ArticlesSoftware/App Reviews10 Photo Editing Programs (that aren't Photoshop)

10 Photo Editing Programs (that aren't Photoshop)

By Tim Moynihan | Published May 17, 2013 | Software/App Reviews

Tagged with: adobe adobe-photoshop software

Adobe Photoshop is one of those weird products that has an cultural significance far beyond its actual purpose. As we've said before, it has become a verb - we commonly speak about 'Photoshopping' images regardless of the software that we actually used to do it.

Adobe’s recent announcement that everything beyond Photoshop CS6 will need to be rented as part of its Creative Cloud lineup has caused a fair amount of disquiet (some of which has been pretty loud), but Photoshop isn't the only game in town, and never has been. In this article we'll be taking a quick look at ten other pieces of image manipulation software that you might not know about, but which are well worth exploring.

None of these applications is a true one-to-one 'replacement' for Photoshop CS6, particularly if you're a graphic designer or video professional. But for the rest of us - people that just want to retouch images, manipulate composition, adjust colors and saturation, apply canned filters and effects, and remove that kid who wandered into the foreground of an otherwise-perfect photo - they may prove to be very useful.

Obviously, this isn't a comprehensive list. If you think we've missed anything, as always let us know in the comments!

ACD Systems ACDSee Pro 6 and ACDSee Photo Editor

$60 for ACDSee Pro 6; $30 for Photo Editor 6
Operating requirements: Windows XP SP3 or later; ACDSee Pro 3 ($85) available for Mac OS X
www.acdsee.com/acdsee-pro-6
www.acdsee.com/acdsee-photo-editor-6

If you’re using Windows and looking to replace the one-two punch of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom entirely, ACDSee Pro 6 (a Lightroom alternative) and ACDSee Photo Editor 6 (a Photoshop alternative) may get you some of the way there for a fraction of the price.

ACDSee Pro 6 offers RAW processing, image tagging and organization tools, and exposure/color enhancements, while Photo Editor 6 is the more-Photoshop-like tool for layer-based, pixel-level edits. ACDSee Pro 6 doesn’t offer many of the facial-recognition, geotagging, and distortion-correction whistles and bells of Lightroom and Aperture, but both pieces of software offer extensive RAW-format support out of the box. Mac users beware though - you'll have to make do with ACDSee Pro 3 for now.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4

$150 for standalone version; available as part of $50/month Creative Cloud subscription
Operating requirements: 64-bit Macs running Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later; Windows Vista or later
www.adobe.com

Lightroom isn’t a Photoshop alternative per se. Launched as a RAW workflow tool, Adobe has been steadily updating it through four iterations (a beta version of 5 is also available) and if you don’t need to slice and dice your images too intensively, it's a great alternative to 'full strength' Photoshop.

If you're a RAW shooter you may already be using Lightroom as part of your workflow, as it covers a few of Photoshop’s weakest points: organizing your photos, tagging your photos, and applying quick fixes and enhancements. If you work mainly with RAW files and need a program to quickly process your images, adjust exposure, remove noise, and apply the same adjustments to a batch of images, Lightroom may be all you need - which was precisely why Adobe created it.

Lightroom 4 is available for $150 as a standalone boxed package or via a $50/month Creative Cloud subscription. (Of course, if you’re already paying $50 per month for Lightroom via a Creative Cloud subscription, you’ll have Photoshop CS6 as part of the package, too.)

Apple Aperture 3

$80
Operating requirements: Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later
itunes.apple.com/aperture

Aperture is more of a Lightroom alternative than a Photoshop CS6 alternative, and if you're a Mac user it might be just what you need. Aperture blends advanced features such as RAW processing, manual retouching, custom-printing elements, and tagging/organization tools with novice-friendly options such as facial recognition, geotagging, and one-click filters. Unlike Lightroom, Aperture does not offer built-in lens-distortion correction out of the box, but there are several Aperture plugins available on Apple’s site that offer that and many other features.

Earlier versions of Aperture were notoriously system-intensive, requiring a lot of processing power to run, but Aperture 3 is much improved. At $80 it's hard to find much to complain about.

Corel PaintShop Pro X5

$60 for Basic edition; $70 for Ultimate edition
Operating requirements: Windows XP SP3 and later
www.corel.com

If you’re looking specifically for a boxed-software Photoshop alternative for Windows, Corel PaintShop Pro X5 is one of the most-popular packages in that realm.

It’s arguably the best option in this roundup for graphic artists, as it can create vector graphics and offers interoperability with Photoshop’s own brush tools. As you’d expect, it also features a full array of photo-editing tools as well, including layers, filters, one-click HDR and other filters, retouch tools, and much more RAW-format support than any of the free packages (including 16-bit RAW). The 'Ultimate' edition of PaintShop Pro X5 costs just $10 more than the standard version, and it includes Nik Color Efx Pro 3.0 filters (which costs around $150 by itself, so that’s quite a deal) and additional enhancement tools for portrait photographers.

