktop. In fullscreen mode, all of the FX Photo Studio Tools remain, you just get more room for your image(s). The only oddity with all of this is that if you switch your view to 100%, the FX Photo Studio window doesn’t resize to fit. Again, I’m used to Photoshop.
When you have your image ready to go, you can of course save it to your hard drive. You can also share it to Facebook, Tumbler, Flickr and Twitter or you send it out via e-mail.
FX Photo Studio supports TIFF, JPEG, PNG and BMP files at up to 16 mega-pixels. For $20 more, you can upgrade to FX Photo Studio Pro for additional file formats, more editing tools, 32 mega-pixel resolutions, and more. You still get 159 filters, however, so the standard version should prove fun enough if your needs are modest.
On the Mac, you lose the spontaneous photo fun you get in the iPhone version. If my pizza isn’t ready at Donna D’s on time, for example, I’m more apt to kill a few minutes by messing around with FX Photo Studio for iPhone than I am on games these days. You don’t get that with the Mac. But once you’re in it, FX Photo Studio for Mac is a solid program that can produce some cool results, provided you’re not too picky about the results you want.
Appletell Rating:
Buy FX Photo Studio
Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
WESTERN DIGITAL VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC
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