photo editing software

I miss Picasa. It did everything I needed it to do and absolutely smoked iPhoto/Apple Photos in speed, at least on my MacBook Airs.


Google no longer offers Picasa for download. It's available on several third party sites but I'm leery of downloading software from anyone besides its creator.
 
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I was in a similar position years a go. For film I used Epson Scan and then export to Adobe Elements. Very simple and effective. I always used the clone/stamp tool for dust/scratches; takes more time but works very well.


I believe Elements came free in a bundle (don't remember!) but when I switched to Mac in 2009 I bought the then latest version. Haven't upgraded since then. Works well enough for me and my simple needs.
 
invert image

invert image

My PhotoShop CS4 crashes every time I try to open an image in it. I have read online that this is not uncommon and has something to do with the fonts files in it. Is there an easy fix for this ?
Can anyone recommend another program to invert images from negative to positive. I would like to scan using my DSLR. I have read that Aperture and Lightroom will not invert images. I am a Mac user. Thanks for any advice.
 
fs999 said:
Corel Paintshop Pro 2019 is really good for dust and scratch removal as peterm1 said. It is a mature version with far less bugs. I use it also for my digital shots with the Topaz plug-ins.

Be aware that Corel always brings out the new version in august, so you can get the "old" version cheaper when the new version is announced.
Click to expand...

Corel has recently been offering its PSP 2020 product as stated in the above post and is throwing in its video editor all for the princely sum of $71 Australian (about $50 US). So this is an especially good deal if you use both still photography and video but cheap even if you do not.

I am not sure if this offer is open to all comers or only those who have existing copies of PSP but it is incredibly cheap and even without this deep discount the full list price a very good deal.

I already have the past three versions on my system (I left them on in case there were problems with the new version and never got around to taking them off even though no problems ever arose) so will most likely not upgrade this year even given the excellent deal, as I do not make enough videos for that to be tempting but will very likely upgrade PSP next year. The annual upgrades are good but usually are not so good as to offer a hugely compelling business case to upgrade for me (others may differ) , so missing a year is not much of a problem in practice - every couple of years seems about right for me.

These days I also typically run PSP under Adobe Lightroom more or less as a plugin. That way I can use Lightroom for the things it is good for - basic quick editing and then drop into PSP when I feel the need for to use one of its editing tools (like Layers, scratch removal tool etc ec ). This works well for me as it gives the best of both worlds.
 
Austintatious said:
...
Can anyone recommend another program to invert images from negative to positive. I would like to scan using my DSLR. I have read that Aperture and Lightroom will not invert images. I am a Mac user. Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what is working and what is not on Apple.
I have old LR 4.4 which address OP and your needs. On regular, old PC with dedicated graphics card.
This is how reading on the internet works on my PC with Google Chrome:

search: how to create negative in LR (this is what I'm using LR for).
return: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eajmo8gRELI it is how to invert the negative in LR. 🙂
 
I was about to pull the trigger on the Adobe Elements 2019 when I read an Amazon review about it being full of spyware. It was written by a customer who installed it in his Mac computers. Now, I also own Macs and I'm not completely crazy about spyware. The reviewer recommended Gimp.

All in all, I have used Adobe Elements in previous versions (I think the 6 and the 9), and liked it. Do you recommend Gimp over Adobe Elements or the other way around? Is it true that Adobe is riddled with spyware? I still have the Adobe Elements 9 in my computers, and it works, but since I have Mojave in both I don't know for how long it will last, hence the need for something less incompatible.

Thanks a lot! 🙂
 
SolaresLarrave said:
I was about to pull the trigger on the Adobe Elements 2019 when I read an Amazon review about it being full of spyware. It was written by a customer who installed it in his Mac computers. Now, I also own Macs and I'm not completely crazy about spyware. The reviewer recommended Gimp.

