promise you that this isn?t a mistake and it isn?t a wind-up either ? in the coming months when you do the weekly shop you?ll be able to add ?own brand budget-priced photo-editing software? to your shopping list.



I?ll confess that when I first saw the incredibly uninspiring packaging and sub-£10 price I didn?t have great hopes for what was inside because, let?s face it, you don?t expect much for a tenner. But how wrong I turned out to be…



Quite simply, this Windows-only photo-editing software offers remarkable value for money when you consider its features and functionality, and the reason I?m so impressed is simple ? PhotoRestyle has taken a very popular enthusiast editing package and re-delivered an incredibly similar set of ?elements?, right down to the layout of the menus and tool palettes.



The toolbar graphics are a little more primitive, and the preview windows are generally a fixed size, but you still get all the basic editing tools you need, including dodge and burn, colour, brightness and contrast adjustments, plus a full range of selection tools. In addition you get advanced features such as levels, curves and layers, not to mention a packed filter menu including the essential Unsharp Mask for crisping up your pictures. If you want to add to the list then you can download and use Photoshop plug-ins from any number of websites.



PhotoRestyle doesn?t skimp on compatibility either, allowing you to open all popular file formats (TIFF, JPEG and even Photoshop files) and there are similarly all-encompassing export options. In fact, there?s not that much that PhotoRestyle doesn?t offer the home user. Sure, you don?t get 16-bit processing and Raw conversion, nor can you set a colour profile or perform ?batch? operations ? but let?s not forget this is an editing program that will give you change from a £10 note.



Of course it turns out that Tesco hasn?t actually produced the PhotoRestyle software itself and a little investigative work reveals it?s a repackaged version of Ability Photopaint from Ability Software (www.ability.com).
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Verdict

Yet whose name is on the packaging is pretty much irrelevant ? if you?re looking to purchase a fantastic entry-level image-editing software package, get yourself a copy of Tesco PhotoRestyle. You even get Tesco PhotoAlbum software bundled in for good measure to help you organise your pictures.