This online editor can't compare with its offline namesakes, but it might be a blogger's best friend
Adobe last week released the beta version of Photoshop Express, an online, Flash-based image editing tool. Therein lies the problem -- although it bears the same name as the well-known and venerable image editor, Photoshop Express isn't Photoshop at all.
In fact, it isn't even Photoshop Elements, the paired-down version of Photoshop that is given out free with many digital cameras. Because this application is based in Flash, it doesn't allow for right-click or keyboard shortcuts and has much less functionality than a typical desktop application.
However, if you are looking for a way to do minor adjustments to your online photos or if you'd like an online photo album with a good amount of editing functionality, you should definitely check out Photoshop Express.
Convenience is where this application really shines. Instead of having to download a photo, edit it in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, and then upload it again, you can just use a Web-based Flash inline editor. I can see this application being a blogger's best friend, since it really speeds up the process of editing an online photo and allows collaborative editing as well.
Its simplicity may also provide a way for children to get their feet wet in the image editing world. (Incidentally, Adobe says that it is officially available only in the U.S., but I had no trouble evaluating it from France.)
The application requires a broadband Internet connection and a browser with the Flash 9 plug-in -- all fairly standard fare these days. Once you create a log-in and Web site (which will be accessible through an URL such as http://yournamehere.photoshop.com), and confirm your e-mail address, you are on your way.
The obvious first step is to upload photos to your site, which is currently capped at 2GB of storage. (Considering that many rival sites offer either more or unlimited storage, one would hope that this figure will go up in the future.) The service is currently free; my expectation is that a free version may eventually have an advertising component to it and possibly a higher-capacity/better feature version that will come at a fee.
The upload process works as it should, including the ability to add multiple files at a time, and the photos load relatively quickly (although not, of course, with the instant response of a computer-based editor).
The real usefulness of Photoshop Express is its ability to edit images that have already been uploaded. Users can access their photo galleries from Facebook, Google's Picasa (which can include Blogger/Blogspot photos) and Photobucket (but not other popular sites such as Flickr and Kodak Gallery).
The tool palette, which runs along the left side of the window, is extremely sparse compared to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements -- the closest desktop application to compare it to is Google's Picasa -- but offers much more than any other online tool. Basic functionality includes cropping, rotating, autocorrecting, changing exposure, red-eye removal, a touch-up tool and a saturation tool. There are also some tuning and effects filters that many users will have fun with.
Because most users are still used to editing images from computer-based products, the fact that things take a bit longer online may be an issue. For example, rotating an image in Photoshop Express would be almost instantaneous in one test and take 20 seconds in another with the same image. Browsing big directories also takes a bit of time. It took a few minutes for all of the 376 images in my Photobucket account to be rendered in thumbnails, for example.
Still, with all of its limitations, Adobe Photoshop Express is a promising product, even in its early beta form. The online blogging and social media sites have created a demand for photo-editing software that Adobe has been smart enough to identify and fill. With any luck, future versions of the software will be able to perform more functions and operate at speeds closer to traditional image editors.
Adobe last week released the beta version of Photoshop Express, an online, Flash-based image editing tool. Therein lies the problem -- although it bears the same name as the well-known and venerable image editor, Photoshop Express isn't Photoshop at all.
In fact, it isn't even Photoshop Elements, the paired-down version of Photoshop that is given out free with many digital cameras. Because this application is based in Flash, it doesn't allow for right-click or keyboard shortcuts and has much less functionality than a typical desktop application.
However, if you are looking for a way to do minor adjustments to your online photos or if you'd like an online photo album with a good amount of editing functionality, you should definitely check out Photoshop Express.
Convenience is where this application really shines. Instead of having to download a photo, edit it in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, and then upload it again, you can just use a Web-based Flash inline editor. I can see this application being a blogger's best friend, since it really speeds up the process of editing an online photo and allows collaborative editing as well.
Its simplicity may also provide a way for children to get their feet wet in the image editing world. (Incidentally, Adobe says that it is officially available only in the U.S., but I had no trouble evaluating it from France.)
The application requires a broadband Internet connection and a browser with the Flash 9 plug-in -- all fairly standard fare these days. Once you create a log-in and Web site (which will be accessible through an URL such as http://yournamehere.photoshop.com), and confirm your e-mail address, you are on your way.
The obvious first step is to upload photos to your site, which is currently capped at 2GB of storage. (Considering that many rival sites offer either more or unlimited storage, one would hope that this figure will go up in the future.) The service is currently free; my expectation is that a free version may eventually have an advertising component to it and possibly a higher-capacity/better feature version that will come at a fee.
The upload process works as it should, including the ability to add multiple files at a time, and the photos load relatively quickly (although not, of course, with the instant response of a computer-based editor).
The real usefulness of Photoshop Express is its ability to edit images that have already been uploaded. Users can access their photo galleries from Facebook, Google's Picasa (which can include Blogger/Blogspot photos) and Photobucket (but not other popular sites such as Flickr and Kodak Gallery).
The tool palette, which runs along the left side of the window, is extremely sparse compared to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements -- the closest desktop application to compare it to is Google's Picasa -- but offers much more than any other online tool. Basic functionality includes cropping, rotating, autocorrecting, changing exposure, red-eye removal, a touch-up tool and a saturation tool. There are also some tuning and effects filters that many users will have fun with.
Because most users are still used to editing images from computer-based products, the fact that things take a bit longer online may be an issue. For example, rotating an image in Photoshop Express would be almost instantaneous in one test and take 20 seconds in another with the same image. Browsing big directories also takes a bit of time. It took a few minutes for all of the 376 images in my Photobucket account to be rendered in thumbnails, for example.
Still, with all of its limitations, Adobe Photoshop Express is a promising product, even in its early beta form. The online blogging and social media sites have created a demand for photo-editing software that Adobe has been smart enough to identify and fill. With any luck, future versions of the software will be able to perform more functions and operate at speeds closer to traditional image editors.
