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We encounter lots of programs that are either image editors or image organizers, but rarely do we see programs that do both. Kestrel GX is an exception, providing people with both a set of basic editing tools and a sleek way to organize and view images.
The program's interface is reminiscent of Adobe products such as Lightroom and Bridge, with a sleek black layout that's fairly easy to navigate. The image viewer portion of the program allows people to view and edit metadata, assign keywords and other identifying information, and search images using a variety of parameters. A tree view makes it easy to navigate to the desired directory, and a scrolling thumbnail bar across the bottom displays image previews. The built-in image editor contains tools for adjusting levels, cropping, resizing, reducing red eye, sharpening and noise reduction, color correction, saturation, brightness and contrast, and watermarks. It's not a full-featured editor, but it certainly covers all of the basics you'll need to get your images looking good. The program even supports raw image formats, although the editor isn't optimized to take full advantage of them. Kestrel GX comes with both a PDF Getting Started guide and a work flow guide, both of which offer ample information about the program's use. Overall, we liked Kestrel GX quite a bit; it's attractive, easy to use, and has a useful set of features that take a lot of the tedium out of editing and organizing images. We think that this program is a great choice for beginners and intermediate users, although advanced users will likely want a program that is better able to handle raw images.
Kestrel GX comes as a ZIP file. It installs and uninstalls without issues.
Publisher's Description
From Cerieus:
While clicking photos is fun, the task of managing an ever-growing collection of digital photos is anything but fun. With Kestrel GX managing photos is a breeze, as it enables you to import photos from your camera, edit them and catalog them with incredible ease. While conventional photo managers allow you to create photo albums, Kestrel GX lets you attach searchable keywords and description to each photo file so it can be searched easily. Imagine the convenience of finding photos through search queries like "Bob's first swimming lesson" or "Tracy juggling cup cakes". Looking-up photos using search queries can be so much easier than browsing through albums. Kestrel GX can also catalog photos that are on external media such as: DVD, flash drive or external hard disk. Once catalogued, all details pertaining to a photo are included in the database along with a thumbnail of the photo. So, you can conveniently search through the photo collection even when your external media is not connected. For those of you who manage multiple photo collections, Kestrel GX allows the creation of multiple databases. This way you can keep your professional photos separate from personal ones. So, there is no chance of mixing holiday photos with screenshots pertaining to an office project. Kestrel GX's powerful cataloging and search functions are supplemented with a range of supporting functionalities. You will be able to: convert your images to several other formats, create photo books, build your own printing and watermark templates, view slideshows, perform several batch operations like resize, rotate, flip, rename and much more. And if you are new to photo editing, Kestrel GX's built-in photo editor will help you edit your photos like a pro in just 10 simple steps. You can also enhance your images with a wide range of special effects. All in all, Kestrel GX is a capable and nifty tool that effectively takes care of all your photo management and editing needs.
What's new in this version:
- Several new special effects have been added to the photo editor
- Fixed several minor bugs.
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All versions:
3.2 starsout of 4 votes
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Current version:
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Results 1-4 of 4
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"duz not wk on my Win 7 64 bit"
Version: Kestrel GX 1.2.2
Pros
did not wk on win 7 64 bit
Cons
Does not wk on Win 7 64 Bit
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"Great product with excellent support"
Version: Kestrel GX 1.2.1
Pros
Free product with loads of easy to use features including a step-by-step guide suggesting the kind of changes you might want to make. Converts my NEF files with ease.
Cons
Unable to create the graduated filter effects I was after.
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"Not high enough resolution?"
Version: Kestrel GX 1.2
Pros
The software had no qualms about what OS it was installed on. Installed this software opting out of installing a toolbar and making Bing my search engine and Msn my homepage.
Cons
Don't know have to go change resolution. Opened the program and was told I can't use it because my tv resolution is 1022 X 578. Not 1024 X 768. Any higher resolution and I have to use a wired keyboard and desktop runs offscreen and can't read text.
Summary
Its bad enough Windows 7 doesn't supply drivers for my 24" led tv. The closest it comes to it is a 16" monitor which really cramps resolutions adjustments on the Nvidia graphics chip. Windows 7 is an improvement over Windows XP? This is a multiboot system because Windows7 doesn't measure up to what I need.
In regards to the screen resolution on this tv, it's 1278 X 722. not 1022 X 578 as the program stated. This program has been uninstalled. Time to look for another photo editor.
Updated on Sep 6, 2011 -
"Superb software!"
Version: Kestrel GX 1.0
Pros
Kestrel gx has many useful tools that's normally included only in commercial software. The interface is very clean, it's super easy to use and above all it's free!
Cons
Nothing found yet.
Summary
The software is really easy to use, you don't even need to read the manual. What i like the most is the editor. It guides you through a simple 10 steps editing and at the end your images looks really great! I was really amazed by the result. The watermark feature is also very useful. I use it to batch watermark all my photos before uploading to the net.
Another thing i really like is the way things are organised on the interface. You can easily find your way around. It's search engine is also very fast!
Overall Kestrel GX is a great software. Even if it was not free i would not have hesitated to buy it.
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