Photo editors

[Danopic]

I am a newbi and this question has probably been answered many times over. I did a search on the forum but found nothing. Assuming photoshop is the best what are other really good photo editors? Free and pay.

 

[KmH]

Use the search term 'free editing software'

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/search.php?searchid=1108794

 

[Big Mike]

I keep hearing good things about GIMP, which is a free image editor.

Photoshop Elements is like a 'Lite' version of Photoshop CS, and usually costs less than $100. That would be my recommendation for anyone not wanting to invest in CS.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom isn't technically a full on 'Image editor', but it does most of the stuff that most photographers would want to do. And with version 4 being released just yesterday, at a new lower price. I highly recommend it.

Of course, there are others...I don't know much about them, so I'll leave it for others to mention.

 

[SCraig]

Corel Paintsgop Pro X4
Corel Aftershot Pro (formerly Bibble 5)
DxO Optics Pro
Nikon Capture NX2

 

[Danopic]

Big mike, nice review. I saw Lightroom in almost every search I did but kept ignoring it not realizing; lightroom, darkroom....duh. I will look into it now. Thank you.

 

[Danopic]

SCraig, do you recommend any?

 

[KmH]

More that are free:
Photoscape
RawTherapee
Picasa

I use Photoshop Lightroom 2, Photoshop CS5, Photoshop CS4 Extended, Photoshop Elements 6, Topaz Adjust 4, Noiseware Pro, Photomatix Pro.

 

[photographyxfactor]

Picnik is better if you want to edit crappy shots that you took on your computer or for graphic design or to get really fun and creative, but I'd say Photoshop is the winner here if you want simple yet funky good quality professional edits. Picnik is more user friendly, however. So I guess it all depends on your skill level and your willingness to learn.

 

[SCraig]

SCraig, do you recommend any?

Nikon Capture NX2 if you are shooting RAW format with a Nikon otherwise it won't do you a lot of good. After that Corel Aftershot Pro followed by DxO Optics. As you might have noticed I don't care much for Adobe.

 

[Danopic]

As of right now I'm not looking to edit photos, because I wouldn't even know where to begin with that. I am hoping to learn about properly editing a picture. But for now I am only asking because I need to crop pictures and I'm sure there's a right and a wrong way of doing that. I am completely wet behind the ears when it comes go editing photography.

 

[greybeard]

As of right now I'm not looking to edit photos, because I wouldn't even know where to begin with that. I am hoping to learn about properly editing a picture. But for now I am only asking because I need to crop pictures and I'm sure there's a right and a wrong way of doing that. I am completely wet behind the ears when it comes go editing photography.

Given where you are right now, I would recommend Photoshop Elements 10. It is a lot like an entry level SLR, it does all the basic stuff you will need without some of the advanced functions of CS5. If you find later on that you need the full blown CS5, moving to it will be easy because it follows the same basic workflow. Lightroom is really nice for cataloging your pictures and doing some basic editing but if I were to choose between Lightroom and Elements 10, I'd have to go with Elements 10 as it totally outperforms Lightroom in the photo editing department. You can download just about any of them as a free 30 day trial and that is really the way to go. Adobe - Downloads ......... Corel PaintShop Pro X4 - Powerful Photo-Editing Software ....... A good free one is Photoscape..... Photoscape : Free Photo Editing Software (Photo Editor) Download

 

[killbill]

I am also new to photo editing and a few weeks ago downloaded Photoscape. Considering it is a free piece of software I wasn't expecting much, but so far I am really impressed. I don't have much to compare it to besides Picasa but it is very easy to use and offers a lot of editing functions.

 

[Danopic]

I am also new to photo editing and a few weeks ago downloaded Photoscape. Considering it is a free piece of software I wasn't expecting much, but so far I am really impressed. I don't have much to compare it to besides Picasa but it is very easy to use and offers a lot of editing functions.

Thank you