All-new Organizer: The new integrated Organizer includes tools for rating, tagging, locating and quickly touching up image files. The Organizer also makes it easy to select images and view them in multiple ways. In just a few clicks, RAW images can be converted to another format for posting, photo sharing or printing.
Multi-photo Adjustments: Editing and enhancing is faster than ever now that changes made to an image can be captured and easily applied to multiple photos, removing the tedium of making the same changes over and over again.
Smart Carver: Quickly achieve impressive results by seamlessly and realistically removing objects and scaling without distorting the image.
Express Lab: Bringing the most used tools together in one place, the Express lab now adds Color Balance, Local Tone Mapping, Contrast/Brightness, Sharpen and One Step Noise Removal.
Camera RAW Lab: Supporting more than 350 RAW formats, the new RAW Lab makes it easy to adjust a variety of settings, such as white balance, exposure, brightness and saturation before processing. Adjustments made to any RAW image can be copied and applied to other RAW images in the Organizer.
Object Extractor: It's quick and easy to precisely mask fine image details that are otherwise difficult to preserve - even challenging cases such as fly away hair, wisps of smoke and tree branches.
Project Creator: This one stop tool makes it easy to create, edit and share projects. Produce photo books, collages, cards, calendars and photo slideshows including HD video in a few clicks. Share to YouTube, Facebook or Flickr. Photo projects can also be printed through Corel's online print service.
Pricing and Availability
Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 is now available at a suggested retail price (SRP) of $99.99 (USD and CDN) for the full version or $79.99 for the upgrade. The product can be purchased as an electronic software download (ESD) today from www.corel.com and boxed software will be shipping to North American retailers in February. Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 will also be available globally in Chinese Traditional, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish and Spanish.
To purchase an ESD or download a free, fully featured 30-day trial, please visit www.corel.com/paintshop.
Update 9/15/10: Comments are now closed on this post. If you wish to write about your experiences with Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3, please submit a review, which will make your feelings more visible and allow you to include a star rating which will be compiled into an average rating among users. Thanks!
On this site:
• Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 for Windows Review
• Write a Review of Corel PaintShop Photo Pro
• Corel Paint Shop Pro User Resources
Downloaded the free trial last night. So far I find it to be excruciatingly slow – even more so than X2 – when working with larger images though they had claimed to have improved processing speeds. And the RAW lab doesn’t have nearly as many tweaks available as the free program I use – RAW Therapee.
I like the Vibrancy tool, it made nice changes to the photo I was playing with. The Local Tone Mapping (which I’m not sure how it differs from the old Clarify) did add some sharpness to my digital photos, but did weird things to photo scans. The revamped text tool took a little getting used to, but once you’re used to it, it’s a fairly slick little update.
However, I’m not sure the handful of good things outweigh the downsides I’ve seen so far. I think I’ll wait until they release X3 Ultimate or the like to really upgrade.
OMG who are you kidding… The whole download and install process “TBYB” was almost an hour. The program itself is more than a memory and resource hog. I have never seen a more clumbersome-hard-to-use photo tool in my life. Period!!!
It’s reactive to mouse movements is delayed beyond conception. This program is soooooooooo slooooooow. I should have gotten a clue during the installation process.
I uninstalled it after 30 mins of using it and that took 10 mins to do that. Whatever you do… DO NOT USE this for your photos.
Corel should be shot for introducing such a poor peice of software.
BURN IT. Better yet avoid it all together.
There are better FREE programs than this one.
I have to say Paint Shop Pro X3 needs to be removed from all the shelves and internet links broken.
I have been a PSP user since version 4.0 and loved it. I was concerned when Jasc sold to Corel that there would be issues and expressed those concerns. It appears that I was right. Corel has taken it’s time but I think it’s accomplishing it’s goal of getting rid of PSP. I have been able to do anything in PSP that could be done in any of the grossly over priced programs up through version 9+. From that point on it has been downhill for PSP. Shame on you Corel. Not everyone can afford your very pricey Corel branded products. I’m frugal and paying 5 (or more) times as much just for a name on the box goes against the grain for me! I’m sticking to PSP 9.
I agree with my fellow posters. Since V9 (or at best, 10) PSP has gone downhill. It’s now very pricey, slow, and the “improvements” in the upgrade packages are marginal at best. Look at what the competition is doing with PSE! I firmly believe and agree that Corel is phasing my favorite program out.
