Mindscape Photo Lab Express

It's difficult to take the perfect picture but at least with a PC you can modify your snaps to get them closer to perfection. Photo Lab Express is yet another package that tries to make it easier.

At first, it looks very easy to use, with a bright interface full of friendly icons but appearances can be deceptive. First, there aren't any friendly wizards to correct common problems such as red-eye. This means that you have to know exactly what tool to use and how it works, especially as the online help isn't that helpful.

That said, this is one of the more fully featured photo-editing packages that we've seen and the range of tools is superb. You can change most aspects of a photo, including lighting, brightness and colours. You can also perform more artistic changes, such as making an image look like an oil painting.

At £30, it's good to see all of these features squeezed into the package. However, with poor online help and a lack of wizards, Photo Lab will confuse all but the most experienced of users.

Contact: Mindscape 01293 651300
www.mindscape.co.uk