Looking for a best free alternative to Photoshop

jennyloopi

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I have just buyed Canon camera, and take some snap from it, But before i wanted to store to my gallery i need to photoshop it, at present ic annot afford the real photoshop that is why searching some alternative to photoshop, The one i find which is GIMP but i read the review that is too heavy file to download on desktop with slow pc error,

Is there any browser based photoshop which is same like photoshop and that too free.

The 1 ifind is Pixlr, pixlr exlress, and the most i like is toolpic , but i am looking same like Photoshop, is it possible to get same program which real paid version has, or its impossible for me to find any photoshop alternative.

I just asked because i know at many isntant a paid software do have some free version.

Dont know i am right in the matter of Photoshop or not.

Please that would be great for me .
 
Photoshop Elements 13 is available from many stores for $60. For a beginner this might be a good place to start.

 
If by 'browser based' you mean a program that operates from the cloud and not from a local install on your computer, I'm not aware of such a program.

As for a free alternative to Photoshop that has many of the same capabilities, so far as I know the choice is a program called Gimp. I've not used it, but there have been numerous posts here and on other forums recommending it.

Since it's free, trying it is a 'no risk.'
 
I have just buyed Canon camera, and take some snap from it, But before i wanted to store to my gallery i need to photoshop it, at present ic annot afford the real photoshop that is why searching some alternative to photoshop, The one i find which is GIMP but i read the review that is too heavy file to download on desktop with slow pc error,

Is there any browser based photoshop which is same like photoshop and that too free.

The 1 ifind is Pixlr, pixlr exlress, and the most i like is toolpic , but i am looking same like Photoshop, is it possible to get same program which real paid version has, or its impossible for me to find any photoshop alternative.

I just asked because i know at many isntant a paid software do have some free version.

Dont know i am right in the matter of Photoshop or not.

Please that would be great for me .
RAW Therapee downloads:


GIMP official site


GIMP with GMIC (interface and plugins scripts installed)


Those above are the two best free alternatives. Both are highly capable tools.

You will have a bit of a learning curve, but if you read up a lot, search for online help and use of processing software, you should learn a lot.

Good Luck.

PS Alternately, you can find Corel Paint shop Pro, a very good software, available for download either direct from Corel or Amazon for not much money comparatively. About USD 65 or so.

 
Hi Jenny

The information that has already been given is very good. If you want a FREE Photo Shop alternative.... the one you already like, Tool Pic, may be your best option... especially if you like working online. GIMP has also been mentioned and is clearly capable of excellent results.... unfortunately it has a very steep learning curve... it is FREE.

If you want to learn Photo Shop, Steve gave you the best option and that's PS Elements... it's not free, but not very expensive. If you go with Elements, you will feel right at home with PS CS in the future.

If you're just looking for a simple photo fix program with good photo management capability, I would suggest that you take a look at FastStone Viewer http://www.faststone.org/ . FS is not as capable as the suggestions already given but very capable for quick fixes.

Good Luck and enjoy your new Canon... Bob
 
You also can try PhotoScpe. It is enough for basic adjustments. For many (may be complex) operations processing is hidden under single action. My FZ150 usually produced good enough images, so PhotoScape does job. It is free software. Also it has some features similar to Picasa, what also is free. This one is more to organize pictures and is rather simple.
 
I think Gimp is closest and best free alternative to Photoshop. I also think it should run on older / less capable hardware. I run it on Lenovo Ideapad S205 without problems. But similar to Photoshop, it is not easy to start editing photos with it, since there are a lot of functions, all are not even directly photography related.

Photography related software, I can think of several free open source options:
  • LightZone
  • RAWTherapee
  • Darktable
Free, but not open source:
  • Picasaweb
  • FastStone
I believe there are other options that I am not familiar with.

Of all listed here, picasa is (in my opinion) most simple to use, but lack advanced options or does not offer so much control over its tools.
 
The closest you will get to having Photoshop-like features for no money is Photoshop Elements. Not free (about $60) but will do 95% of what the average user wants out of Photoshop.

That's how I freed myself from the Adobe subscription crap. Have not regretted it one second.
 
