# GIMP Vs. Picasa



## PhilGarber

Hey all,


I am an advanced amateur photographer who happily uses Google's Picasa. Though I have heard good things about the program GIMP..so.. which is better? Please state WHY you think one is better then the other.

thanks,

Phil,


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## ann

you are comparing apples to grapes.

pisca does some basic things and can help you organize your imges,
and is fairly simple to use
GIMP is more along the lines of PS, and there will be a steeper learning curve.

both are free


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## Call_me_Tom

I use CS3 but at work or on computers that do not have an image editing program I use a portable version of GIMP that I run from a thumb drive.


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## PhilGarber

hmm.. how steep is this learning curve?


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## ann

pisca is very easy . gimp is closer to PS and takes more time to learn. How long will depend on your background with other editing programs. These programs are not intutive at least for most folks that is why i mentioned the learning curve.


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## photo28

If you plan on fixing up images and want something closer to photoshop... Gimp (plus its free!)


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## OregonAmy

PhilGarber said:


> hmm.. how steep is this learning curve?



As ann said, it depends on prior experience.

I love picasa for what it does (especially the new picasa3 - great app). But GIMP is an entirely different beast. It's like asking "which is better - a Schwinn or a Harley?" If you just need to get down the street, the Schwinn is just fine. But it might not be sufficient for your goals (would you want to ride 1000 miles on it?). Maybe a bad analogy since neither is free... but you get the idea. 

GIMP lets you do a lot of fine-tuning and post-processing that Picasa can't do.


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## PhilGarber

hmm.. thanks guys! I think ill stick with picasa.


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## redtippmann

Yea for tweeking the photo color settings I use picasa and for stuff like the picture in my signature I use Gimp. And with the new gimp you can use CS3 brushes!


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