All in all, I have used Adobe Elements in previous versions (I think the 6 and the 9), and liked it. Do you recommend Gimp over Adobe Elements or the other way around? Is it true that Adobe is riddled with spyware? I still have the Adobe Elements 9 in my computers, and it works, but since I have Mojave in both I don't know for how long it will last, hence the need for something less incompatible.

Thanks a lot! 🙂
Click to expand...

I cannot imagine real software from Adobe being full of spyware. More likely it seems to me that he bought a dodgy Elements clone online that had spyware embedded in the installer exe. It is not at all uncommon and in my silly earlier days I had this kind of experience myself. A safeguard is to make sure you have something like Norton installed which checks software before it allows it to be installed.
 
Give Affinity Photo a go. $50.00. I assume they offer atrial run.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/

Has a healing brush like Photoshop that works well.

I've been hoping to find program to replace Photoshop. I tried Affinity a while back and gave up. But the more recent versions are getting there. For the last month or more I rarely open Photoshop and can do what I want in Affinity. That's my sign that it may just be the answer to Adobe's subcription model.
 
johannielscom said:
DxO is my weapon of choice. As good as Lightroom without the terrible subscription, or the mandatory creditcard payments.

I love the results I’m getting from it, and the ease of use too!
Click to expand...


DxO works very well for me for removing dust on plain backgrounds as long as you aren't close to other details. However, sometimes its heal tool will automatically clone things like nearby power lines or other details onto what should be a patch of empty sky, for example. And it doesn't have a clone tool to control the source of the replacement pixels so I have found it impossible to work around this problem.
 
Thanks for your clarification, Peter. The Amazon reviewer claimed his software was trying to take control of certain applications in his computer and opening software he didn't even know he had, that said it was created in China or Turkey. I am familiar with the Adobe reports, and, in my experience, when you're running a Mac and something happens, it even gives you an option to send or not a report about the software performance.

In any event, for further info, I'm using an iMac and a MacBook, both with Mojave. My current copy of Photoshop Elements 9 still runs in both, and even though I use it to balance exposure and fix colors (occasionally, if I scan images, to clean dust or clone spots). With my digital shots it's very rarely used, but I tend to use it more with my lab scans.

I'll add Affinity to my list of possibilities. While I'm still seriously inclined towards the Photoshop option, there are too many lukewarm or negative reviews about installing it in Macs.

Thanks again! 🙂
 
A free program which can be used is (besides Gimp) RawTherapee.

https://rawtherapee.com/

You can use it both on Windows and on Mac computers.

I have used it sometimes and it is more simple to use than Gimp. It has some nice editing capabilities which are not available in Lightroom, but only in Photshop (which I do not have!).

As my friends say here in Sweden:"Free drinks tastes best!".🙂
 
They say curiosity killed the cat (whose cat? surely none of ours!) but I'm curious enough about the outcome of this thread, to revive it. So here goes.

So which software did the OP settle on, and how has it worked out?

As a firm believer in the theory of KIS(S), I settled for Faststone back in 2013, and I've not so far had any reason to decide otherwise or move on to any other PP package.

It's free, and although I note it hasn't been updated since 03.2020, it still does all I need or want PP to do for me.

One downside for me is it's for Windows only, but I use it for 90% of my apres-shoot work. I have Hasselblad Phocus on my Mac Air for the other 10%, but it drives me batty at times. Unlike Faststone whch is easy, reliable, consistent and does it all.

But then I'm in Larry Cloetta's league (see #15)...
 
Austintatious said:
My PhotoShop CS4 crashes every time I try to open an image in it. I have read online that this is not uncommon and has something to do with the fonts files in it. Is there an easy fix for this ?
Can anyone recommend another program to invert images from negative to positive. I would like to scan using my DSLR. I have read that Aperture and Lightroom will not invert images. I am a Mac user. Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

I use the ColorPerfect Photoshop plugin (with PhotoLine) to invert negatives. The UI is a bit funky, but I've been happy with the results. You can download a demo version to test out:

https://www.colorperfect.com/ColorPerfect-video-tutorial/ColorNeg-and-PerfectRAW-feature-overview/
 

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