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Any Good (Possibly Free) Alternatives To Photoshop Elements ? Thoughts On Gimp ?
Hello:
New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Much thanks, Bob |
#2
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Robert11 wrote:
Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Gimp is very powerful (probably more powerful than Elements, in fact). It's extremely complex to use, in my opinion, and the learning curve is near-vertical. It feels more like a loose collection of tools and libraries held together by a scripting language than a coherent application. You can get astonishing results from it, but it is a frustrating and fiddly program to use. If you value your time at all highly, I'd recommend the (modest) cost of Elements. There's also a lot of good Elements books out there to help you achieve what you want.... pete -- "Send lawyers, guns and money...." |
#3
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Robert11 wrote:
Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Gimp is very powerful (probably more powerful than Elements, in fact). It's extremely complex to use, in my opinion, and the learning curve is near-vertical. It feels more like a loose collection of tools and libraries held together by a scripting language than a coherent application. You can get astonishing results from it, but it is a frustrating and fiddly program to use. If you value your time at all highly, I'd recommend the (modest) cost of Elements. There's also a lot of good Elements books out there to help you achieve what you want.... pete -- "Send lawyers, guns and money...." |
#4
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On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 18:04:46 +0000, Pete Fenelon wrote:
Robert11 wrote: Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Gimp is very powerful (probably more powerful than Elements, in fact). It's extremely complex to use, in my opinion, and the learning curve is near-vertical. It feels more like a loose collection of tools and libraries held together by a scripting language than a coherent application. You can get astonishing results from it, but it is a frustrating and fiddly program to use. If you value your time at all highly, I'd recommend the (modest) cost of Elements. There's also a lot of good Elements books out there to help you achieve what you want.... I agree with the gimp comments. I'm using it (well, wrestling with it) on my linux box here. Over on my First Wife's winders box, she uses Picture Window. I have, on occasion, used it on her machine (after which I wash my hands thoroughhly). and it seems Very Intuitive. Visit: http://www.dl-c.com/pwintro.html It is, IINM, less expensive that P$-E. Jonesy -- | Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux | Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | OS/2 __ | 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK |
#5
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On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 18:04:46 +0000, Pete Fenelon wrote:
Robert11 wrote: Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Gimp is very powerful (probably more powerful than Elements, in fact). It's extremely complex to use, in my opinion, and the learning curve is near-vertical. It feels more like a loose collection of tools and libraries held together by a scripting language than a coherent application. You can get astonishing results from it, but it is a frustrating and fiddly program to use. If you value your time at all highly, I'd recommend the (modest) cost of Elements. There's also a lot of good Elements books out there to help you achieve what you want.... I agree with the gimp comments. I'm using it (well, wrestling with it) on my linux box here. Over on my First Wife's winders box, she uses Picture Window. I have, on occasion, used it on her machine (after which I wash my hands thoroughhly). and it seems Very Intuitive. Visit: http://www.dl-c.com/pwintro.html It is, IINM, less expensive that P$-E. Jonesy -- | Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux | Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | OS/2 __ | 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK |
#6
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Look at PhotoFiltre.......an excellent, easy to learn and free program.