DxO Optics Pro 8

$170 for Standard edition; $300 for Elite edition
Compatible with: Windows XP (SP3) and later for 32-bit support; Windows Vista and later for 32- and 64-bit support; Mac OS X 10.6 and later
www.dxo.com

If you want automated, tailored-to-your-camera lens correction in your RAW-processing software, look no further than DxO Optics Pro.

This Lightroom alternative features an extensive database of camera/lens combinations, which you can activate as 'modules' to automate lens-correction, chromatic aberration, sharpening, vignetting, and noise-reduction fixes. The Standard edition’s database of lens/camera combinations is built to support everything from RAW-capable point-and-shoot cameras to consumer-level DSLRs, while the Elite edition is a better fit for those shooting with a full-frame DSLR or other professional-level kits. Optics Pro 8 takes some getting used to, but it's an incredibly powerful tool and its lens corrections really do have to be seen to be believed. Be prepared to wait for new cameras and lens modules to be added, though DxO is getting better in this regard.

GIMP 2.8

Free
Compatible with: Windows XP and later; Mac OS X; Linux; Unix; BSD
www.gimp.org

GIMP is an open-source project that costs absolutely nothing. It does an admirable job of replicating Photoshop’s feature set when it comes to recomposing and manipulating your photos, applying effects, and cropping and resizing images.

GIMP supports editing PSD files, and its arsenal of tools is without equal for the price: Filters; brush tools; text tools; layers; distortion and color-correction tools; and plenty of cropping, resizing, and effects options. Although it shares a surprising amount of features with the much-higher-priced Photoshop, GIMP is nowhere near as much of a resource hog. The most common gripes with GIMP are that it isn’t as polished or easy to use as Photoshop, nor does it match up to Adobe’s editing software when it comes to advanced features and color management (no 16-/32-bit RAW or CMYK support, for example).

GIMP has a healthy selection of plug-ins that make its feature set even more Photoshop-like, including content-aware healing tools, extensive RAW-format support, and even a modified version that looks and acts more like Photoshop, if you get homesick.

Paint.net

Free
Compatible with: Windows XP SP3 and later
www.getpaint.net

Paint.net is a free Windows-only program that's often mentioned alongside GIMP (it's free, for one thing) but avid users give it an edge in terms of learning curve; if you know your way around Microsoft Paint, you should get the hang of Paint.net pretty quickly.

Paint.net's palette of basic selection and paint tools are nearly identical to those found in Microsoft Paint, but it ups the ante with Photoshop-like support for layers, filters, and effects. It’s also similar to GIMP in terms of extensive plug-in development, and those add-ons will be essential to more-advanced users. You’ll need to download and install plug-ins in order to edit PSD files and work with RAW images, for example. For basic JPEG photo edits on a Windows machine, Paint.net might be your simplest, cheapest option. Anyway, it's free - why not?

Phase One Capture One Pro 7

$300
Compatible with: Windows Vista (SP2) and later (64-bit system required); Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later
www.phaseone.com

In our Raw Converter Showdown earlier this year, Phase One’s Capture One Pro 7 emerged as the top pick for studio and fashion photographers thanks to its excellent support for tethered shooting, including in-application camera adjustments and live-view capabilities.

There are plenty of reasons for enthusiast photographers to consider this RAW-processing package, too though, including excellent organization tools, speedy performance, and a unique focus-peaking preview that helps you identify the sharpest shots in your batch of photos. Like Lightroom and DxO Optics Pro, it also offers an extensive selection of noise-reduction, lens-correction, color-correction, and custom-printing tools. If its relatively high cost gives you pause, you can always download a free trial version and see how you get on.

Pixelmator 2.2 'Blueberry'

Normally $30, currently (May 2013) on sale for $15
Compatible with: Mac OS X 10.7 or later
www.pixelmator.com

Pixelmator is another full-featured editing tool, and it’s probably a safer option for Mac users thanks to its user-friendliness. Pixelmator only runs on Mac OS X, and while it isn’t free, it's a bargain at $30 - and an even better bargain at its current (May 2013) sale price of $15.

Think of Pixelmator as the anti-GIMP in terms of interface: It’s easier to use and much easier on the eyes. For basic to semi-advanced image-editing needs (color correction, brushes, layers, masks, filters, text tools, and a content-aware healing tool), it has the bases covered. Like GIMP, it also supports editing PSD files, so you can work with any projects you’ve already started in Photoshop. You won’t get everything you’ll find in Photoshop, of course: It’s more restrictive in terms of scripting/automating tasks, color management, and RAW support; basically, you’ll need to make sure your camera’s RAW files are supported by Mac OS X itself (if you're running the latest version of OS X these updates are pretty frequent).

Pixlr Editor

Free
Compatible with: Runs in web browser; Flash required
www.pixlr.com

You won’t get RAW support with Pixlr, and you will need Adobe Flash to make it work. If those aren’t deal-breakers for you, this in-browser editor offers an impressive amount of image-editing power without the need to download, install, or pay for anything.

