Best overall		Hti-Xintai Higher Resolution		SEE IT
Best budget		FLIR TG267		SEE IT
Best for iPhone		Seek Thermal CompactPro		SEE IT

Thermal imaging cameras–sometimes called heat sensor cameras or thermal imaging guns–have a broad range of applications and come in an even broader range of configurations, from thermal security cameras to specialized firefighting tools. Not every thermal imaging camera is well suited to every situation that requires one. A contractor, for example, needs a device that can identify slight variations in temperature, while a hunter might need one that has a high frame rate for tracking moving targets and can capture data from objects that are a long way away. There’s no one-size-fits-all for this specialized piece of equipment, so it pays to know each camera’s features and how they might apply to the job you need to do. Here are some of the best thermal imaging cameras out there and what you need to know to choose the one that’s right for you.

• Best overall: Hti-Xintai Higher Resolution
• Best budget: FLIR TG267 
• Best for iPhone: Seek Thermal CompactPro
• Best handheld: FLIR C5
• Best for hunting: Seek Thermal RevealPRO
• Best for firefighting: FLIR K2

How we chose the best thermal imaging cameras

The best thermal imaging cameras are specialized devices most often used by professionals, so buying the wrong device can be an expensive mistake that impacts your professional reputation as well as your pocketbook. For this reason, we limited our analysis to best-selling brands with strong reputations, including FLIR, Seek, Fluke, and HTI Xintai. 

Because thermal imaging devices have so many different applications, we had to consider the many different ways these devices tend to be used and what makes each one good or bad in certain situations. Of course, thermal imaging capabilities like sensitivity, accuracy, and resolution are important. But features like connectivity, battery life, and durability can also make a big difference in reliability and overall usefulness. This means we excluded devices that delivered on image quality but had other qualities that made them less practical for day-to-day use and vice-versa. We also looked for smart design features that are less critical to overall function but give a device that extra usability edge over similar devices.

The best thermal imaging cameras: Reviews & Recommendations

Best overall: Hti-Xintai HTI-19 Higher Resolution Thermal Imaging Camera

SEE IT

Why it made the cut: The Hti-Xintai HTI-19 is one of the best thermal imaging cameras with a high resolution that has a large screen and is capable of capturing fine detail, making it useful for a wide range of applications. 

Key features:

• Style: Pistol grip 
• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
• Thermal sensitivity: <0.05°C (<50 mK) 

Pros:

• Much higher resolution than many similar devices
• A large, easy-to-read screen
• Lightweight and comfortable to hold

Cons:

• Images can be noisy
• Cannot be tripod-mounted

The Hti-Xintai HTI-19 high resolution thermal imaging camera has an impressive 320 x 240 resolution and a lower price point, making it a good all-around thermal vision device suitable for most jobs and our best overall pick. The 3.2-inch screen is considerably larger than the screens of many similar devices, and the device also has a simple, user-friendly operation with a rechargeable battery that lasts up to three hours. 

This HTI-19 is lightweight, easy to hold, and durably constructed, making it ideal for outdoor use or for environments where it might have to take some abuse, such as tight crawlspaces and construction sites. It is not tripod mountable, though,  so it might not be the right device for you if you need hands-free operation.  

The temperature range of this device is -4 to 932°F. This range is decent, but it won’t work well in very cold climates. The HTI-19’s thermal sensitivity is 0.05°C (<50 mK), which beats most devices in its price range, though its accuracy of ±2℃ is no better or worse than most other thermal imaging devices in this class. 

The HTI-19’s 3GB of built-in memory goes a long way, but it lacks a slot for a separate memory card and doesn’t have WIFI, which may be inconvenient for users who would rather transfer images in the field. Another major drawback of this device is that it can produce noisy images, especially in the lower temperature parts of a scene. 

Best budget: FLIR TG267

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Why it made the cut: Our best budget pick has a range of advanced features that make it a solid but still reasonably cheap thermal camera, whether you’re a professional or a hobbyist.

