ACD Systems International has launched ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021. This is the newest version of the company's flagship photo editing software. The new version is focused on providing improved performance. ACD Systems International states that Photo Studio Ultimate 2021's performance enhancements are up to 100 percent faster and RAW decoding is up to 20 percent faster.
Frank Lin, CTO & COO of ACD Systems International, says, 'This product is everything you need to optimize your digital asset management, your photography workflow, your editing process and your work as a photographer. We're pleased to have focused on responding to customer feedback to make this the best product for today's photographers.'
New features in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021 include:
New Color Wheels and Tone Wheels – These wheels allow users to more precisely adjust colors, highlights, midtones and shadows.
Text on paths and text in a frame – You can now customize your text, including its path.
Refine Selection – In the new version, you can shift or soften edges, allowing for better use of included tools such as Smart Erase.
New and improved batch rename and resize functionality – You can now create your own templates and presets to speed up batch processes.
New optimized user interface and panes – New UI and panes are designed to streamline the editing process, allow the user to capture snapshots and view a full edit history for a file.
Improved Quick Search – Finding images in large databases is much faster.
Improved crop and watermarking – You can crop multiple images to custom sizes and add watermarks using anchor points.
Easier migration from Lightroom and Picasa – You can import face data in three clicks.
This screenshot shows the new Color Wheel in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021. Image credit: ACDSee
ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021 is available now. You can purchase a perpetual license for $149.99 or purchase the software via subscription for $69 per year. You can learn more about ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021 and evaluate your purchasing options by clicking here. Photo Studio is also available in Professional and Home versions as well for $100 and $60 respectively. These versions have fewer features than Ultimate in exchange for a lower price.
Nice to see that there are a few ACDSee fans in the world. It's still my go-to software for all things jpg (view, rename,resize), no one else comes close. I will never understand why Adobe doesn't implement the "fit in height/width only" resize option from ACDSee or am i too blind to see?
I've been using Ultimate since a version before they switched to using the year in the name. Currently on 2020. Overall I like the amount of functionality with the DAM and RAW editing tab. My main gripe is performance on my i7-6700, 32GB ram, GTX 1060 with SSD drives PC. Maybe my computer is too slow these days, but I have tried other software that seems much more prompt feeling in use (jumping from one image to the next, adjusting sliders, etc). Another thing is that 2020 and previous builds never felt great with multiprocessing. If I have a youtube video playing in my second monitor, editing a RAW at the same time can make it clip and stutter. I'm curious to see just how much quicker 2021 is...
That's why they were practically giving away the 2020 bundle, a new version coming out. :) Glad I took advantage of the offer, but I have no desire to upgrade already.
One thing I'm not thrilled about, ACDSee has "taken over" the operating system's file association function. Not cool.
I have been using ACDSee for half dozen years or more, currently using Ultimate 2018. I tried upgrading to 2020, but ran into issues that caused instability and I never fully diagnosed them as the upgrade wasn't really needed. Even though my hardware met the spec, it may have been something with it. Not sure. The reason why I gravitated to ACDSee was its compatibility with my existing photo library arrangement, that it didn't try to force on me a new file organization, which is completely unnecessary. It seems fast and pretty efficient as a non-destructive editing suite and I like the way its import function works. I'd give it pretty poor grades as a database management system for photos. It's a cludge in that respect and I run a separate DAM for challenging retrieval tasks. I'll probably upgrade to this version and,if I need to, upgrade my hardware for it. I hope it is a reliable build.
Interesting, I was trying ACDsee as well and have an issue exactly with the file-management: after editing an image, the SW writes to the original folder-structure, creating folders and files and renaming stuff - I was not able to change this annoying behavior and it forced me to search further (C1 under Win completely useless as full of bugs and corrupting catalogs, LR rude payware). ACDsee has the best DAM and the RAW editor while not as good as C1 is good-enough. But the stupid file-management drives me crazy. Were you able to workaround this? When you edit a JPG (like from mobile, I like to manage also those in my DAM) it renames it and places original into another folder; developing RAW creates folder as well. TY
Looks great, except for the part where it's not just Windows, but explicitly tied to Microsoft Office. It's listed as required software to run this app. Too bad. Heck, there doesn't even seem to be a Mac version-which surprises me more than there not being a Linux port.
