Inpaint

Inpaint 5.5 is a photo removal software that I been using for a long time and it works great. The program matches pixels nearby to replace the pixels you select. If you have complicated thing you want to erase and  time and patience then it may take a while. For simple pictures one pass and your done.

Here I try to get rid of some legs and shadows crossing three different backgrounds:

Guy walking away ruined my shot.

Using just the marker and the Select tool and Mask tool.

After six different passes this is what I got and it took a minute.

If I wanted to be more precise I could use a smaller marker, the lasso, polygonal lasso, magic wand, or guide lines. Since I like doing things quickly I want rather just use the mark and repeated passes. Of course I can take some time and go at a pixel by pixel level and it would be seamless.

I have used this program to remove plenty of hands and entire people and it works great. The example above was very rough and I wanted to see if I can do it in less than a minute. From start up to six passes and saving the photo took one minute on my Windows Vista laptop.

This program can be easy or become complex but it still loads lighter than Gimp. I would recommend getting this for free at Give Away of the Day next time it is offered. Also over at Inpaint you can order the newest with free upgrades for $19.99, Mac and PC compatible.

Silent Camera

One of the more annoying features of my camera phone is how loud the camera is always. There is no way to turn down the volume or make it quiet. This was done to stop creepers from doing pervy stuff.

I take pictures at work of paper files that I would need to refer to later but my office is so quiet the my camera app sounds like I am with the paparazzi. So I recently downloaded this handy app just to stop the odd looks.

Silent Camera

Alleged screenshot from original Google Play store that is only half fake.

The app itself is easy to figure out but there are few instructions. This is a Japanese app so stuff may not be obvious. The camera app works well but the photo quality is lacking and the ads are always on. The reason is this is basically a screenshot of the video image produced while the camera is on. It avoids the sound of a click by just taking a screenshot and not an actual image, that is why they can do burst mode. Burst mode is just a series of screenshots of the video feed.


I only downloaded this one because it was popular but I am looking for a better one.

Skitch

Skitch for Windows to be exact. This is a Mac first program so I expected a few problems. Unfortunately it never worked past opening the program itself.

Skitch is supposed to be a quick annotation software from Evernote. I am always on the lookout for photo editing software that does one specific thing well to save time. I have no time to launch Gimp just to add an arrow, which Gimp does not do with out a special arrow plug-in.

This program seemed ideal but just would not work on my Windows setup no matter what I tried. While I cannot fully blame there website does not have a systems requirement page, at least I cannot find one.

My system does not have a graphics card but I still am able to do plenty, I assume that Skitch requires a graphics card. Oh well I still have Fireshot.

Picasa

As with everything else being updated Picasa is harder to navigate. The new interface does not allow for simple picture viewing instead it overrides common linear displays for an aesthetic never ending scroll. the problem of course is finding an image is near impossible and that programmers opinion on best photos is not mine.

Each time I want to check my new photos of my money collection at Coined For Money I have to go through many steps.

You have to:

• Click Photos
• Click the album you want to see
• Click Organize
• Click Date Taken
• Then click Reverse
• Then Done.
• After that you still have to click on each picture to view details.

Again this is done for tablet and phone users but does not give the simple option for desktop users.

Flickr

Before Facebook. Before Instagram. Before Twitter. There was Flickr a photo sharing site. It was social and simple. The community were skilled and it never catered to kids or celebs but was for the amateur photographer. The best part was seeing the exif info this way you knew how to setup similar shots. The worse part was the 200 photo limit for free accounts.

Well now they raised their limit to 1 terabyte for free or about 50,000 10 mp pictures. if you upload 0.5 mp photos that is over 1.5 million pictures. Sure now cameras are 20 mp or more but it silly to upload those since staling is common on the internet and a lower mp upload is always recommended.

Great photo showing the issue.

The problem is the new forma. It is made for tablets and young people who do not read and just like photos. I want details. I want to read captions and exif detail. There is an EDIT button that will take you to http://www.flickr.com/photos/<INSERT YOUR ID>/?details=1. The ?details=1 is what I want as a default layout or at least a second choice.

I have paid for the pro account so I am a big fan of Flickr hopefully I will find a way to use this new format.

Image Resizer

The best, fastest, and easiest small image resizing tool is the Image Resizer Powertoy originally for Windows XP. It unfortunately is no longer supported by Microsoft but a huge fan base keeps it going for newer Windows versions.

It is simple after you download and install the program it adds a line to you right-click options when right-click a picture.

The second screen pops up and gives you a several options to resize the image. It will create a second file for example: original.jpg is resized to original (small).jpg.

While there maybe hundreds of photo editing software this is the best for older computers and Windows machine in general is Image Resizer.

Currently you can get the latest community supported versions at CodePlex.

100% is what I would give this little app and I hope they keep supporting it over at CodePlex.

Color Wallpaper

Here is what I need an app that would just show one color on my phone's screen. Why because I was trying to make some light photography design. You know when you set the camera for long exposures and then use a light source to write or draw things.

As far as I know there are no apps dedicated to that so I tried to use a background changer app. I found a few that do solid colors but Color Wallpaper by Song Siyu seemed the best.

You can select from a multitude of shades.

The screen fills up with the color as a nice preview.

Unfortunately ads pop up during the preview leaving and unwanted trail of new colors when trying to make a light photo. It failed to give me what I was looking for in a full screen color app. Granted I did not try this as wallpaper app so it would not be fair to review it.

I had to delete it since it was not what I wanted, also tired Drawing Pad but that kept crashing so it was alos deleted. At the end I use SketchBook Mobile which allows you to fill a sketch pad to any color with no ads or unwanted extra color.

Hopefully soon I will review the other two apps and show off some nice light images but until then have a Happy Holiday and keep downloading.

Camera Fun Pro

Camera Fun Pro

The only app I ever uninstalled. 

It worked great the first day but now it makes a horrible sound on my Droid X and online research has  shown it can destroy your camera.

What a shame. It had some great effects and worked very smooth.

No originals images of this since once it started making that clicking noise that would not stop until I turned off the phone I just got rid of it.

Here's why this is a 10% program...
Pros

1. Works great when working

Cons

1. Does not work

Rating: 1 out of 10 (10%)

Got it at:
Amazon: Camera Fun Pro

Zoner Photo Studio 13 Home

 Zoner Photo Studio 13 Home

This is a medium level photo organizer and processor. It is more powerful than my basic Microsoft Picture Manager 2010 but still not a heavyweight like Gimp.

While it can organize your picture the best part is the editor. Quick and precise crops and a variety of effects can be done with out hogging up that precious memory.

Here are the full highlights from the Zoner.com site...

• Catalog, advanced picture management and archival NEW!
• 64-bit program version NEW!
• direct upload to Facebook, Flickr and Picassa Web Albums NEW!
• acquire photos from your camera, scanner, card, or screen
• fix pictures fast with Quick Fix
• save time with convenient batch operations
• create panoramas and 3D photos easily
• use a wide array of edits and effects
• add GPS photo locations and see them on a map
• publish to the web easily and directly
• templates for calendars, greeting cards, and more

While I have not used all the options I am glad that they are available. The Pro Edition is said to be twice as awesome.

Here's why this is a 80% program...
Pros

1. Easy to use
2. Each photo has its own tab all set in the program window (unlike Gimp)

Cons

1. Buttons are often confusing
2. Can't open the program directly, need to right click the picture (maybe my fault but I can't find a fix)

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at: Giveaway of the Day (back in January, it will probably come up again soon if not $44.99)