Key features:

• Style: Pistol grip 
• Resolution: 160 × 120 pixels
• Thermal sensitivity: <0.07°C (<70 mK) 

Pros:

• Impressive temperature range 
• Bluetooth for easy in-the-field photo transfer
• Built-in laser target shows you exactly what you’re measuring
• Large capacity built-in memory

Cons:

• Lower resolution isn’t as good at capturing detail

This pistol-grip style thermal imaging gun has a couple of features our best overall pick doesn’t have, despite the lower price. It has the ability to read temperatures of -13°F (up to 716°F), a laser bullseye, and an accessory mount in case you need to put it on a tripod. The laser bullseye is an especially useful feature that helps make sure you know exactly what part of the scene you’re getting the reading from. This device has Bluetooth for easy file transfer, but if you prefer to keep the images on your device until you’re back in the office, it also has 4GB of built-in memory that holds up to 50,000 images.

Another plus for the FLIR TG267 is a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 5 hours (as long as you keep the screen at medium brightness). If you are a heavy user of the laser target, that knocks another half hour or so off your battery life, but that’s still quite good for a single charge. The FLIR TG267 has a tough build (specs claim it can survive a drop of up to 6.5 feet), so it’s a good pick if you plan to spend a lot of time with it outdoors. In average temperature conditions, its accuracy is +/-2.5°C, which is pretty good for this price point.

At 0.07°C (<70 mK), this device’s thermal sensitivity is average, but the 160 x 120 resolution is quite low, and the screen is considerably smaller than our best overall pick, which makes it harder to see the fine details in each image. Still, for the price, it is a great option.

Best for iPhone: Seek Thermal CompactPRO

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Why it made the cut: With a 320 x 240 resolution that rivals and even beats that of many pistol-grip models, the Seek Thermal CompactPRO is portable and just as functional as most traditional devices.

Key features:

• Style: Smartphone attachment
• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
• Thermal sensitivity: <0.07°C (<70 mK) 

Pros:

• High resolution lets you capture fine detail
• Excellent low temperature performance 
• Uses your phone’s superior screen, storage capacity, and battery

Cons:

• Narrow field of view 

If the idea of carrying around a sizable thermal imaging camera is off-putting, the Seek Thermal CompactPRO is an excellent alternative, and it’s not even a compromise. Our best for iPhone pick captures fine detail as well as or better than most handheld devices. Moreover, because it borrows the screen, battery, and storage capacity from your smartphone, it holds more images, has longer battery life, and boasts a much better image display than even very expensive thermal vision devices. With a high resolution of 320 x 240, images are crisp and detailed. 

This device uses your phone’s visible light camera to create a layered image that includes both visual and thermal information, though you may have to do some manual alignment to get the image to look right. Fortunately, the app is fairly easy to use, and it also lets you play around with variables like temperature scale, emissivity, and aspect ratio. 

The CompactPRO’s specs are comparable to and often better than those of many standard models. It has a decent thermal sensitivity of <0.07°C (<70 mK) and an impressive total temperature range of -40F° to 626°F, which means it’s functional in almost any climate. And since this device can capture data at a distance of up to 1,800 feet, it’s great for hunting and other outdoor applications. The CompactPRO also has a fast refresh rate of >15 Hz, which allows for smooth tracking of moving objects.

The  CompactPRO’s main drawback is the 32 degree field of view (FOV), which is quite narrow compared to the FOV found in most traditional pistol-grip style models.

Best handheld: FLIR C5

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Why it made the cut: Devices in this class tend to have limitations, but the FLIR C5 has several features that are equal to or better than those of many larger, pistol-grip style devices.

