Low Cost/ Open Source Photo Software?

Argentis · Aug 10, 2007

Hi guys, great site. I've been lurking for about a week, and I was wondering if anyone can suggest some lower-cost or open source software that's useful for photo editing? I don't really have any money to spend on this after buying the camera, so that's why I'm asking mainly about open source software.

I have a Pentax 100D camera on order, and it should arrive in the next week or so, and would like to hit the ground running when it arrives. I also have a copy of Photoshop Elements 2.0 to work with, but it seems pretty limited when I try and do some of the things that I read about.

I have discovered The GIMP open source photo editor, and it seems ok so far, but I have a lot to learn. Are there any other free programs out there?

Another thing I'd like to get soon is something to organize my files, since I'm sure they'll pile up in a hurry

. Are there any cheap/free programs that do this, and also contain a reasonable amount of photo editing power?

Thanks,
Argentis

wolfepakt · Aug 10, 2007

THere is really only One good OS Photo program!
And you have discovered it! (the Gimp)
I like Picasa for organization. (from Google)

Troy

deanimator · Aug 10, 2007

I´m not so sure PS Elements 2.0 is exactly limited...it´s pretty good for what it is, and bear in mind, we are up Elements 5.0 now, which I´ve heard is very good. I´m still using 3.0, and I don´t really need anything else.

And the program you have already include a photo organizer...also a good one.

There is a good website which compares them all...I´ll try to find it.

deanimator · Aug 10, 2007

Here´s a good reference
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/software/photo-editing-software/review.html

and another
http://photo-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/sitemap.html

and the Side-by Side list I wanted
http://photo-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

XKeyworder · Aug 11, 2007

imho gimp worth a try

wolfepakt · Aug 11, 2007

I love open source, I am on Linux as we speak, but Gimp has one limitation set to be fixed in the 2.6 release (they are at 2.2 and testing 2.3 which will be 2.4...... evens are stable odds are unstable testing..... Like the linux kernel)
And that is 2.2 and 2.4 only work in 8 bit per channel.
If I were looking to do much editing, I would pay for elements.
or wait a year or two for gimp 2.6

wolfepakt · Aug 12, 2007

I use Linux from time to time and was researching this and found Krita the photo editing tool for KOffice I have installed it and it looks good. guess we all will keep looking.

Argentis · Aug 12, 2007

Yeah, I wouldn't mind upgrading to Elements 5, but $100 is kinda hard for me to justify right now.

BTW, can PSE 5 handle raw files or is that just CSX?

TCimages · Aug 18, 2007

I use PaintShop Pro and Photoshop. PSP is comparable to Photoshop, for around 60 us dollars.

skieur · Aug 21, 2007

Tcimages said:
I use PaintShop Pro and Photoshop. PSP is comparable to Photoshop, for around 60 us dollars.

I use both as well. I should also point out that if you use a lot of the plug-ins, then it really does not matter much which program you are loading the plug-ins into. They work equally well in both.

skieur

JBLoudG20 · Aug 22, 2007

I am a strong advocate for Linux. I develop for it at work, I use it as my main OS at home, and on my laptop. However, I still keep a windows machine around, which has ONLY CS2 and lightroom on it. Developers are just not concerned with Linux, and as such, there are no GNU/OS alternatives that cam compete, IMO.

lifeafter2am · Aug 22, 2007

JBLoudG20 said:
I am a strong advocate for Linux. I develop for it at work, I use it as my main OS at home, and on my laptop. However, I still keep a windows machine around, which has ONLY CS2 and lightroom on it. Developers are just not concerned with Linux, and as such, there are no GNU/OS alternatives that cam compete, IMO.

I am with you! I have both my servers and my one laptop running Linux, as I have been using it since I was just a little jit. But, no matter what, I won't run Windows, I just absolutely don't like it, so my photo programs are on my Mac, since it has a BSD core and runs CS3 and Lightroom.

glaston · Aug 23, 2007

lifeafter2am said:
I am with you! I have both my servers and my one laptop running Linux, as I have been using it since I was just a little jit. But, no matter what, I won't run Windows, I just absolutely don't like it, so my photo programs are on my Mac, since it has a BSD core and runs CS3 and Lightroom.

I am in the exact same boat, except I have 2 OLD PC's that are running XP because no matter what I do I always end up needing a machine that runs windows.
It's such a hassle to have to hunt down solutions with a Linux alternative to complete a simple task. Especially when time is against me.
So I just keep a windows box around.
Apps like Gimp are always there, and that's fine if you don't have a deadline. Having to learn how to do things that you already know how to do in another app isn't an option when your income depends on speedy work.
My Mac is my main machine for my pro-apps like Photoshop, Final Cut and Cinema4D.
Some pro-apps have Linux versions like Maya, combustion, I think Shake even has a linux version.
Linux versions of pro-apps are always excruciatingly pricey compared to mainstream OS choices. So I'm forever doomed to need windows at least once in awhile.