Photoshop alternatives

Freddy · Apr 2, 2008

Hi

I've tried the following
The Gimp - www.gimp.org - the most recommended alternative
cinepaint - www.cinepaint.org - More for movie editing
chocoflop - www.chocoflop.org - Not as sophisticated as photoshop but not bad

But to be honest, i don't like to use them, photoshop has the best interface imo, and i'm also used to it. But i just don't like working with gimp although i respect the application.

I was wondering if there were any other photoshop alternatives? Or cheaper products?

mrplow · Apr 2, 2008

Not sure which version of Photoshop you have used but Photoshop Elements is reasonably priced and the new Intel mac version has just been released

KiwiJenn · Apr 2, 2008

Pixelmator is another graphics program to try. I too have GIMP but I think I like Photosho CS. I tried Photoshop Elements 4 and 6 and didn't like either of them as they didn't have everything I wanted.

Freddy · Apr 3, 2008

Can pixelmator do more than photoshop elements? Because it's really cheap and has a nice interface.

Aptmunich · Apr 3, 2008

I'm not that impressed by pixelmator TBH.

It's not bad, but it's basically just a Photoshop clone that tends to crash occasionally and has really hard to make out UI icons.

mac57 · Apr 3, 2008

Aptmunich said:
I'm not that impressed by pixelmator TBH.

It's not bad, but it's basically just a Photoshop clone that tends to crash occasionally and has really hard to make out UI icons.

A warning to potential Pixelmator users. I tried it out. Its clone stamp tool is nearly unusable. It has real problems with images that have embedded color profiles (and what digital camera image does not these days?). Try before you buy! I conclude that Pixelmator needs a little more work to justify the price they are charging.

Pixelmator also has a user community / forums. You might wish to scan these daily for a while to get a flavor of where the current problem areas are.

mac57 · Apr 3, 2008

In the end, for the person seeking a serious image editing program, and unwilling to pay the nearly outrageous price that Adobe charges for Photoshop, there are only a few alternatives. I see these as:

1/ The GIMP - excellent, powerful, free, but like Photoshop, a rather difficult user interface.

2/ Photoshop Elements - a fairly full featured program, and a new Universal version has just been released I believe (Elements 6.0)? I don't like the user interface, at least as of version 4.0 - too "dumbed down" for serious work. The user interface actually seems to get in the way, which is annoying.

3/ GraphicsConverter - a very powerful and quite affordable program, but a bit slow in execution, both on my G5 and on my MBP. Still, it is a tool I would not be without. GC can open files that nothing else can, and the current version finally supports Photoshop like layers, plus a full range of editing tools. Very definitely worth a look.

Aptmunich · Apr 3, 2008

I quite like the Acorn demo I tried:
www.flyingmeat.com

It's a bit of a different take on the common "photoshop alternative UI" style (but not alternative in the rubbish sense like the Gimp).

KiwiJenn · Apr 3, 2008

mac57 can GraphicsConverter have effects? borders? brushes etc that can be used when making banners, avvies and other things.

I used to use Paintshop Pro 10, I learnt how to use it myself and was able to get brushes, tubes, picture tubes and a ton of plugins.

Freddy · Apr 4, 2008

Aptmunich said:
I quite like the Acorn demo I tried:
www.flyingmeat.com

It's a bit of a different take on the common "photoshop alternative UI" style (but not alternative in the rubbish sense like the Gimp).

Hm looks nice actually

And how about seashore or is that too basic? I see that they don't have a lot of tools but it has great ratings.

Freddy · Apr 4, 2008

mac57 said:
In the end, for the person seeking a serious image editing program, and unwilling to pay the nearly outrageous price that Adobe charges for Photoshop, there are only a few alternatives. I see these as:

1/ The GIMP - excellent, powerful, free, but like Photoshop, a rather difficult user interface.

2/ Photoshop Elements - a fairly full featured program, and a new Universal version has just been released I believe (Elements 6.0)? I don't like the user interface, at least as of version 4.0 - too "dumbed down" for serious work. The user interface actually seems to get in the way, which is annoying.

3/ GraphicsConverter - a very powerful and quite affordable program, but a bit slow in execution, both on my G5 and on my MBP. Still, it is a tool I would not be without. GC can open files that nothing else can, and the current version finally supports Photoshop like layers, plus a full range of editing tools. Very definitely worth a look.

Graphics Convertor looks nice too

KiwiJenn said:
mac57 can GraphicsConverter have effects? borders? brushes etc that can be used when making banners, avvies and other things.

I used to use Paintshop Pro 10, I learnt how to use it myself and was able to get brushes, tubes, picture tubes and a ton of plugins.

Yes
http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE5Mw_.html

How is the level adjusting in graphicsconverter?

mac57 · Apr 4, 2008

Level adjusting? Works just fine, and has a nicer dialog, IMHO, than Photoshop does.

voiceofra · Apr 4, 2008

Aptmunich said:
I quite like the Acorn demo I tried:
www.flyingmeatsoftware.com

It's a bit of a different take on the common "photoshop alternative UI" style (but not alternative in the rubbish sense like the Gimp).

http://flyingmeat.com gets me there, flyingmeatsoftware.com is DOA

Freddy · Apr 4, 2008

mac57 said:
Level adjusting? Works just fine, and has a nicer dialog, IMHO, than Photoshop does.

Really

Hm but you can adjust the levels in a graph right? Like photoshop and all the others.
Sorry for the stupid question hehe

mac57 · Apr 4, 2008

Freddy said:
Really
Hm but you can adjust the levels in a graph right? Like photoshop and all the others.
Sorry for the stupid question hehe

See for yourself! I have attached a screen shot of Graphic Converter's Level's dialog at work. Here it is. Since it is a large screen shot, I am just providing the URL instead of placing it inline in this post. The mods don't seem to like large pictures in the posts.

Aptmunich · Apr 5, 2008

voiceofra said:
http://flyingmeat.com gets me there, flyingmeatsoftware.com is DOA

Right you are... sorry!

Freddy · Apr 5, 2008

mac57 said:
See for yourself! I have attached a screen shot of Graphic Converter's Level's dialog at work. Here it is. Since it is a large screen shot, I am just providing the URL instead of placing it inline in this post. The mods don't seem to like large pictures in the posts.

Looks nice and a very good price! Thank you for the info mac57!

mac57 · Apr 5, 2008

My pleasure! And that is not even the latest version of GraphicConverter. That is the version that came with my Tiger equipped PowerMac G5 almost two years ago. GraphicConverter has gotten better since then. As I said, it is a tool I would not be without.

Freddy · Apr 5, 2008

Well
I'm hesitating between graphicsconverter and pixelmator actually, pixelmator looks really clean too, so i'm not sure what to get. I'll try the trials.
Thank you for the info!

And acorn doesn't look bad either.

mac57 · Apr 6, 2008

Beware of Pixelmator. Unless they have fixed this in the last few months, its Clone Stamp tool doesn't work properly when used on photos that have embedded color profiles (...and what digital camera doesn't include color profiles in the image???). Pixelmator is over priced for what you get, IMHO. GraphicConverter is a much stronger offering (again IMHO).