The Interface

Snapheal’s software is so easy to use that it only requires a couple of minutes to be familiar with the most used controls. When you first launch Snapheal, you are asked to add a photo. You are presented with three options – load an image, drag and drop, and import. The main screen has five modules to choose from. The first is erasing, the main feature of Snapheal. You also have clone and stamp. This helps after erasing when you want to smoothen out the remaining area. In addition, Snapheal offers the basic editing tools like rotate, retouch, adjust exposures, and cropping. The top region of the interface offers more importation options, saving, sharing, undoing and more.

The Heavy Jobs

The application fared very well with doing some complicating jobs. I was actually surprised at how the image was able to repair itself after being partially erased. Unlike my previous assumption, Snapheal doesn’t leave you with a hole or any image quality reduction; it tries to match the erased portion with the rest of the image. To erase a section of the image:

  1. Paint over the area you want erased
  2. Click the “Erase” Button.
  3. Bear the waiting time… Voila! Your Image is complete! We must remember that Snapheal is software, and not the human touch, so it isn’t invincible. We will cover more of Snapheal’s flaws later on.

Strengths

Even though Snapheal isn’t for the hard-core user, it does offer many options that can appeal to the advanced everyday user. This user may find some tasks too difficult for software like iPhoto, but not complicated enough for purchasing Photoshop. Photo editing with Snapheal is as easy as 1,2,3. First, highlight the area you want to erase, then click “Erase”, and there you go. The fun facts that Snapheal show you during the loading are also a nice touch. However, this nice feature is a distracter for a weakness that Snapheal has.

Weaknesses

One of the biggest weaknesses that Snapheal has is loading duration. It takes a very long time to load after erasing. Even after a small blemish removal, Snapheal can take a little too long. The fun facts may help pass time, but after reading a couple, the average user may get a little antsy. During testing, I at least tolerated the wait because of the end result, but there were many times when I considered clicking the “cancel processing” button. One tip I have for this flaw is to do each erasing bit by bit. In addition, there were a couple of times when my edits seemed to make a black gaping hole in the image. Aside from other photo editing software where this is the norm, this wasn’t the case for Snapheal, so I was unpleasantly surprised to see this. Lastly, Snapheal crashed at least twice when I imported some DSLR images for editing. I expected this to happen with such a large image (in terms of file size), but it was still a flaw nonetheless.

Our Verdict

During testing, Snapheal seemed to fare pretty well. I was able to make both minor and major edits with ease, despite a horrid waiting time. The application also was able to watch according to the surrounding image, though there were a couple of times when glitches occurred. But these flaws are more than likely going to disappear once the developer is able to get all the kinks out now that it’s public. At a price of $15, Snapheal is definitely an economically friendly application. While the heavy user will get too frustrated with the application, the every day and semi-professional will find Snapheal the right fit on their Mac dock.