Motivation: First Looks at Corel's new PaintShop Pro 10
Features: The new edition of PaintShop Pro is first under Corel label

For any of those that were worried that Jasc's top of the line photo editing program would lose out to Corel's own Photo Paint or otherwise get the short-stick in improvements Corel PaintShop Pro X is out and rest assured - this is a huge upgrade.

Just glance at the screenshot above. The whole GUI interface has been reworked and comes out saying help and ease of use. The new Learning Center is now by default posted on the left as a 120 pixel wide column of context sensitive and very precise comments on how to use the currently active tool. Normally this reviewer turns off the Learning centers like this because they just get in the way. But Corel has really gotten this right on - and so I am leaving it on while I learn the new tools:
Red Eye Removal tool - this is point and click simple
Blemish Fixer tool - for portrait artists what a god-send, fix blemishes, teeth, and suntans
Change to Target tool - from previous version but refound - use it always with Blemish tool
Object Remover tool - works like Patch tool from Photoshop but with nifty blend option
ArtMedia Tools - also refound - a wonderful way to add painterly effects to your photo comps
and become re-acquainted with some tools that I have neglected to take advantage - notably the Art Media Tools.

In addition, discerning users will note at the lower right the Layer Panel has been extensively modified making it easier to use - the layer thumbnails are always on and the controls easier to get at. Likewise, this reviewer really likes what Corel has done for the Image Browser. It sits along the bottom of the screen and shows a filmstrip view of the images in the current working directory. Previously browse mode operated only full screen. It can be enlarged to full screen and given its familiar look and feel with a tree list of file on the right. But the important point is the browser Window now becomes a resizable panel that can be sized to appropriately work with the current image on canvas. Now more than ever before I value the File | Workspace commands that are available to save a particular layout of PaintShop Pro panels and workareas.

So the Learning Center has brought me up to speed in a number of "new" tools and really is so concise and helpful I now turn it on whenever I get flustered rather than first proceeding to Help. But PaintShop Pro X also has some great free video tutorials from Lynda.com that also help bring the user up to speed in the many rich photo finish offerings available in this tool. Finally, the written manuals are top notch and now set

Ease of Use

As a Camera Club member, I constantly get asked what program is around that is easier to use than Photoshop or even Photoshop Elements - without a hesitation I recommend PaintShop Pro (it used to be Corel Photo Paint; but that program appears to be retired by Corel in favor of PaintShop Pro). And there are three reasons for this -all oriented towards ease of use.

First, PaintShop Pro X continues the move to one stop wizards that help users get started on major photo fixes in very helpful ways.
Smart Photo Fix command - gets user close to a good color correction with automated suggestions and then allows for users to adjust the three most important color factors: brightness, saturation, and black/white density. So first time users will see what the major controls are for color corrections, get a feel for how they work and then be able to relate these to other PaintShop Pro color adjustment commands.
Digital Camera Noise Removal command - does the same for fixing camera based artifacts and thus alerts users to digital camera problems and either prevention or software fixes.
Manual Color Correction command - is one of the most powerful color correction command when their are major color exposure adjustments to be made to a photo. Yet the operation is fairly intuitive and straight forward.
Adjust Command - has a whole group of 8 photo camera related commands from backlighting to Pin Cushion Distortion correction. These are problems that photo and camera people know well - and its good to see that there is one place to go to get them fixed.
It would be nice to see PaintShop pull together another wizard for say Image Sharpening and/or Smoothing.
Effects Browser - really allows a user to see all the options available in Adjust and Effects commands. Ulead literally lead the way on this; and Adobe has now trumped people on the Effects side with its layered Filter/Effect Browser.
PaintShop Pro and Ulead's Photo Impact have pioneered on Wizards usage and now Adobe with Photoshop and especially Photoshop Elements is following up with its own Photo Wizards. But PaintShop Pro has some ease of use features that Adobe has yet to emulate.

Second, Adobe was late to supplying a context sensitive option bar which changes with the selection of each tool. So PaintShop Pro is still ahead and better refined here. Also PaintShop Pro X remembers in all its dialogs for color correction and effects, what settings were used the last time - while Adobe starts from a default setting every time. All of PaintShop Pro X color correction and filters have 3 previewing options - Adobe has only one. All of PaintShop Pro X color correction and effects have a return to default setting button plus save and/ load previous settings buttons. For Adobe, only a few effects have the ability to save settings.

Third, Photoshop has become so large and overlapping in functionality, its can be hard to find specific functions and features. The great user customization features of PaintShop Pro X - especially the ability to extend keyboard shortcuts plus create user designed toolbars makes it a lot easier to control that sprawl in PaintShop Pro X.

In sum, PaintShop Pro X has some very winning ease of use features that have been considerably enhanced by the new program layout and Learning Center. In sum, if you are a professional photofinisher doing 100 or more images per month, you have to consider Photoshop - just to meet your clients requirements. But if your are a camera buff, advanced hobbyist or a graphics artist looking for value and ease of use then the new Corel PaintShop Pro is a very compelling program to use - and the cost savings over full Photoshop are a sweet $300 or more.