Exposure Software is working on Exposure X7, the next version of its all-in-one analog inspired photo editing software. It doesn’t have a definite date yet, except that it will be “this fall”, but if you buy Exposure X6 now, you will get Exposure X7 at no charge when it’s released.
I already rate Exposure X6 as one of a handful of top-tier photo editing programs on the market right now, and judging by the new features being promised in Exposure X7, its position looks pretty secure.
Exposure X7 new features
These features include a “revolutionary” new mask tool which will take a rough selection and then intelligently refine it. It sounds a little like the new Magic Brush tool in Capture One 2021 (which works brilliantly, by the way) and could close what little gap now remains between non-destructive editors like Exposure X and full-blown image editors like Photoshop and Affinity Photo.
Other promised new features include customizable workspaces for tasks like editing and culling, and this could prove a big step forward because the current Exposure X interface is packed pretty tight.
• There’s a video on this new workspace customisation here:
Exposure X7 will add tethered shooting, which I believe might be a first for Exposure X. With tethered shooting you connect the camera by cable to your camera and you can then review and cull your images immediately – you will need to get cables separately, and you will also need to use the camera maker’s own tethering software too, so it doesn’t sound quite like a full-on live view tethering solution like Capture One, but it could automate file naming, metadata, keywords and storage locations and even apply presets automatically – and multiple presets if you want to see different variants.
• Want to see how it works? Exposure Software has made this video:
Perhaps the most interesting new feature, however, is an interesting crop and transform process – which seems such a useful combination of tasks that you wonder why no-one else has done it. This crop and transform system is applied via a new non-destructive layer.
• Take a look at a video of this new combined crop and transform tool here:
There’s no definite date for the Exposure X7 launch yet, but you can buy Exposure X6 now and get it free when it does arrive, so there’s nothing to lose. At the very least, it’s worth checking out the Exposure X6 trial version just to see if you like the way it works.
Exposure X7
Exposure X7: $129
Exposure X7 bundle: includes Blow Up 3 and Snap Art 4: $149
Exposure X7 is also available as a full 30-day trial