Key features:

• Style: Palm-size compact
• Resolution: 160 x 120 pixels
• Thermal sensitivity: <0.07°C (<70 mK) 

Pros:

• Compact format doesn’t sacrifice screen size
• Built-in cloud connectivity
• Ruggged build
• Fast charging battery

Cons:

• Low resolution
• Poor accuracy compared to other models

This compact device is our pick for best handheld device, a happy medium between the much larger, pistol-grip style cameras and the easy-to-lose phone attachments. This device is about the size of a cell phone (5.4 × 3.3 × 0.94 in) but functions as a stand-alone unit. Like your cell phone, it has a touch screen, making it almost as convenient to use. It has a few other features that are useful outdoors, too, like drop and water resistance and a built-in LED flashlight. It also has a built-in 5 megapixel visible light camera and can produce thermal images, standard images, or a combination of both.

The FLIR C5 has a few features you won’t find in many larger devices, such as built-in cloud connectivity that allows you to upload images on the fly, provided you are in a WIFI accessible area. While this is a great feature for contractors and home inspectors, it’s not very useful if you’re hunting or fighting a wildfire. Photos can also be transferred via Bluetooth and USB, however, so there are at least a few different options for getting your images off the device.

The C5 has a decent temperature range of -4 to 752°F and a fairly typical thermal sensitivity of <0.07°C (<70 mK). Where it falls behind other devices is on resolution. It’s a pricey unit,yet the resolution is comparable to our best budget pick, so most of what you’re paying for is portability and a few bells and whistles. The C5’s accuracy isn’t great, either; at ±3°C, it lags behind most other units in its price range.

Best for hunting: Seek Thermal RevealPRO

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Why it made the cut: The high-resolution Thermal RevealPRO’s good battery life, broad temperature range, fast refresh rate, and ability to capture data at long distances make it an ideal thermal scanner for hunting.

Key features:

• Style: Palm-size compact
• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
• Thermal sensitivity: <0.07°C (<70 mK) 

Pros:

• High resolution 
• Can capture data even at long distances
• Long battery life
• Fast refresh rate

Cons:

• Small screen
• No WIFI or Bluetooth

At 5 x 2.4 x 1.2 inches, the Seek Thermal RevealPRO is smaller than most cell phones and fits easily into a jacket pocket, keeping your hands free to carry the rest of your gear. It has a high resolution 320 x 240 pixel thermal sensor, but its best quality for hunting is its ability to capture data from up to 1,800 feet away. The far range makes it ideal for spotting game. It also has a 4X continuous zoom so you’ll beable to identify those distant objects better.

Unlike many comparable units, the Thermal RevealPRO boasts a refresh rate of >15 Hz for smooth tracking of moving objects. In normal mode, the Thermal RevealPRO will run for about four hours on a single charge, making it ideal for longer outings. With a broad temperature range of -40 to 626°F, this device will work well no matter the season or location. In a pinch, you can also use it as a flashlight.

One of this device’s major drawbacks is the very small 2.4-inch screen, which makes it a lot harder to pick out fine details. And though it has a decent built-in storage capacity of 4GB, it doesn’t have WIFI or Bluetooth, so you’ll have to wait until you get home to transfer images off of the device.

Best for firefighting: FLIR K2

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Why it made the cut:  The FLIR K2 was designed for firefighting, so it’s tough, easy to use even while wearing gloves, and has seven modes for firefighting, hot/cold detection, and search and rescue.

Key features:

• Style: Pistol-grip
• Resolution: 160 × 120 pixels
• Thermal sensitivity: <0.10°C (<100 mK) 

Pros:

• Affordable
• Operable even in very high temperatures
• Drop and water resistant
• Good battery life

Cons:

• Low resolution 
• Slow refresh rate

Firefighters need features that aren’t available even in many of the best thermal imaging cameras, and small firefighting units may not always have the funds to invest in higher-end models. The FLIR K2 delivers on most of what firefighters need but without an ultra-high price tag.

