Author Topic: The GIMP/PhotoFiltre/Paint.net/etc., thoughts... (Read 52740 times)

Darwin · « **Reply #25 on:** June 15, 2007, 08:20 AM »

Don't get too excited, fodder. Ulead and Intervideo were both bought out by the same company that bought out Jasc... Not that that renders the product in any way less useful for now, but it's a bit of an ominous sign for future development!

Here's a link to one story about it (first google hit).

Darwin · « **Reply #26 on:** June 15, 2007, 11:11 AM »

Just FYI, Ulead was acquired along with Intervideo by Corel last fall...

Jimdoria · « **Reply #27 on:** June 15, 2007, 03:05 PM »

I feel like I can't let this opportunity go by to mention MediaChance: http://www.mediachance.com. This is a neat company and they make some great software (and a number of nice freebies.

)

They make an app called PhotoBrush that is reasonably priced @ $45. From their website:

PhotoBrush is...
Image Editor - Photo-Brush has all the necessary tools for editing and adjusting digital images: Adjusting levels, Gamma, RGB curves, Hue/Saturation, Brightness/Contrast and more..

Photo Retouch - With its special brushes and tools you can remove unwanted parts of your images, clean scratches, remove Red-Eyes, Clean skin of portraits, Cloning with Rubber stamp and more...

Painting Program - Photo-Brush is also an excellent painting program with its Pressure Sensitive tablet support. With texture painting, Artistic, Natural or 3D brushes you can create any work of art. With Cloning you can turn your photos into paintings.

Filter Heaven - There are many filters already build-in, but Photo-Brush can also use Adobe PhotoShop (tm) compatible Plug-Ins as well. It can run the plug-ins from anywhere in your computer, even from network drives.

Texture Generator - Create amazing seamless textures from any part of your photographs or paint your own. Use them on your web page, or retouch your images with them.

A lot of Fun - Try Warping or add a great touch with Image Nozzle! Add Lens Flare, Sparkles, Age the picture, Replace colors or Colorize black & white pictures; Add cool text in 2D, 3D, and drop shadow.

They also make a very cool drawing/painting hybrid program similar to Micrografx's Picture Publisher called RealDraw Pro.

Although I've known about them for years, I've never really bought any of their software, which is kind of inexcusable. It was aways some combination of reluctance to give up what I was already using and indecision about whether to buy one program or spring for one of their excellent bundles.

But if you're now in the market for a new photo editing tool, definitely give them a look. They have free trials of all their apps, and their store page kind of insists that you download a program and try it out before spending your money on it - which to me says a lot right there about the quality of their offerings.

Darwin · « **Reply #28 on:** June 15, 2007, 04:17 PM »

RealDraw Pro has a fairly fanatical following as well, which bodes well for the quality of their product as well... I think he's also the author of Oscars File Renamer as well, which is a perennial favourite in the bulk renaming category.

snapshooter87 · « **Reply #29 on:** June 16, 2007, 11:14 AM »

I've been using PhotoBrush and PhotoFiltre for over 3 years and found them to be the best for 98% of my work. I have PSP X and X1 as well as PhotoShop in various versions, but find them too bloated and slow for all but the occasional feature that is usefull.
One of the really handy features of PhotoBrush is it's compatability with PS filters(.8bf) and it's ability to scan your system and automatically install them in PhotoBrush, or just download filters from the various sites to a dedicated Plug-ins folder where PhotoBrush then locates and installs in seconds.
And where would you ever find another Oscar who will personally answer an email when you need some information on specific tools.
Take the time to visit the site and see for yourself
<< http://www.mediachan...om/pbrush/index.html >>

Hirudin · « **Reply #30 on:** June 16, 2007, 11:42 AM »

After trying PSP XI a little; I didn't notice any severe problems and am pretty impressed. I even created a cool CD image (which I'm pretty proud of) that I'm using for a couple icons in Directory Opus.

