WinZip Computing Announces Release of WinZip 12 with PhotoZip! WinZip Review

click to enlarge

In testing of this feature, I found the average compression to yield right around a 22% improvement. That’s not bad, though. Even if you factor the general reduction to be a little lower than that at 20%, this still means that you can store 100 photos in the space that you could only store 80 in before. That’s a pretty big deal if you’ve got a lot of JPEGs on your hard drive.

The JPEG compression feature cannot be manually selected. It’s only available when you choose the “Best method for each file type” compression option. So, you need to be working in WinZip Classic mode rather than using the WinZip Wizard in order to utilize this feature. There may be a way to change the configuration options for the WinZip Wizard to allow for this option, but I wasn’t able to find it. For step-by-step instructions that will walk you through the process, please see: How to Compress a JPEG File With WinZip 12.

This type of compression is not completely compatible with older versions of WinZip or with some other compression programs. Even though I normally use Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 to edit my photos, I have Microsoft Photo Editor set up as my default image viewer so I don’t have to wait long for the software to load if all I want to do is view a picture. I had no problems opening any of the zipped files that used the JPEG compression method in Paint Shop Pro, but it was hit or miss with MS Photo Editor.

The compatibility issue with WinZip 12 is likely to cause some problems if you share your photos through email. Though one of the new features of the software allows you to send compressed JPEG files directly to email, the recipient is going to need some way to decompress the images in order to view them. Currently, the only way to do this is with WinZip 12. However, it's possible that WinZip may provide a free extracting tool to combat this problem if they haven't already done so.

Details concerning the implementation of the JPEG compression feature have been made available at the WinZip web site so it’s just a matter of time before other compression utilities catch up on this matter. Until that happens, though, the only way you’re going to be able to reliably share your compressed JPEGS in a manner that takes advantage of all the bells and whistles is if the other party also owns a copy of the software.

The Pro version of WinZip 12 includes an interesting new feature called the Zip from Camera Wizard. This tool allows you to compress your photos using the JPEG compression technique as you’re uploading them from the camera. Currently, only cameras that support Windows Image Acquisition Technology can utilize this feature so this may be irrelevant to you if you own an older camera.

However, if your digital camera is supported, this feature could be a huge timesaver. Instead of uploading 2 GB of photos and then compressing them one by one, the whole process could be handled in one fell swoop. You would still have to extract the photos before doing any major editing, but they’d be taking up a lot less space on your hard drive in the meantime.

The price of WinZip 12 is right in line with its predecessors. The Standard version runs $29.95, and the Pro version is $49.95. For the JPEG compression feature alone, I think the Standard version is well worth the price.

Since I prefer to use image editing software for any changes made to a photo and I had no problems opening any of the compressed JPEGS in Paint Shop Pro, the only reason I would consider the Pro version is the Zip from Camera Wizard. Is that worth an extra $20? For me, it probably is since I upload a lot of photos. If you’re a more casual user, you might be better off sticking with the Standard version and compressing your images after they’re loaded.