# Gimp vs Photoshop



## stephras07 (Jun 13, 2010)

I really want to get photoshop 7 (I found a copy on ebay for $80 new), can't afford the CS versions, and haven't heard the best things about Photoshop Elements (correct me if I'm wrong!)

My husband really wants me to just get Gimp, which is a free, Mac version of Photoshop (according to him).  

I do use Mac, but I know that Photoshop makes mac editions as well.

I would love any thoughts about any of these programs!


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## AlexL (Jun 13, 2010)

I think you should try out GIMP first if you haven't been using any photoshop anyways. I think GIMP has better features and tools then photoshop 7 (way too back and used mostly CS 2,4,5)


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## stephras07 (Jun 13, 2010)

Have you used Gimp?  I haven't really used anything other than iPhoto at this point so I'm not really sure what I'm doing lol.


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## AlexL (Jun 13, 2010)

I have used GIMP before, and I'm no where near an experience user of it or familiar with the tools.  But you can find a lot of examples of how to use it on this forum and there are many tutorials you can look at. Google it


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## stephras07 (Jun 13, 2010)

Thanks!  I was looking for people with experience to get some good feedback, not just "go with gimp because its free" or "go with photoshop because its not free" type of thing.


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## CW Jones (Jun 13, 2010)

I have used GIMP. It is a nice "starter" type program. It has lots of the same features as Photoshop CS3, 4, and some of 5. BUT where they differ is how well those features work. I can clone in both programs however I feel Photoshop does a better job of blending to make it look more correct. Just a personal observation. 

Like I said I have used both and would seriously recommend trying GIMP out for a while before you move on to something like CS5


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## stephras07 (Jun 13, 2010)

Thanks for the details - that helps alot.  I guess I will give Gimp a try, at least until I get better at editing and need something more.  

I hate it when my husband is right.... LOL


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## CW Jones (Jun 13, 2010)

ummmm well then just to spite him get CS5 and you won't be disappointed with it! haha

You can outgrow GIMP but I find CS5 hard to outgrow. You could learn with either of them.


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## alexrock23 (Jun 13, 2010)

I use GIMP for much of my photo work. GIMP works fine for my purposes and delivers most of the features I would need in an image editing suite. It is also available on several platforms, which suits me better due to operating system diversity.


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## Garbz (Jun 14, 2010)

GIMP suffers from a complete lack of 16bit colour support. That's the only issue. If you're doing RAW editing make sure you have your exposure nailed as close as possible in UFRAW before the file is opened in GIMP to make sure you don't end up losing too much quality as a result of your edits. 

For minor editing there's no issue, but if you're a heavy wedding photographer type psycho editor then GIMP is not sufficient in my opinion.


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## lamar328 (Jun 14, 2010)

I was using Photoshop for about 3 years before going traveling for a year and a bit, and because I use a computer which doesn't run on either Mac or Windows, I am using GIMP for editing.

GIMP is great because it's free and very similar to photoshop in quite a few ways.
I found it user friendly, and the tools served their purpose fairly well. 

Photoshop has better logic behind their tools, so they tend to work a bit better, or more accurately at least, but just as everyone else has said, try GIMP out and see how you enjoy it.

If you want to do a good test, edit a few photo's in GIMP, and then download the free trial version of photoshop and edit the same photo's.
See how the editing process compares, and which program you enjoy more.


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## dak1b (Jun 14, 2010)

photoshop all the way!


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## Mike_E (Jun 14, 2010)

It's unlikely that you are going to find a "new" copy of Photoshop 7.  It's most  likely a counterfeit, just because you paid for it doesn't make it legal.

How deep do you want to go with this?

Unless you intend to do some serious pixel work, Lightroom should be fine and elements OK.


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## katy625 (Jun 14, 2010)

I started w gimp then moved to ps elements 7.  I wouldn't trade ps 7 for the world.


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## Mike_E (Jun 14, 2010)

PS 7 or elements 7?  Either way gimp will get you started until you have a better idea of what you want.


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## CW Jones (Jun 14, 2010)

katy625 said:


> I started w gimp then moved to ps elements 7.  I wouldn't trade ps 7 for the world.



Bet you would trade it for CS5 lol


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## Garbz (Jun 15, 2010)

CW Jones said:


> katy625 said:
> 
> 
> > I started w gimp then moved to ps elements 7.  I wouldn't trade ps 7 for the world.
> ...



In a heartbeat. But would you trade it AND $699US for CS5? I'm willing to bet the number of people here who have actually paid for CS5 out of their own pockets is very slim.


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## CW Jones (Jun 15, 2010)

Garbz said:


> CW Jones said:
> 
> 
> > katy625 said:
> ...



I got CS4 at my student discount, and because it was less than 1 month before they announced CS5 I was able to get CS5 for free. It was funny that I did a download for CS4 and for CS5 they sent me the box haha


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## Lipoly (Jun 15, 2010)

Garbz said:


> GIMP suffers from a complete lack of 16bit colour support. That's the only issue. If you're doing RAW editing make sure you have your exposure nailed as close as possible in UFRAW before the file is opened in GIMP to make sure you don't end up losing too much quality as a result of your edits.
> 
> For minor editing there's no issue, but if you're a heavy wedding photographer type psycho editor then GIMP is not sufficient in my opinion.



