Quite an impact - B.E. Reviews - new PhotoImpact 7 by U - Evaluation

Black Enterprise, Jan, 2002

U lead moves one step closer becoming a powerful digital image editing powerhouse with its new release, PhotoImpact 7. Priced at $99.95 ($89.95 for the downloadable edition, and $49.95 for the upgrade, which you also download), the product features enhancements of some old tools and key new features aimed at digital photographers, Web designers, and graphics enthusiasts.

Web designers in particular will appreciate the newest release of GIF Animator (version 5), with True Color composition. We were impressed with the high level of control we had editing objects and text for our test animations. GIF animator also features a wizard and an online tutorial, which are particularly helpful for those of us who aren't experts but are interested in creating simple Website animations.

Whether it's digital photography, graphics, or Web design, PhotoImpact serves up impressive ease-of-use features, such as EasyPalette Pop-up, Browse Manager, and an improved Layer Manager (it's no longer tied to the EasyPalette). One new effect, Beautify Skin, is notable yet disturbing (imagine polishing digital faces to a cover-model smoothness). Other effects such as Zoom Blur (to imitate motion blur) and Lens Distortion help PhotoImpact 7 in its bid to challenge Adobe Photoshop. --S.A.D.