Exposure Software has announced Exposure X7, its latest RAW photo editing application. Exposure X7, which can be used as a standalone app or as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic, adds numerous new features, including a new masking tool, improved workspace design, and more.
Exposure X7 is an all-in-one photo editing solution, offering users organizational tools, non-destructive RAW editing, layers-based editing, intelligent masking tools, over 500 customizable presets, one-click automatic adjustments and more.
Focusing on masking tools first, this is an area where Exposure X7 is significantly improved. The new Polygon Selection tool allows the user to draw a rough border around an object. After drawing a rough outline, Exposure X7 will use its intelligent algorithms to make a precise selection, allowing you to separate a subject from the background easily. You can see the new tool in action in the video overview below.
Exposure X7 includes additional improvements, including new editing workspaces. There are dedicated workspaces within the standalone app for particular tasks, including image culling, editing and retouching. Users can also create new customized workspaces.
The crop and transform tools have been unified into a single easy-to-use interface, as well. Further, new composition guides have been added to Exposure X7, including guides for golden ratio, golden spiral, golden triangle and diagonal compositions.
Exposure X7 features additional improvements to the overall image editing experience beyond the new masking tools. As laid out by Exposure Software, other new features include:
Defective pixel removal is available for RAW photos
Faithful color reproduction when using custom DCP color profiles
Improved color fidelity when working with DNG files
Fine texture noise can be added to recover detail with aggressive noise reduction
Although not a ‘new’ feature, Exposure X7 promises significant speed advantages compared to Adobe Lightroom and Capture One, thanks to GPU optimization. Exposure Software states that Exposure X7 is 112% faster than Adobe Lightroom at generating 500 RAW image file previews. In Exposure’s testing, Capture One is 22% faster than Lightroom, by the way. Exposure X7 is a catalog-free photo editor, meaning that the software shows images from wherever you point the application. There’s no strict import process. You can still organize your images, of course, using keywords and collections. If you’re interested in switching from Lightroom, Exposure includes a Lightroom Migration Tool, as well.
Image credit: David Mecey / Exposure Software. Click to enlarge.
If you want to catch up on what was added in Exposure X6 and get a good sense of what the software can do, check out our Exposure X6 software review. We gave the software 4 out of 5 stars in our review, citing strong image editing performance. We also knocked the editor for a heavy interface, which we hope is improved thanks to the new workspaces.
We also pointed out that Exposure X6 lacked camera and lens support relative to the competition. You can visit Exposure to view camera and lens support for Exposure X7. You can also try the software for yourself via a free 30-day trial.
Exposure X7 is available now for $129 for new users. An upgrade is available for $89, although if you purchased Exposure X6 on or after July 15, 2021, Exposure Software will be sending you a free upgrade to Exposure X7 soon. An Exposure X7 Bundle is also available, and it includes integrated Snap Art natural media and Blow Up photo enlargement tools and plug-ins.