Introducing the New AfterShot Pro 3

[Greg Wood]

Hi Everyone,

Its my pleasure to formally announce the availability of the new AfterShot Pro 3. You can find all the info you need on the new version, including free 30-day trials, at http://www.aftershotpro.com. The news release issued this morning announcing the product follows.

AfterShot Pro 3 is another step in our continuing journey with AfterShot Pro. When we launched AfterShot Pro 2 in 2014, it had been some time since AfterShot Pro 1 and we knew there was lots of work to do to improve AfterShot Pro in a way that it could be highly competitive with other products in this category--and we're constantly finding new ways to improve and streamline your photo workflow. Over the course of '2014/15 and into this year, we've been listening to your feedback and improved the product in areas that count -- image quality, the ability to add support for new camera profiles more quickly, and tools that make AfterShot more competitive and more marketable.

With AfterShot Pro 3, we are continuing that effort, adding features like Watermarking, Improved Highlight Recovery and Blemish Fixing, which we heard were missing.

In the course of the past few weeks, we've been briefing reviewers and getting ready for the launch and doing our best to position AfterShot Pro for success. We believe more photographers worldwide can benefit from AfterShot Pro 3's unique merits--speed, extensibility, growing quality and affordability (plus our ongoing commitment to Linux, Mac and the PC) and we are working hard to win a spot for AfterShot Pro in more photographers' editing suites.

For those here on the forum, I want to express a personal thank you for your involvement. When we ask you for your thoughts, you are generous with your feedback. We are fairly thick-skinned on the photo team, so we appreciate your opinions even when they are critical. When some of you told us that 'sharing features' weren't as important as 'image quality,' we took that as a lesson and changed our plans to improve our focus on image quality. (This is an ongoing commitment, by the way.) So please do keep the feedback coming. There will always be more feedback and desired fixes than we are able to address, but we are committed to building a great product that hopefully you and other photographers worldwide will enjoy.

Because this forum is more technical and involved than your average user, I thought I'd take a moment and review some quick hits on some of the things you might not see in a news release or a product page:

Modular Camera Profiles, Plugins and Presets introduces new options and efficiency
Incredibly, less than 10% of AfterShot Pro customers (ASP2 and earlier) used plugins. Discovering plugins (even though they were merchandised on the AfterShot website) was clearly a problem. Likewise, adding camera profiles has traditionally been onerous -- building, testing and patching just to add cameras was unnecessarily cumbersome and slow. To respond to these issues, we've introduced new modular camera profiles, plugins and presets, that can be deployed dynamically over the Web into AfterShot Pro.

Now there will be no more patching the product just to add cameras--they can be added as created, and where improvements need to be made, updates can be made available. This will mean a much faster turnaround than waiting for a variety of profiles to be built and lumped with quality fixes in a periodic patch.

Also, now plugins can be discovered, browsed and installed directly from with the 'Get More' tab of AfterShot Pro. And Presets, both free and paid, can be provided in the same way, introducing new ways to add tools and value for AfterShot Pro users, and also new business opportunities for Corel, which positions AfterShot Pro very well for the future.

Gradfilter is back!
Throughout the ASP2 cycle, Gradfilter has been constantly requested. Now its back! Corel has acquired GradFilter Lite and GradFilter Pro from its original developer, Roger Barnes (thanks Roger!), and we've added both GradFilters to our plugins manager under the "Get More" tab. As in the past, Gradfilter Pro is a paid plugin. Unlike the past, Gradfilter Lite now has a small cost as well, which is effectively how we're funding the acquisition of this great plugin. At launch, through the end of May, these will be discounted so loyal upgrade customers get a special price as a thank you for your loyalty. (Lite is $1.99 USD; Pro $14.99) We're glad to have Gradfilter back.

In-App Feedback
With more real-time and dynamic ways of updating content and cameras into AfterShot Pro 3, we also wanted to create an easier and more consolidated way of collecting your feedback. We will always be listening here and on social media, but we now also provide a feedback loop in-product. This will be the first place we monitor for your feedback. If we're missing a camera, sometimes the loudest people here or on Facebook will get unequal billing. With our feedback mechanism we'll be using a more empirical approach to planning cameras. Beta users of new cameras and our own relationships with camera vendors play in here too -- but we think this feedback loop will be helpful.

ASP3 is 64-bit only
With 32-bit users declining, it was time to focus on 64-bit. This means more QA time for 64-bit on each OS and thus a better product overall. Just FYI, our data shows that already Win10 x64 is our most popular OS. Performance (obviously?) is also best on 64-bit, so we're very happy to focus here.

New videos!
Getting started and successful with AfterShot Pro is now easier with a new and ongoing series of videos supporting AfterShot Pro. There are now way more resources available to new customers, and this should really be a big help. You can check these out on our learning page at http://www.aftershotpro.com/en/learn/ Are there subjects you think we should cover? Let us know and we'll address them.

