Savory Editing Software from the Buyer’s Guide

EDITOR’S CHOICE: MacPhun Tonality Pro
Film emulation is nothing without black-and-white photography, and MacPhun’s new Tonality (Mac-only) will inspire photographers to convert more images to monochrome. Raw support, 16-bit processing, multiple layers and a host of other features put this software in a league of its own. Forget the Standard version and go straight for the Pro—you won’t regret it.
Prices: $70 (Pro); $20 (Standard)

Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 11
DaVinci Resolve 11 ups the ante of this high-end color correction and editing software by introducing 100 new features. Among them are photographer-friendly color-grading tools, dual-monitor support and a multi-user workflow. It’s pricey, yes, but a no-charge Lite version in the Mac App store delivers much more than you’d expect from a freebie. Whether you’re a pro or just getting started with video, it’s definitely worth a look.
Price: $995 (full); free (Lite)

Totally Rad Replichrome I and II
We can’t get enough of film emulation software, and Totally Rad now has two Replichrome presets for Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw. Version I covers color and black-and-white print film from Kodak and Fuji, while the new version II concentrates on Fuji, Kodak, Agfa and Scotch Chrome slide film. Presets come with variations and can be customized, too; download some free samples to get started.
Price: $99 (each)

ProShow Producer 6
Defining ProShow Producer as slideshow software is an understatement since it handles all kinds of media. Although Windows-only, you’re unlikely to find another application that comes close to Producer’s range of features. Version 6 includes a wide range of updates, including enhanced audio and keyframing, a bundled plug-in to create shows for various devices and a whole lot more. A free trial is available, so be sure to check it out.
Prices: $250 (full); upgrades from $90

Nik Analog Efex Pro 2
Nik software belongs to Google now, but Analog Efex Pro 2 maintains the control points we all love and with version 2 has added control points to a few other features such as dust and scratches. Rather than emulating just film types, Analog Efex comes with presets for various vintage camera “looks” and retro processes like wet plate. Feeling creative? Build your own camera effect from a preset list of options. It’s pretty cool.
Price: $149 (available only as part of the full Nik Collection); free update available

Adobe Paper Textures Pro 3.1.0
A gem of a free add-on developed by Adobe’s Russell Brown, Paper Texture Pro’s latest version is only compatible with Photoshop CC 2014. In partnership with Flypaper Textures, the software comes with more than four dozen textures, which you can layer and tweak with blend modes, the gradient tool or brushes.
Price: Free

onONe Perfect Photo Suite 9
Now in version 9, this popular software from onOne offers even more efficient performance and tools, including super fast RAW previews in the Browser module and new organizational and filtering options. The new SmartPhoto feature keeps all your settings intact, allowing users to re-open and re-edit images. The suite also now has noise reduction, but that’s just scratching the surface. Perfect Photo Suite 9 will be available for download this month.
Prices: $130 (Premium); $80 (Basic)

Alien Skin Exposure 6
Now in version 6, Exposure offers even more benefits to photographers who want to customize the look and feel of their images. As always, there are hundreds of black-and-white, color and Lo-Fi film emulations to choose from, but now Exposure is even faster and includes a number of new features, such as Bokeh, that make this an even more appealing piece of software.
Prices: $149; $69 (upgrade from any version)