The GIMP/PhotoFiltre/Paint.net/etc., thoughts...

CD3.pspimage.rar (223.14 kB - downloaded 356 times.)

I think PSP is one of the most intuitive paint programs out there (I haven't tried them all though, but I'm attempting to). But I must say that I was missing some of the features I managed to discover in The GIMP during it's 1 day on my computer. The most notable would be selection constraints in The GIMP. By holding Shift, Ctrl, and/or Alt you can force the selection tool to be constrained to different shapes/have different origin points. So, if you're using the 'Circle' selection tool, you can hold one key to make the cursor the center of the circle, by holding another you can force the selection to be a perfect circle, and by holding both you can do both. VERY handy IMO!

Darwin · « **Reply #31 on:** June 16, 2007, 12:46 PM »

I have PSP 9, X, and XI and *just* uninstalled X, so still have 9 and XI loaded. I also use Photofiltre for quick jobs as it opens so quickly but I do find PSP much more intuitive so use it if I am doing more complex manipulation of graphics. If I didn't have licences for all of these I'd probably be looking very closely at Paint.net, which looks really good.

digitalzen · « **Reply #32 on:** June 16, 2007, 07:08 PM »

Since I use Picasa2 for indexing, I tend to use it for simple editing if it's open (love that straightening tool) or FastStone Image Viewer, which is my default viewer.

Beyond that, I've tried the Gimp, PhotoFiltre, Paint.NET and the free version of Serif Photo Plus (v. 5, I think). I'd be inclined to stick with Picasa if it had a cloning tool, except for the very rare occasions when I need layers. However, I find that for "serious" editing PhotoShop Elements suits very well.

People assume that Elements is simply a dumbed-down version of PS, intended to hook users for upgrades. That's not the case at all. PSE is a full-featured program that will do 99% of what amateurs and casual pros need, and the learning curve is nowhere near as steep as PS itself. It even has a few features that haven't made it into PhotoShop yet.

It's not freeware, but given that it's available all over the Web for under fifty bucks and retails for under a hundred, it kicks a lot of butt for the money. I do some fairly serious stuff with RAW, etc. and occasionally layers, and I haven't found anything yet that it won't handle easily. The auto adjustments, BTW, are spot-on with my Epson printer. I rarely do manual tweaks any more.

mitzevo · « **Reply #33 on:** June 18, 2007, 11:03 PM »

Photoshop is very good, and very expensive.
Looking for Photoshop tutorials? Google.

GIMP is also very good, but the learning curve is huge compared to Photoshop
Looking for GIMP tutorials? Google.

Paint.NET I executed once and never looked back - because I didn't have time

belkira · « **Reply #34 on:** June 19, 2007, 10:50 AM »

Anyone tried CinePaint?

http://www.cinepaint.org/

Looks interesting, but I am afraid I don't use PhotoShop enough to make a comparison.

Also if on linux this one looks interesting:

http://www.koffice.org/krita/

johnpulliam · « **Reply #35 on:** June 19, 2007, 06:43 PM »

I've used both Photoshop and the GIMP a few times in the past, and I found them both pretty difficult to use, especially PS. the GIMP at least is free and compact, and later versions get easier and easier to use. Of course, any software is like that, you have to get up the learning curve to get to a point where it's useful.

But, for what it's worth, the GIMP is an excellent program. Thumbs Up.

mitzevo · « **Reply #36 on:** June 19, 2007, 11:19 PM »

yeah that's right, GIMP is an excellent graphics program, it just takes a while to get used to it and learn how to use it, there are a few plugins/addons that make the UI look and act a bit like PS (as mentioned some where) - If you plan on giving the GIMP a shot (for the nth time

) maybe you can try one of them.

Hirudin · « **Reply #37 on:** June 20, 2007, 12:12 AM »

My latest, brief, encounter with The GIMP was overall OK (I refuse to believe the zoom was suppose-to act the way it did, and the rest of the problems I chalk-up to bugs). I look forward to the next version (or the first version that is Vista x64 compatible)!

