GD2 vs. Imagemagick vs. Netpbm

[lost]

Just wondering which is the best graphics package to use. I have all available to use but dont know which is best.

I think ImageMagick is better than GD2 but dont know about NetPBM.

So what are your thoughts and experiences?

[lost]

Can anyone explain the benefits of using Netpbm vs Imagemagick?

[tommykjensen]

I don't know which is better. But I did discover that GD makes smaller files than Imagemagick when resizing using same parameters.

When I uploaded some images that were all around 150 KB when resized with Imagemagick they were over 300 KB big.

[Pekka]

Netpbm is there because there are many server provides who have it installed for "Gallery". Those people can get easier to EE 2 when netpbm support is there. Netpbm has IMHO also slightly better resize algorithms that IM, but its sharpening is very odd.

GD2 is for those who have to run PHP in safe mode, or do not have Imagemagick or netpbm - GD2 comes with PHP installations. GD2 is sharpened with PHP function by Torstein Honsi (with permission) - but the function is quite slow especially with large images.

Imagemagick is fast and good quality library with decent sharpening (if you take time to set it up for your system), it is the preferred choice. With Imagemagick you can leave EXIF intact and also add your own commands.

[lost]

Thanks for the explination.

To break it down, the preferrence is?

1. ImageMagick
2. Netpbm
3. GD2