The Pixlr Editor offers the usual array of paint, blur, cropping, color-adjusting, and text tools, but you also have a context-aware spot-healing tool and an assortment of pre-set filters (HDR, tilt-shift, and color gradients among them) at your disposal. Along with the ability to open and edit PSD files (you can’t save as PSD, however), one of Pixlr Editor’s best features is its Google Drive integration. You can add Pixlr Editor to your list of connected Google Drive apps, allowing you to edit images from your Google Drive folder and save them to your Drive without ever leaving your browser.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 11

$99
Compatible with: Windows XP (SP3) and later, Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
www.adobe.com

Number 11 on our list (we know, we know...) is.... Adobe Photoshop. Kind of. Photoshop Elements 11 is the latest version of Adobe's cut-down version of 'full strength' Photoshop, and it's definitely the best yet. Traditionally, Elements was very much the poor cousin of its more expensive relatives, but over the past few years Adobe has been quietly and steadily adding to its feature set to the point where it's now a very powerful editing tool in its own right.

Although the interface (especially browsing) is different enough to be confusing for someone used to Photoshop CS6, Elements 11 contains almost all of the essential image browsing and manipulation features that photographers need. There are still limitations, but far fewer than there were in the past. For a breakdown of the differences between Elements and Photoshop CS6, this page on Adobe's help forums is pretty comprehensive.

Comments

Total comments: 336

Let's not forget a 'golden oldie' - Microsoft's Digital Image Suite 2006 lives on and has gained a cult following on eBay. I use it and Photoshop, but way prefer it to the clunky, annoying Adobe product. It uses layers too, but doesn't shove them in your face, it just creates them and saves then automaticlly if you save as a png file. The interface looks so simple that a lot of those who try it think it isn't a powerful tool, but it IS, and fast and easy to use as well.

0 upvotes

IMHO!!! Get the best out of your hardwares, then spent little time manipulating your shots with softwares....

1 upvote

RIGHT COLOR WITH RAW FILES
The most important part of a photo software is its capability of printing properly using icc profile. Corel PaintShop pro X5 is a nightmare when comes the time to print a photo. Using jpeg is not to bad but with RAW file it is unusable.
Printing RAW files with the right colors is the main issue with a lot of software.

1 upvote

Replacements for Photoshop and Lightroom for me need to provide these features:

- full DNG file format support (create/convert to, read, change/save)
- color and lens correction profiles in a way similar to what Lightroom offers (creation of custom profiles, usage, management)
- ability to use Photoshop plugins (16-bit color support)

For image manipulation programs, I found PhotoLine and Corel Paint Shop Pro X5 to do what I need, other programs either can't use Photoshop plugins (e.g. GIMP) or set a limitation to their usage (e.g. 8-bit color mode only like Serif PhotoPlus X6).

For RAW converters, Photo Ninja is able to use DNG files properly, others (e.g. Capture One, DxO Optics Pro) don't, or they don't have any way to create/use lens/color profiles (e.g. RAWTherapee).

So, for my requirements, though there are many alternatives on the market, the number of possible candidates is very, very limited...

Andreas

0 upvotes

After reading this article I decided to check out some alternatives.

Corel PSP x5: Found it to be very slow on my Win-7 Quadcore, 16Gb RAM, 1Gb Video card desktop system, Adobe PS from CS-4 ran fine. With PSP x5 adjustments lag and take a few seconds to display, despite deleting the DB file it still takes a long time to load on my syste

SageLight: Mentioned by someone posting here. Downloaded the free trial, very impressive, very good price, though some are posting on their BLOG site indicate that there may be payment/registration issues. Regardless, I will attempt to purchase/register the software.

0 upvotes

I haven't read all the comments yet, but what about Irfanview? It is free and good for photo editing and batch conversion. Many pluginns are available, I haven't tried all the possibilities yet.
Look at www.irfanview.de

0 upvotes

Why no mention of Zoner? A superb and inexpensive programme that has all the primary adjustment tools. The latest version 15 is excellent and it handles all my Raw files very effectively from my D800. Look it up if you are still looking for a comprehensive photo editing programme that doesn't cost a fortune. ***** out of ***** from me!

1 upvote

What about Silkypix? It's designed to handle RAW.

0 upvotes

I see one photo-editing software not mentioned - Serf PhotoPlusX6. Is there a good reason for omitting this product which I have used for many years with excellent results?

0 upvotes

Pixel mator rules for the price works really well with apture and iPhoto gives you layers and texted very weak points of Apture and iPhoto .

0 upvotes

Somewhat confusing comment!
Do you mean APERTURE, or what is Apture?
And please rewrite your comment in a more understandable language with punctuation.
Thanks

2 upvotes

There is a real shortage of semi-professional image editors for a Mac. For Macs I find Photoline far and away the best--not the easiest to learn, as different names for tools etc. than the Adobe standards, and a quirky translated manual. But terrific program: great basic tool, better clone brush than any other (adjust hardness, shape, width and angle, as well as size--why can't others do this???) Great layers, 32/64bit, lossless imaging, CMYK etc.

I am amazed that there are so few mac programs when so many photographers/artists/illustrators use macs. We need a great mac $100 program which would be more capable than Pixelator or Elements, quicker and cheaper than Photoshop, better integrated than Gimp.

Okay, with the recent Adobe changes, Serif and PSP, now is your chance: get a mac version NOW.