Download the english version and the plugins, DonB |
#7
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IMHO: "The GIMP' as essentially a 'rolling Beta.' If you are comfortable
working with that type of program, and have a lot of time and energy to traverse the steep learning curve, it is actually capable of doing some very good work. I have to agree totally with Pete Fenelon's comment that "... It's extremely complex to use, in my opinion, and the learning curve is near-vertical. It feels more like a loose collection of tools and libraries held together by a scripting language than a coherent application. ..." Additionally, there is NO capability to work with 16-bit files, and many other things that users of the full version of PhotoShop or Picture Window Pro have available. Another limitation is that 'The GIMP' cannot use PhotoShop plugins. Additionally, most of the comments / postings I've seen in comp.graphics.apps.gimp have been MUCH more orientated toward 'programmers' rather than graphics users. A typical posting would be something like "... how do I compile the program for Mandrake (a flavor of Linux) version 47.3.9.a Release 2.3 ... I'm having the following problem(s). Followed by 15 kB of error log printouts. Or "I just re-wrote the 'Unsharp Mask' plugin ... Don't ask a question over there unless you are prepared to re-write parts of the program and re-compile it yourself. I've also gotten the feeling that the committed users of "The GIMP" are using it more because (1) It's NOT PhotoShop, and they're rebelling against the 'evil empire' (Adobe), or (2) They are actually (closet) programmers, and are simply astounded that the program actually works as well as it does, or (3) They are Linux users, and have no other option(s), or (4) They are just so proud of what the "Open Source" "community" has produced. (I am definitely *not* heaping ridicule here, they've done a fine job, considering that there is no 'central project management.') Regarding Allodoxaphobia's comment about Picture Window: Picture Window, especially the 'Pro' version, is an outstanding program. It was designed by a photographer for editing photographic images, and does several things quite differently than PhotoShop. For some tasks (such as color correction and 16-bit files, to name just two of many) it is definitely superior to PhotoShop, or PhotoShop Elements. Now ... if it just had 'Layers' and could use PhotoShop plugins ... See www.dl-c/Temp Norman Koran has several high quality tutorials for Picture Window ... see http://normankoren.com/#Tutorials I have all three resident on this computer, and find that I routinely use PhotoShop and Picture Window Pro. The GIMP gets started occasionally, but I haven't really done any major work in it. Still, 'The GIMP' must be put into the category of "shows a lot of potential" ... "Allodoxaphobia" wrote in message ... On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 18:04:46 +0000, Pete Fenelon wrote: Robert11 wrote: Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Gimp is very powerful (probably more powerful than Elements, in fact). It's extremely complex to use, in my opinion, and the learning curve is near-vertical. It feels more like a loose collection of tools and libraries held together by a scripting language than a coherent application. You can get astonishing results from it, but it is a frustrating and fiddly program to use. If you value your time at all highly, I'd recommend the (modest) cost of Elements. There's also a lot of good Elements books out there to help you achieve what you want.... I agree with the gimp comments. I'm using it (well, wrestling with it) on my linux box here. Over on my First Wife's winders box, she uses Picture Window. I have, on occasion, used it on her machine (after which I wash my hands thoroughhly). and it seems Very Intuitive. Visit: http://www.dl-c.com/pwintro.html It is, IINM, less expensive that P$-E. Jonesy -- | Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux | Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | OS/2 __ | 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK |
#8
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Robert11 wrote:
Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Much thanks, Bob I have looked at GIMP. It has the capabilities, but the interface really turned me off. If you have financial constraints that prohibit buying PSE3 (you can get it for under $50), then it might be worth learning GIMP. Just be prepared for a steep learning curve, and lots of work. -- Ron Hunter |
#9
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Pete Fenelon wrote:
Robert11 wrote: Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? Gimp is very powerful (probably more powerful than Elements, in fact). It's extremely complex to use, in my opinion, and the learning curve is near-vertical. It feels more like a loose collection of tools and libraries held together by a scripting language than a coherent application. You can get astonishing results from it, but it is a frustrating and fiddly program to use. If you value your time at all highly, I'd recommend the (modest) cost of Elements. There's also a lot of good Elements books out there to help you achieve what you want.... pete And helpful people (albeit mostly Mac users) in the Adobe Forums at www.adobe.com. -- Ron Hunter |
#10
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Robert11 wrote:
Hello: New at this. Might anyopne please recommed any (hopefully free or inexpensive) alternatives to Photoshop Elements ? Heard about Gimp. Is this a "good" photo-editing program ? Opinions on ? GIMP is good software. The main problem is that it takes a lot of getting used to. The other problems are minimal color management support and only 8-bits-per-channel graphic space. But if you just want to replace Elements, it's spiff. The quick mask has saved my bacon a few times. There's also ImageMagick, which works from the command line. Very powerful and worth checking out if you're comfortable with typing for graphics. :-) |
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