I have been a Paint Shop Pro User for many years, from the earliest versions. I just purchased X3 and so far, I am very disappointed. It is slow, not intuative at all and in general, a giant step backwards. Thanksfully, I did not unload Version X2. The “improvements” in X3 were minimal in this new version and I already found what appears to be a bug in the “Media Tray”.
What a disappointment with a product I have used and been happy with for so many years.
For most graphical software you need a good fast computer, lots of ram and memory.
I have Paint shop X2 and now X3 all work like a charm.
Opening any size graphic or format with no problems.
I am with windows 7 and a brand spanking new computer.
You simply sound you don’t have power to use the software, that’s all.
Must read the requirements for the use of these products.
I have had all the version, new ones just rock, love them.
There are a fair bit of improvement. Just need to look a bit more.
GET A NEW HARD DRIVE, MINE IS 1TB,
YOU ARE ALL SPITTING ON SOFTWARE BUT IT’S YOUR COMPUTERS THAT NEED TO BE LOOKED AT.
THINGS HAVE CHANGED, CAN’T COMPARE EVEN OURSELVES NOW ANT THEN, AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGES DAILY.
I just upgraded to X3 and I think this is very good program for my needs. I use this, like X2 before in companion of ACDSee Pro 3. ACDSee feels some work better, but when I need edit more then I use PSPX3. For my work it is excellent.
But I found two bugs. PSPX3 does not work well with Exif-data. If I load jpg-picture and look Exif-information on PSPX3 almost all data is missing. And all information has gone if I save picture again even I have “Save EXIF information” ticked on save jpg options (standard encoding).
Other bug annoys me in Organizer when PSPX3 start. It scroll picture-list over and over again. And I hve to kill PSPX3 manually (PSPX3 not responding). It happens occasionally, not everytime, but it is annoying. I turn default workspace to “full editor” in preferences. And after that PSPX3 has started well every time.
My computer is a few years old. It has Athlon X2 4200+ processor and 2GB memory and new 1TB harddrive. I use Win7 64-bit. I know I need more memory, but with this amount I can edit one or two picture very well. Very stable system. Usually I keep both, ACDSee and PSP open at the same time. If it is need to do much of pictures at the same time 8GB ram or more would be needed.
I installed Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 a few days after its release. Despite some serious bugs, X3 is the best version of PSP since Corel has owned the program. I have a fast dual-core processor, 8 GB of RAM and Windows 7 and did not experience any of the installation problems some folks have reported.
The Organizer has been improved from X2 and X2 “Ultimate”, but it’s still slow just like the Organizer that is included with Photoshop Elements. The Camera RAW Lab seems slow, doesn’t have all the adjustments of Elements Camera RAW, and didn’t handle highlights properly in some of my Olympus ORF RAW files. Neither was I impressed with the PaintShop Photo Project Creator that accompanies the software package.
But with its scripting power, the Full Editor in X3 is a photo editing machine. And that’s why I have it — the X3 editor. Since I’m a photographer, I like the emphasis on addressing the needs of people who use DSLR cameras.
If you’re considering this software, here’s my suggestion. Make certain you have a relatively fast computer with plenty of RAM. Check out the comments posted to the various Paint Shop Pro forums. Then, if you’re still interested, download a trial copy for testing.
Yup, the download and install is enough to tax the patience of a Nun, but, once installed, it worked well.
After a quick test I then rebooted my PC and since then X3 refuses to start up again (no errors in eventvwr or messages)… no joy from Corel yet, might have to ask for my money back
On 02/20/2010 , I received, my boxed product PaintShop Photo Pro X3 update and upon installation, my virus detection software encountered a Trojan (generic.dx!mym). This trojan was identified by McAfee on 02/06/2010 (see: http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_257004.htm ) , and was labeled as a low risk assessment. Please be aware of this installation problem. The load file in question was BWOut.vfx in Folder Vfx_plug. Because of this trojan, the file was not installed. Corel has yet to respond to me to this installation trojan.
I have used all versions of PaintShop Pro since version 5. I upgraded to PSPP X2 Ultimate, but discovered a bug where no Nikon RAW (NEF) files (at least from any Nikon “D” Camera) could be saved directly in uncompressed TIF format. This process is likely a very commonly used workflow for those using RAW, The TIF file that was created had 0 bytes and was unrecognized by PSD X2. After considerable hassle, I finally had a phone contact with a Corel support person who checked my issue directly and discovered that this was indeed a bug in the program. I received a refund (though, unfairly, I had to pay for the shipping of the defective disk). So, I went back to using X2, which does not support my Nikon D300 RAW files. When I saw the release of X3, I downloaded the free trial. Much to my dismay and disgust with the attitude of Corel Customer Service, this well-documented error has NOT been fixed. It was particularly upsetting since the examples advertising the new RAW features used NEF files. Is there any hope that Corel will ever care enough to address known bugs?