Until then, spend a little time, and not much money, and buy Photoline.

1 upvote

I second jinipermn's opinion about Photoline. You have to spend some time getting to know PL, but once you did that, it leaves the likes of Pixelmator, Acorn and Photopaint far behind.

0 upvotes

I tried all of them (at least the ones running on Windows). Lightroom can only be matched by Capture One. Curves are great, offers wealth of adjustments, and as far as I could see it is the only alternative providing configuration for multiple monitors.

0 upvotes

Pretty good list, but you missed a bunch of projects:

Darktable (Linux/OS X) - free,
Rawtherapee (Linux, OS X, Windows) - free,
AfterShot Pro (Linux, OS X, Windows) - commercial,
Rawstudio (Linux,??) - free,
Photivo (Linux, OS X, Windows) - free.

... and probably few others for Windows platform.

2 upvotes

While I find Paint Shop Pro a little short of Photoshop, I find AfterShotPro a very useful Raw File editor. Before Corel sucked it up, it did have some stability issues. But with the upgrade since the name change, I have not had a crash. You can select parts of the picture for selective editing. The non destructive editing is good since the original file is not changed from what the camera produced.

0 upvotes

Not one of those is PHOTOSHOP replacement - ie a pixel editor.

0 upvotes

You might want to mention that Capture One recently decided to continue their "Lite" version which is substantially cheaper than Pro but is missing the features that Pros like. I have it, I like it, and it has all the basics.

0 upvotes

Good article and great read. For me software is a bit like hardware. There are so many options but in the end it is the person who knows his hardware the best that will get the best picture. I think that most of these packages will do a good job. My advice...pick one, and learn it back to front. I have seen people do amazing things just by knowing exactly how to drive the software. Of course if you don't want to put the investment into knowing the software (we would all rather be taking photos than spending hours processing them) then some of the more expensive software does cut down the processing time.....

4 upvotes

Hello Pierre,
Thank you. very good advice.

1 upvote

Very good comment!!! Cheers!!!

1 upvote

ADOPE:
thank you!
THANK YOU !!!
without the Senator Palpatines turning into the Emperor Palpatine
The Dark Side would have forever controlled our destiny
Is it more powerful?
No! but easier, faster
Always two there are:
a Master and the Lightroom...

I wonder if the Clone Wars are about ti start?

2 upvotes

For enthusiasts like me (and probably most of the DPR readers) Adobe's CC offering is the last straw - just downloaded and started to use DxO Optic Pro 8 processing files from D800 - WOW!!! - between that and Capture NX2 it covers most of my procession needs - for Silver Efex 2 and HDR procession, however, CS5 will stay in my library for the immediate future. Sadly NIK/Google does not seem to be interested in the plug-ins for Capture - what about it guys?

2 upvotes

The issue is not nik/google but Nikon. Some time back I got this from NIK (when it was still a company):
"... none of our current software is compatible with Capture NX2. Nik Software developed Capture NX 2 and Capture NX under an engineering contract to Nikon Corporation, which is in charge of world-wide marketing, sales and support for the products. We have to have Nikon's permission to add plug-ins into their software, which we currently do not have for any of our products. We have been advising customers who are interested in this to contact Nikon directly about having Nik Software incorporated into Capture NX2."

I asked Nikon - appeared they had no interest. What a great piece of software that could be.

2 upvotes

COREL NOW OFFERS MASSIVE DISCOUNT TO ADOBE USERS WHO SWITCH
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2013/05/20/corel-woos-customers-unhappy-adobe-subscription-only-creative-cloud-plan

4 upvotes

Great read, but I do certainly miss Corel Aftershot Pro and one of the many Open Source Solutions, especially Darktable!

1 upvote

Aftershot Pro is FAR AND AWAY the worst commercially available Raw converter out today. It's crap on so many levels that there's not room here to get close to a detailed list of the problems it has.

1 upvote

Thank you, DP, for posting this capsule overview of software alternatives to Photoshop. Even if Adobe retracts its rent-or-die ultimatum now, it's too late to regain my trust. The alternatives to Photoshop are pretty minimal right now, but with a million Photoshop owners just waiting for the chance to jump ship, there's a LOT of incentive to fill that software vacuum sooner rather than later.

6 upvotes

I welcome everyone to try our Tiffen Dfx Standlone (or plug-in for many of the above programs including Aperture and Lightroom) at tiffensoftware.com
We just won a TIPA award for top mobile app 2013-and you can share settings from the App to the desktop. Available at Amazon, B&H, Adorama and many fine retailers...

3 upvotes

I have spent my weekend trying different software alternatives, and my choice is Corel Paint Shop Pro X5 Ultimate: I am sure that I can work with PSP X5 and do not need an Adobe Photoshop product anymore. It is better than Elements because it has the batch functions that are not available in Elements.
In addition, all the photoshop plugins that I have tried with PSP X5 are running perfectly. The PSP X5 dialog boxes look very familiar to the Photoshop users like me.
So bye bye Adobe: I have identified another route and a good one.
Maybe this Adobe decision to humiliate its clients will be the most important value added to the graphics/photo software market since 10 years...

