For a couple of years now, one of our favorite photo editing software options has been Zoner Photo Studio X, also known as ZPS X. One of the most comprehensive overall workflow solutions, it offers excellent value to photographers who are looking for a complete, affordable solution for their photo organization, editing, and even online sharing & printing!
Today, ZPS X has gotten a major update for 2023, and the highlights are just what we like to see from a photo editing software: faster, (GPU acceleration) smoother operation, (including optimization for older computers!) …and many more tools and customizations.
In this article, we are going to give an overview of the improvements offered by this update, and elaborate on why we’re excited to put this update to good use for us!
1. Graphics Card Utilization
Most computers today have powerful graphics cards, and even if you are not a gamer you can still put them to excellent use! Now, ZPS X makes the most of the power of your graphics card. The speed increase is apparently as much as 2X!
Zoner Photo Studio is not just for photographers; it offers a video “cutting” and editing workflow environment all within the same app!
2. Improved Performance (Even on Low-End or Older Computers)
One of the most common concerns that we hear new, aspiring photographers mention when asking us about buying a new camera is, “will my old computer be able to handle these raw files?” Indeed, software developers can sometimes seem to favor the absolute latest hardware, gobbling up the “resources” such as RAM, graphics, and CPU power.
This is why we’re very excited about this improvement: ZPS X has been optimized so users with older or less powerful machines can still edit their photos as fast as possible. Especially for photographers who aren’t working with extreme megapixel counts, or incredibly large video files, you simply shouldn’t need the absolute latest computer! ZPS X should now run even smoother, while still delivering excellent image quality of course.
3. 3D LUT (Color Toning)
Just like a “preset” a LUT, or look-up table, helps you manipulate color and tone in your images. LUTs offer increased control for achieving that subtle look of style in your imagery, while also maintaining consistency from image to image.
You can download all types of LUTs online, and ZPS X is able to support the different LUT formats. Furthermore, the intensity or opacity of the LUT can be raised or lowered, too. With so many visual artists today wishing to deliver a cinematic feel with their content, this is a welcome feature.
4. New Navigation Panel And Toolbar
One thing that artists are always highly particular about is their working environment. Early photo editing applications had a “get used to it!” approach to their interface, but that has changed. Indeed, with this new ZPS X update, the main toolbar is completely customizable, so you can rearrange tools in whatever way suits your workflow.
Also, the main navigation panel and toolbar are both available across all the various ZPS X modules, which creates an even more seamless work environment no matter what stage of the process you’re in.
Local Adjustments With Every Tool
Furthermore, you now have access to all of the adjustment tools in the Develop Module when applying local adjustments. This includes brushes, gradients, and radial filters.
Customizable RAW Default Settings
One of the best ways to save time in the raw editing stage of your workflow is by giving all your photos the perfect starting point. Being able to designate certain raw defaults is a useful feature, especially for things like sharpening and noise reduction, or other technical preferences or subtle effects.
In short, if it’s an adjustment that you make on EVERY image, now you never have to make that adjustment again! Simply change the raw development default to include that edit.
Zoner Photo Studio X | Additional New Features
There are many more new features in this latest ZPS X update, for both photo and video editors. (See above: dual monitor support!) The video editing environment gains speed ramping with keyframes, and a simpler keyframe system overall.
[Related: Read Our Full Zonerama Photo Studio X review here!]
Photographers gain many subtle but meaningful improvements to various tools, such as linear curve selection and Highlight (Lights) protection for the vignetting tool. Also, the print interface has been improved to keep track of your files in a photo book or print, as they move around on your computer.
All in all, we are excited to get our hands on this latest update for ZPS X! At the relatively low price of $59 per year, it offers not just a substantial savings compared to competitors, it actually offers a significantly greater collection of tools overall!
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