Digital Image 9 Suite

A Review by Freeman Allen

Acquire and Edit

I got started trying to download pictures from my Kodak digital camera, and was disappointed to find that was not possible with this software alone.  It was first necessary to use the Kodak EasyShare software to do that.  It was then possible to select the pictures I wanted (as indicated, somewhat obscurely, in the shadowbox on page 17 of the User’s Manual) for manipulation by the Digital Image 9 software.

My next trial was an attempt to download a certain picture from the Internet.  I use AOL.  The Manual gives procedures for downloading webpage photos using Internet Explorer and MSN only, but not AOL.  It wasn't hard to figure out that a

simple copy and paste did the job, but it would have been nice to mention such options.  (The directions in the Manual referred to the "Task Bar", and it took a while to figure out what this was, since it is not a term found in the index or under

Help.)  At this point I was not feeling to cheerful about the software, but it was better from that point on.

I next took the Tour, and was particularly impressed with the Instructional Videos.  They showed off the tools available in a very effective graphic manner.  First, the tool was highlighted, and its effect was demonstrated by showing the results of using the tool.  In fact, from this point on, I hardly used the Manual, except to check out some details.

Prior to having access to this software, I had been using the Kodak EasyShare software, which came with my Kodak Camera.  In comparison, the versatility of the Digital Image Pro 9 Suite was impressive indeed.  A new feature with this version is the ability to select certain areas of a photo by hand drawing around the desired object and changing only this (or these) area(s).  On some rather dark photos, I wanted to highlight one individual in a group of several at a table.  The improvement

resulting from control of the contrast and brightness for this one individual was most satisfying.  Drawing the border just right was a bit of a chore, but by drawing in rather small steps on an enlarged image it worked out OK.  I also used the "wand" to select and change the hue and intensity of the background.  It was also nice to have the ability to erase unwanted features from photos.  In one instance, a small, bright, sunlit area was very nicely removed from a dress: very convenient and

effective.

I could go on describing other useful features, but I will end by simply saying that I enjoyed several hours exploring the many things I could do to improve a set of initially unimpressive photos.

Organize

The Digital Image Library (Chapter 12) was easy to use and useful in organizing photos I had stored, and is well covered in the Manual.

Create and Share

The filters, mats, frames, borders, edges, and the colorization are easy to apply, and produce interesting results.  There are a large number of effects, which I would use primarily to present photos for cards, or similar uses, in an interesting manner.

Others may find many artistic uses for these features.  Their use is a straightforward extension of editing. 

As for the Projects feature, the Manual is very skimpy.   The box touts over 3,000 projects, but the Manual devotes only four pages to the topic (Photo Cards, and Calendars).  I was interested in preparing food labels using the templates provided.  In the space provided for the name of the food is written “your text here”, but I had a hard time figuring out how to add the text I wanted.  I suspect I will find a number of ways to use the projects option to prepare brochures, labels, etc.  For me, it is a more attractive and useful feature than the art projects.

The box for this Suite mentions Photo Story Lite, which can be used with Windows XP to create videos.  I use Windows XP, but I could not find information about this feature in the Help’s User Manual.  Eventually, I did find it on the Create Photo Story button on the Library Disc, but the instructional guidance to this feature was poor.  Since the User’s Manual is titled “Digital Image 9 Suite”, information should be included there (and in the tutorials and in the Instructional Videos) about these other parts of the Suite.  Once I caught on to the fact that additional features of the Suite could be accessed via the toolbar on the Library disc, it was straightforward to archive photos, and to use the software to add photos to e-mail messages.

Once I found it, the Create Photo Story “Wizard” did its job well.  However, “video” is something of a misnomer for the presentation shown.  The term certainly puzzled me initially.  Since I don’t have a microphone, or music files on my

computer, I didn’t use these features.  I suspect they’re not difficult features to add, but users in my situation might benefit from some additional help in this area.  The box doesn’t list a microphone as a requirement, not even as an optional one.

Archive

The Archive feature makes it more convenient to burn backup copies of my photos onto CDs, and to prepare CDs for printing elsewhere.

General Comment

The User’s Manual was clearly written for the “Acquire & Edit” and “Organize” features of this Suite, and the program is quite good for those uses.  The last chapters of the Manual (Chapters 12 through 15) cover taking and making good pictures, an unexpected bonus.  The downside of the Manual is that it was obviously not prepared for this Suite (in spite the title Digital Image 9 Suite on the cover).  There is no coverage whatsoever of several components of the Suite.

[Editor’s note:  This is one of my biggest complaints about Microsoft software!  If you want a “real” manual, you have to buy it separately from Microsoft Press, usually at about $40 or more.     Or. . .   get it from someone else!]

Digital Image 9 Suite

Microsoft Corp.

$129 Full version

Up to $60 in rebates

http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/product.asp