AfterShot Pro is a Corel program released at the beginning of 2012, presenting the company's approach to digital photography. The program uses interesting technologies belonging not only to Corel and enables very flexible, non-linear and non-destructive processing of photos and advanced cataloguing. Corel AfterShot Pro can be used for cataloguing, retouching, processing photos and so called RAW calling (a list of supported camera models can be found on the Corel page).

Cataloguing possibilities are supported by an extensive search engine reading metadata and author's own tags, and photos can be arranged in albums, sorted by tags, evaluated and compared. However, the most important feature of this program is the possibility of non-destructive modification of photos and placing modifications on layers, so that the selected editing steps can be turned off or removed, which gives almost unlimited editing possibilities in a fairly non-linear process. It is also possible to edit multiple versions of the photo at the same time and compare the results.

Among the tools you will find all the necessary "sliders" to correct the exposure, white and color balance, and the automatic mode Perfectly Clear, based on Athentech technology of the same name. In this mode, the illumination of each pixel of the photo is adjusted to maintain its natural color without adding shadow. The technology can also be used to remove tints and save faded and underexposed photos.

Also noteworthy is the good quality noise removal tools, both on RAWs and on JPG-encoded images. AfterShot uses PictureCode algorithms known from Noise Ninja to remove noise. So there is something to play with.

Correction can also be applied to selected parts of the photo thanks to layers and masks. Various selection tools are available, which allow you to select the area to be modified and the softness of the edges with a great deal of precision. To enable you to retouch your photos, the tool palette includes classic healing and cloning brushes with the ability to change the source, size and edge hardness.

There were also opportunities to build galleries, which can be placed on your website. An interesting magnifying glass is also worth mentioning, which enlarges the area under the sampler and gives an insight into the details of the photo without enlarging the whole view, which makes navigation easier. The photo straightening tool, on the other hand, besides the line marking the "horizon" of the frame, also displays a very helpful grid.

Unfortunately, the speed of real-time rendering of the effects imposed leaves a little to be desired. An important advantage of Corel AfterShot Pro is its multi-platformity. The program is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, which is not common among Corel products.

AfterShot Pro can be for $99, but you can also buy an upgrade version for $79. The discount is available to holders of valid licenses for Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X2 or later and Bibble Pro or Lite 5, Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture.