Serious photographers - Free Photoshop clone on Wndows --GIMP

jimbo45 · Feb 6, 2024

Hi folks
While this program (GIMP) has been available on Linux for ages it runs really well on Windows too even the latest insider Canary build.

It's Free and is almost as sophisticated as full blown photoshop --OK Pro's probably will prefer photoshop but this is really good enough for even the most serious and dedicated amateur photographer -- well worth looking at -- and it's free too.

Cheers
jimbo

Wynona · Feb 6, 2024

Thank you, @jimbo45

How did you know I'm in the market for such a free program?

jimbo45 · Feb 6, 2024

Wynona said:
Thank you, @jimbo45

How did you know I'm in the market for such a free program?

Isn't it "Paranormal" Tuesday today.

Anyway you're welcome - and it is a good program --lots of helpful documentation on the web.

Cheers
jimbo

Wynona · Feb 6, 2024

jimbo45 said:
Isn't it "Paranormal" Tuesday today.

Anyway you're welcome - and it is a good program --lots of helpful documentation on the web.

Cheers
jimbo

And that was my next question!

Yup, it must be Paranormal Tuesday!

jimbo45 · Feb 6, 2024

Wynona said:
And that was my next question!

Yup, it must be Paranormal Tuesday!

BTW if you don't mind s few ads in the middle thism is a good youtube presentation of how to create athumbnails from running video's using GIMP.

Cheers
jiimbo

Wynona · Feb 6, 2024

jimbo45 said:
BTW if you don't mind s few ads in the middle thism is a good youtube presentation of how to create athumbnails from running video's using GIMP.

Cheers
jiimbo

Thank you!

Hazel123 · Feb 6, 2024

I didn't know it was available for Windows, but had always heard it was a bit unuser friendly/complicated?

BunnyJ · Feb 6, 2024

There's a third tool, Affinity Photo, and it's better than Gimp and it only cots 69 dollars. I've used Gimp, Photoshop and Affinity and out of them I use Photoshop but if I were to pick a cost-effective one I would opt for Affinity. One time charge and you get all the updates for free. The support is great, and they have loads of tutorials.

Link

Affinity Photo – award-winning photo editing software

The only fully-loaded photo editor integrated across macOS, Windows and iPad, Affinity Photo is the first choice of millions of professionals around the world.

affinity.serif.com

BunnyJ · Feb 6, 2024

Hazel123 said:
I didn't know it was available for Windows, but had always heard it was a bit unuser friendly/complicated?

For a Windows user, it is. If you're a user of Linux, it's easy to learn and that's why I opt for either Photoshop or Affinity Photo

SlicEnDicE · Feb 6, 2024

GIMP is NOT a Photoshop replacement by any measurement...but it's free and supports features Photoshop does not...so there's that.

SlicEnDicE · Feb 6, 2024

BunnyJ said:
There's a third tool, Affinity Photo, and it's better than Gimp and it only cots 69 dollars.

Yeah, this one is really great!

Hopachi · Feb 6, 2024

It's been available for Windows for ages.
As long as I can remember is it more than 20 years ago.

Hazel123 said:
I didn't know it was available for Windows, but had always heard it was a bit unuser friendly/complicated?

The UI has improved a lot in the latest 2.10+ versions. Ages ago you got this wonky multiple-window interface, now it's all in one place.
It covers the basics, editing, etc, gets complicated with more advanced (menu) features but always gets the job done.

I see GIMP as more than a Photoshop clone, for its specific features.
Those in the business who need Photoshop, will use Photoshop.

SlicEnDicE · Feb 6, 2024

Hopachi said:
Ages ago you got this wonky multiple-window interface

The UI is still wonky...although a lot better than it used to be...

Hopachi · Feb 6, 2024

SlicEnDicE said:
The UI is still wonky...although a lot better than it used to be...

Guess so.
I got used to it eventually, but takes time.

BunnyJ · Feb 6, 2024

SlicEnDicE said:
Yeah, this one is really great!

