By Bruce Bicknell

Many of you know the PhotoTools plug-in from onOne Software (www.ononesoftware.com), but did you know it has been rebranded as Perfect Effects 3?

The result is you get most of the same effects with a ton of new capabilities. Perfect Effects 3 packs a complete library of photographic effects that you can stack for unlimited creative possibilities in Photoshop, Elements, Lightroom, and Aperture, or you can even use it as a standalone application.

So let’s take a look at some cool new features in Perfect Effects 3. My favorite has to be the most straightforward of them all—Live Preview. This allows you to preview each effect on an image and when you get the exact effect you want, simply apply it. No trial and error, just preview then select! Next are the Vintage Effects.

These allow you to get a range of vintage looks that used to take hours to create. I also like that the controls give you the capability to dictate every aspect of the effect on your image. This includes strength, tone, color, and even texture. There’s no limit to what you can do with the creativity on your images.

This is one of the best plug-ins available for applying effects to your images. The control and capabilities give you a wide range of options for your images. The fact that you can preview each effect before you apply it is fantastic and makes the process much less painful.

This is a great addition to your plug-in arsenal. Perfect Effects 3 is available for $99.95 or as part of the onOne Perfect Photo Suite 6, which includes a total of seven applications for $299.95.

Rating: 10 out of 10

(This review is brought to you courtesy of "Layers Magazine": http://layersmagazine.com/ .)