Comparison of Two FREE Photo Editing Programs

I want to be able to touch-up my digi-pics, but when I saw the price of Photoshop CS4, I went looking for something for free. I found one highly rated free photo editor called PhotoPlus SE.

And then Mrs_Ed mentioned one to me called Picasa 3, she said it was a favorite of many birders on here.

Each downloaded okay, but after I installed PhotoPlus SE, I had to wait for a registration number before I could use it - and it took a while for me to get it via email. And, if I wanted to pay $9..95, I could upgrade to PhotoPlus 9 - I didn't.

Nothing like that was a part of the download of Picasa 3 - when it finished installing, it could use it. I didn't see anything about an upgrade for it.

After downloading both, I took one of my older photos and touched it up first with PhotoPlus SE and then again with Picasa 3. I tried as hard as I could to do a great job with each program - I wanted to be fair to both programs.

As for which was most user friendly, it was close, but I have to say I prefer Picasa 3 - it was just a tad easier to use - it was more intuitive.

But which one did the best job - PhotoPlus SE or Picasa 3?

Tell me which one you think did best.

Hack

This message was edited Sep 5, 2009 10:07 PM

Oh, one more thing. If I took these edited photos and re-opened them again in their respective programs, I could continue to edit them, so what you see is not necessarily the end product. Side by side, you may be able to see subtle differences, but if you viewed each photo all by itself, I'm not sure you could tell which program did which..

Hack

Id say the Photoplus is the best, but not by much.

I can not tell any difference. I wonder if the free photoplus saves the exif info. Many trial or free versions of larger programs don't save it so you will pay for the full version. Does Photoplus have noise ware? Picasa doesn't. I have Adobe elements seven but I use Picasa for almost all my bird photos. I also use a stand alone noise ware since so many of my photos are taken in less than ideal light.

I agree the photos are very close. I would say to look at what features each has as well as user friendliness.

Think about things you might need:

The basics:
Can you sharpen and blur.
Can you adjust hue, saturation and tint.
Can you adjust brightness and contrast (most can).
Can you resize and crop.

Other features might include layer options and organization.

Lots of people really enjoy the collage abilities on Picasa, so you might want to look at what software gives you those kinds of results, if you're interested. I know the new versions of Photoshop Elements offers that kind of thing. If you can get a copy of Photoshop Elements 5, you'll see that it is mostly a pared down version of Photoshop.

Don't know if you saw this review page. Shows some features to consider.
http://photo-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

Mrs_Ed,

I'd say "yes" to the four things you said to consider.

The link was good and I was surprised to see PhotoPlus for nearly 80 bucks. So far, I am such a novice that, in my ignorance, I don't know if I am missing something better.

One thing I do know, just getting these to free programs has really helped me improve the look of my photos.

But if I break down and make a purchase - I'm gonna get Photoshop Elements.

Hack

Hi Frank, Yes Picasa does save the the EXIF info.

Then I'd say to stick with Picasa to get your feet wet. If you think you need more after a while then you have lots of options.

That's what I decided to do - stick with Picasa until I know more

I'm going to remove PhotoPlus from my computer, no point in tying up disk space with a program I'm not going to use..

Thanks again for bringing Picasa to my attention.

Hack

No problem!

Regarding the ability to make a background black and white while keeping the bird in color…

In my experience this requires the ability to select. It is also helpful to have a layers option, but is not necessary.

In Photoshop Elements, there is a new feature, Quick Touch that selects and paints at the same time. Seems like it then applies a new layer and mask at the same time. Makes it pretty painless I guess.

Go to this link and check out the video
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/features/#item3

Since I started taking digital photos, I have pretty much stayed with the same photo-editing software - Photo Explosion Deluxe. It probably has some limitations but it has worked okay for me. I have never paid more than $19.99 after rebate for any version. Often it is a matter of what you get used to.

This program has the selection feature. I take the original photo, make it black and white and save it as a new file. I reopen the original colored photo, use the selection feature (trace) and simply do a cut and paste to the black and white photo. Always make sure that you DON'T save the "cut" colored photo. Otherwise you have lost the original.

Here are two samples hastily put together ......

A 'Summer Tanager'.

And, an 'American Goldfinch'.

And that process is pretty much what you would do in photoshop. Select the bird and copy it to a new layer that is above the existing layer. You can then make adjustments to each layer separately.

linth, that is so cool. It sure draws one's attention to the bird.

Hey, Mama, (or anyone else shopping for it) I just ordered Photoshop Elements 7 for $62.99 (free shipping) via Amazon. While I was at it, I also ordered an Elements 7 "How-to" type book. It is the one done by Scott Kelby.

I'm looking for ward to playing around it them.

Hack

This message was edited Sep 12, 2009 10:25 AM

Nice Hack! Should be fun for you.

For work I have a full version of Photoshop, so no need for me to get elements right now. Looks fun though.

I must confess to having Elements 7 but being scared to use it.

You know, Youtube is not just for crazy stuff. there's lots of tutorials there. Sometimes it really helps to see it done instead of reading about it.


http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=photoshop+elements+7&search_type=&aq=0&oq=photoshop+elements

Good point Mrs Ed, there are lots of tutorials for many different things.

Thinks, Mrs_Ed. I didn't realize that. I'll be looking at youtube.

Hack

This message was edited Sep 13, 2009 9:04 PM

Wow, I never knew! thanks, Mrs_Ed!

Sheri

You're all welcome. I've even checked out some Excel tutorials there posted by both regular people and companies. gotta LOVE the internet!