Although I am a professional reviewer of cybersecurity programs, I love photography too. I really wish I had the ability to click photographs like professionals. Unfortunately, I have extremely limited ideas about aperture and shutter speed settings.
Sometimes, I contemplate shooting photographs using the natural light available or using one or multiple flash units to click the best pictures. The result is that I typically end up with rather disappointing photographs.
Hence I was surprised, when one of my friends who happens to use the same camera as I do, shot a much better picture of the same scene that I did, using the same camera and light settings. When I asked him how this was possible, he replied that he depended on photo-enhancing software.
After searching online for photo-enhancing programs, I decided to try Photolemur and Perfectly Clear… the two leading programs in this segment.
Find below my analysis of Photolemur vs Perfectly Clear. This will help budding photographers decide which one of those two programs is suitable for them.
You can also see how Photolemur compares with yet another big player in photo editing with artificial intelligence.
Photolemur 3 vs Perfectly Clear
Both programs are some of the best professional picture editing and enhancing software that you can ever come across. This is more so when you are looking for very good photo editors that make use of ‘artificial intelligence.
Photolemur
As with any other program, I prefer giving higher rankings to those that offer a trial version. When I visited the website of Photolemur, I found that there was no mention of a trial version.
Pricing
The vendor was offering the full version for $35, which is quite reasonable considering the features mentioned on their website.
Good Testimonials
Judging by the testimonials left by their users, this seems to be an awesome photo editing software. The vendors claim that it uses “artificial intelligence” to detect flaws in the image(s) and fixes them within a couple of seconds.
Works Fast on Windows and Mac
Available for both Windows and Macintosh operating programs, this editor works on Windows 7, 8, and 10 as well as Mac El Capitan, Sierra, and High Sierra.
One can find out other specifications such as minimum memory required, graphics cards, and free disk space on their website.
A Variety of Great Features
The user requires an internet connection for validation of subscriptions, software activation, and access to online services. I decided to purchase the software, as it gives me access to many more features that require mentioning in order to do justice to this Photolemur versus Perfectly Clear comparison.
Purchasing, Installation, and Testing
Clicking on the “buy now” button redirected my browser to a form in which I had to provide my details such as full name, country, state/province, and email ID.
There is another option where you can select whether you are planning to use the program as an individual or for a company. In the case of the latter, you have to also include the company's name, address, and some other fields.
You also have the option of selecting the number of licenses you require.
Select one of the several payment options, complete the payment process, and you shall receive the download link as well as the activation serial number via email.
My Experience
I downloaded the software, installed it on my computer, and started putting it through its paces. Using the program was a piece of cake. Simply drag and drop your photograph into the software's windows and let the program complete its magic.
Photo Effects
Photolemur offers about 11 types of corrections such as:
• Raw file processing
• Tint Perfection
• Smart dehaze
• Sky enhancement
• Noise reduction
• Color recovery
• Face retouching
• Exposure compensation
• Natural light correction
• JPG fix, and
• Foliage enhancement
A Glimpse of How it Works
You can also watch how these functions work on their website by selecting a picture and sliding the vertical bar from left to right with your mouse pointer. If you move this bar to the center of the screen, you can see the comparison between the original image and the corrected photograph.
Facial Enhancements
Their new “Face Finish” technology automatically whitens teeth, smoothens skin, enhances eyes, and removes imperfections from your photographs with a single click of the mouse button.
The software employs artificial intelligence by analyzing millions of details and fixing the errors therein with complex adjustments.
I tried out this feature on one of my photographs and was surprised by the results. The image looked as if it was shot by a professional photographer. I could have achieved the same result with Photoshop, but it would have taken me hours. However, Photolemur completed the process in a couple of seconds.
Can Process Images in Batches
The software also has a batch processing facility, which allows users to apply a particular filter on multiple images at the same time. Photography enthusiasts know that black-and-white images have a special look about them, which can never be achieved with color photography. I could achieve this effect with one of the several styles that Photolemur offers. They include:
• Apollo
• Mono
• Evolve
• Fall
• Spirited, and
• Noble
Simply select the photographs you want to apply the style on and click the mouse button to get the desired results. If you are not sure what these styles do, drag an image on the software and click on the different styles to view how your picture will look after applying it.
Split-screen Feature
This split-screen feature is really outstanding as it permits me to see how the enhanced image will look before I click on the process button.
Converting A Color Picture to Black and White
The Result
It would be an injustice to compare Photolemur and Perfectly Clear without mentioning that the resultant format of the edition is RAW, which is one of the most complete formats, even better than JPG. It results in edited photographs of aesthetic excellence and high quality.
Ideal for Both Novice and Professional Photographers
I strongly recommend this software to all photo enthusiasts to touch up their photographs. In fact, even seasoned professionals will appreciate this software and use it to further enhance the quality of their photographs.
Processing speed will take time on computers that do not have adequate memory or a fast processor as processing photographs in the RAW format takes a lot of time. I wish the developers also included features such as adding textures, colors, and layers to the photograph. Including these features would make Photolemur more powerful than Photoshop.