On a personal note, I spent a lot of time with beta of AfterShot Pro 3 (Mac) prior to Mother's Day here in Canada, editing some portraits of my kids for my wife. The Blemish Fixer helped me work a lot faster and its my favourite feature of the new version. I'm really enjoying myself with AfterShot Pro 3.

So there's a bit of an insider's view of AfterShot Pro 3. The official news release follows. I hope you'll download the trial of ASP3 and tell us what you think. Thanks again for your attention and feedback and I hope you'll stay with us on this journey.

Sincerely
Greg Wood


AfterShot Pro 3: Save Time, Get Better Photos
New Highlight Recovery Algorithm, Time-Saving Tools, 4x Faster Than Leading Competitor;
Spend More Time with Your Camera, Not Your Computer

OTTAWA, CANADA – May 11, 2016 – Corel today announced the release of AfterShot™ Pro 3. Building on its strength as the industry’s fastest photo editing and organization software, AfterShot Pro 3 adds an all-new Highlight Recovery algorithm, comprehensive Watermarking, layer-based Blemish Correction, as well as dynamic update abilities that enable new camera RAW profiles to be supported faster than ever.

Photographers dream of capturing that perfect shot, but spending all day importing, cataloging, editing, and then exporting a memory card full of images can really take the fun out of a photo workflow. For the professional, time is money. And for enthusiasts, time is just as precious.

"Collectively, we’re now capturing trillions of photos each year. Photographers need a simpler and more agile way to manage and edit their photos," said Greg Wood, Senior Director of Photo Products at Corel. "AfterShot Pro 3 is a faster and more affordable solution for photographers looking for high quality results. It doesn’t lock you into catalogs or a subscription and is focused on photographers' common need: great images in less time.”

From its inception, AfterShot Pro has been built to deliver on three core competencies: outstanding performance, superior productivity, and freedom of choice. It enables photographers to organize thousands, cull from hundreds, and perfect a single photo. AfterShot Pro 3 provides easy access to a variety of plug-ins and add-ons direct from the community. In Corel lab testing, it remains up to 4x faster than Adobe Lightroom CC 2015.5 at batch exporting.

"There are all kinds of great reasons photographers should test out AfterShot Pro 3,” added Wood. “Not only is it free to try; but, fundamentally, its speed, dynamic update abilities, and powerful feature set make it a truly enjoyable way to work with and manage your photos.”

What’s New in AfterShot Pro 3
Building on its reputation as the industry’s fastest photo editor, AfterShot Pro 3 adds new and enhanced features to deliver a complete professional-level photo workflow and management experience.

NEW! Highlight Recovery Algorithm: With an all-new algorithm under the hood, the enhanced Highlight Recovery Range slider now rescues more detail and tones from overexposed RAW images, delivering superior image quality.

NEW! Comprehensive Watermarking: Protect your photos online and promote your work with advanced watermarking abilities. Apply watermarks to individual photos or batches, plus easily adjust size, rotation angle, position, transparency and more.

NEW! Blemish Removal & Correction: Save time and edit faster by performing more non-destructive, layer-based touchups and corrections directly in AfterShot Pro 3, without exporting your image to a second editor like Photoshop or PaintShop® Pro.

NEW! In-App Preset Library: Get access to a library of free and premium photo presets, regularly updated and hand-picked by the Corel Photo Team. Reproduce popular editing looks with the power of our included presets or apply them as a starting point and adjust to create your own. You can also share your creations with the community.

NEW! Lens Correction Development Kit: Get ahead of the curve by making and sharing your own lens corrections—ideal for photographers working with rare or brand-new glass. Simply follow the lens correction instructions, save your profile, then load it into AfterShot Pro 3.

NEW! Dynamic & Modular Camera Profile Updates: AfterShot Pro 3 now has the ability to deliver new and updated RAW profiles faster than ever before. With the modular delivery system, as soon as a new camera profile is created by our development team it’s made available for download directly in-app—no more waiting for the next update to support your new camera.

NEW & ENHANCED! Plugin Development & Download Availability: The new in-app Plugin Manager finds and installs plugins in a flash. Extend any workflow with free plugins from the community, discover premium plugins (like the popular GradFilter Pro), and get the latest plugin updates all in one convenient place. Plus, plugin-developers can leverage our unique RAW-level plugin API and toolkit to build pro-quality plugins to tap into the full power of AfterShot’s processing pipeline.

Availability
AfterShot Pro 3 is available now for Windows, Mac OS and Linux in English, German and Japanese. Suggested retail pricing is $79.99 (USD/CAD) and existing registered users can purchase for the upgrade price of $59.99 (USD/CAD). For regional pricing details, please visit http://www.AfterShotPro.com.

To download a fully-functional, 30-day trial or for more information on Corel® AfterShot™ Pro 3, please visit http://www.AfterShotPro.com.

Information on volume licensing for commercial and education organizations is available at http://www.corel.com/licensing or by contacting VLP@corel.com.

Join the Corel Photo Conversation
Visit Points of View, the Corel Photo blog to learn more about AfterShot Pro at http://blog.paintshoppro.com and connect with other AfterShot Pro users on Facebook (facebook.com/corelaftershotpro).

