Do yourself a favor. If you haven't purchased anything yet, download GIMP, and give it a test run. You didn't specify your operating system. Are you using Windows or something else? Make certain you download the Gimp version for your OS (it runs on almost any OS).
If you are looking for user friendly, once you've installed Gimp, use it to open one of your photos. With your mouse pointer over the photo, right click, go to Colors, then Levels, then click Auto.
You'll most likely appreciate what you'll see.
If not, while still in 'Levels' click reset. Then, use the sliders at the top of the dialog box. Slide the left one a bit to the right, the right one a bit to the left to suit your taste. When satisfied, click OK.
The above is super, super basic, but also very user friendly.
. . . and the above is also easily accomplished in PS, but the cost to you in dollars is tremendous.
If I were you, I would download Gimp and use it for nothing else until you have a chance to get comfortable with the feel of the above very basic procedure.
Then, explore the other functions.
It can crop, it offers layers, it offers a quick mask function that allows you to be very precise in selecting elements of your photo, you can cut, paste, content aware fill, smart select, and on and on.
None of the above is inherently better than or worse than what you can accomplish in the super expensive Photoshop, but probably more than what you can accomplish in Elements (for which you pay money).
To be fair, you cannot edit 16 bit images, but, UFRaw will allow you to make the most important adjustments in 16-bit before you move on to Gimp to do your final editing.
If you shoot exclusively in Jpeg mode, then your images start out as 8-bit files. If you shoot in RAW, they are likely 12-bit or 14-bit images. Unless you need to export in 16-bit (for professional publications, perhaps), then you really do not need 16-bit. If you are printing on an inkjet printer, you will be hard pressed to tell the difference. If you are posting to the internet, you would, by necessity, need to convert 16-bit images to 8-bit images anyhow.
So the 8-bit/16-bit thingy is overblown in my opinion.
I have Photoshop, Elements, and Gimp, and I prefer Gimp for its more direct, simple interface. Photoshop proponents will knock Gimp for its user interface. That is generally due to religious disdain for Gimp or lack of experience with current versions.
Cinepaint is a branch related to Gimp that is 16-bit capable, but progress on its development moves at an evolutionary pace, and that interface is (at least to me) truly frustrating. Gimp has undergone some very useful developmental changes that make it, IMHO, very user friendly.
Those who knock it, generally, are entrenched in the PS user interface (nothing wrong with that except that Gimp gets knocked unfairly) or have not used Gimp since its UI enhancements.
To sum up, personally, I think you owe it to yourself to give Gimp a fair workout before you invest in something else and embark on an unending and expensive upgrade path that will net you no practical benefit.
Trying Gimp for free does not close your options to join the paying masses who seem addicted to Photoshop. If you turn pro and need Phtoshop, learning it from a Gimp background is no huge task.
In the meantime, you get 98% of its functionality for free.
Just sayin'.
Caruso
