Updates to the powerful Windows-only Zoner Photo Studio X (ZPS X) occur on a regular basis. In November 2020 we reviewed the Fall update; now we take a closer look at the Spring 2021 updates, most of which are concentrated on enhancing the video capabilities of the software beyond the basic video editing already present. Fortunately, still photo editing has not been ignored in this update, with improvements to batch editing multiple photos and the ability to compare similar images added, among other enhancements.

Targeted as a direct competitor to other high-end image adjustment programs, the subscription-only Zoner Photo Studio X is available for $4 per month or $49 per year, including 20 GB of on-line storage. And if you decide not to renew your subscription, you keep the current program and your work, you just don’t receive future updates.

What’s New in ZPS X Spring 2021

Video creation is the focus of this Zoner update. While previous versions allowed for the creation of simple slide shows, the Spring update is appropriate for the creation of full videos suitable for wedding and event photographers. Previous Zoner users familiar with the image adjustments in the Develop module will now find these same adjustments available for video creation. New users will quickly get up to speed. The available adjustments are white balance, exposure, color/grayscale, sharpness, and vignetting. Copying these from one video clip to another, either individually or all together, is easily done with a couple of mouse clicks. Layering video tracks, adding sound files and titles, as well as many other video creation tools are well supported.

[Read: Nikon NX Studio Software: Edit Images & Video for Free]

Still photographers have not been forgotten in this update, especially those wedding, portrait and event photographers who capture a large number of images in a session. The spring update makes it possible to edit one image from the take and copy the edits from the clipboard to the other photos in the folder using a new button or keyboard shortcuts.

Choosing the best photo from similars has also been enhanced. You can now view multiple photos either side-by-side or stacked. And when comparing multiple photos, Zoner remembers the crop adjustments when zooming.

There are a few other additions in the spring update. It is easy to set up a batch photo preset that will add blurry borders made from the original photo to portrait or landscape photos so that they will display properly without cropping on Instagram or on other online programs that crop or add borders to fit a predetermined format. And support for Apple iCloud for Windows now allows you to access the images directly in the navigator of Zoner Photo Studio and upload edited photos back to the cloud without needing to exit the program.

User Friendliness and Navigability

The basic interface in the latest update is unchanged. While visually attractive, it appears a little more cluttered than the competition. But given that it combines the capabilities of Bridge, Lightroom, and Photoshop in a single interface, this is somewhat forgivable.

Throughout the interface, familiar icons will get new users of other software up to speed quickly. New users without previous editing experience should get up to speed quickly with the built-in presets in the Develop module. Experienced users will feel right at home in the Editor with its multitude of adjustments and the ability to make and edit adjustments non-destructively with layers.

A “?” icon in the menu bar replaces the more usual Help dropdown menu, but serves the same function. The icon can take you to help contents including a list of keyboard shortcuts, a form with which to contact support, the Zoner website, and teaching topics for learning photography and photo editing.

What Works Well in Zoner Photo Studio X Spring 2021

For photographers on Windows who are adding video capabilities to their repertoire, Zoner Photo Studio offers an ideal solution. The same tools that they use to edit photos in Zoner are used to edit videos. Video clips are edited in the Create module rather than the Develop or Editor modules, but the tools and processes are the same. Some familiarity with video, such as the output resolution and frame rate, is needed, but the tools for assembling a video from clips, adding music, sound and text are all available.

For still photographers capturing a large number of images under similar conditions, copying and pasting adjustments are easier in this update with the new copy and paste icons in the Develop module. You can now copy any of the individual adjustments to the clipboard and paste them into all of the files in the filmstrip with the Shift key, or into all of the files following the adjusted file without having to select the files manually.

Adding blurry borders for posting a horizontal or vertical image on Instagram is somewhat more complicated, but following the instructions on zoner.com, it is easily mastered. And once done, you can save the recipe as a preset for future use.

What Doesn’t Work As Well

I found no fault with the new features in this Zoner Photo Studio X update. If you become limited with the video tools, you are probably ready to move to a specialized video editing app. And while posting photos on Instagram with blurry borders is useful, it would be nice in the future to be able to add blurry borders to fit specific video formats without sacrificing the video cropping and resolution.

Other critiques of Zoner still stand: the masking tools need to move to the 21^st century, the selection tools are minimal in comparison with other imaging programs, speed needs to increased, and content-aware tools are needed.

How ZPS X Spring 2021 Compares

With the addition of video editing capabilities in this update, Zoner Photo Studio X moves ever closer to Adobe Photoshop, which has provided video editing with familiar Photoshop tools since CS6. Both programs allow users to use the tools familiar to them from adjusting still images. Photoshop is perhaps a few steps ahead in that the video editing is performed in the same workspace area as still enhancements, rather than Zoner’s editing in the Create module.

[Read: Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021: A Hands-On Review]

Photoshop also offers a more robust set of editing and export options and of course Mac compatibility, but Zoner Photo Studio is available for less than half the cost of the Adobe photography bundle, and you keep the Zoner program if you don’t renew your subscription.

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021 is the only other major image enhancement program with video capabilities, but they are limited to playback and extracting stills from video files, and again at a greater cost than Zoner.

For professionals who are adding video services and are on Windows, the latest update to Zoner Photo Studio X is worth a serious look. A 30-day free trial is available at zoner.com.

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