In the world of photo management and processing, Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom software has been the popular choice among professional and hobbyist photographers alike. In recent years, though, complaints about performance and speed have largely gone unanswered by Adobe, opening the door for alternative software solutions to thrive. One is Corel, which announced the latest version of their competing AfterShot Pro software with a marketing strategy that takes clear aim at Adobe’s public performance issues.
According to Corel, its new AfterShot Pro 3 suite is consistently four-times faster at batch exporting of images than Adobe’s current version of Lightroom. This, in addition to a significantly lower price tag, has Corel hoping to siphon off some of Lightroom’s disgruntled users. Now, you should always be wary of company claims when comparing competing products, but if reviews start coming in confirming that Aftershot Pro 3’s advantage over Lightroom, then don’t be surprised to see some photographers considering the switch.
In addition to the above AfterShot Pro 3 versus Lightroom talking points, Corel has also managed to make some marked improvements than weren’t in the previous version. Adding features like easy Watermarking, a new Blemish Removal tool, an improved Highlight Recovery algorithm, and what Corel is calling a Dynamic & Modular Camera Profile system.
The neat thing about this Dynamic & Modular Camera Profile System is that it will allow for easy updates to add support for new cameras and lenses. If you have ever used Lightroom or any other software up to this point, you know that traditionally you would have to wait for a full software patch/update in order to add support for new camera RAW profiles and lens correction profiles. This new system from Corel would allow individual cameras or lenses to be added on a case by case basis, without the need for a full software update. This, in theory, should allow for much faster support of newer cameras and lenses after they are released.
Overall, this looks to be a rather impressive and comprehensive update from Corel. For those looking into Lightroom alternatives, you had better add Corel’s AfterShot Pro 3 to the growing list of options. More info about Corel AfterShot Pro 3, as well as a free trial, is available on the AfterShot Pro 3 product site.