A One-time Fee
The simplicity of use and the low price were two of the main factors that I loved the best in this photo editing software. Those who had used an older version of this program will remember that it was subscription-based. However, that is a thing of the past, and you only have to pay a one-time fee to purchase the program and use it for eternity.
Photolemur or Perfectly Clear
As mentioned earlier, I decided to try Perfectly Clear too. As the vendor of this program also mentions “artificial intelligence” on their website, I decided to evaluate Photolemur vs Perfectly clear AI as well.
Perfectly Clear
Split Image Bar
Their website has the same split image vertical bar that allows you to see how the image looks before processing and how it looks post-processing.
Initially, this program was only available as a plugin for Photoshop. However, the vendor is now offering it as standalone software.
About the Free Version of Perfectly Clear
You can sign up for a free version of Perfectly Clear by filling up their online form. The catch is that the free version is not standalone and is only available as a plugin for Photoshop.
A Higher Cost
As I wanted to compare it with the standalone version of Photolemur, I had no options apart from opting for a paid copy. Unfortunately, the cost of Perfectly Clear, at $129, is much more than that of Photolemur.
According to the vendor, their program depends on “intelligent image analysis”, which allows it to find camera flaws and limitations and fix them automatically. Like Photolemur, the processing is done automatically. Just load the picture you want to edit on the program, and enhance it with a couple of clicks of the mouse button.
Available for Windows and Mac
It is available for both the Macintosh and Windows operating systems.
It offers a wide range of image-enhancing features such as:
• Image ambulance (you can use this to recover an underexposed or overexposed image with up to five different stops)
• Sky enhancer (this feature allows you to add “saturation” to a particular channel, and boost yellow, red, and blue colors in the image)
• Foliage enhancer (very much like the above, but allows you to boost browns and greens in your picture)
• Color vibrancy (use this feature to boost the intensity of all of the colors in the image. You can also use it to prevent over-saturation to skin tones)
• Black point (an excellent setting, which permits you to alter the range of pixels to which you want to apply your exposure changes)
The above features are for landscapes.
The vendor has also included several features for retouching portrait images too, which include:
• Adjusting control points and adding a face manually. The auto face detection in the older version of Perfectly Clear did not find the faces in the image on all occasions. With the latest version of the program, the vendor has enhanced the face detection functionality, which permits you to apply beautification alterations to all faces in the photograph.
• Color fidelity and light diffusion now feature strength adjustment filters.
• Lip sharpening… the controls have been improved allowing you total control over strength with either coarse, medium, or fine methods.
• Blush… make cosmetic changes to your picture by adding blush colors from one of the 12 popular built-in shades or even create your custom shade.
• Skin tone… the software provides you with five different modes to adjust the skin tones of a picture.
• Skin smoothening… apply skin smoothening on the entire body or just the face using three different modes super smooth, default, and subtle.
• Click to zoom… I loved this excellent feature that permitted me to zoom into a part of the image. By blowing up a section of the picture, it is possible to see the results of the beautification.
Is Perfectly Clear Better Than Photolemur?
I would not go as far as stating that Perfect Clear is better than Photolemur. Both of them have their individual features which make them stand apart from each other.
The vendors of Perfectly Clear have changed certain features in their program that allows for easier navigation. They have shifted the presets on the top of the screen and the corrections on a collapsible panel on the right. You can collapse this panel to get more working space on the screen. It is possible to rearrange the presets by dragging and dropping them.
The vendor also offers this software as a stand-alone or as a plugin for Photoshop. There are several additional presets too such as:
• Exposure
• Highlight recovery
• Fill light
• White balance
• Temperature
• Tint, and
• Lens correction
The Filmstrip included with the latest version of Perfectly Clear permits users to effortlessly navigate the main presets as well as the new looks, allowing you to see what changes in the image the presets will make.
How Fast Are the Picture Previews?
This software renders previews quite quickly, but not as blazingly fast as that of Photolemur. The latest version allows you to know how your presets will look without applying them.
There are some additional controls such as:
• Robust color restoration and color casts
• Stylistic vignette and radical filters
• Graduated filters, and
• Manual finishing controls
Which Photo Enhancer is Better?
After going through the different features, I would like to conclude this comparison and voice my opinion regarding Photolemur compared to Perfectly Clear to determine which is best.
My vote goes to Photolemur, a Perfectly Clear alternative, which might not offer as many on-screen controls as the latter. However, the artificial intelligence of Photolemur stands apart from Perfectly Clear. I did not have to navigate through so many different filters and settings to complete the job.
Just drag and drop your photographs and Photolemur will take care of the rest automatically in no time.
Is Photolemur Better Than Perfectly Clear?
Although both of these photo editing programs delivered excellent results, considering the ease of use and the price factor, I would not hesitate to say that Photolemur has a distinct edge over Perfectly Clear.