The FLIR K2 has a lot of really smart features that helped make it our best for firefighting pick. First and foremost, it is designed to withstand the challenging conditions that firefighters face. It’s water resistant, drop resistant to 6.5 feet, and will work consistently well in temperatures up to 135°F. It’s also designed to withstand short bursts of intense heat — at 500°F, it will continue to function for up to 3 minutes. Two nice additional features are the lanyard strap and carabiner that lets you carry it hands-free and the one-button operation that makes it easy to use even while wearing heavy gloves.

The K2 is versatile, with seven modes including basic mode, black and white firefighting mode, fire mode, search and rescue mode, heat detection mode, cold detection mode, and building analysis mode. It has a good battery life of up to 4 hours and charges to 90 percent in around 2.5 hours.  

The low resolution of 160 x 120 is this device’s major drawback. This may become more of a handicap in smoky conditions when the built-in visible light camera isn’t able to display detailed visual information with the IR data. At 9 Hz, the refresh rate isn’t spectacular, which may be limiting in some situations. It’s also worth noting that the K2’s thermal sensitivity of <0.10°C (<100 mK) lags behind even many less-expensive thermal cameras, and its accuracy is a woeful ±4°C.

Related: Best night vision goggles

Things to consider before buying the best thermal imaging cameras

Not all of the best thermal imaging cameras will work well in every situation. The devices that are best for hunting, for example, have different features than those that are best for plumbers or home inspectors. Here are some of the most important variables you’ll want to consider when shopping for a thermal imaging camera.

Style

Thermal imaging devices can be pistol-grip handheld devices, Android and iPhone attachments, or compact pocket-sized handhelds. While the pistol-grip devices tend to have larger screens and more user-friendly operation, somemay find them too big and inconvenient to carry around. Compact devices and phone attachments are more portable but may have other disadvantages.

Resolution and visible light capture

Each pixel has its own temperature measurement, so many of the best thermal imaging cameras are the ones that have high-resolution thermal sensors. Although there are no real benefits to choosing a lower resolution camera,fine detail isn’t really necessary for some applications. In this case, a lower resolution device may be best for your budget. Most of the best thermal imaging cameras can also combine a thermal image with a visible light image to give youbetter detail. In some cameras, you can turn this feature on and off.

Thermal sensitivity and temperature range

Thermal sensitivity is also called Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference, or NETD. The lower the NETD, the more sensitive the device. Thermal sensitivity is expressed in degrees andmilli-Kelvins (mK), or thousandths of a degree. A camera that has a thermal sensitivity of 0.07°C or 70 mK, for example, can tell the difference between two points with a temperature difference of just 1/700ths of a degree. 

You may need a camera with a low NETD if you need to spot small differences in temperature, like when looking for evidence of moisture. Keep temperature range in mind, too. If you often work in cold climates, for example, you’ll need a device that’s sensitive even at very low temperatures.

Battery life

While the best thermal imaging cameras tend to have good battery life, the importance of this feature varies according to application. For example, if you’re a home inspector or plumber and your jobs don’t require extended time in remote places, battery life might be less important to you than if you use your device for hunting or fighting wildfires.

FAQs

Final thoughts on the best thermal imaging cameras

Plumbers may not need all the same features that contractors need, so it was important for our best overall pick for the best thermal imaging cameras to have features that would work well for a broad range of applications. The HTI-19’s high resolution combined with good accuracy, thermal sensitivity, and affordable price makes it a good buy for all-around day-to-day use in most applications.

The post The best thermal imaging cameras in 2023 appeared first on Popular Photography.

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Best overall		PhotoGlory PRO		SEE IT	It offers lots of automatic adjustments.
Best professional		Photoshop		SEE IT	This is the best for professional-level edits.
Best powerful		Luminar Neo		SEE IT	A powerful but simple to use program.

Photo restoration software can make your old family photos look like you just picked them up from the corner photo processing shop (yes, those were once a thing). Fixing those crimped corners, tears, water stains, and faded colors that are inevitable symptoms of the passage of time is no longer the exclusive domain of skilled artists. Today it can be done at home in a fraction of the time and at minimal expense.