None of the other softwares that I've tried receintly seemed like they would be able to compete with a working GIMP, especially when you consider the price!

OK, Photoshop probably could, but I find that it's equally difficult and unintuitive (and has an only slightly less-ridiculous UI). But the $650 spent on PS could buy you a pretty darn decent dedicated Linux computer. Or, a 24" LCD 1920x1080 monitor!

KenR · « **Reply #38 on:** June 23, 2007, 01:47 AM »

After trying PSP XI a little; I didn't notice any severe problems and am pretty impressed. I even created a cool CD image (which I'm pretty proud of) that I'm using for a couple icons in Directory Opus.
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I think PSP is one of the most intuitive paint programs out there (I haven't tried them all though, but I'm attempting to). But I must say that I was missing some of the features I managed to discover in The GIMP during it's 1 day on my computer. The most notable would be selection constraints in The GIMP. By holding Shift, Ctrl, and/or Alt you can force the selection tool to be constrained to different shapes/have different origin points. So, if you're using the 'Circle' selection tool, you can hold one key to make the cursor the center of the circle, by holding another you can force the selection to be a perfect circle, and by holding both you can do both. VERY handy IMO!
-Hirudin (June 16, 2007, 11:42 AM)

Hirudin,
Sorry to be sooo late in responding to your post. Your CD images is fantastic. My compliments. I thought that your use of the base image was clever and the various layers showed an impressive understanding of masking.

Second, I agree that PSP has the most intuitive interface. I had not tried any of the programs people had recently been discussing except Xara. So, I downloaded a copy of all of them and tried each (that's one of the reasons it took me so long to respond). I found the UI of PSP far more refined and intuitive than the others, including Photoshop (at least v7 which I purchased).

Ken

mikiem · « **Reply #39 on:** June 23, 2007, 11:13 AM »

Every one of my favorite graphics programs has wound up getting bought out over the years... Probably a lesson for me in there somewhere

-- maybe why I've given up not ever buying from companies I dislike. I've got & use P/Shop 7, and will eventually get around to upgrading to CS3, but only to preserve my ability to upgrade and pay the far lesser price... 7's the oldest version that qualifies I think, & probably won't for CS4.

KenR · « **Reply #40 on:** June 23, 2007, 12:14 PM »

Every one of my favorite graphics programs has wound up getting bought out over the years... Probably a lesson for me in there somewhere -- maybe why I've given up not ever buying from companies I dislike. I've got & use P/Shop 7, and will eventually get around to upgrading to CS3, but only to preserve my ability to upgrade and pay the far lesser price... 7's the oldest version that qualifies I think, & probably won't for CS4.
-mikiem (June 23, 2007, 11:13 AM)

Yeah, I noticed the same thing Mikiem - or at least formed the same opinion. However, it might be cheaper to buy a new copy on ebay rather than upgrading from the developers. It's something to check into anyway when you are ready to upgrade.

I just bought PSP XI for a fantastic price on ebay. So, while I like Photoshop, I am going to try to live with v7 instead of upgrading. It will be interesting to see if I need to switch to Photoshop because I can't do something in PSP.

EVERYONE: Thank you very much to all who contributed to the graphics programs threads. The posts has been extremely informative and much appreciated.

Ken

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #41 on:** June 23, 2007, 03:17 PM »

Personally I think it is a REALLY bad idea to buy software from eBay - the chances of getting stung are high and if the software requires activation you can be completely stuffed! Just my 2p.

Another cheap way to get Adobe software is to sign up for a course at an accredited college or uni (part time is fine - so an evening class should qualify) and then buy at student price!

Hirudin · « **Reply #42 on:** June 23, 2007, 04:16 PM »

Thanks KenR, 'preciate it!

