Performance

We initially got a little excited to see that despite no raw support, you can add the Adobe raw converter as a plug in. It was a little disappointing when the penny dropped that this wouldn't mean a raw batch processor. Exporting images from raw to JPEG converts them, but this has to be done individually.

The rest of Zoner Photo Studio 18 is fast enough. Changes are made quickly and the only problem we had was a one off when we tried to undo some actions and the program froze. We had to shut it down and restart. This only happened once and can occur on any program.

Much of the program is self explanatory and this is to enable ease of use for the end user. However, there are some features that we think even a newcomer could use and not be too flustered about – namely layers. It strikes us that if a photographer using Zoner can understand histograms then they're at a level of knowledge that they'll be able to handle layers. Some of the fun features have been placed in plain sight, such as lens flare and symbols which are in the main tools. We would normally put them in a menu somewhere, but this indicates that Zoner users would lean towards those kind of tools more often than not.

Conclusion

The reduced modules makes churning images out through Zoner Photo Studio 18 a lot quicker. While we're uncomfortable with the ever present navigation sidebar throughout each module, this can be removed via the Main Menu in the top left corner, under View or by pressing F6.

We like the way that certain features have to be downloaded. The reason behind it is that in order for Zoner to integrate it into the program would mean them purchasing a licence from Adobe which would push the price of PS 18 up. The program is free to download anyway, so this way they can keep costs down and it's just linking the executable file to the program which is a very simple process.

Even after the 18th installment there are areas that we'd like to see improvements on. Given that 18 is the year connected with maturity it would have been good to see Zoner Photo Studio 18 develop into a program  with more advanced features. As such we feel they've held back a little and played it safe with what they know – an easy to use program for the newcomer to photo editing. It certainly is that and newcomers will most certainly find it easy to use with a simple UI and straightforward workflow. However, once these users start to outgrow these features, they'll be left finding Zoner inadequate for their needs and will move on. Despite the easy workflow, there are areas that make it difficult such as the aforementioned lack of layer palette.

If you're a newcomer to photography and don't want anything too complicated then Zoner Photo Studio 18 is certainly something to consider; especially given the price point. There are other programs at similar prices though and it's worth comparing before investing.

Ratings (out of 5)
Features	3.5
Ease-of-use	3.5
Value for money	4

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