Cyberlink PhotoDirector 7 Ultra

This program is a joke, and is not user friendly

this program can do so much and I still have a lot to learn

I originally got version 6 as a free download, then upgraded it to version 7 (paid upgrade). I am still learning the program.

Very disappointed given the ratings the software enjoys. My major complaint was that you can only download a single folder at a time. I have nearly 10,000 photos over 127 folders. I was dumbfounded to find I couldnt select all the folders at once. Even a small folder took considerable time to download. To download them all would have taken hours if not days. Because of this issue I did not get to check out all the other features. I downloaded a 30 day trial which was a wise decision. Other interested buyers should do the same.

The PhotoDirector 7 Ultra offers many features that I have found very useful in curating various photo heavy accounts. The ability to cut and color correct, as well as prosaic stuff like adding watermarks simply and easily are great features. And there are so many features in this program, I could spend many more months discovering them. Unfortunately, Ill have to do just that: discover through trial and error, because the documentation for this program is confusing and sparse. I also find the interface to be counter-intuitive and often frustrating.

Well, call me surprised. Very surprised. I consider myself a photo enthusiast. A former pro who now shoots mainly for pleasure. And Ive owned a ton of software in the past. Lots of Adobe products, especially and currently run LightRoom, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, OnOne, Corel Painter and Photomatix. Lightroom is my go-to and will remain so. But Ive been using OnOnes software for special effects and some artistic treatments I just couldnt get with LightRoom or get easily (or at all) with any of the Adobe software. Frankly, I had never heard of this package but thought it might be worth a try and Im glad I did. It has suddenly and unexpectedly moved up to #2 in my list of programs.

Now, this is somewhere between novice and intermediate skill-level. Even though I have been using this (and many other comparable) this program for years (and years), I can still put myself into a newbies shoes and see how intuitive and exciting this would be. I cannot even find areas that could be frustrating or a mystery. This software is extremely forgiving and very welcoming to all of all skill-levels. (And, it has so many playful options, that it is perfect for teens in encouraging creativity).

The technical support is among the worse Ive ever experienced. My question was this: the software was not recognizing my camera for importing files, although Windows recognized that the camera was connected. There was an alternate way to import photos, but they would have to be imported one at a time, rather than all the photos on the camera at once. I emailed support (through their web interface) and received a canned answer that clearly didnt address my problem. I replied to them, and they ignored my reply.

After downloading and trialing nearly a dozen photo programs to replace Picasa (which is no longer supported by Google), PhotoDirector and Lightroom rose to the top. Note: I see a lot of one star reviews. These days, I wonder about anyone who purchases software without trialing it first to see if it works on their machine and if they like it. Life is too short - if the trial software doesnt work on your computer, uninstall it and move on.

Not very impressed with this program. Worth the money to just buy photoshop or use an online editing program. This program freezes on me all the time and is not very user friendly.