As a general usage matter, that Office requirement is not really believable. Probably 99.9% of it works fine without, I'd guess. Maybe there's some function that you can use if you want that uses Office.
I would hope so. I mean why would you need Office to edit your photos? But they were quite specific in the software section of the requirements page. Maybe there's a publishing/web module in ACDsee that's tied to Office? That would make sense to me.
I used ACDsee at the time of Windows 98. I had also a cracked version of Adobe CS4. Last year a bought the dutch version of ACDsee Version 8 and i love it. The new ACDsee 2021 looks promissing to invest again.
It probably does. I had this issue with a Sony A73. Turns out the Sony raw files have their read only ticked in properties. This doesn't effect them being processed in lightroom or some other softwares, but I need to untick to process Sony raw file in ACDsee
Been using ACDsee for few years now. Still have adobe subscription. ACSsee does a lot and does most of it well. I dislike it's noise reduction and though it claims speedy, everytime you edit a raw file and switch mode or photo it needs to update the file.
However as a photo editor / viewer all in one I think it has a lot going for it. Not quite as good as lightroom for highlights and shadow recovery, but great if you haven't been applied by other software
Have they fixed the bug that fails to refresh the directory tree when you make a change to folders? It's annoying having to reboot the program. Do the experts know if there's a way to overcome this? Thanks.
I can race through PP with this program, including heavy metadata, so I don't mean to complain... It's a good program if you need to crank out a lot of product quickly.
I import all my photos with ACDSee. If you're used to programs like Adobe bridge, it's in many ways similar. The UI looks a bit "dated", but that's the only negative I can say about it. Fairly easy to use for beginners and more advanced users should have no problem at all.
I started using ACDsee way back when we used Unix and Dos commands to access the internet, before the WWW. It was very fast to view images which were all in GIF format at the time. I do not purchase every new version, usually every other one. I still use Lightroom as primary, my wife uses ACDSee only, and I use it for editing phone photos or jpegs, but since they are very slow to update for newly released RAW formats, I don't use it for RAW.
I've used their Ultimate for several years dropping everything Adobe. So much easier and faster to get the top results, especially light controls. When I switch over to a R5 I'll probably get this version assuming they will update it for the Canon
Brilliant! I have always been an ACDSEE fan and can do things with it that I just can't manage (with the same ease) in Photoshop or PhotoLab. I'll give it a try as soon as possible.
Color wheels were in Color Grading software long before Capture One, that said I'd love to see Color Wheels that function like Color Grade wheels in photo software. Capture one also kind of painfully puts color wheels on a completely different page to exposure settings. I am a fan of Capture One and of ACDSee - I like the implementation better in ACDSee.
Why the need to "refine edge" since you would want to do it with "smart fill" anyway? Why not just make "smart" fill... smarter and apply it automatically or with a simple toggle??
I’ve been using ACDSee for many years. I bought a subscription plan a few years back so I always get the latest released update each year. I’ve noticed how it gradually gets better from version to version. Some performance improvements, bug fixes and new features added each time. In my particular case I don’t need all the new features. For example I turned off the face recognition part completely, but it’s there if you need it. This video is aimed more at people that have ACDSee already, so they can see the changes in the new version. If anyone is thinking of switching to ACDSee, you won’t see the full palette of all its features here.
I mainly use it to develop RAW images and pp to taste. Easy to use and quite fast. The edit mode has layers capability. The database features are extensive. In the user forums problems are discussed and solutions usually found. Some feature suggestions from users, including myself, have been implemented by ACDSee. In short, I’m happy with it.
If I had to pick just one graphics package to install on my PC, it would be ACDSEE. Once you get the hang of it, there is very little out there that improves on it. But for those occasions the export facility is a welcome feature. It's better than DxO Photolab in many areas.
In that case why didn't they claim "Up to" 40x faster?
I agree with the OP. "Up to..." advertising claims are complete and utter BS that can't be challenged. Any improvement of less than 100% is "up to" 100% by definition.
