i own a panasonic z-10 digital camera for few months. i would like to purchase a photo editor for begginers that will allow me to add a caption wherever on the photo; to add the date and other details from the exif file; to edit the photo (at least at automatic levels); to change the measures of the photo to cm or mm. in general i need more technical features than artistic ones and i do not want to pay much, at least not for the first application.
Hi AmielSela, The best photo editor by far is adobe Photoshop CS. However, its also the most expensive. I would check out www.jasc.com. They make paint shop pro 8. Ver9 is out in beta form right now, the full verion of 9 will be out in sept. Another program is Ulead PhotoImpact XL.I use all three programs. They each are very good, although adobe will take a long time to learn. On average I use adobe and jasc alot more then ulead Also when you visit adobe.com or jasc.com ulead.com, you can check out their tutorials as well there are hundreds out there on the web. Hope this helps. some people will of course suggest other programs. It comes down to personal preference, how much its worth to you to pay, and really what you want out of the programs. All three programs will do what you mentioned, but in different ways. I would say if it was my personal choice I was just starting out I would go with Jasc Paint Shop Pro. But thats just me and you may find something else that you like better. Good luck and have fun. Its amazing what you can do with these programs
You could also try photoshop elements 2.0 at around a 1/20th the price of CS with almost all the same functionality an excellent buy! Plus given the magazines almost predominance of workshops based on using photoshop, almost all workshops can be done using Elements!
Just thought you guys might like to check out GIMP. Its a new photo editor that has recieved rave reviews here in the UK and, guess what, its free!! Yep- freeware. Go to www.gimp.org/ and have a look. It is not as powerful as CS but then you would not expect it to be, but it does have a few interesting tricks up its sleeves.
hi vicster, thank you for your detailed swift reaction. when i was active in business (i owned a service bureau) we used photoshop/ it seems to me that cs version is too heavy, too complicated and too expensive for me now. i may try the elements version. jasc does want to download on my very old computer (a pentium 2 400 mgh) and i might try again when i change it for a newer one soon. i shall try the unlead these days and meanwhile i thank you.
Advanced or adventerous users should try Photoshop (I use Photoshop 7). Beginners or people who want anything for nothing should try IrfanView. This is as basic and easy as it gets, also handles any file format. And it's FREE!! While we are on about Photoshop, vicster, is CS worth buying if I have already got photoshop 7 and how much is it? How do you optimise hundreds of photo all in a few clicks without repeating this exact process over and over again.
champman, I don't think its worth buying if you already have 7.0, unless you buy the upgrade, but even still the price for an upgrade here in Canada is anywhere from $300 - $500, full ver is $700-900, if your a student you can buy it cheaper. Either way you have to look at the cost and see if its worth it to you. Try out the demo ver at http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html on the left handside you'll see the heading downloads, under that its "tryout" I have used ver 7.0 abit and have found great improvements in cs but is it worth shelling out at this time of the year, no. I would wait until the next version comes out. Did cs come out at this time last year?? If you can get for cheap then go for it you'll enjoy the improvements. eg. the browser is better, the "contact sheet" has really improved, its actually useful now. I love "match colour", shadow/highlight correction is good. And supposedly they included more filters. If you do alot of drawing or graphics or have a business or its your job then you'll find it very useful. I just downloaded Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9 today (new full version released today), will let you know how it is, hopefully soon, depends on how busy I am. Sorry for not giving a straight answer.
Thanks vicster for your reply. I won't bother with the upgrade then. I was waiting for the next version anyway or if the guys at Adobe would include some valuable tools, just for us digital camera users. Again, thanks for the detailed reply
