Software gets the picture

Many holidaymakers return home at this time of year with flash memory cards packed full of still images, video clips and sometimes digital camcorder footage as well. Most of these images need to be edited, sorted, tagged and perhaps shared - a daunting task without the right tools.

I have been looking at new software and online services that ease this task, alongside an amazing new web service from Microsoft called Photosynth that turns overlapping images of the same scene into a navigable virtual 3D gallery.

Digital photo and video editing software designed for consumers now incorporates sophisticated techniques that were once only available to professionals. Some packages, such as Google's Picasa (http://picasa.google.com) and Hewlett-Packard's Photosmart Essentials (www.hp.com) are free to download, while others such as Corel's $80 Paint Shop Pro X2 (www.corel.com) are packed with advanced features.

My favourite, however, is Adobe's Photoshop Elements (www.adobe.com), which combines an elegant, easy-to-use interface with some powerful features - many developed initially for Adobe's professional Photoshop suite.

This week Adobe launched Photoshop Elements 7 in "beta", or trial form, ahead of its official release in October. It also announced a new version of its excellent consumer video editing suite, Premier Elements 7, which will be offered as a standalone package for $100 and in a cut-price bundle priced at $150 for the two.

Some new features keep Adobe ahead of the competition. In its quick fix section that enables users to undertake simple corrections, Photoshop Elements has a teeth-whitening tool, a blue-sky tool that allows you to eliminate washed-out skies and a special effects tool that enables users to turn parts of an image black-and-white.

Perhaps most significantly, it now comes with a new Smart Brush that helps users apply effects where they want with a single stroke. Another new feature called "Scene Cleaner" allows users to create the ideal photo by simply brushing away unwanted subjects such as tourists or cars (or ex-partners).

Premiere Elements 7, Adobe's video editing package, offers lots of time-saving options to help amateur auteurs turn home videos into Hollywood-style movies. For instance, the software can identify sounds, the number of faces and other features in a video clip to make it easier to find specific scenes.

New special effects also include a clever Videomerge option that can automatically place a person into almost any scene.

Both Premier Elements and Photoshop Elements are designed to integrate tightly with Adobe's online service, Photoshop.com, a site that offers tutorials, seasonal artwork, themed templates and, perhaps most importantly, back-up storage that can also be accessed remotely over the web.

The software can be configured to upload newly created desktop albums automatically and reflect any changes to the albums or images.

Basic membership is free with 5Gb (gigabytes) of online storage, while premium packages start at $50 a year for 20Gb of online storage - enough for 15,000 photos or four hours of DVD-quality videos. Photoshop.com members will also be able to upload photos directly from selected mobile phones.

Even if you use a different photo editing package, several new online services provide similar features.

My favourite is a new package from California-based Memeo (www.memeo.com) called Memeo Share, which was launched in beta form this summer.

Memeo addresses many of the shortcomings of other online photo sharing services that operate in the background to send high-resolution digital images directly to the computer desktops of friends and family in a sharing "circle".

Users do not have to resize, edit or manually upload the images or attach them to e-mail - a sure way to clog up the recipients' inboxes. Those on the receiving end do not even need to install the Memeo software - they can set up an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) news feed or just check Memeo's website to get the images they want.

Users can set up a circle of friends or family who automatically receive photos and video clips placed in a specific sharing folder, or the software can be configured to recognise when you plug in a digital camera and automatically upload the files to Memeo's online servers.

Elsewhere, Microsoft's unique Photosynth service (http://photosynth.net), launched 10 days ago as a public beta, is designed to turn a selection of overlapping images - such as a set of photos of a historical monument or, in my case, my wife's art studio, and turn them into a 3D scene that can be navigated by others.

Each of these virtual worlds is called a "synth" and the degree of overlap between images determines how "synthy" the scene is (my first effort was a rather poor 42 per cent synthy). To create a new synth, just take a selection of images, some wide views, others focused on zoomed-in details, and upload the batch of images to the Photosynth site. Microsoft's servers process the images and create the Synth.

Microsoft developers believe the technology could be used in business, medicine and other fields. It could eventually create a virtual world, one synth at a time. But for now it is just a creative and fun way to view your digital images.

Organising, sharing and uploading

Q. I have lots of digital photos I want to organise. What are my options?

Provided you do not need to do too much editing, Google's free Picasa software download is a good option. Picasa also enables users to share their images online. If you want a more sophisticated editing package try Adobe Photoshop Elements or Corel's Paint Shop Pro.

Q. How easy is it to share my photos online with friends and family?

Very easy. Most software and services now include online photo-sharing options. The latest version of Photoshop Elements includes a free web sharing service with a low-cost upgrade that provides additional online storage. Alternatively, you can use an internet sharing service like Flickr ( www.flickr.com ). Social networking software like Facebook ( www.facebook.com ) is also an easy way to share images.

Q. Can I upload automatically? Yes, several free packages like Sharpcast's SugarSynch ( www.sugarsynch.com ) provide this option. Memeo ( www.memeo.com ) has just launched a service called Memeo Share that allows you to share high-quality images directly with the PCs of friends and family.

www.ft.com | Paul Taylor | 2008-08-29