Pixlr Express – great app for photo editing with tons of effects, frames & filters!
by Paul Wilks
Jan 28, 2013 8:59 AM –
Install
Pixlr Express is a great photo editing application that would seem to be a follow up app to the popular Pixlr-o-matic. The app offers a massive range of effects, frames, filters and enhanced editing features. It’s an incredibly powerful tool that includes no ads, a highly developed user interface and is completely free.
Price: Free
Tested on: Nexus 4
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Vast range of edits, filters, frames and more!
- Smooth user interface!
- Pinch to zoom controls!
- Easy to save and share!
Cons
- Combined, all the tools can feel overwhelming.
- Lacks ability to save a favourite effects combination.
Features
Pixlr Express is the newest photo editing app from Autodesk Inc. Their previous creation; Pixlr-o-matic is quite possibly one of the most popular free apps ever available on the Android platform, with literally millions and millions of downloads. The simplicity, the great effects and overlays plus the complete ease of use gave us little choice but to award the app a solid 4.4 out of 5.
With this new application, the developers have taken all that was good with Pixlr-o-matic and enhanced it several times over. The app now includes more effects than ever, plus several editing features that were not available in their first app. Now you also get: cropping, blurring, touching up, red eye removal and several more. There’s also an simple Autofix tab which gives your picture a nice, quick finish- one of my favourite features of another photo app- Snapseed.
Perhaps the strength of the app is the sheer wealth of filters and other effects available. There are over 600 different effects you can add to your pictures which enable you create an infinite variety of outcomes and it’s generally a great app to tinker with and try new things. It is genuinely an app that has something for everyone and you can make adjustments to your hearts content.
I think the vast array of options available to you, can actually becomes a negative. Picky I know, but hear me out. In the event you spend quite a few minutes trying different things and discover a great combination of effects, there’s no means to save that setting for future use. Instead you would have to load up all those effects and levels again individually. It would have been brilliant just to be able to save a certain combination and reserve it for future use.
I know when I first loaded up the app it felt a bit overwhelming in terms of choices available. Tabs all bounce up and each new touch reveals another extended menu of options. The thumbnails are tiny and you can’t quite see if they will work for you properly unless you apply the filter to your pictures. Another feature I like in Snapseed and other apps is the ability to touch and hold the screen to see what the picture looked like ‘before’ which allows you to make an immediate comparison. This little feature is missing in Pixlr Express and I genuinely missed it while testing the application out (coming from using Snapseed so much).
Pixlr Express is a brilliant app that has a massive depth of functionality. If you like to take your time over your photo editing, it’s definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already. If you prefer things a little more immediate or perhaps value some of the functionality I have mentioned previously; such as touch comparison, you might find yourself sticking with other applications as your regular driver. This isn’t to say you should ever ignore Pixlr Express- the volume of effects alone mean you should definitely download it.
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Pixlr Express – More options than you might ever want
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Pixlr Express – Adjustments menu
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Pixlr Express – Overlays
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Pixlr Express – Borders
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Pixlr Express – Crop
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Pixlr Express – Individual filter sub menu
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Pixlr Express – Image save size
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Pixlr Express – Save and gallery
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Pixlr Express – Saving
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Pixlr Express – Menu
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Pixlr Express – Settings
Usefulness:
For editing, tweaking, adding effects, borders, overlays and sharing photos, Pixlr Express is the most powerful app in the Google Play Store. The wealth of options is quite staggering. While there is an autofix option within this, adding all such elements might take you more time than with other apps but if you’re happy to take your time, this is great.
Ease of Use:
The options can seem a little overwhelming at first but, with a little exploration, it’s a relatively fun and enjoyable app to use.
It could be easier for users to make the most of the app- with all those filters to combine, it would be great to save your favourite combinations. Additionally, you do not have the ability to quickly compare before and after images- I think with such a range of filters, this is a must-have feature and lack of it takes the shine off the app a little for me.
Frequently Used:
If you want an app quick, snappy and very simple to use, Pixlr Express might not be the best fit for you. If you really like to take your time and tweak pictures until you get it just right, the app is ideal as it offers a large selection of edits that will make you feel like a kid in a sweet shop.
Interface:
The interface is great- very smooth and well developed. The design is excellent but I felt the thumbnail images were a bit too small to really grasp what they will look like applied to your photo.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Autodesk,
Filter,
Filters,
Photo Filters,
photography,
Pictures,
Pixlr Express,
Pixlr-o-matic,
Snapseed
Categorised in: Photography
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