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

10 upvotes

I've switched to using Canon's DPP for Raw conversion then use Paintshop Pro Ult with Topaz plugins to finish off - it works for me and is a lot cheaper!.

0 upvotes

I still use Corel Paint Shop Pro 9.02* for JPEG files. It does not have a lot of features but those it has are very good and the interface across two monitors is superb. It also supports lots of Photoshop plugins. I haven't tried any later versions of PSP; no need to.
I use Adobe CS5 Camera RAW and Photoshop for RAW files.
*The last JASC PSP 9.0 had a nasty layers bug, corrected by Corel in 9.02)

0 upvotes

Thanks for this discussion. I've been using Photoshop for about 10 years but I am afraid with their cloud-based subscription I will be forced to look for an alternative. I cannot understand why Adobe wants to screw up a good thing but I am glad that there are options that may nicely suffice...

4 upvotes

Another commenter said Picture Window Pro 6. I've seen some excellent results from it!

http://dl-c.com/

It's on my short list when I finally need to upgrade from CS6.

3 upvotes

I've been using this professionally for more than 10 years.
I statrted at Pro 2.5 and now at 6.0. Get the Pro version does 48 bit and batching.
Very nice.
It's written by a photographer/programmer and has everything a photographer needs and nothing he does not. I always knew Adobe would go for the throat and never went there. Now I'm glad I didn't.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

5 upvotes

I've been using for years Picture Window Pro for advanced post processing that raw converters are not capable (yet). When launched it was the fastest photo editor out there and with the 64bit version it still is. One has to see how speedy transformations of 48bit of 2 GB images are and how low the memory print is (to the point threads about PS dedicated hardware always make me laugh). The dark room paradigm workflow - one image per phase - is also very intuitive and powerful. It still is the only photo editor I know of capable of transformations in color neutral HSL and HSV spaces. This gem really deserves more of the photo community mind share.

1 upvote

Having tried out DXO Optics Pro and Corel AfterShot Pro over the past few hours, it was somewhat 'interesting' to find out that neither of these RAW converters would support DNG files. So much for the 'open' DNG format!

Effective immediately, I have stopped converting from proprietary RAW files into the DNG format during Lightroom imports - just in case Adobe changes its business model for Lightroom as well.

7 upvotes

Thanks for checking this out. Corel looked promising on paper to me (they claim DNG support). Tried it out and there is no out-of-the-camera DNG support (Pentax K10D, K7) - so their tech specs are misleading. There are Corel user forums full of disappointed users (forum.corel.com). What a pity as ASP looks promising otherwise.

0 upvotes

Corel AfterShot Pro actually looks quite promising. I have tested it with RAW files from the cameras I have at hand - Canon 7D, 500D and S90, Sony RX100 and NEX-6. I does not support the Nex-6 ARW format, but it seems to support the RX100 although without lens calibration.I have not tried out-of-camera DNG, but at least it does not seem to support "converted" DNG. The CR2 Canon RAW files were handed OK for all 3 cameras.

In itself, I have no problem with Aftershot Pro DXO Optics Pro not supporting DNG - as long as the required proprietary RAW formats are supported. But this lack of support will make me avoid DNG alltogether, as I do not want to end up with (another) unplanned lock-in regarding Lightroom. But a certain level of lock-in will be created no matter what RAW converter you use, as metadata from the conversion process is NOT standardized (no matter whether sidecar files are used or not).

0 upvotes

Another comment: Technically Corel Paint Shop Pro seems to be able to open DNG files as well as Canon CR2 and Sony ARW RAW files. But skin colors are HORRIBLE for all these formats, including for Canon CR2 files (unless you start PaintShop Pro as an external editor from within AfterShot Pro).

0 upvotes

Fortunately, I don't have a large RAW database yet... Thus, I have no problem using Pentax' proprietary PEF format instead of DNG. I downloaded an ASP trial and will be checking it out. In general, I am looking for a fine RAW converter that can do excellent retouches and then hand over to a PS-like application (I am currently still using PSE 6 plus Neat Image for all the final retouches - considering that PSE is at ver. 11, Ad*be won't be happy with me).

0 upvotes

I have given Corel Paintshop Pro X6 a trial during one day. The raw tool is absolutely crap. I have Nikon, Sony and Fuji files, none of them could give me a correct and good result. So, gave DXO 8 a trial, it is absolutely fabulous. Another software that is a great deal is Serif Photo Plus. I like Capture one Pro with Fuji and Sony files, only problem is that I can not get rid of that CaptureOne folder it puts everywhere, as if they could not do one directory to store all the rework data. Raw Therapee is also excellent, I use it quiet often since a long time.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

1 upvote

1. DNG is an open format. Anyone can use it with no obligation to Adobe. Whether another product supports it to your level of quality is a separate issue. So, it's a fine format for storing images for the long term.

2. There are other formats that are also open, such as TIFF, which is actually the foundation for a number of formats. Most camera raw formats are based on TIFF, as is DNG.

3. All file types can change - in terms of format, popularity, and support. How often do you see people exchanging BMP files? In fact, most types have changed over the years.