If you’ve been wondering what to do with that shoebox full of grandma’s faded old photos, it’s time to dig them out and show them some love. Here are some of the best photo restoration software you can buy and what you need to know to pick the one that’s right for you.

• Best overall: PhotoGlory PRO
• Best professional: Photoshop
• Best free: GIMP
• Best powerful: Luminar Neo
• Best easy-to-use: Retouch Pilot
• Best online: VanceAI Photo Restorer

Methodology: How we picked the best photo restoration software

Software users run the gamut from raw beginners to super-users. So picking from the many excellent photo editing options available today meant looking at things like AI, manual editing tools, and ease of use. We considered more than a dozen different options, from basic online tools to highly advanced, comprehensive editors, and chose the ones that benefited the most users.

At a bare minimum, our picks had to have easy-to-use basic tools for correcting common defects like scratches, stains, and tears. Or it needed AI features that were smart enough to make these kinds of corrections satisfactorily. We also looked for software that offered nice-to-have features like colorization, which can be challenging to do manually, especially for beginning users. We favored software with a one-time licensing fee versus a potentially expensive ongoing subscription. And since the learning curve can be steep for people unfamiliar with image editors, we gave bonus points to software with good tutorials. 

The best photo restoration software: Reviews & recommendations

Best overall: PhotoGlory PRO

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Why it made the cut: PhotoGlory PRO gives you control over your work without the learning curve. It has a colorizing feature, too, which is often missing from similar programs.

Specs

• Pay structure: One-time payment
• Compatible operating systems: Windows
• AI-based editing: Yes

Pros

• Easy-to-use tools work automatically and give you manual control when needed
• Photo effects feature lets you add back a vintage look
• No color-correction guesswork: AI corrects colors automatically
• One-time payment gets you a lifetime license

Cons

• Not available for MacOS

Whether you’re a beginner or an image editing pro, PhotoGlory PRO is a great choice. It boasts a fully-automatic photo restoration feature, which removes tears, scuffs, dust, and other defects without any user input. If the results aren’t quite perfect, you can use manual tools like a cloning tool and a healing brush to fix any details you aren’t happy with. This combination of AI photo correction and manual tools makes PhotoGlory PRO the best of both worlds. It doesn’t matter if you have a large batch of photos that need repair or just a handful. 

There are three versions of PhotoGlory: Standard, Deluxe, and Pro. All versions offer colorizing and basic repair of tears, scratches, and faded colors. For a small extra cost, the Deluxe and Pro versions also offer manual coloring and the ability to recreate missing parts of an image. That can be useful if you have photos with substantial defects. The only extra feature the Pro version has is 100+ filter effects. So, if that’s not something you think you’ll play with much, PhotoGlory Deluxe should be adequate.

Best professional: Photoshop

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Why it made the cut: Photoshop is the undisputed pioneer and leader in professional photo editing. It has more features than any other photo editor, giving you almost unlimited creative control over your images.

Specs

• Pay structure: Monthly or annual subscription
• Compatible operating systems: Windows or macOS
• AI-based editing: Yes

Pros

• More features and adjustment possibilities than any other photo editing software package
• Many tools work manually or automatically and can be fine-tuned
• AI-powered downloadable Photo Restoration Neural Filter (currently in Beta)
• Layers and smart objects let you make infinite non-destructive adjustments

Cons

• Expensive subscription-based payment model
• Can be overwhelming to learn

Photoshop does just about everything, from removing scratches, scuffs, and stains to improving your subjects’ complexion, straightening hair, and whitening teeth. It has a range of color correction tools and lets you work in layers. Layers allow you to keep track of your adjustments and undo anything that isn’t working for you. Photoshop is widely used, so it’s easy to find tutorials online, including directly from Adobe. But because they come from a variety of Photoshop users, some are much easier to follow than others. 

Photoshop’s major drawback is that it’s not a great tool for beginners. If you’ve only used basic photo editing tools, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the features and customizations when using this software. If you’re a raw beginner and set on learning Photoshop, it’s a good idea to take a class before committing to it.  

