LiveQuartz Photo Edit is an image editor for previewing, modifying, repairing and enhancing photos. The application is characterized by the availability of multiple filters and editing tools. In addition, the use of layers makes it possible to edit the photo and apply filters in a non-destructive way, i.e. preserving the original image.
The application interface responds perfectly to the desired workflow, which consists of importing files, creating layers, applying filters, editing and saving to disk. Most of the window space is intended for viewing the image being edited. Unfortunately, it does not allow side-by-side comparison of the changes made. The left sidebar shows the different layers and allows you to enable or disable the corresponding filters. The top toolbar, in turn, allows access to a wide collection of tools, including brushes, pencils, erasers and shapes. Finally, you can use the right panel to add and customize filters. Good news is that the application comes with a large number of these filters, which add up to more than 100.
To import a photo, you can either use the menu or drag the file onto the tool window. If the idea is to create a new layer, then you should drag and drop it onto the sidebar. Fortunately, the application supports not only the most popular image formats (JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF) but also less common ones (OpenEXR, TGA, HEIF). What's more, it can open RHIF files, a native non-destructive format.
Overall, LiveQuartz Photo Edit does an excellent job of photo editing and enhancement, especially due to its wide collection of filters and the possibility of using layers. Although there is a free version of the product, it has serious limitations in terms of the number of images you can export or print (only one per day). Thus, if you want to use the editor more extensively, you need to upgrade to the unlimited version, available via in-app purchase.
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v2.1 [Apr 11, 2013]
• Lion : fixes the crash of LiveQuartz on startup
• Mountain Lion : avoid a crash when "moving" non RHIF files by proposing a save as rhif option instead