And it's on sale occasionally so.. there's that

Hazel123 · Feb 6, 2024

I settled on Capture One Pro for photo editing - but maybe it doesn't do the same things as photoshop and gimp.

jimbo45 · Feb 6, 2024

SlicEnDicE said:
Yeah, this one is really great!

Free is still Free -- that's all I'm saying here is if you want a Freebie that can do 99% of the stuff even serious amateur photographers want then that's OK by me.

The trouble is with a lot of 3rd party software these days especially on Windows-- well meaning individual developers or small groups get their stuff taken over by rapacious Hedge Funds (and surprisingly the USA isn't the worst at this --it's the Canadians --hardly a country where I thought extreme capitalism would be tested to its ultimate limit !!!) or other big corporatins who then turn it into a subscription model or riddle updates with so much extra bloatware and "feature-itus" which renders the nice simplicity of the product meaningless. Or they still provide a free version but hobble out all the features 99% of users want to use.

Look at Macrium free now -- subscription only and prices not that cheap especially if you look alternatives like gparted (stand alone version) or use DD on any linux distro to achieve more or less the same result.

(And BTW this is no Left wing rant --I'm not a Socialist and 100% support Iceland as a good NATO ally). Can't supply the the military as Finland of course but help in loads of other important but less publicized ways too).

Cheers

jimbo

BunnyJ · Feb 6, 2024

jimbo45 said:
Free is still Free -- that's all I'm saying here is if you want a Freebie that can do 99% of the stuff even serious amater photographers want then that's OL by me.

The trouble is with a lot of 3rd party software these days especially on Windows-- well meaning individual developers get their stuff taken over by rapacious Hedge Funds (and surprisingly th USA isn't the worse at this --it's the Canadians --hardly a country where I thought extreme capitalism would be tesed to its ultimate limit !!!) or other big corporatins who then turn it into a subscription model or riddle updates with so much extra bloatware and "feature-itus" which renders the nice simplicity of the product meaningless. Or still provide a free version but hobble out all the features 99% of users want to use. (And BTW this is no Left wing rant --I'm not a Socialist and 100% support Iceland as a good NATO ally). Can't supply the ame military as Finland of course but help in loads of other important but less publicized ways too,

Cheers
jimbo

Free is ok if it does the things that, say, Photoshop or Affinity do. Gimp is a decent tool, but it's not as good as Photoshop or Affinity.

I would think that if you're a serious or serious amateur photographer, you would spend the 69 bucks and get a better tool than Gimp. I'm not saying that GImp is a bad tool it's just not the same as the ones I mentioned and to process RAW files you need to add a third party plugin.

Food for thought

jimbo45 · Feb 6, 2024

BunnyJ said:
Free is ok if it does the things that, say, Photoshop or Affinity do. Gimp is a decent tool, but it's not as good as Photoshop or Affinity.

I would think that if you're a serious or serious amateur photographer, you would spend the 69 bucks and get a better tool than Gimp. I'm not saying that GImp is a bad tool it's just not the same as the ones I mentioned and to process RAW files you need to add a third party plugin.

Food for thought

That's fine - but usually the camera's supplied software can convert RAW to lossless TIFF or other image types. Yes 69 USD isn't a lot -- but the argument is about getting a decent FREE program vs a paid for one and what sometimes happens with those 3rd party paid programs of the type you mention.

As always in these things there's always a choice and no one size fits all.

Cheers

jimbo

barman58 · Feb 6, 2024

I have used it in the past but, decided quite a few years ago to exclusively use Adobe Lightroom for my image management needs - which is a totally different thing to image editing but an essential for serious image management.

Some time after I made my decision, Adobe made a decision themself to bundle Lightroom and Photoshop and a collection of other image application tools into their "photography" package that although not free is only around $10 a month hardly any more than Lightroom on it's own
Gimp is a fair enough program and obviously a good "Price" but nowhere as advanced as the Adobe Photography package. I also have several other image editing tools acquired over the years, including the full Affinity suite, although I tend to use the Designer and DTP applications rather than the Paint application for my needs

Serious photographers - Free Photoshop clone on Wndows --GIMP

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