In June of 2023, Photoshop announced its Photo Restoration Neural Filter, a downloadable add-on that restores old photos automatically. This feature ups its game for people who want a quick and easy way to repair old photographs. But if that’s all you need, it’s probably overkill to buy an expensive and complicated software package just for the photo restoration add-on. 

Best free: GIMP

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Why it made the cut: GIMP is an open-source software that has been around for some time now. It’s totally free and offers plenty of tools for restoring your photos.

Specs

• Pay structure: Free
• Compatible operating systems: Windows, macOS, Linux/GNU
• AI-based editing: No

Pros

• Totally free to use
• Robust set of tools
• Supports a variety of plug-ins
• Highly customizable

Cons

• No AI features
• Isn’t extremely intuitive

GIMP 1.0 was released back in 1998, and it has been one of the staples of free editing software since. The program is free and easy to access, with no need to even enter an email address or contact information. It’s an open-source platform, meaning anyone can see and modify the source code. As a result, it is a highly customizable software with a significant number of scripts and plug-ins created by the GIMP community. And this editing software is available for Windows, Mac, or Linux. 

Though GIMP doesn’t offer advanced features such as AI-based editing, it still has plenty of tools for basic photo restoration. For example, there is a clone stamp and healing brush for fixing scratches, tears, or bends in scanned images. And there are plenty of tools for color correction and contrast adjustment. 

Another plus with GIMP is that you can work in layers, like Photoshop, so that you are making non-destructive edits. That’s ideal in case you make a change you don’t like or adjust the colors just a bit too far. The software does take some getting used to, but there are plenty of tutorials available, as well as some help text in the program itself. 

Best powerful: Luminar Neo

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Why it made the cut: Luminar Neo is a comprehensive photo editor with smart, easy-to-use tools for simple restoration. It also has a range of advanced tools for more complicated work.

Specs

• Pay structure: Monthly or annual subscription (two tiers), or lifetime license
• Compatible operating systems: Windows or macOS
• AI-based editing: Yes

Pros

• Does more than just restore old photos
• Simple, easy-to-understand user interface 
• Much more budget-friendly than professional software like Photoshop
• One-time payment gets you a lifetime license

Cons

• Uses a lot of RAM

Luminar Neo is not quite as beginner-friendly as many dedicated photo restoration software options. Instead, it’s a good choice for advanced beginners to intermediate users who want a lot of control over their results and the flexibility to make other edits to their modern digital photos. 

Luminar’s photo restoration tools will be familiar to anyone who has used Photoshop. There’s an adjustable clone and stamp tool for removing tears, scuffs, and stains. And there is a range of color and tone tools to help you enhance detail, correct uneven color, adjust color temperature, and remove excess grain. If you’d prefer not to make manual adjustments, Luminar also has AI features that automatically correct exposure, color, and details. 

This software is available for both Windows and Mac. Though it’s more expensive than a typical dedicated photo restoration package, it’s available for a one-time purchase that gets you a lifetime license.

Best easy-to-use: Retouch Pilot

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Why it made the cut: Retouch Pilot is bare bones but does the job. And with its large library of tutorials, it’s easy for even a beginner to learn and use.

Specs

• Pay structure: One-time fee
• Compatible operating systems: Windows
• AI-based editing: No

Pros

• Makes small repairs quickly and easily
• Tutorials walk you through each tool step-by-step 
• Inexpensive compared to other dedicated photo restoration programs
• One-time payment gets you a lifetime license

Cons

• Concealer tool doesn’t have a color sampler, which makes it hard to match colors 
• No colorization feature

Retouch Pilot is a great choice for a raw beginner. It’s also ideal for someone who doesn’t want to install a big, memory-hungry software package with many advanced features that will probably never get used. The tools are easy to use, but the most beginner-friendly thing about Retouch Pilot is its library of video tutorials. If you can’t figure out how to use a tool or feature, there’s almost certainly a video that can answer your questions.

