Performance

Cyberlink PhotoDirector 8 Ultra is quite a powerful editing tool, which is successful at a range of different adjustments that you want to make.

There’s a lot of things to like about the software’s performance. It’s reasonably quick to process tasks the majority of the time, and of course there’s such a huge range to choose from. The effects and presets work well to give your images a fun and different look.

More advanced or complicated tasks, such as noise reduction, are also good performers, helping you to make your images looks smooth and polished without too much expertise. When it has the lens profile matched to the lens you were using, it also does a great job of removing any problems, such as distortion. You may find that if you have a rare or unusual lens though that the profile isn’t here - so it may be worth checking that before you decided to commit to buy.

Cyberlink PhotoDirector 8 Ultra does well with most adjustments, but the Content Aware Removal tool has mixed results when the background is quite complicated - we’ve certainly had better results from other software in the past.  That said, if the removal is a little more straightforward, the results are good, and delivered quickly. You can tidy up any problem areas afterwards if you’ve got the patience to work on it.

Conclusion

Cyberlink PhotoDirector 8 Ultra has lots of appealing features. There’s a broad range of editing tools, and you can use as much or as little as you like. There shouldn’t be too much that you can’t do with this software, so it suits a decent range of different photographers.

Whether you’d want to ditch any existing software, most notably something like Photoshop, is questionable. At the moment, Photoshop CC operates on a subscription basis, which makes it more expensive to buy in the long run - however that does also mean that you get a constantly updated piece of software for your money, and aren’t stuck with an out-of-date program a couple of years down the line.

If you want something to perform basic edits, then Cyberlink PhotoDirector 8 Ultra is perhaps a little bit of an overkill, however, if you’re hovering somewhere between making basic edits and needing the familiarity of the full Photoshop, then it could be a good investment for you.

On the other hand, if you like making fun edits, or you want to work with your videos to create fun experimental shots, then this is definitely a good choice. There’s an excellent range of presets and options for extracting stills from your video that you should appreciate.

Cyberlink PhotoDirector 8 Ultra is a relatively easy piece of software to use, but you will probably need to invest some time to get to know all the different tabs and windows that you use with the software. Those who have used photo editing software before, such as Photoshop, will likely recognise some of the terminology, as well as things like Curves, the Histogram, Layers and so on.

You can purchase Cyberlink PhotoDirector 8 Ultra for £80, which makes it good value for money for a powerful piece of editing software. However, it’s definitely worth trialling it first to make sure that it’s something that you think you will get good use of - especially as the trial is fully functioning. Alternatively, also for beginners, there’s PhotoShop Elements, which is currently cheaper than PhotoDirector Ultra 8, and offers a lot of the same or similar functionality.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4
Ease-of-use	4
Value for money	4

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