4. Don't worry about whether your favorite format will be around forever. It will not. Maybe some day, a pixel represented by a 32 bit number will be stored in a holographic crystal as the actual color (rather than a representation of the color). Completely different.

What to do?

1. Choose a popular format (DNG, TIFF, ...).

2. Watch for your format to become unpopular.

3. Convert _everything_ to a new popular format.

0 upvotes

My Photoshop alternative of choice right now is Flying Meat's Acorn. It has similar features to Pixelmator, but feels more pleasing and fluid to use. I have not done a side-by-side comparison of features, but it covers pretty much what I need. It will open Photoshop files and costs about $30.

Having said that, I still think Photoshop Elements 11 or newer is the way to go if you are looking for something new. Its group shot tool alone makes it worth the purchase price.

3 upvotes

Yeah. I'm surprised Acorn didn't get a mention and something like Aperture did; Aperture appears, like most things OS X, not to be on Apple's radar anymore.

0 upvotes

I was in contact with Corel about the Adobe issue, and they asked me to let people like you know that they are working on something big. I, personally, do not know what that means, but I am hoping that Corel goes back to it's roots and makes something that will trounce Adobe and bring back their reign from the Corel Draw Days.

7 upvotes

What about Silkypix or Lightzone?

1 upvote

I've been using Silkypix Pro Developer 4 professionally for around 4 years. Having tried most raw dev s/w and owned and run a few including Capture One, it's the best choice for me. It takes some getting used to - in fact it's clunky until you learn the keyboard shortcuts - but its toolset is powerful and the results are superb so it's well worth persevering. The Pro series do background batch processing, which is essential for me. Camera/file support is excellent, and new models are still being added as they appear, even though v4 was superceded by v5 over a year ago. Because it's Japanese software, support sometimes arrives even before the cameras hit UK.

So, a left field choice compared to LR orthodoxy, but if you want and need to use a proper heavyweight DAM software - I use iMatch - it's among the best.

0 upvotes

We will see a lot more activity in this area. Google's acquisition of Nik will bring cloud solutions to every day users and hobbyists. Hope Google simplifies the workflow and integrates well with other services like Google drive.

1 upvote

>Farewell, Adobe!
+1

8 upvotes

Adobe's arrogant move is the best thing to happen to the image editing marketplace in a long time: we will finally see the rise in popularity and development of lower cost, competitive products.

Farewell, Adobe!

Comment edited 3 minutes after posting

19 upvotes

Hi, to all you promoters of Photo Ninja and Raw Therapee:
I did a simple, unscientific test comparing the results with Photoshop using a problematic file. RT is off-color to me, Photo Ninja has good color and detail, but I have problems with both yielding higher chroma noise.
Maybe I am doing something wrong?
RAW and JPG file are on my blog:
http://luxorphotoart.blogspot.de/2013/05/tech-stuff-adobe-and-alternatives-for.html

For the time being, my setup works but if I ever buy a new camera not supported by my ACR CS5.1, I will retest again and possibly go the route of the free DNG converter to maintain my workflow.

0 upvotes

I downloaded your raw file and put it through Photo Ninja. Removing both the chroma and luma noise was a trivial matter for Noise Ninja. Did you use it at all? I would be happy to send you a screenshot showing the NN settings that I used, if you will PM me. Also, the EXIF indicates that the photo was taken at ISO 100. I am very surprised to find so much noise at such a low ISO.

While I consider Photo Ninja to be the best of the current crop of raw convertors, but it is not a substitute for Photoshop. Even with the best raw conversions, there is often some pixel level editing that requires a pixel level editor. That is where PS comes in. Unfortunately, there are few alternatives at this time. I am unable to use Paint Shop Pro on my Mac, and Gimp does not seem to be able to open my TIFFS.

0 upvotes

Thanks! I will sent you a PM straight away. The XZ-1 is a compact camera and its limitations drove me to buyng a Nex 5N, worlds apart!
As you noticed, noise even at ISO100 and low margin to increase exposure are limitations of the Olympus. I am curious how ar you can compensate this with Photo Ninja.

0 upvotes

I'm using GIMP and RAW THERAPEE for some time now. They are not the easiest programs to use and RAW THERAPEE is a little unstable, but for those concerned with the cost is a good solution, replacing Photoshop and Lightroom (or Aperture) with free alternatives.

2 upvotes

If GIMP is here and the likes of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, DxO Optics Pro and Phase One Capture One Pro, then definitely RawTherapee (http://rawtherapee.com/) and Darktable (http://www.darktable.org/) should be here! The latter one though is not meant for Microsoft Windows users, only for Linux and Apple's Mac.

1 upvote

Just want to add my voice to the chorus of those current PS users who will be looking elsewhere up the road. I have always been unhappy with the way Adobe forces one to upgrade by simply refusing to add new cameras to its existing software once the latest version is introduced.

Since I don't have deep-enough pockets to fork over hundreds of dollars to Adobe every year or so, I certainly don't want their hand in my wallet every month.

I'm sure Adobe is completely unconcerned about users such as myself defecting to other photo software companies; I'm just as sure that at least some of those other companies will welcome my business.

