Photoshop users Good free alternative GIMP

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  1. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #1

    Photoshop users Good free alternative GIMP


    Hi folks

    I really dislike this trend of software going Monthly subscription -- it's too easy to end up at the end of each month with zillions of direct debits on Bank etc - hideous way to manage your money actually and expensive too.

    Adobe has long since gone Monthly Sub -- but if you are still using a very old version of Photoshop and want something almost equivalent but newer then The GIMP is unbelievably good value for money (FREE) and runs on Windows, Mac, Linux. Any photoshop user should be able to handle this program quite easily. There's not much in Photoshop that this program doesn't have.

    GIMP - Downloads

    Great program

    Cheers
    jimbo
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  2. Posts : 4,201
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest RP
       #2

    As a long time serious user of Photoshop & lightroom The $10 a month for the Photographic Option is the best thing that's happened for me, the user; rather than having to pay hundreds of Dollars for the new package every couple of years you pay a regular small amount that gives you many updates to keep the product current (and ever improving), and for less cost than the previous system over the old upgrade cycle.

    Yes if you buy a copy of software and keep it in use long after it's "use by date" the old system works out cheaper but the software industry is too dynamic to make this a viable option to me

    Also, of course, Experience with Photoshop is considered a saleable commodity in the job market, which is not true of the competition

    Gimp is great for what it is but is not a serious competitor for Photoshop In my professional opinion :)
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  3. Posts : 7,254
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #3

    There is also Corel Paintshop Pro which is still single purchase.
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  4. Posts : 31,480
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #4

    swarfega said:
    There is also Corel Paintshop Pro which is still single purchase.
    A favourite of mine. I've been using PaintShop Pro since the days it was shareware for Windows 3.1. It evolved into a serious competitor for Photoshop with tools that would be familiar to any Photoshop user. I have PSP7 from Jasc Software (before Corel bought them) running under Windows 10 and use it regularly. This is an example...
    It's just the classic Windows '98 Puma - but there's some extra width 'Photoshoped' onto either side of the 4:3 original to fit the modern 16:9 screens.
    User Created Windows Ten Wallpapers [2]


    I've purchased the latest Corel PaintShop Pro 2018 but not installed it yet. I think I'll keep that on hold to use on my next machine.

    I've researched the alternatives for my daughter who has a Mac. PSP fails on being Windows-only. Gimp is close to both in terms of capabilities but apparently it's interface takes some getting used to. In the end she chose Photoshop.
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  5. Posts : 4,201
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest RP
       #5

    Another issue I have with other than Photoshop, the support for professional image formats is poor or lacking, I shoot and process using .ARW raw files converted to DNG raw files for long term storage. I use these to produce end product which may be in any number of end user formats Including JPG, (although these are throwaway low quality images for the web), they are not capable of editing as the recompress the details out of the image each time they are saved. If I wish to share an image I will use uncompressed Tiff

    I also on some occasions will work with multilayer files in PSD format which are compatible with specialist applications for processing, Any alternative would need to duplicate this ability in native formats

    There is also the issue of image size, when working on panoramas or HDR the file size can grow exponentially, My personal record is a landscape image which ended up at 1.2 GB as a raw DNG and was still editable in Photoshop, (and Lightroom )
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  6. Posts : 31,480
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #6

    Barman58 said:
    Another issue I have with other than Photoshop, the support for professional image formats is poor or lacking...
    Not a problem in PaintShop Pro, the only real commercial alternative...
    http://help.corel.com/paintshop-pro/...e_formats.html
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  7. Posts : 4,201
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest RP
       #7

    No good for my workflow, It has limited support for the Raw formats, It can read them but cannot write them which is useless for my needs
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  8. Posts : 26,417
    Windows 11 Pro 22631.3374
       #8

    Photoshop is the best thing out there, but all I am using is Paint.Net, I tried The Gimp and found it not much better than Paint.Net if at all.
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  9. Posts : 8,642
    Windows 10 Home
       #9

    I also use Paint.net but prefer PSP but can no longer afford it. I agree with the OP regards the trend towards subscription based products that you never own.
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  10. Posts : 31
    Windows 10
       #10

    For the more artsy types that draw using tablets, I'd recommend Krita | Digital Painting. Creative Freedom.

    GIMP is awful for drawing with tablets, it was never meant to be used for that. Whereas photoshop can do both - image editing, and drawing.
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