I have been using Paint Shop Pro faithfully for the past 15 years and have owned every version since.
X3 is the buggiest version I’ve ever experienced. Unfortunately, I think I’m going to finally try out Photo Shop instead.
I noticed the problems starting with version X. The newer version simply aren’t meshing well with the new Windows systems.
I have an Intel i7 processor with 12 gb of ram operating a Windows 7 system and X2 and X3 still manage to run out of system memory… how this is possible I do not know, but I don’t mind the program reboot every hour or two. It’s the instability whilst working with image files that troubles me. The photo effects in X3 require me to do things two or three times because they simply aren’t applied the first or second time around! Bizarre.
If you’ve used X2 for any length of time then you know that it takes a half hour (an exaggeration, but it feels this long when you’re doing work) to open the color selector. Well, with X3 I do notice a speed difference for tasks such as this, but the other bugs are so severe that the program is becoming more trouble than it’s worth. I’ve had numerous crashes since installing it a couple weeks ago.
I hate to say it, but X was bad, X2 was worse, and X3 appears to be even worse. It’s like losing a best friend…
I also have used PSP for years… back to the “Stone Age.”
Ever since Corel bought it things have gone quickly downhill…especially with their support. The deadly slow archiving system is one small step backwards for a program and a giant leap backwards for Corel. I cannot even install X3 on my Win 7 64bit laptop. It chokes on the initial HTML script, line 38 and line 179. I spent 2 hours on the phone with Corel support and the guy could do nothing. My case was escalated and the 2nd tier support could only come up with re-downloading and trying again…Lame, stupid and totally useless advice. It, needless to say, did not help. I’ve downloaded 3 times…last time today after the first patch was made public, but it chokes the same spot.
I will get my money back and un-install PSP and never use Corel products ever again.
Thanks all of you. You saved me $40 updating to X3 which I’ve put off hoping maybe by some miracle the Corel folks hired one good technical person and they’d fixed the Vast roblems that not even a Half Vast programmer would permit to go out. Alas. I love some of the stuff that PSP could do if it could manage memory but even with quad processor and Windows 7 and 8G memory, PSP 2X can’t hack system memory. Sounds as if 3 is no better. Fortunately, Corel forced me to get fluent with Paint Shop.
I too have been using Paint Shop Pro for longer than I can remember. I have always preferred it to Photoshop. It was going downhill, until X2 – where it received many improvements in performance. Randomly, after a year+ of use, X2 became a memory HOG and started dragging my computer to it’s knees. It was actually the Media Manager process, which I would kill off every time I started PSP.
Finally, I upgraded to X3. It is unbearably slow at points, and I can’t take it any longer.
PSP, we have had a good run – but it’s over. We are breaking up.
I purchased PSP X3 at the recommendation of my friend. After an easy installation I tested the app on a few photos. next day, PSP would not start. Trouble ticket. Fix didn’t work. Second trouble ticket. Uninstall and reinstall. It works, for two days. Now a third trouble ticket. Can’t get the app to start with XP. Still waiting for Corel to provide a fix. Or back to the store and buy Adobe.
I agree with what many others have said and that this software has gone down the pan since the X series began.
Jasc, looked after this piece of kit and it was always a photographers delight to use, it was also much faster back then.
This software has not kept up with all the changes that have taken place in Windows and X3 just struggles to work on Windows 7 as it did previously with Vista.
I had thought that with the release of X3 several months into the Windows 7 release, that Corel would have got their act together and got this piece of bloat sorted out.
I am using PSP on Windows 7 X64, but it’s slow to open, not very responsive to anything that you do when it is open and it’s buggy also.
After using various tools on a photo (including the warp brush and clone), then often when it comes to saving the picture a message appears saying that “an unidentified error has occurred” making the picture impossible to save. At the same time part of the picture on the screen just pixilates badly and I have to start all over again.
Disappointing all round Corel, this software needs a MAJOR overhaul in my opinion!
I should also mention that as well as using Windows 7 X64, I have 16GB ram on my system, a 1GB graphics card and a 1tb hard drive. My system is top notch, I have updated my system over the years and it’s just a shame that Corel wont invest in making this software work properly with high end PC’s!
