Zoner Photo Studio is an unassuming post-processing solution, easily hidden away. It’s cost-effective, stable and won’t force you into any one workflow configuration like its competitors do.
At its core lies Create, an area for designing physical products like calendars and canvas wraps. Other notable features include an impressive selection of healing and cloning tools.
Manage
Zoner Photo Studio automatically analyzes where you store your photographs, storing all their metadata in a catalog database. This means when searching for photos from last summer’s vacation or of that specific flower, no need to load each file individually – instead just accessing your catalog database will do.
The Manager module allows you to effectively organize and manage your image files, including organizing them by folder, tag or keyword addition, slideshow creation or JPEG and RAW adjustment synchronisation – perfect if you find yourself switching back and forth between editing JPEGs and raws with their more flexible dynamic ranges.
Batch process images is also beneficial if you have many similar photos to work on, with options like red-eye removal, sharpening and resizing all available via the toolbar. Furthermore, perspective correction will keep your photographs looking professional while saving time when correcting shots that have an off-center perspective.
Zoner offers many non-destructive tools in this section of their program which is beneficial to photographers who prefer experimenting and trying different effects without worrying about deleting original files and losing work. They update regularly – usually spring and autumn but sometimes more frequently. You can opt-in to get weekly emails providing helpful hints and tips; an incredibly convenient feature!
Develop
Zoner Photo Studio is an all-in-one image editing suite that combines the Digital Asset Management (DAM) tools of Lightroom with basic and advanced photo editing features, like fine-tuning retouching and layer-based editing, with Photoshop-like selection tools as well as tools that let users create collages, calendars and photo books directly within the program. Available as a subscription model.
Built for photographers’ workflows, this software includes four modules to assist with organizing and editing photos: Manager for managing photo archives; Develop for processing images; Editor for photo manipulation; and Create for making photo books and prints. Compatible with modern RAW formats as well as featuring an in-built search function to quickly locate pictures in your archive, this program helps photographers take control of their photo editing experience.
This program contains many presets that will quickly give your images the look you desire quickly and effortlessly. It also boasts features hard to come by elsewhere such as radial/filter brushes that enable smoothing or retouching effects easily and an effective noise reduction tool, which reduces grain in images.
Recent updates to Lightroom include an improved user-friendly interface and performance boosts. In particular, the Developer module now features a more streamlined workflow and the option of simultaneously showing preview and information windows for easier review and evaluation of adjustments. Furthermore, RAW processing speeds have been increased as well as native support for additional lenses.
Editor
This program can assist with all stages of photographic workflow from downloading and organizing to enhancing, creating and ordering. While its scope and features don’t compare with that of Adobe Lightroom, it still covers most essential areas photographers need for post-processing their images.
The Manager module features a folder tree and image browser alongside an information panel, along with options to switch between Manager and Editor as the first app that opens when your software loads – great if your preferences differ!
Zoner Photo Studio X has quickly established itself as an industry standard with its Manage and Develop modules providing invaluable organizational tools as well as RAW processing abilities. Furthermore, its scope extends to layer editing that rivals Photoshop; although its creative photo-art capabilities don’t compare as favorably to Skylum Luminar’s.
At your fingertips are an array of useful tools and effects ranging from quick one-click fixes to more elaborate tweaking options, from red eye removal and wrinkle correction tools to panorama view capabilities that allow for stretching or cropping an image to any size, as well as various sharpening and clarity settings you can tweak for optimal photos.
Another exciting feature is the ability to easily create short videos using your photos. This is an easy process that’s great for showing off photos with music or narration, or you can import external clips from your computer into your video.
Zoner Photo Studio has quickly established itself as an industry leader in digital printing and can now allow you to easily create calendars, photo books and canvas prints with its Create module. Although this may not be beneficial to everyone, its creation of physical products from your work makes this program truly standout!
Zoner Photo Studio operates under a subscription model similar to Adobe, yet with distinct advantages. If you decide to cancel, there is a 30-day grace period before it becomes effective; also unlike Adobe, Zoner Photo Studio continues functioning and updating even after your subscription expires.
The latest version of the program provides several exciting features for still photographers, such as an update to the Develop module with new and improved tools to provide superior image enhancement, including a customizable toolbar that puts essential functions within easy reach and can be completely personalized. In addition, LUT files (Lookup tables) support allows photographers to apply various effects more precisely.
Clarity feature of the program has also been enhanced to further improve structure, sharpness and dynamics of images. You can now use this feature simultaneously on multiple photos!
Last but not least, this program features an excellent digital asset manager to keep track of all your images. You can create albums, apply color coding or map locations directly onto photos. Furthermore, templates allow quick access to commonly used adjustments later.
Video
Zoner Photo Studio goes beyond its name to assist in organizing and editing photos; it also helps you make videos to showcase them effectively – especially when holiday photos are shown with music rather than just as slideshows in a browser window.
Prior to this spring update, creating videos from photos was only possible with the Video module; but with it comes even greater freedom – including using most of the adjustments from Develop in video creation (including white balance, exposure, color/grayscale, sharpness and vignetting). Layering images and audio tracks, adding text titles and moving around timeline are now all made simpler than ever!
Zooming in allows you to see all of the details in your images, while side-by-side comparison lets you quickly select your favorite. Furthermore, this software remembers your crop adjustments when zooming into other photos; perfect if you like keeping frames intact when photographing portraits or landscapes!
The 2021 Autumn update brings significant improvements to Zoner’s raw processing, previously its Achilles heel; results are significantly enhanced and it now feels much more like a serious alternative to Adobe Lightroom than ever before.
Zoner Photo Studio is an established and respected one-stop solution for photo organizing, editing and printing that’s available at an attractive monthly subscription rate. This includes online storage of photos as well as various digital products like photo books and calendars you can produce using this service.
