Hi All

I've downloaded the 30 day trial of Photoshop Element 7 and have been practicing the basics. I was planning to buy it when my free trial runs out but just yesterday I heard about GIMP. I have 6 days of free photoshop left.

So my question is how do the two compare in features and ease of use? I want to be able to fix up family pictures - adjust the color, brightness, etc and remove unwanted objects. I like the photoshop organizer. Does GIMP have something similar?

Thanks

GIMP has a lot more features than Elements, it is nearer to the full Photoshop, but frankly for everyday preparation and editing of family pictures it is probably, like the full PS, a bit of overkill.................aimed at professionals and commercial printing rather than domestic use.

The other problem is that GIMP is really only native to Linux.To install it on Windows, you also have to have GTK+, the GIMP Toolkit. 



GIMP is a very steep learning curve, and the interface and the working of the tools are very rough compared to any version of Photoshop, as you may expect from a freebie..............having said that, for free you get a very powerful bit of software.

I don't think GIMP has the organiser, it is simply an editor.

It is difficult for me to say as I have Photoshop CS2 and never used GIMP or Elements, but I feel from what you say about your own needs that Elements is the way for you to go.................go on, treat yourself to a Christmas surprise box.

Thanks alumbagh.

Photoshop it is. I want something easy to learn and I've already spent 3 weeks with photoshop.

Mike

Photoshop is really no easier than GIMP... i find that i prefer GIMP for basic editing, rather than PS CS3 that my school has. You just have to learn where things are, so unless you're just moving from Photoshop, and you've been a long time user, it shouldn't be any harder.

The only thing i prefer PS for is selecting, extracting, and general photo correction. I've found that GIMP is nicer in that its much smaller, much cheaper, and allows you to open PS files.

You should give GIMP a week or two of messing around with it before you give into paying for PS. I think you might agree that it gives just as many features, or maybe more.

I'd throw out the statement about it being only native to linux nowadays. They've made adjustments, all you need is the installer package, you don't have to worry about installing the GTK runtime environment, or really rough tools. Its more accessible than PS for sure.

Going off on that tangent, half of the time i get annoyed and frustrated in photoshop because it doesn't have some really simple options that GIMP does have. For example, opening an image as a layer, and .GIF animations. Oh, and photoshop's sharpen is a piece of junk compared to GIMP's. Its hardly worth using unsharp mask in PS...

I'm not crazy into open source software, but i really think you should give it a try. I wish i could use PS and GIMP for freely between the two, because they each have nice features that the other doesn't, or lacks on.

At school i use Fireworks, PS and i use gimp at home, all three on xp and i would say gimp is my favorite then fireworks and PS sort of fell off the bottom somewere. But thats just my opinion.

Wolfy87

Oh and gimp has a wider choice of formats than there are bugs in windows, now thats a mean feat! no offence microsoft, we still love you.

For GIMP you only need to install it. no more need to install the GTK or GIMP toolkit