No software is so perfect that it's irreplaceable.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

16 upvotes

Adobe's money grubbing ways are basically saying screw you hobbyist, we only care about large corporations with huge install base of Adobe software. They may well be better off, and we'll get to help that cause.

6 upvotes

"Adobe's money grubbing ways are basically saying screw you hobbyist"

That's utterly clueless. Your current version of Photoshop will work forever, and Lightroom is NOT going to the Creative Cloud, so there's our updated Raw support for new cameras.

0 upvotes

I have both PS CS6 and PS Elements 11. Elements 11 is a very impressive program for $68 (as on amazon tonight), but it lacks some important features in CS6 that are not documented on Adobe's comparison page. Feature I miss the most in Elements 11 include the flow level for brushes and the clone stamp, the curves adjustment layers, content-aware fill, the refine edge brush and eraser, the layer styles dialog, and of course 16-bit images (and this one is mentioned on Adobe's comparison page). Elements is still the best bargain in image editors by far, but if you're used to the Full Monty you'll be whining!

0 upvotes

Where is Magic Xara Photo designer?

1 upvote

This says Gimp has "even a modified version that looks and acts more like Photoshop, if you get homesick." but this merely links to the gimpshop.com homepage, where there's no mention of "modified" or "alternate" versions. Where is this mysterious modification??

2 upvotes

Gimpshop IS the modified version of GIMP.

2 upvotes

EvanRavitz

I'm a 10+ years user of Gimp (and a happy one too--it's a great program). A longtime complaint has been that Gimp is broken up into several windows, and not a single window like Photoshop. If you type "Gimp screenshot" into Google and browse the images, you'll see what I mean.

I THINK (not sure) what they're talking about with the Photoshop-like version is Gimpshop, which puts Gimp into a single window, and uses some Photoshop-like terminology (Gimp does pretty much everything Photoshop does, but the names don't always match up.)

However, the newest version of Gimp itself has a single-window mode, and a newer codebase than Gimpshop. I would suggest just learning Gimp itself. It isn't that tough. You can quickly Google how to do in Gimp the 10-15 things you do most in Photoshop, and you will be productive right away.

4 upvotes

Latest GIMP gives you a choice of single window mode or separate windows. I'm using single window with tabs, works very nicely.

About 7 years ago I just got sick of the upgrade cycle with PS, Illustrator, ACDsee, CorelDraw, Lightroom, LightZone, . . . used them all. Someone wanting my money every year for new features I didn't really use. PS refusing to install even though I had the SN's. Now a confirmed GIMP/Inkscape graphic artist, also use Picasa for sorting/collections/online backups, and even the infrequent RAW import. I have them on 4-5 computers at any given time and no one asks me for a SN.

2 upvotes

PhotoNinja's noise [and to a lesser extend color] management is far ahead of the competition IMHO. PhotoNinja is not only a RAW converter, but a full-featured photo editing software.

I have used Aperture + NoiseNinja plugin, then Bibble Pro 5 (now Corel's Aftershot Pro). I also tested ACDSee Pro and Silkypix, amongst others.

I do a lot of night photography (www.ecrireavecdelalumiere.com), so good noise management (i.e. keeping details and contrast) is vital for me.

PhotoNinja is developed by the guys who produced NoiseNinja.

Comment edited 4 minutes after posting

1 upvote

I am a huge fan of Photo Ninja, but it is not a full-featured photo editor. For one thing, it cannot do local adjustments. Other raw convertors, such as Lightroom, Aperture and Capture One can do that on raw files. Photoshop does it better on converted files, IMO. PS works at the pixel level, which is why it is so powerful at performing certain tasks.

1 upvote

"PhotoNinja is not only a RAW converter, but a full-featured photo editing software"

Really? Layers? Clone tool?

I use Photo Ninja a great deal, and it doesn't need to be sold on IMAGINARY benefits.

0 upvotes

Google's Picasa. Free, fast, and direct upload of images to the PicasaWeb cloud.

4 upvotes

Besides speed, Picasa has one of the best photo rendering engines around.
Comparing its JPG and NEX/NX RAW renditions vs. LR5 on AdobeRGB displays (lab references 4-9Mpix), i wonder how could Adobe get away with that kind of IQ and speed? For image mgnt. and basic ops (crop etc.) i'll stay w/ Picasa, despite my arguable waste of $$ on Adobe linceses.

Comment edited 56 seconds after posting

2 upvotes

Picasa is easy to use is updated frequently and even has some nifty toys (face detection). I use it 95% of the time. Works with RAW files. Oh ya, and it's free.

0 upvotes

Anyone using PhotoNija? I believe it has Noise Nija incorporated into it. It may be considered more of a RAW converter, although it is not limited to just that.

http://www.picturecode.com/index.php

1 upvote

I'm using Photo Ninja, it's a great Raw converter and the Noise Ninja 3 it uses is completely different to the previous versions. At the moment the tools are limited as it's very new so I usually finish off photos in PSE if I need to play with layers or cloning. I believe there is a clone tool and lots more coming to Photo Ninja.

