PhotoPad Photo Editor review

PhotoPad offers a great introduction to photo editing novices.

PhotoPad Photo Editor Review
(Image: © NCH PhotoPad)

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

PhotoPad Photo Editor is a good editing software choice for those with little experience in photo editing, offering a simple and accessible interface, and a host of user support options. The features on offer might come up a little short for those well-versed in photo editing, but as an introductory package, it is certainly worth considering.

Pros

  • +

    Clear interface and accessible tools

  • +

    Great support options

Cons

  • -

    Experienced photo editors may want more

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As photographers of all abilities have become more predisposed to perfecting their images before sharing them with the wider world, the popularity of the best photo editing software has similarly grown. Ideal for those with little experience, and offering a wide selection of basic editing tools, PhotoPad Photo Editor helps beginners learn how to edit images with ease. Between the non-cluttered interface and accessible tools, you can find all of the editing tools you need to transform your photos.

PhotoPad Photo Editor Review: Features

PhotoPad Photo Editor has a decent selection of both basic and advanced editing tools. Among the more standard features are cropping, rotation, resizing, and flipping, while effects such as sepia tones, red eye reduction, hue adjustment, saturation and brightness, are all there too. You can touch up photos to remove blemishes, while the color-management tools allow you to adjust the color balance, exposure, levels, brightness, contrast and more. It doesn't match the likes of Photoshop here, but is perhaps better for novices.

In addition to the basics, PhotoPad offers some more advanced tools, including automatic editing, and options to improve photo quality and focus with blur, sharpening and noise reduction tools. It is also possible to change the aspect ratio of an image without distorting key features using the liquid resize effect, and to merge multiple exposures to create HDR - High Dynamic Range - photographs. Text and captions can be added to photos to post online, or to photo books, too. Its tools are varied, but not as accurate as the likes of Lightroom.

PhotoPad Photo Editor Review

(Image credit: NCH PhotoPad)

PhotoPad Photo Editor Review: Compatibility and export options

The best photo editing software supports a large selection of file formats and PhotoPad is no different, with JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP and other popular formats all supported. It is also possible to edit photos directly from your DSLR camera. Once you've edited your photos, you can post photos directly to social media sites like Facebook or Flickr, or email them to family and friends. 

As to the system requirements, PhotoPad works on Windows 10, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1, as well as 64 bit Windows, and Mac OS X 10.5 or above. A Chromebook version is available, while the Android version runs on 2.3.3 or higher.

PhotoPad Photo Editor Review: Support options

PhotoPad has a variety of customer support options for its software, including numerous video tutorials, ranging from getting started, through to drawing on your photos, and making a collage. There's also an FAQ section, a help manual, a user forum and, if all else fails, you can contact a technical support representative.

Should you buy PhotoPad Photo Editor?

PhotoPad Photo Editor is a great photo editing option for people who have little experience in fine-tuning and manipulating their images. The software has an uncluttered, user-friendly interface and easily accessible tools, and with support that's readily available, you can learn how to use the software at your own pace. While more experienced editing enthusiasts might find PhotoPad comes up a little short, there is little to dissuade novices from giving it a look. 

Rebecca Spear

Rebecca is a writer who has covered everything from photo books to graphic design and small kitchen appliances for Top Ten Reviews. Now a gaming writer for Future Labs, she's also contributed to big publications like TechRadar, Windows Central, Android Central, Reuters Legal Solutions Blog, iMore, and more. She no longer works for TTR.