Just this morning, onOne Software announced their brand-new version, the Perfect Photo Suite 9! I’ve had a chance to take a look at this new software in-action, and they have definitely added some upgrade-worthy features. I don’t have my hands on it yet, but when I do I’ll be sure to post some follow-ups on the new features.
onOne has been doing a great job of making the suite an all-in-one photo-editor. Sure, it doesn’t have a RAW processor, but if you have a nice, clean JPEG or RAW file then you can get a lot out of it. I have been a fan of onOne for several years, and nearly all of my photos go into the Perfect Photo Suite before I share them online. It’s a very powerful tool and can help all types of photographers refine their photos beautifully.
Here are some of the features that I am really excited about:
Non-Destructive Editing with Smart Photos
In my opinion, this is probably the biggest addition to Suite 9. If you are familiar with Smart Objects in Photoshop, then this feature will be very familiar. The old (current) version “bakes” your edits into each layer after working in a module. You still have the original image untouched on the bottom layer, but your specific edits (such as the presets you use in Effects, for example), cannot be changed. In the new suite, with the Smart Photos feature, you will be able to edit your photo any module in the suite, and then after you click “Apply” you can still go back and make changes to your adjustments. For example, if you were to edit your photo in Perfect Effects, and use several different filters to get a certain look, you retain those stacks of filters even after saving and closing the file. This gives you the freedom to re-edit a photo after the fact without having to start over on your images if you want a different look.
Faster Processing
onOne has added boosts to two major players in the Suite: Perfect Browse, and their overall processing time for general edits (such as adding filters, presets, etc.). Speed is always a nice thing, so I’m excited to see how fast the processing time is improved when the software is released.
Noise Reduction
The new suite now has noise-reduction! And, in true onOne style, they allow it to be applied selectively, such as to only the shadows or highlights.
Perfect Mask Integration
Perfect Mask is by far my favorite module in the entire suite. It allows for very fast masking, and is handy when you want to isolate your subject do a quick sky replacement. In the new version, Suite 9, the Perfect Mask module is going away and the functionality of Perfect Mask is being integrated into the majority of the other modules! This, my friends, is a really big deal. It will allow for on-the-fly masking of presets, sky replacement, texture blending, and much, much more.
New Masking Features
As I mentioned above, the masking module has been removed and its features merged with the other modules. And, along with that, they are adding a few new tools, including one called the “Quick Mask Brush”, which will make masking your images even easier. These features are much more easy to understand when you can see them in-action, so once I get my hands on the new software I’ll be sure to show these in a little more detail.
The Perfect Photo Suite 9 is scheduled to be released in late October, 2014. To check out more information on the new software, including availability and pricing, please visit onOneSoftware.com.
If Perfect Mask is your most favourite module, how can you defend its removal, especially in the case of removal of better selection/precision tools, as pen, spill color and keep/drop colors?
I believe the excitement comes from the capabilities of Perfect Mask built into the other modules rather than having to enter a unique module to create your mask, then do your other editing in other modules. It’s the advantage a tool within the modules rather than having a separate module just to perform masking. That’s my interpretation from what I’ve read and viewed about the new version.
Paul is correct. It’s the fact that many of the tools are now integrated into two of the modules, which allows for more control of masking without having to jump to a separate module.
It will, of course import raw files, but with a layers/blendmodes basis, it exports TIFF/PSD.
You mention that you haven’t had a chance to work with it yet. Isn’t OnOne pushing your book about how to get the most out of it with their upgrade offer?
This version isn’t shipping yet, but Nicole is a master at previous versions of the software.
They don’t have a version of the software that I can use just yet to write and screen-capture the software for my eBook. The book is in the very early stages of being written, and will be published within a few weeks or a month of the release of the software. It’s also very common to advertise books before they are completed; for example, anything on Amazon that is a “pre-order” usually means that the author is still working on it.