Photo Editing/Manipulation Software for OS X

Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
England, UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini 2.0GHz
Hi there,

Only today I began the switch from PC to Mac and have been downloading or installing extra software similar to what I use on PC.

One of the discs I dug out was Adobe Photoshop Elements which I used all the time on Windows for resizing images, basic editing and producing very basic transparent web graphics.

Of course the software is Mac compatible but it moaned because I did not have Mac Classic installed. I am guessing this is a version of Mac OS prior to OS X?

I also found a PSE 2 disc and when I ran setup I had the same problem.

I am no artist by any means I was hoping for recommendations on some similar compatible software. Looking on Adobe it looks like PSE 6 is only for Windows XP and Vista. Perhaps an intermediate version is OS X compatible?

Since I have used PSE previously I would certainly consider purchasing a version of this program but am open to other freeware/licensed software suggestions.

I was a little surprised as Photoshop Elements is the only piece of software I have which is suitable for Macintosh. I get the impression that OS X was quite an overhaul which made lots of older Mac software incompatible.
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
346
Reaction score
14
Points
18
Location
Seattle
Your Mac's Specs
MBP CD 1.83/2ghz/7200 100g + Mini 2ghz C2D 2gb + Mini 1.42ghz G4 + PM 7200/120 + Newton OMP
I recommend Gimp (mentioned in the link from technologist). You have to install X11 from your OS DVD first because Gimp requires it, but it's essentially an open-source Photoshop replacement.

As for Classic, it was available on all versions of OSX prior to 10.5 and allowed OS9 and legacy applications to run. It required a PPC (non-Intel) platform as well.
 
OP
S
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
England, UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini 2.0GHz
Thanks for the replies.

Seem there is quite a selection to try out. I have downloaded Pixelmator to give a go first.

I had GIMP installed on Windows and whilst it took a while to load up did seem a very thorough program (not that I have any experience using it). I will look at downloading it for Mac as well.

I am not sure if X11 came pre-installed. I am running Leopard 10.5.1 and X11 appears in Applications > Utilities and when run opens -xterm with a bash shell prompt.

I noticed you need X11 to run various apps which haven't been made available natively yet such as OpenOffice.
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2006
Messages
471
Reaction score
18
Points
18
Location
Saint Louis, MO
Your Mac's Specs
15" Unibody MBP 2.4 Ghz C2D, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD, 320 GB Time Machine HDD, 1 TB Ext Media Drive
Since you are just starting out on the Mac, mentioning the MacHeist 3 Bundle (www.macheist.com) is worth a shot. It costs you $50, and comes with a bundle of software. So far there are I think 8 apps included, and there are more apps unlocked as more and more people purchase the bundle. Eventually all the apps get unlocked as the bundles are ridiculously popular. They allow smaller software firms to get recognition for their great software.

Why am I mentioning this, you ask? Pixelmator is part of the bundle this go-around, normally $59 for a license. This $50 bundle gets you a Pixelmator license along with some other great utilities to open up the world of Mac programs to you. Check it out, and have fun!
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
346
Reaction score
14
Points
18
Location
Seattle
Your Mac's Specs
MBP CD 1.83/2ghz/7200 100g + Mini 2ghz C2D 2gb + Mini 1.42ghz G4 + PM 7200/120 + Newton OMP
I had GIMP installed on Windows and whilst it took a while to load up did seem a very thorough program (not that I have any experience using it). I will look at downloading it for Mac as well.
It takes ages to load initially as it does some font caching (I think it was at least two minutes on my MBP), but fires up quickly on subsequent launches. Far more quickly than CS2 for sure!

I am not sure if X11 came pre-installed. I am running Leopard 10.5.1 and X11 appears in Applications > Utilities and when run opens -xterm with a bash shell prompt.
Odd. I don't remember X11 being installed by default on Tiger, but there you go.

I noticed you need X11 to run various apps which haven't been made available natively yet such as OpenOffice.
OpenOffice has been ported as a native cocoa app in the form of NeoOffice. I've used X11 for Gimp and Fink (FinkCommander for downloading pre-compiled open-source X11 binaries). I also use X11 for several utilities at work (like eHealth and various cell site monitoring tools).

Since you are just starting out on the Mac, mentioning the MacHeist 3 Bundle (www.macheist.com) is worth a shot. It costs you $50, and comes with a bundle of software. So far there are I think 8 apps included, and there are more apps unlocked as more and more people purchase the bundle. Eventually all the apps get unlocked as the bundles are ridiculously popular. They allow smaller software firms to get recognition for their great software.

Why am I mentioning this, you ask? Pixelmator is part of the bundle this go-around, normally $59 for a license. This $50 bundle gets you a Pixelmator license along with some other great utilities to open up the world of Mac programs to you. Check it out, and have fun!

I keep looking at these bundles, and unfortunately rarely see very much worthwhile. Cha-Ching looks to have a much more pleasing interface than Quicken, but if it can't download transactions, it's not worth much. CoverSutra looks nice, but I already have Synergy (which at €5 is a bargain) that does everything this tool does. However, your point is very valid--for $9 more than the cost of Pixelmator, you get a lot of other apps that may be useful (assuming, as you say, enough bundles are sold that Pixelmator gets unlocked).
 
M

MacHeadCase

Guest
X11 is on your restore disks where you will find Xcode Developer Tools so I think this is on the restore disk 2?...
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
One thing you may miss with Pixelmator is the healing brush. iPhoto has one, but it is annoying having to use two programs. I am waiting for the Mac PSE 6 to be released, which is suppose to be early this year.
 
OP
S
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
England, UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini 2.0GHz
I keep looking at these bundles, and unfortunately rarely see very much worthwhile. Cha-Ching looks to have a much more pleasing interface than Quicken, but if it can't download transactions, it's not worth much. CoverSutra looks nice, but I already have Synergy (which at €5 is a bargain) that does everything this tool does. However, your point is very valid--for $9 more than the cost of Pixelmator, you get a lot of other apps that may be useful (assuming, as you say, enough bundles are sold that Pixelmator gets unlocked).

I agree out of that bundle I would use very little and you do wonder if or when the applications will be unlocked.

Thanks for all the recommendations, I will look through the various programs on offer and see if any take my fancy. At least the majority have trials, whilst GIMP is free.
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
4,576
Reaction score
378
Points
83
Location
St. Somewhere
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Studio, M1 Max, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD
Here is my usual list of graphics software for the Mac. Some is free, some is not.

Photoshop Elements
Photoshop CS2

GraphicConverter (http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/c...lkPTE5Mw_.html)

GIMP (www.gimp.org)

ImageWell (http://xtralean.com/IWOverview.html)
ChocoFlop (http://www.chocoflop.com)
PhotoComplete (www.funkypixels.com)
Seashore (http://seashore.sourceforge.net)
Pixelmator (http://www.pixelmator.com)
Acorn (http://flyingmeat.com/acorn)

LiveQuartz (http://www.rhapsoft.com)

...and of course...

iPhoto (which has quite a nice set of editing tools)
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top