PhotoImpact x3 is the latest dedicated photo editor from Coral. Coral have over 25 years of software development and perhaps only rival Adobe in pedigree.

PhotoImpact is an interesting bundle of software. You get an entry level photo editor, but also Corel Painter Essentials (for the artistic among us) and a package called MediaOne Plus which includes, among other things, basic web design features.

So how does the core photo editing software stack up on our buyer guide points?

Editing effects
No surprises that the basics are all covered. Scaling, cropping, color balancing, brightness, contrast, focus/sharpening are all catered for, although no text tools are provided. A dedicated portrait touch-ups suite allows you to easily whiten teeth, remove under eye bags, remove red-eye and perform a host of other self satisfying enhancements!

Wizards and one click operations
PhotoImpact has two modes - ExpressFix and Full Editor. ExpressFix provides a range of one-click photo enhancements, although these are rather basic. The Full Editor mode gives far more options but is not as intuitive to use and requires some trial and error.

File formats
All major formats supported, in fact it's very unlikely that you'll ever come across an image file format that PhotoImpact can't open or save to.

Organization and sharing
PhotoImpact wont organize your pictures for you and so you will need to rely on your OS file system or other program for that purpose. While there is no direct photo sharing to popular websites such as Facebook or Flickr PhotoImpact does allow you to create simple web pages for posting online which may or may not be useful for you.

Tutorials and training
Tutorials are included in the software bundle. PhotoImpact has quite a steep learning curve in Full Editor mode and you will need to consult the tutorial and help files to get the most out of the product.

Help and support
Coral is a veteran software developer and has a good support structure.

On balance, PhotoImpact offers some very different features to the other major photo editors, however it has a steep learning curve and is lacking in the photo organisation and one-click areas. More suited to someone that is dedicated enough to fully learn how to use the product.