1 upvote

Photo Ninja is an extraordinary raw convertor that produces outstanding results with relatively little effort. It has very powerful adjustment tools but also lacks features found in some other raw convertors. Nevertheless, the output is so superior, that I don't miss those features in the least. Still, PN cannot replace Photoshop when pixel level adjustments are required, e.g. local edits.

1 upvote

I use gimp. It is free 😆. I like it a lot. I qas not aware of some of the choices here. Will have to try the others

1 upvote

No programm here allows to work with any projects you’ve already started in Photoshop, because none has 100% layer functionality support.

0 upvotes

Yep, gotta finish those projects ... some day.

Might you need a plug-in sold by Procrastinatorshop? Works with any A/C outlet. Works like a Taser or cattle prod.

3 upvotes

I just checked this claim. On 4/25, I did a full moon on the horizon shot that I completed in CS4. I saved the file as a .psd before I converted it to .jpg, I just opened that .psd in Gimp 2.8 and it has all the layers.

There are only two things that have ever turned me off about Gimp (and I've been using it since 1998 along side numerous versions of PS) is that it had no 16 bit image support, which 2.8 answered with spades. The only unresolved issue I have with Gimp is native PEF or DNG support. Which can be fixed by downloading UFRaw.

If you're a Mac user, Darwinports will run it as there is no native OSX client.

4 upvotes

There's an OS X app package of GIMP at http://gimp.lisanet.de (as a bonus it includes photography plugins for CA correction etc).

1 upvote

Corel PSP X5 will open PSD with Layers and masks, I know because I have done it.... my only problem with PSP is that is a 32 bit app. They organized Photo processing into 3 tabs, it reads my RAW files from both Canon 6D and SL1 and I can pretty much do anything I want, once I am happy, can save them in TIFF. Funny things is, if you trigger the "RAW Lab" then it is very limited, but again, you can pretty much to everything using the "Adjust"tab...
Just like PS Elements, it lacks the finesse of PS CS6 tools, like showing the texture in the brush while cloning (which is very useful for accurate cloning) and the feathering in brushes. But it does get the job done.... IMHO, Corel has a winner if they can just port this to 64 bit and add a couple of these fine touches, they are very small in terms of development but with very high impact/visibility.

0 upvotes

Have worked across programs in psd with Gimp for years. I'm working on a project this minute with multiple layers in psd. I go back and forth from ArtRage 3.5 to Gimp 2.8, working with layers. Of course it's not 100% compatible with the advanced things like channels and other trickery you can do in PS. If you're doing advanced PS things then just use PS, obviously. But masks seem to work fine for me certainly and even paths, depending on the v. of PS.

0 upvotes

Gimp Linux 2.9 (you have to compile it yourself) is 16 bit.
Wait for Gimp 2.10 stable to get it for Windows.

2 upvotes

Another vote for Picture Window. It is a fast, fine non-destructive editor. They keep the raw developer updated with new camera releases. [Originally erroneously entered as a Reply farther down]

Comment edited 11 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

I used Aperture for years & I became very fond of it. Very good program. Didn't care for it for printing. It has a major flaw. It is an Apple program. I am using a PC these days as it is much more powerful than a Mac for a lot less cash. And it can handle the large files I now work with so much faster. It does look like there are many alternatives to PS. Adobes attitude about giving us one choice is crazy. This is a big company & should be giving us the choice & not ramming cloud down our throat.

Fred

5 upvotes

Hello ffnikclif,
I agree. Switched to a PC because of price. I paid about 33% of what a Mac would have cost for the same or more power. However, I've lost some of my Mac friends.

0 upvotes

I've been using GraphicConverter on the Mac (now a complete photo/image manipulation program) for almost 20 years. (http://www.lemkesoft.de)

0 upvotes

You left off Zoner, which will do everything picture takers need. It is powerful and easy to use and does not contain the bloatware of some software that was listed. Photoshop is for those who thing a good picture can only to taken with an expensive bulky camera.

0 upvotes

What a nonsense...

2 upvotes

I agree Zoner is a good program, but your statement about Photoshop users is nonsense.

1 upvote

If you are patient and pay attention, the MSRP for all options (inc. Adobe products) are available for significantly less. I haven't done much (occasionally with NewEgg), but I believe you can "name your own price" to some websites for what you'd be willing to pay, and if their website detects that price during some special, you'll be notified. (and "consider the source ... I have very rarely done the "price-line approach", and you end can up with your ID all over the internet with less that reputable website ... or not?)

0 upvotes

I think Lightroom looks like the best choice at the moment. Basically due to a greater amount of existing plugins and develop presets. Like film-emulating stuff from http://reallyniceimages.com, vsco etc.

Comment edited 41 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Total comments: 336

10 Photo Editing Programs (that aren't Photoshop)

ACD Systems ACDSee Pro 6 and ACDSee Photo Editor

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4

Apple Aperture 3

Corel PaintShop Pro X5

DxO Optics Pro 8

GIMP 2.8

Paint.net

Phase One Capture One Pro 7

Pixelmator 2.2 'Blueberry'

Pixlr Editor

Adobe Photoshop Elements 11

Further Reading

Comments