![]() Unfortunately, the app doesn't make use of Windows 10's share sidebar, as the default Photos app does. When you're satisfied with your edits, Polarr lets you save the image, export it, or batch export. Photos also lets you undo as much as you like, but it's nice seeing a Photoshop-like history window showing all the past actions you performed by name. That app also includes a cool color-pop function.įor whatever editing you do, a very welcome feature is Polarr's infinite undo and history panel. They're more than you get in Photoshop Express, but I wish they also offered blur for bokeh and tilt-shift effects, as Windows Photos does. The gradient mask and radial mask tools let you add some lighting and color adjustments to selected areas of an image. Many of the Polarr filters are disabled in the free version, and getting the paid Pro version adds the ability to create your own filters based on edits using all the other tools in the app. There's a much larger selection of filters than you get in the Windows Photos app, and even than in Adobe Photoshop Express, though the latter's are pretty fun and more drastic. These are never perfect, but they can offer a starting point for your own corrections. But one tool missing in Polarr that you find in most photo apps is an auto-enhance tool. That is, you can increase Shadows to a greater degree. The Dynamics tools such as Shadows and Highlights have a greater range than you get in Photos. SnagIt and some other apps show teeny icons on such hi-res displays. Fortunately, Polarr's interface worked well with the computer's 4K screen. The interface responded well to touch on my touch-screen PC, and the controls were finger friendly, though not quite as touch-optimized as the default Photos app or even Adobe Photoshop Express. In fact, I could only add fringing in Polarr, not remove it automatically as the two mentioned programs can. Instead, they simply let you eyeball the results. It even offers lens corrections for geometric and fringing distortion, but let's be honest: Those tools aren't as powerful as the ones offered in DxO Optics Pro and Lightroom, since they're not based on profiles for the equipment used. But it goes well beyond those with a nifty histogram editor, curve adjustments, and sharpening and clarity tools. Like the Windows 10 Photos app, Polarr offers basic cropping, lighting, and color correction tools. Of course, all of the mobile Windows apps are lacking in organization tools when compared with Lightroom or Photoshop Elements, ($99.99 at Adobe) (Opens in a new window) which offer keyword tagging, ratings, and people and location tools. Photos also lets you build Albums and even creates automatic albums for you, while Polarr offers no such collections. That said, Polarr displays a photo's f-stop, shutter speed, focal length, and ISO along the top, but Photos goes a bit farther, even showing a map for geotagged images. This is a weakness that Polarr shares with Adobe Photoshop Express and the default Windows Photos app, but the last-named at least lets you see more metadata for the photo with a right-click. The app lacks strong organizational features-there's no tagging or even picking and rejecting. The app lets you open files by simply tapping its up-arrow icon, or you can associate photo files with it as the default app. ![]() CR2 raw camera files from the fairly recent Canon EOS M10, ($649.00 at Amazon) (Opens in a new window) and it converted the raw files admirably. (Opens in a new window) Read Our ACDSee Photo Studio Professional Review For this review, I installed the Pro edition on my touchscreen all-in-one Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IC ( at Amazon) (Opens in a new window) PC running 64-bit Windows 10 Home. Polarr is a very lightweight 4MB installation-refreshing in this day of gigabyte-plus software. The non-Pro version of Polarr is free and offers most of the editing tools in the paid app, but it limits the number of filters you can use. Polarr Pro is $19.99 in the Windows app store. The Windows version is just about the same, and just as likable, though it still lacks a few basics when it comes to organization and sharing. It's not surprising that the iOS version was picked by Apple as a Best of the Year app in 2015. It's surprisingly powerful, yet beautifully simple. To address those gaps, you could go to the extreme of installing Photoshop or even Lightroom ($9.99/Month at Adobe) (Opens in a new window), but if you don't need that much control and power in your photo-editing software, another good option is the Polarr Windows app. Though I remain a fan of Windows 10's default Photos app, there are several things it can't do. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill. ![]()
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