I believe GIMP 2.6 may have added support for this. GIMP - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (See _GEGL section)

"..._as of the 2.6 release GIMP can use GEGL to perform high bit depth color  operations"


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## KmH (Jun 15, 2010)

Garbz said:


> CW Jones said:
> 
> 
> > katy625 said:
> ...


I did, but only had to pay the upgrade price. Plus I ordered it through the NAPP member link and got a further 15% discount, so CS5 cost me $169.15 USD plus shipping for the disc.


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## boatswife (Jun 15, 2010)

KmH said:


> Garbz said:
> 
> 
> > CW Jones said:
> ...



This is how I bought mine too. Adobe ran a $199 special upgrade to CS3 for PE users a couple years ago. Then I bought the upgrade to CS5 for $199. I could never afford it at the normal price.


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## Green Li (Jun 16, 2010)

You should probably try GIMP and don't spend any money yet. If you grow out of it you can always buy Photoshop.
Also, GIMP is cross platform. It works for Windows, Mac, Linux....


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## ivomitcats (Jun 16, 2010)

I use Gimp and Cs5 both. I prefer CS5 for photo editing and Gimp for graphic design, for whatever reason.


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## Garbz (Jun 16, 2010)

Lipoly said:


> I believe GIMP 2.6 may have added support for this. GIMP - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (See _GEGL section)
> 
> "..._as of the 2.6 release GIMP can use GEGL to perform high bit depth color  operations"



Read the rest too: "The Generic Graphics Library (GEGL) was first introduced as part of GIMP on the 2.6 release of GIMP. This initial introduction does not yet exploit all of the capabilities of GEGL" ... "When fully integrated, GEGL will allow GIMP to have a higher color bit depth and also a better non-destructive work-flow." 

And from the website: "By default the legacy 8bit code paths are still used, but a curious user can turn on the use of GEGL for the color operations with Colors / Use GEGL"


32bit image support in GIMP is sketchy and experimental at best. So far only chunks of the underlying processing system have been ported and a handful of tools. The default (stable) process by which GIMP opens 16bit files is to convert to 8bit straight up.


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## stephras07 (Jun 16, 2010)

Sorry - I was offline for a couple days to spend some quality time with my hubby (he was only home for a week before the ship pulled out again).

I totally don't understand the technical stuff you guys are talking about (still new to all of this - planning on taking some courses soon through NYIP).  I did end up downloading Gimp, haven't had much time or concentration to really play with it.


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## Garbz (Jun 16, 2010)

Ignore the technical mumbo jumbo and have fun. The technical stuff can come later


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## stephras07 (Jun 16, 2010)




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## BananaRepublic (Jan 2, 2020)

stephras07 said:


> I really want to get photoshop 7 (I found a copy on ebay for $80 new), can't afford the CS versions, and haven't heard the best things about Photoshop Elements (correct me if I'm wrong!)
> 
> My husband really wants me to just get Gimp, which is a free, Mac version of Photoshop (according to him).
> 
> ...



I use Affinity, a British alternative to PS, I find it very user friendly as they built from scratch within the last few years, unlike PS were Adobe just throw a new bucket of paint over rotten furniture to make it shiny. Its not free but is much cheaper at 50 Euro, $75 perhaps and thats a once off payment. You can try a month or 10 days free and theres plenty of there own online tutorials.


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## Original katomi (Jan 2, 2020)

Hi welcome 
You mentioned photoshop elements
I use the version 9 or  PSE9 
I just a hobby photographer but I do put the limits of kit and programs and has found that whilst PSE 9 has it limits I have been able to work around them
And as no body has mentioned it have a look at info on lossless and lossy file extension that is for example tiff vs jpg
The jpg will compress the photo file and loose info each time tiff does not
Jpg is like photocopying a photocopy over and over in time you will notice the loss of detail
There are a number of sites that can explain I just put in. Tiff vs jpg and got about 20 sites pop up
Whatever program you get you will soon  find out if it’s for you
Maybe if I was not so far into photography I would try the free programmes first making a list of both good and bad points and where I wanted more.
When I say I push the limits I have produced a #latest size# 72 inch panorama 
I do big prints that I have printed on banner material that I then display outside
Sometimes so that others can see the images other times it just on the fence so that when I am sat washing up I have a nice pic to look at out of the kitchen window. And oh yes I even took 2 one meter long images into the hospital and
And hung them up for my wife to look at when she was ill 
Well hope this helps and has not just swamped you in info


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## Dao (Jan 2, 2020)

hum ...  this thread is 10 years old.  Most of the discussion were outdated...


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## TWX (Jan 6, 2020)

Dao said:


> hum ...  this thread is 10 years old.  Most of the discussion were outdated...


Depends on your Linux distro, I've got a couple of boxes still running GIMP 2.8...  *grin*


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