About Corel Photo Editing
Whether you're an enthusiast or professional photographer, Corel Photo Editing software is dedicated to helping you achieve your best photos ever. The Corel Photo Editing product lineup includes the renowned PaintShop® Pro for powerful image editing and AfterShot™ Pro, the industry's fastest RAW photo workflow software. Corel is one of the world's top software companies providing some of the industry's best-known brands including CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite, Corel® Painter®, Roxio®, Pinnacle™ and WinZip®. For more information about Corel Photo Editing software, please visit http://www.PaintShopPro.com.

Benchmark results based on internal tests performed by Corel Corporation using AfterShot Pro 3 batch export versus Lightroom CC 2015.5. Visit us for more information at http://corl.co/1Xjtw20.

© 2016 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, the Corel logo, and the Corel Balloon logo, AfterShot, CorelDRAW, Painter, PaintShop, Pinnacle, Roxio and WinZip are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. Patents: http://www.corel.com/patent

[kumsa]

The highlight recovery is terrific. Already tested it out -- and it was the one feature that I was hoping to see polished up.

Did not expect to see my friend the GradFilter back in play !! Thanks.

Lots to play with -- too bad I have a day job.

[jknights]

Love it and it is even better than the last Beta version that came to us testers.


Thanks very much for fixing the old issue with the file drag'n'drop nopt working. It does now!
So far so good in my tests today only one small item found with a conflict between SiliconBonk and other older 64bit plugins.

[Omen]

Better camera support? No. Better lens correction support? No. So why shall I pay $45 for minor (virtually zero) update? All my previous staff was already supported by Bibble, current is still not supported by ASP and I have to pay already second time to Corel (Bibble to ASP2, ASP2 to ASP3)? For what? Only good thing, that came after Bibble acquisition by Corel is 64 bit Linux support. But from communication with Bibble I know they were already fully ready for 64 bits in 2011. They've only been waiting for third party components from Kodak, Athentech (Perfectly Clear) and PictureCode (Noise Ninja). Very sad.

[damonlynch]

I tried the new highlight recovery on a CR2 file and the sky became pink. That's been a long standing image quality problem with Bibble / Aftershot.

Unmaximizing and maximizing the window while running in the Ubuntu Unity environment has the same bug as version 2 -- Aftershot's handling of the window size has just not been coded correctly. Perhaps the Corel developers could draw on the expertise of outside Qt consultants who can advise them how to do it properly, or simply drop its custom code to render the window frame and let the window manager do it.

[Catire]

I tried the new highlight recovery on a CR2 file and the sky became pink. That's been a long standing image quality problem with Bibble / Aftershot.

Unmaximizing and maximizing the window while running in the Ubuntu Unity environment has the same bug as version 2 -- Aftershot's handling of the window size has just not been coded correctly. Perhaps the Corel developers could draw on the expertise of outside Qt consultants who can advise them how to do it properly, or simply drop its custom code to render the window frame and let the window manager do it.

Same here.

[aljimenez]

I just installed it and can't get past the splash screen. I have re-installed it a couple of times, re-started after install to no avail. Splash screen up and in about 10 or so seconds, program dies. Any hints before I get my money back?

[yves77]

Regress on ASP3.
ASP3 doe not recognize nor open PEF files of the Pentax K3. ASP 2 did the job.

[sezuan]

Is the "In-App Preset Library" available in the trial version? I also don't find any 'feedback' button or the plugin install tab.

[hannes_hab]

not available for linux in this version ...
works on win

[Greg Wood]

Love it and it is even better than the last Beta version that came to us testers.


Thanks very much for fixing the old issue with the file drag'n'drop nopt working. It does now!
So far so good in my tests today only one small item found with a conflict between SiliconBonk and other older 64bit plugins.

Thanks Jknights. Still lots of work to do on all fronts, but we're forging ahead.

[Greg Wood]

not available for linux in this version ...
works on win

Thanks hannes_hab. You're correct. We should clarify that on the website. We'll update that and a couple of other differences in Linux build. We've tried to maintain consistency across OSes except where platform choices prevented us from doing so

[Greg Wood]

Regress on ASP3.
ASP3 doe not recognize nor open PEF files of the Pentax K3. ASP 2 did the job.

Hi Yves77. There is no planned regression here, so I'll need to look into this. Please bear with us while we investigate

[Greg Wood]

I just installed it and can't get past the splash screen. I have re-installed it a couple of times, re-started after install to no avail. Splash screen up and in about 10 or so seconds, program dies. Any hints before I get my money back?

Hi Aljiminez, can you please contact Corel support? We're keen to get your problem sorted or refund your hard-earned cash.

[nick-in-wales]

Regress on ASP3.
ASP3 doe not recognize nor open PEF files of the Pentax K3. ASP 2 did the job.

Hi Yves77. There is no planned regression here, so I'll need to look into this. Please bear with us while we investigate

Same problem here, ASP2 handled PEF files brilliantly but in ASP3 I can see the thumbnail but nothing in the editing window.