AfterShot Pro 2.0 Research

[sbattaio]

I agree with Ferdinand-Paris to a certain extent regarding ASP support for Fuji EXR sensors. I'm not sure it will ever come to fruition. Having said that I still hope the ASP team will try to make good on their stated support for EXR sensors which they mentioned would take place nearly one year ago. I will be happy if it happens--even if it takes a little longer than I would like.

[arnaud]

I'd love to see

• a continued Linux support, since Aftershot is the only commercial available solution on this system (Darktable is a good competitor, but still lacks some features)
• Multi monitor support, as suggested by another poster, having detachable panels, to move the catalog on one screen, the current active image on another, toolbox on the third one, etc...
• A way of computing some sort of signature of the raw image, to automatically isolate/regroup similar images
• In a similar way, adding some automatic characteristics of an image (dominant color, basic shapes...)
• Building a tool to perform a sanity check of the metadata DB. It seems that after months of usage, some catalogs have obsolete references, or incorrect links.
• The keyword browser is really powerful, but adding some sort of query language to find images would be the killer-feature (something like "ISO IN (400,800) AND Word = "Nightlife" AND Word IN (Street, Houses) AND Word != "Highway"...)
• Increase the maximum size of a processable image. I scan some 120 rolls, and come out with images possibly greater than 40Mpix which cannot be opened on AS
• Some fast selection helpers, like focus detector, or a local zoom of the image (a bit like what C1 Pro offers)

I wouldn't mind entering the 2.0 testing as well, could be quite fun

[kupuna]

I will pass on 2.0. After waiting and waiting for this software to get updated, I moved on to Photo Ninja. I don't really care what you want to call it, 2.0 or 3.0.

Photo Ninja for Windows (32 bit version) runs smoothly on Linux and Wine. I got tired of waiting for essential updates and found an alternative that works well, although I prefer the workflow AfterShot offers.

[algreen345]

I have come back to using ASP, though I still enjoy using Darktable for some projects too. The latest version works well, random crashes notwithstanding.

One feature I enjoy in Darktable and would like to see in ASP is parametric selection. It is really so nice to be able to select non-contiguous areas and perform various operations.

[t3mujin]

I agree with Ferdinand-Paris to a certain extent regarding ASP support for Fuji EXR sensors. I'm not sure it will ever come to fruition. Having said that I still hope the ASP team will try to make good on their stated support for EXR sensors which they mentioned would take place nearly one year ago. I will be happy if it happens--even if it takes a little longer than I would like.

I kind of agree with that, but with time that's making less sense because Fuji cameras are getting more, and more popular (I planning to replace my backup SLR with an X-E1). That shot in the foot by Corel is getting worse for them everyday.

[scorpi11]

I'd like to see:

- less crashes (at least on Linux)

- a native 64 bit build, as ASP is the only 32 bit application I have installed, although it is one of the most resource hungry applications I use

- a fixed import+copy queue (http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php?f=90&t=51529)

[binoyte]

so what about the survey ?

[lutimdale]

I tested the linux product version 1.2.0.7.

I was able to:
- create catalog
I could not figure out how to:
- delete stuff from the catalog once it was removed from disk
- move stuff around on the file system and have the catalog update itself

So step 1 of the workflow is seriously broken. Having to recreate catalogs for large collections is a waste.

I would ideally like to see,
- Import into catalog with rename folders and files based on metadata (ie. custom folder and file naming)
- this means a meaningful import window with some sane defaults, being able to auto group images by date and minimally assign some text/topic to it
- folders: 2013/2013-01-01 Topic1
- files: 2013-01-01 183501-1 Topic 1
- watched folders including
- cleaning up deleted items no longer in library
- autoadding of new items
- updating modified items


Thanks.

Lu

[algreen345]

I'd like to see some evidence that Corel is reading our posts! Lightroom has just announced 5.2 Beta with many great new features.

Which of the many feature and bug fix suggestions made by this community are in plan for the ASP 2.0 release?

[Rick Champagne]

Hi algreen345,

I can assure you that we are reading the forums and taking them seriously. Additionally, we have just completed an even broader research study and we are in the process of reviewing all of the user comments and synthesizing the data. If you are interested in joining the Beta program when it opens up, please PM me with your real name and email address. We'd love to have you provide your feedback directly to the team...