Helicon Filter 5 is free with advertising version. I have used it for years. Easy to use. Excellent RAW processing.
----
 
In a few months, it will be as good as PS once 16/32 bit ability and GEGL gets fully integrated into GIMP. :)

--
Let his days.......
Hi Lylejk,

I have PS and PSP X6, more for my own amusement I also recently re-downloaded a copy of GIMP (aside from believing that it is good to be acquainted with open source software).

Previously I have tried downloads from the GIMP page directly, this time I downloaded one from Patha dot com, with GMIC installed.

Is this your preference? Seems that it makes the interaction easier with plugins etc?

What is your view on this? I for one would be curious as to the views of a dedicated GIMP user on this and I think it would be useful for those considering it to know the approach, user interface preferences etc?

Much thanks, Best Wishes for 2015.

PS- I am going to put this in a separate subject title so it does not get lost in this thread.

--
Wishing You Good Light.
 
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Partha's builds are fantastic, but I do it the old school way. He also compiles for Macintosh folk by the way just in case there's some MAC users who would like to try out GIMP.

Indeed, I have CS5 myself, but only use it to process my RAW files (and don't do so that option since I prefer to play more then to capture; lol). :)
 
Partha's builds are fantastic, but I do it the old school way. He also compiles for Macintosh folk by the way just in case there's some MAC users who would like to try out GIMP.

Indeed, I have CS5 myself, but only use it to process my RAW files (and don't do so that option since I prefer to play more then to capture; lol). :)

--
Thanks....
 
Yes; GEGL will allow self documented edits (what most like calling lossless editing; I don't like calling it that), and 16/32 bit editing will finish it off. The 2.9 experimental builds of GIMP already have 16/32 bit ability. GEGL, by the way, will also enable GIMP to use nodes as opposed to layers. Node editing is the future. :)
 
Photo-Reactor is a node editor program from Media Chance. Below's a simulated IR preset that I created (I expanded the custom nodule to show it as well). The cool thing about node flows is you can re-use them again and you can blend parallel links which is all but impossible to do with layers. Think of this as Labview for photo-editing.

As a side note, even though GEGL will give GIMP the ability to use nodes, it doesn't mean that node editing will ever be implemented. Time will tell.

Yet another cool program that can simultaneously use both nodes and layers is PostworkShop Pro from Xycod. I occasionally use both these cool programs for various reasons. :)

ajl4Tq.png


--
Let his days.......
 
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I have just buyed Canon camera, and take some snap from it, But before i wanted to store to my gallery i need to photoshop it, at present ic annot afford the real photoshop that is why searching some alternative to photoshop, The one i find which is GIMP but i read the review that is too heavy file to download on desktop with slow pc error,

Is there any browser based photoshop which is same like photoshop and that too free.

The 1 ifind is Pixlr, pixlr exlress, and the most i like is toolpic , but i am looking same like Photoshop, is it possible to get same program which real paid version has, or its impossible for me to find any photoshop alternative.

I just asked because i know at many isntant a paid software do have some free version.

Dont know i am right in the matter of Photoshop or not.

Please that would be great for me .
A free,open source, raw conversion tool and full 16 bit color depth editor. Available in Windows, Mac, and Linux versions.

Find it here: http://lightzoneproject.org/
 
I have just buyed Canon camera, and take some snap from it, But before i wanted to store to my gallery i need to photoshop it, at present ic annot afford the real photoshop that is why searching some alternative to photoshop, The one i find which is GIMP but i read the review that is too heavy file to download on desktop with slow pc error,

Is there any browser based photoshop which is same like photoshop and that too free.

The 1 ifind is Pixlr, pixlr exlress, and the most i like is toolpic , but i am looking same like Photoshop, is it possible to get same program which real paid version has, or its impossible for me to find any photoshop alternative.

I just asked because i know at many isntant a paid software do have some free version.

Dont know i am right in the matter of Photoshop or not.

Please that would be great for me .
A free,open source, raw conversion tool and full 16 bit color depth editor. Available in Windows, Mac, and Linux versions.

Find it here: http://lightzoneproject.org/
 

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