ASP 3.0. Did you get what you wished for?

[macr237]

So, how many people actually got what they suggested in the wishlist?
I get the strange feeling that not much was actually taken into account when they coded this upgrade and many never will be.

[danbern]

I'm very happy with GradFilter, who works fine with ASP 2.4.
I know GradFilter is not ASP 3, but they come together at the same time, so in some way they are related

I will test the version 3 when I Corel fixes the bugs that prevent it (v. 3.0.0.123) from running for more than a minute on Linux before it crashes.

[Kneops]

I haven't tested ASP 3 yet, for the same reason as danbern mentions. From what I have read progress has been made under the hood to get new updates, profiles etc. faster into ASP, which is excellent. The new highlight recovery seems to be sometimes better, sometimes worse. Watermarking I don't need. The rest I have to see when I try out the new version. I hope progress has been made in RAF conversion.

I really love ASP... but from what I read on the internet in every pro or amateur review I encounter, ASP is still on the last place when it comes to pure image quality and good tools to enhance images, including noise reduction. But we don't care about image quality, do we?

[lgw]

First, commercial software development always responds better to competition rather than user requests.

Second, we got a new release! So much for those persistent rumors that Corel has turned its back on AfterShot.

Third, watermarking has been implemented, a little; pros will be happy.

Corel has begun addressing most of the shortcomings against Lightroom while keeping the speed and multi-os versions.

Alas, no tethering!

And then there is the resurgence of the "No Image Available" bug. So easy to squash, you wonder how this release got out the door.

[Dutchmm]

The OP's question is a little ambiguous. Did I get everything I wished for? Definitely not. Did I get something I wanted? Most definitely. Did I get value for money with the upgrade? Well, firstly we got GradFilterPro back. I lose count of the pleas for that. Secondly, we got a new mechanism for supporting new hardware that many of us had asked for, explicitly or implicitly. And, of course, we got proof that Corel are not just letting ASP, or even ASP on Linux, die off. It doesn't bother me if I have to pay some money every year - less than I spend on photo printing - on keeping my RAW development software compatible with my camera and computers. So, yes, I think I got value, even if some annoyances persist. Even if the quality of technical support drives me to despair.

[Kneops]

From what i read on the wikipedia page of Corel, a lot if not most of the development is in the hands of outsourced companies:
'The 2013 restructuring led to a complete handover of the product development to outsourced companies, resulting in the inadequate support for pre- and post-purchase customers.'

This outsourcing doesn't have to be a bad thing, but perhaps the reason why communication between customer -> corel -> other company is a bit slow. But I agree on what dutchmm says, I'm very happy as a Linux user that ASP exists and although I hate it that I can't use it for my RAF files - including Fuji cameras isn't the same thing as being able to use the files that come from it - I can't do without it. I just used it to quickly add metadata to a hundred or more images, made a selection, adjusted the Fuji jpegs a little bit (not the RAFs), exported them and sent the images to my client. Very quick and a joy to use. I just hope they don't just look at Lightroom as their competitor, but also at the quality of images that comes from DxO and Capture One.

When they have solved the problems with ASP 3 on Linux I will surely upgrade.

[Voiceofexperience]

The OP's question is a little ambiguous.

No, it isn't - we all know, individually, what we want from ASP. I don't know what's ambiguous about asking whether Corel is satisfying those needs.

So let's see...

Image quality is as appalling as ever.

Noise management continues to be appalling.

Highlight "recovery"is nothing of the sort: equalising 255/255/255 to match the nearest non-blown whites in the vicinity is not recovering highlights, which - as everyone (except Corel, apparently) knows - means highlight detail recovery.

(And that's assuming ASP doesn't turn your highlights pink).

But - whoop-de-do - there's a grad plugin. So that's all right then, isn't it?

What ASP 3 confirms is what some have talked about before - which is that the beta "testers" are nothing o the sort: what kind of critical image quality testing is demonstrated by ASP 3?

None whatsoever.

Seems that the beta testers are in it solely so that they can big themselves up about being beta testers. Clearly they're doing nothing else.

Corel, are you ever going to recruit testers how actually know what and how to test? Or are you scared of the hearing the truth?

(And yes, I mean people like me: I've beta-tested for DxO and Phase One; I help Picturecode on an informal basis; and I've recently been invited to become an Adobe ACP).

But no, you wouldn't dare.

[macr237]

The OP's question is a little ambiguous.

No it isn't. There is a whole thread on a wishlist for future versions. This is what I was referring to.

[macr237]

When they have solved the problems with ASP 3 on Linux I will surely upgrade.

A number of people have said this, but I have had it crash only once.

[Kneops]

A number of people have said this, but I have had it crash only once.

What version of Linux do you use? I myself am on Linux Mint 17.1
Some people said it crashed while trying to use the file system.

[grubernd]

What ASP 3 confirms is what some have talked about before - which is that the beta "testers" are nothing o the sort: what kind of critical image quality testing is demonstrated by ASP 3?

None whatsoever.

Seems that the beta testers are in it solely so that they can big themselves up about being beta testers. Clearly they're doing nothing else.

Corel, are you ever going to recruit testers how actually know what and how to test? Or are you scared of the hearing the truth?

easy on the accussations, voice of rumour.

some of the beta-testers have been around since the early noughties, for me it's currently 12 years.
trust me, none of them is in it for the title. we are in it to make the tool we work with better.

but reporting issues is one thing, while acting upon those reports is done by others.
so not all wishes are granted and not all issues are always acted upon.
and all this happens behind closed doors, aka NDA etc.

but you should know all that from your own experience as a tester, don't you?