I love buying... well, everything on eBay! I would say the opportunity for someone to sting you is high, but the chance of it actually happening is very low. Smart shopping helps your chances I'm sure.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #43 on:** June 23, 2007, 06:16 PM »

Don't get me wrong I buy a lot of stuff on eBay - but I wouldn't buy software unless it was from a well established company that was licensed to sell the product - especially if you need to guarantee it will register/activate properly. No one is going to sell Adobe software cheaper than the upgrade price unless it is second hand - with their current activation model that would be very risky.

zridling · « **Reply #44 on:** June 25, 2007, 07:19 AM »

Hirudin, I forgot to mention that Photofiltre Studio 9 does support layers, but costs you €25. It's transformation features have greatly improved, too. If you get a chance, check out the cool copyright feature.

Curt · « **Reply #45 on:** June 25, 2007, 01:56 PM »

Hmmm, guys; you talk about Photoshop and Gimp, but does not mention their child: GIMPshop?!!
Gimp a la Photoshop: http://gimpshopdotnet.blogspot.com/

http://gimpshopdotnet.blogspot.com/

Hirudin · « **Reply #46 on:** June 25, 2007, 03:58 PM »

Thanks for the pic Curt! I wondered if it would have a parent window with ~~toolbars~~ pallets (instead of 3 separate windows that they use for some ungodly reason in normal The GIMP).

Having everything in one window does appeal to me, but personally, I hate Photoshop's UI so anything that emulates it immediately looses points in my book.

@zridling, PFS(?) 9 is one I actually tried. It does indeed seem like a very nice program, and the price is hard to beat, but to me it also feels a little unfinished. Maybe unfinished isn't the right word... I can't put my finger on it. I guess the options menu was a big disappointment for me, it kinda gives the impression of "hey, here's the program, take it or leave it". I'm unfortunately leaving it. I will check out the copyright feature before my trial expires though!

Curt · « **Reply #47 on:** June 25, 2007, 04:29 PM »

Photoshop is very good, and very expensive.

GIMP is also very good, but the learning curve is huge compared to Photoshop

Paint.NET I executed once and never looked back - because I didn't have time
-mitzevo (June 18, 2007, 11:03 PM)

Allow me to rewrite your post:

Rolls Royce is good and expensive
Ferrari is good and expensive
Polski FIAT? I never looked back.

Please forgive me, mitzevo, but I think you have been unfair. Paint.NET is an excellent paint program, compared to MS Paint. Paint is the program to compare Paint.NET with, not Photoshop and The Gimp.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #48 on:** June 26, 2007, 03:11 AM »

Hmmm, guys; you talk about Photoshop and Gimp, but does not mention their child: GIMPshop?!!
Gimp a la Photoshop: http://gimpshopdotnet.blogspot.com/
-Curt (June 25, 2007, 01:56 PM)

If you look at the top of this thread GIMPShop was mentioned fairly early on (you have to go back to page 1).

Trouble is it is supposed to work like PaintShop but it just doesn't!! It has a superficial similarity but that is as far as it goes. I think if you want to use GIMP then you may as well use GIMP rather than GIMPshop as there is going to be a learning curve whichever you use - and if you are a Photoshop user looking for something to use at home then GIMPShop is more confusing than helpful (IMHO).

The other advantage of GIMP over GIMPShop is that you will have much quicker access to new releases.

Jimdoria · « **Reply #49 on:** June 26, 2007, 12:27 PM »

Plus stability. I have never gotten GIMPshop to run successfully, but GIMP runs just fine.

I wondered if it would have a parent window with pallets (instead of 3 separate windows that they use for some ungodly reason in normal The GIMP).

Hirudin, I guess you are not a MAC user!

I think GIMP was initially intended to be a Linux clone of the Mac version of Photoshop, and when it jumped the fence to Windows, it brought its Mac-style UI with it. Unlike in the Windows world, not everything is contained inside of a top-level window on the Mac.