Every single product released in the world has boasted number youll never see and they are ALL full of shet
All phones with their "improved" specs. All pc components and pc tech. And here too. They all lie through their teeth and you will never see these improvements because they are all done in tested and optimal situations with specific hardware or circumstances and if there was a millisecond spike on the graph than thats the number they will give. They are all liars
Otoh, i use acdcee pro as my lightroom alternative to edit weddings and its so much better. Not faster or slower or as feature rich but the tiny sliders on Lr have driven me nuts. Acdsee has bars... You simply hover on the large area and scroll to male minute changes. Ita impossible with Lr
I use nikon capture nxd to extract the maximum for raw images. I dont shoot raw in weddings besides g&b outdoor photo session together to recover highlights and get shadows up a bit. For ps we switched to affinity. We no longer use adobe products in our family and my business partner don't either
Maybe he is. Tons and tons of pr reps from companies frequent so many sites. Try to boost posiitce feedback and downplay any negativity. Not only acdsee but with any mfr. There can be so much bad publicity for a company from social media and forums. Thats how they try to sell and downplay negatives
Anyone can open a new profile and writw what they want
I like acdsee. I use pro 7. Not going back to anything adobe. Affinity for ps And nikon nxd for raw , which arent many pictures when i shoot weddings We work hard to get everything right in camera so minimum pp time is wasted
Silly thing to be bothered by, but.. You could watch the video. Numerous functions are faster by different amounts. Some as much as 100%, so the program is faster by "up to 100%"
When i read up to.. Its a disappointment in my mind
That 100‰ improvement may only be seen for a millisecond but its enough for the companies to keep. A graph and the highest millisecond spike is what they wrote.
If you are an existing user, log into your account and it will show you upgrade pricing. Or just wait a couple weeks and they will send you an upgrade offer. They are pretty relentless with marketing.
@tkbslc You are right, now that I think of it. DPR couldn't report on upgrade pricing in case its different for different users and they would risk being inaccurate. So it's best we have to search for the info on our own.
I'm not sure if anyone is more relentless about marketing in the photography sphere than ACDSEE. It took months to get them to stop mailing me twice/week. Most boring marketing emails ever. Absolutely no charm.
Well, I've logged in to the website, looked all over and there seems to be no upgrade pricing at all. I did get the ACDSee Photo Studio through the home pack, so it is possible that is the reason and I have to wait for Home Pack 2021, but somehow I feel that's not the reason, not least because I upgraded Video Studio 4 to Luxea (essentially VS5), and there was no upgrade pricing there either. So stuck between either paying full price for an upgrade or having to wait for the home pack with 2/3 apps that I already have, I think I am just going to have to skip this update.
@ruhell Thanks. I am unable to get this pricing, so I have sent ACDSee support a ticket and hopefully they will resolve. I would not pay the full price for an upgrade, but the upgrade price you received does seem fair (if I can get it).
@Jonsi, no e-mail for me :( That's nuts that you got the promo although in a way it makes sense - I'm already "hooked" so they can afford to wait until I "cave" and pay for the upgrade, whereas they need to "recruit" you from whatever software you currently use, hence the promo. Old airline tactic, loyalty does not always pay. I did get a reply but its along the lines of "buy the software and ask us for a refund of the difference." I'm now pondering my decision vs. just getting a gold membership ($59).
A couple years ago they were giving version 2018 away, or something like that. I installed it but didn't really use it much. Since then I've been getting regular emails to upgrade. I can't say I've paid attention to the offers, but when I saw your comment, and remembering I just got an email earlier in the week, I saw it was an offer at 50% off.
I understand offering deals to get new users but it should only be about the same as an upgrade price for regular users... at best.
The good thing is, unlike subscription/rental... you can choose whether to upgrade or not. If the upgrades aren't enough... don't buy it.
Regardless, they should offer you an upgrade price. We're not talking a product with only a $25-$50 full price like Affinity.
I've been using ACDSEE since 2017, it was my go to app till I discovered Luminar 4. Was hoping the 2021 version would have some Ai technology, Portraits virtually not handled. Sky replacement has Put Luminar way ahead of the pack. And Panorama stitching would have been nice to have as a one stop solution. Upgraded today.