Retouch Pilot does everything you would expect from a good photo restoration tool. Its easy-to-use, built-in tools let you correct scratches, scuffs, and stains. The Smart Patch tool is especially useful if you have photos with large defects, such as missing corners or significant water stains. Retouch Pilot can also do something other dedicated restoration programs can’t–you can use the Elastic tool to change your subject’s proportions and form (think of it as a digital tummy-tuck). 

Retouch Pilot is one of the least expensive options on this list, and you don’t need to purchase a subscription to use it. Pay once, and you get a lifetime license.

Best online: VanceAI Photo Restorer

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Why it made the cut: VanceAI Photo Restorer is super easy to use and doesn’t require a download, so it’s ideal if you only need to edit a few photos. 

Specs

• Pay structure: Pay per photo or subscription-based
• Compatible operating systems: N/A
• AI-based editing: Yes

Pros

• No download required
• Pay-as-you go option is great if you don’t have an ongoing need to restore photos
• All-automatic photo repair is good for beginners
• Colorizes black and white photos

Cons

• No user control over edits, and results can be imperfect
• Subscription-based model could get expensive over time

VanceAI Photo Restorer is all online. As a result, it’s a good choice if you only have a few photos to fix and don’t want to download a bulky software package. The software gives you the first couple of images for free (with a watermark), so you can see the results before you commit. After that, you can sign up for a subscription, which gives you a limited number of images per month. Or you can forego the subscription and buy as many credits as you need upfront. 

One drawback to VanceAI’s payment model is that you can’t buy less than 200 credits (for repairing 200 photos). So if you have only a handful of photos to fix, you might be better off signing up for a one-month subscription and canceling it as soon as you’ve fixed all your photos. On the flip side, your subscription or credits also give you access to VanceAI’s other photo editing tools. These include sharpening, enlarging, and retouching, so it’s also useful for editing your modern photos.

VanceAI Photo Restorer does good work on faces, and the colorization feature is nice to have. But, unfortunately, it misses things like dust and does an imperfect job of fixing creases and other large defects. On the other hand, not everyone wants to take the time to hand-correct every photo, so those automatic features are great if you want to improve a lot of photos and aren’t expecting perfection.

Things to consider before buying the best photo restoration software

Software that’s capable of fixing your old photos can be highly specialized, or it can be a smaller part of a complete image editing software package. Which option you choose depends a lot on your budget, how much experience you have at photo editing, and how badly damaged your photos are. 

Scratch, tear, and stain removal

Photo restoration software needs to do a few basic things, but most of all, it should be capable of quickly and easily correcting flaws like tears, scuffs, and stains. Some of the most user-friendly versions can do this automatically, while more advanced versions may require a little more hands-on work. That’s both good and bad. Automatic corrections make things easy, but sometimes it doesn’t quite do the job, and it’s good to have the option to make manual changes.  

Ease of use

Photo editing software can be famously complicated. Some of the more comprehensive options have a steep learning curve. So if you don’t already have some experience editing your photos for things like brightness and contrast, dust removal, and crooked horizons, you may want to opt for software that’s smart enough to make automatic corrections.

Colorization

Not all restoration software offers colorizing as a feature. That’s okay if you prefer to keep your restored photographs true to the originals. However, if you want to add some color to your black-and-white or sepia-toned images, look for software that can do this automatically. Hand coloring can be tedious and doesn’t always produce the desired effect.

FAQs

Final thoughts on the best photo restoration software

It was important for our best pick to be useful for both beginners and advanced users. This is why our best overall choice was a dedicated photo restoration program rather than a more feature-rich, comprehensive package like Photoshop. We liked PhotoGlory’s intuitive interface and AI features, but we also enjoyed having the flexibility to make manual corrections if the automatic ones fell short. 

The post The best photo restoration software in 2023 appeared first on Popular Photography.

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