Photo software recommendations

[fred the great]

I know most people think Photo Shop is the best Programme.

However, I would like to hear what our other Members are using and especially the  ones that are easier to learn. I have been trying  Picasa which to some extent is OK but far too intrusive like Microshaft.  Picasa, as far as I can see, just fills up ones hard disk with copies all over the place Every time one edits a photo Picasa takes another copy for some strange reason.

Hence all I need is a decent Programme for editing and storing photos in simple thumbnail libraries/folders from which I can print to suit my preferences with the XP OS.

I do have the Gimp to manipulate and modify photos as I require.

[Biggsy]

I keep edited copies of photos in subdirectories.  I don't need thumbnail libraries, whatever they are, or any photo organising software.  Windows XP can generate thumbnails when viewing a folder of large images.

[fred the great]

I not sure how you edit if you don't have a Programme? Or perhaps there is a little misunderstanding here. Photos as downloaded from your camera are usually but not always held in the Programme supplied with the Digital Camera. These, I am calling libraries or folders. Perhaps you are using the Fax/ Picture Viewer of your OS?

To begin on Digital stuff I bought an Olympus Camera which came with it's own Camedia editing software which allowed me to keep the photos in Directories and sub-Directories.This is now quite old and has too many  crashes. I need to replace that with something more up to date. As I mentioned above I have been trying Google's Picasa Programme but whilst many people appear to like it, I feel it has a variety of failings and would prefer to get rid of it. Both Camedia and Picasa show photos as thumbnails and I can select up to, I think, six or more photos and print them onto one sheet of paper. Usually I print two to an A4 page for framing or for my wife to store in her Albums.

I hope that explanation makes my target a little clearer that I am looking for a nice easy to use replacement Photo Programme with which I can do basic editing, storing and printing.

[Biggsy]

You don't need a program to download and hold your photos and put them in folders and sub folders.  You can do that manually with Windows, as easy as anything.

With all my cameras (except possibly with my mobile phone camera), I don't need to use the software that came with the camera at all.  I prefer not to touch that sort of bollocks so I can have full control.

You said you have Gimp for photo manipulation.  That's editing.  So what else do you need?  An image viewer?  Irfanview (free) is excellent for that.  It also does some photo manipulation and resizing and printing, etc.

Personally, I use Silkypix for photo manipulation, RAW conversion, and resizing, and a little bit of simple file/folder management; Irfanview for viewing; and XP's Windows Explorer for manual file copying and moving, and for viewing thumbnails in a folder.

[Biggsy]

Perhaps you are using the Fax/ Picture Viewer of your OS?

No, I use Irfanview instead of Fax/Picture Viewer, and Windows Explorer for any aditional file/folder management that I can't do with my image manipulation program.  Windows Explorer is part of the OS. 

I know there are some fancy organising programs with all kinds of wonderful fancy features, but personally I haven't felt the need for one yet despite having thousands of photos on my computer.

[fred the great]

Since my post, I have been looking at the Sony Picture Motion Browser which came with my wife's camera. This appears to be much better except Picasa kept on intruding whenever I experimented and modified a photo. It has also imported from Picasa in the same strange dated order, again an intrusive approach that I don't like. We also noticed that some pictures have gone walkies and there are many duplicates also. A ruddy mess that I need to address sooner rather than later.

Hence a trip to the IT Mall is needed to see what stuff is available. I'll have a look at Irfanview and see if Silkypix has reached Bangkok

Basically I concur with your thoughts. I hate intrusive stuff like Microshaft and Picasa

[Biggsy]

Silkypix is available to buy and download online.  I love it, but it's not one of the easiest programs to get the hang of quickly, to be honest.  It's especially good for RAW processing, but also does JPEGs and TIFFs.

[nuttycyclist]

+1 to what biggsy said.

You've got an operating system, whether windows or ubuntu (I recall you use both) and that is all you need to store and print photos.

You've got gimp which is all you need to edit, resize, and print photos.


There's no need for anything else 

[Fixedwheelnut]

  I use Picasa for everyday stuff;
free here http://picasa.google.com/
 Picasa will find every picture on your computer and video, it doesn't move them but keeps the links all in one place so you can access them all from the one programme.

 and photoshop for anything more in depth.

[Jaded]

+1 to what biggsy said.

You've got an operating system, whether windows or ubuntu (I recall you use both) and that is all you need to store and print photos.

You've got gimp which is all you need to edit, resize, and print photos.


There's no need for anything else 

Well, I think I'd struggle to manage my photos in the OS. It doesn't do MetaTags easily and it would struggle with the 54,000 photos I have in my library.

[fred the great]

Thanks for the replies. I think Silkypix or Photoshop plus Irfanview is probably the way I wish to go.

A caution about Picasa. It failed to copy all the photos on my Computer and I was just lucky to remember one that it had missed. However, maybe it did make a copy and hid it   Also it is very intrusive and takes too many copies which fill up ones disk space as well as copies of totally irrelevant things which are not photos. The Sony Programme seems to be better but not sure.

[kyuss]

Does Photoshop Elements come with Adobe Bridge these days? The full Photoshop certainly does. Bridge is a really good programme for photo organisation with the ability to add metatags/search terms etc.

[fred the great]

Thanks Kyuss

Another two possibilities to consider

[pcolbeck]

Have a look at Bibble. Its easy to use and cheap.

[fred the great]

Thanks Pat,

It looks good on their Website.

Therefore I will put that one on my list as a possibility.

[Zipperhead]

I use picasa on my laptop for quick viewing/editing/uploading.

But I use Thumbsplus for most of my organising. I've got about 250G of pictures and I want to be able to find the ones I want quickly, whether thats from tags, or viewing thumbnails of directories - I don't want to have to wait while the thumbnails are rebuilt every time I go into a directory.

[inc]

Digikam  digiKam - Photo Management Program | Manage your photographs as a professional with the power of open source

[mike]

that looks blooming great inc.  Very similar functionality to Aparture which is great, but free.

[fred the great]

I had a chance to look for Bibble, Silkypix  etc two days ago. As expected they have not reached Bangkok which limits my choice.

I looked at Adobe Photoshop but that was too big and complicated for my needs. I also downloaded a free version of a very similar Programme but because it was free too many functions had been removed/stopped and again it wasn't much different from Photoshop or as good as the Gimp.

Eventually I remembered I had the Corel Draw Programme but had never used it.
When I installed their Photo Album, I discovered it did all and more than Picasa did. Basically back-ups go onto a CD rather than the hard disk and the rubbish  that Picasa had collected was mainly ignored. I still have some tidying up to do but we are now heading in the right direction. Picasa has now been sent to the garbage bin and my computer performs better again

So for now I am using Corel for basic editing and storage, the Gimp for major photo alterations and printing via Corel which seems to be much better than the Picasa route.

I will of course keep an eye open for Silkypix and Bibble.

Many thanks for all your input.

[Biggsy]

Silkypix is download only.  You won't find it in any shop.

[pcolbeck]

Bibble likewise is available as a download. Never seen it in a shop.

[fred the great]

I was looking for a cheap Bangkok price.   Regret I cannot consider  official downloads on my Pension

Thanks anyway.

[mike]

Digikam (upthread) is a free download.

[bikenerd]

As is RawTherapee
(Which also has an awful name! )

[fred the great]

There seems to be too  many bug fixes with those free Programmes