Why is that? ACDSee supports keywords, geotagging and facetagging, the same as LR does. It also supports color labels, ratings and metadata search. What's primitive about it?
There is "supporting keywords and facetagging" ... and then there is true DAM support... XMP synching to Exif/IPTC, AI based Face Recognition, Auto Keyword tagging, etc... check out IMatch for a true DAM - overkill for many.. but these other applications with their "library" modes can't offer the compatibility... or power.
Like I said, I'm comparing to Lightroom's DAM system, which I find to be over-kill (I don't use keywords, flags, collections or smart collections). I do use EXIF data, face-tagging, star ratings, and geotagging.
@lee - I see... so you don't really use any DAM features then... yes - anything will work for ratings and geotagging... LOL - I rarely hear Lightroom's Library referred to as "OVER KILL"... its the exact opposite.. underwhelming!
Collections are useless as they don't migrate when you change tools. Keywords are useful if you have them, but I'm not going back and tagging 450,000 images.
@Lee Jay - Keywords are the #1 method of finding images at a later time... without keywords, you might as well NOT be using a database of any kind because it is not possible to find anything.
Just the other day, I needed to find a very specific item in IMatch... a "Yellow", "Rose", taken in "Amsterdam"... plugged in those 3 keywords and found the photo in seconds... if I wasn't using keywords, I would have had to navigated to my folder by date and scrolled through 1500 images from that trip.
I have over 300,000 images in my home LR database and I can generally find any one I want in seconds - without keywords.
The problem with keywords is that they have to be very detailed and consistent or else you won't know what keywords apply to what image. One image might need dozens or hundreds of keywords. An image of a kid surfing at the beach might need kid, beach and surfing but it also might need blue, orange, sunset, dusk, Cocoa, shells, wind, waves, secluded, serene, vacation, quiet, and east. Or I could just browse to that vacation, filter on 4 stars and above and filter on that location (remember I do geotag) and have it in seconds.
I have over 300,000 images in my home LR database and I can generally find any one I want in seconds - without keywords.
The problem with keywords is that they have to be very detailed and consistent or else you won't know what keywords apply to what image. One image might need dozens or hundreds of keywords. An image of a kid surfing at the beach might need kid, beach and surfing but it also might need blue, orange, sunset, dusk, Cocoa, shells, wind, waves, secluded, serene, vacation, quiet, and east. Or I could just browse to that vacation, filter on 4 stars and above and filter on that location (remember I do geotag) and have it in seconds.
@Lee - keywording isn't for everyone... but I you won't find your images fast without it. Try to locate ALL "Zinnia" "Flower" that are "Red" in your database... impossible. Me - 5 second search and I have my results.
Also, IMatch offers AI driven auto-keywording if you choose... so, you don't have to add all those keywords you mention by hand... just let the system do it for you! Or, only add a few specific ones... I rarely have more than 5 keywords on any image from my personal library...
I think one reason I don't find keywording that useful is that I don't shoot random stuff. I never just go out and shoot flowers or whatever, I go out and shoot specific events. I have never once wanted to go find all the red whatevers in my database since random disconnected images mean nothing to me. I do facetagging and it is useful to find people, but that's it. Folder tree hierarchy is just perfect for that.
@Lee - ahh.. yes, if you are a "pro" or "event" photographer, then you images are different from say the home photographer or amateur. Folder Tree hierarchy can then work for you if you include event names in it, etc.
The number of times in my life I've gone out and looked around for things to shoot is zero. I shoot vacations, birthdays, school events, airshows, and that sort of thing. Those are arranged in a folder hierarchy.
@Lee - hmm.. amazing how different folks are. I have my camera or phone with me all the time - something interesting is out there - snap snap snap. Just the other day I was taking a walk around the block and saw an amazing mushroom growing in the ground. Out came my phone, snap snap, transfer electronically back home into Imatch, keyword, geo tag, done. Years from now when I want to locate a mushroom photo, I'll be thrilled to have not only tagged it - but taken the photo in the first place! I can't imagine enjoying photography as a hobby but only taking photos during specific events.
Everyone is different.. my takeaway. Peace and joy!
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