I bought every version since Corel took it over. I could have like the tool, if it was not that is getting more and more buggy and slow and hangs by each version. X3 is really unusable. It respond times are terribly slow and it hangs alot. Corrupts my files (some memory leak problem). You can not work longer than 30 minutes in it.
I definitaly move over to something else cause it is really trash and Corel seems not to be willing to solve issues.
Longtime PSP user, was stuck on V8 for many years as nothing really happened after that version.
Now have Win7 32 bit running thought that X3 might be a good idea. Wow, that slow install process is a downer.
Anyways, for me the program seems to do the right things, only randomly fiddling with features to see how they work and so far so good…. BUT…..
The dreaded memory hog problem has struck me. Tried a batch process of Smart Photo Fix and at 43 out of 180 jpegs I got the “out of memory” message.
Task Manager showed that a huge amount of memory was used, closed PSP and watched the memory being put back to being available.
Next tried same on a WinXP netbook I use for travel, this time a smaller batch of 33 images and it did complete but Task Manager was telling me “1.29 gig used” when it of course has a 1 gig RAM, luckily the paging file made the difference.
Next tried the batch with a filter like Coloured Pencil or some-such, and the Task Manager showed me that the memory was behaving properly, stayed at a max of about 600 meg in this case throughout the batch operation. Whereas with the Smart Photo Fix I could see the memory use building up and up towards disaster.
So only certain functions will not release the memory.
Fault report logged, no answer at all after a few days, I’ll keep it alive every few days and see if I ever get an answer.
A nice program basically being destroyed by Corel.
Regards………. Guy
Sadly, I’m joining the club. I just submitted my request for a refund for PSP X3. Simply opening an image and making a few tweaks and I cannot save it and get an “insufficient memory” message. Attempting to do the same thing with PSP X2 and all works fine.
No, I don’t have a powerhouse machine – a Core 2 Duo with 2 GB of Ram running Win XP Pro, but I can’t upgrade my computer everytime a new piece of software comes out.
I’ve always been a holdout, sticking with PSP because it did a great job for me and I couldn’t afford Photoshop. Guess I’m going to have to switch to Elements. Pity..
My previous was X2 so I went for the upgrade. What a load of tat. So far have never got beyond editing a photo without an error mesaage appearing and then losing the whole programme. Total waste of time and money. Someone posted that Corel should be shot for putting this on the market, I think they should be hung drawn and quatred. Stay well clear of this one.
Yeap add me to the bunch, PSP X3 is the worst garbage I’ve used so far coming out of the Corel camp. I’m sorry to say but I think Corel have really made a mess out of this software. OMG have you guys even figured out the Text tool yet? It’s got to be the worst tool ever.
It’s nice to know there are others like me out there. I’m going to continue to use X2 until I can replace it with something else.
Very sad I’ve been using Paint Shop since version 3 in 1994.
This software is so much more powerful than most realize.
I started using PSP with version X12, so I don’t have the long history that some who have commented have. I really enjoyed X12. It completed some processes slow, but other than an occasional bug in the almost two years I used the software, it was free of issues. I wasn’t in a hurry to upgrade to X13 because I was content with X12, but the desire for batch processing and a hard to ignore sale price led me to purchasing X13. I am glad that I did. Every bit worth it!
I ordered the DVD. My install was fast and flawless. My laptop is a Toshiba running Windows 7 with a dual core AMD 2.2 GHz and 3 gig of RAM. (For those who had install issues to compare systems.) Now, I did a full install and not an upgrade because I wanted to give my old X12 disc to a friend. I assume others’ install woes were maybe due to older systems?
PSP has become more of a memory hog from earlier versions. I don’t like the photo downloader at all. You can turn off the downloader and cataloging and auto-preserve under Preferences, so that cuts down on the memory usage. Out of the box, the software pretty much has a green light for all that stuff that you may not want to have running. PSP is very user-customizable though.
A word to photographers–by default, Corel compresses your image files when you save. This is annoying and you must reset the default compression to 1 to avoid file shrinkage when saving. It is quick and easy to fix though. (Go to Options in Save As and set Compression to 1 and save a file. Default is now at 1)
I own and occasionally use Photoshop Elements. It is a great program for basic photo editing. However, for more advanced editing/manipulation, there is no comparison between Elements and PSP. It is sad that Corel has undersold the depth of serious editing that can be done with this software, as they seem to market it to people who want to scrapbook and collage and stuff. If you cannot afford Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, PSP X13 will take you almost as far and leaves Elements in the dust.