Rick Champagne
Sr. Product Manager
Corel Photo & Video Products

[deep]

I know lot of this was already said, but here is my wish list:

- smart brush with edge detection to make precise selections easier
- possibility to set brush feather size and intensity
- layer blending modes (normal,screen,overlay,lighten,darken,dodge,burn...)
- lens detection must be fixed (almost none of my lenses are detected - they are in database)
- automatic 1 click smart CA correction with sliders for manual tweaking
- smart noise reduction like NN or better
- better sharpening (algorithm selection) + clarity/details
- way better highlights color recovery
- best possible support to plugin developers (for me Vigne,GradFilter,Bez and Nuance are critical and would like some more good plugins)
- regular camera and lens profile updates in form of incremental files (maybe web based - select and download what you need)
- speed and quality must stay
- don't change user interface much

[scorpi11]

I can assure you that we are reading the forums and taking them seriously. Additionally, we have just completed an even broader research study and we are in the process of reviewing all of the user comments and synthesizing the data.

Hi Rick,

thank you for this statement. However, I got the impression that ASP 2.0 is still in a very early development state, if the result of the user input is still being worked on. I think there are a lot of little nasty bugs in ASP that would generate enough work for the developers. So I guess we have to live with these nasty bugs for a long time, or will there be bugfix releases for 1.x before 2.0 is finished?

[oldrunner]

Hi,

Thank you for the opportunity to share our wishes with you. I think it's much appreciated by the most users.

However, when you design or update a product - regardless what it is - you have to define for yourself who are your customers? What group of customers do you want to serve? Is it the advance, enthusiastic hobby photographer? Or do you want to compete with software for professional users who work a few hours every day with it and who's business depends at least a bit to the software? Once you have answered this question it's easy. Then you can go ahead and research what you need and how you have to build and design your software. This is the first lesson you learn at marketing. Define your customers and focus on it.

With AfterShot Pro I have the feeling that you want to be attractive for any user. It has some pro functions build in like dealing with cataloges, create image galleries (I just recognized that it even makes the css-file) and stuff like this which is something really for professionals. On the other hand side, you support Linux (which I really like - no question). But I don't know any serious photographer who does not use LR and PS. And your main compeditor is a few year ahead in developing. Sorry, but this is really the truth.

So, I'm still using ASPro and it's great for RAW converting, organizing, most of the edditings I need, it's lightweight and bla bla bla. But the more serious I take my photography and the more money I earn with it, I have to ask myself the question: which software supports me the best in order to achive the results I need? When it comes to this point, a lot of arguments (lightweight, cheap compared to compeditors, linux support...) become obsolete. So, in a nutshell, what I expect are the following points:

fast
stable!
excellent support
dealing with layers
interchangeable output formats
and of course more or less all functions that LR has build in

Sorry for the long statement.

Take care
Alexander

[grubernd]

interesting thoughts, alexander.

i am a professional photographer and wouldnt want to be forced to work with a fully databased raw-converter (hard to share among various machines), wouldnt want to leave linux - try automating things on system level with windows or shed out lots of useless cash for an apple system. i use photoshop, yes, but only when working on machines of customers. when i take images i need a fast and efficient workflow. lightweight is what i crave. try working your way through hundreds of images on a day, find the best ones, categorize them, etc. the only competitor in that department is photo mechanic. lightroom, aperture, phase one et al are great tools, but they force a workflow down your throat that you can either live with or cant.
and while ASP may lack in some parts, like maximum image quality, it is still the king of speed. and by speed i mean not only pure mathematical render times, but also flexibilty and ease of workflow. which other software lets me render hundreds of images to various sizes, file formats, distribute them to the right folders with preset settings by hitting a single customized shortcut? none.

so by your analyzes i am not a target customer and yet i am a target customer. i'd hate to see ASP go awash and not cater to professionals.

also the cost of software is only secondary to professionals. the investment in brain power is where the real difference is at.

[oldrunner]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I agree, ASP is fast, it works even on my slow computer and it supports propably 85% of the editing needed. And yes, I'm on Linux too, and I won't not miss it.
And of course, I'm aware that different photographers have differnt needs (a sports photographer who's images needs to be on the internet 5 min after finish of a game need other software than the fashion photographer who uses a Hasselblad and does lot's of image corrections afterwards). Please get me right. I like ASP - no question. But what I wanted to say it that Corel has to put a plan in place based on the target customers and folllow it. Otherwise, I fear that ASP will dissapear in a few years.

Take care

Alexander