STICKY:  The Gimp - free alternative to Photoshop

OK, I know this is a dumb question, and I should probably take a class, buy a book, or watch an on-line tutorial, but are you saying that I need to use DPP (or something) to convert my RAW files to .jpg and then import them over to GIMP for further enhancement?

For years, I was a jpg shooter, but lately I'm shooting RAW+jpg to hedge my bets....

Go4EVA! wrote in post #6839708
OK, I know this is a dumb question, and I should probably take a class, buy a book, or watch an on-line tutorial, but are you saying that I need to use DPP (or something) to convert my RAW files to .jpg and then import them over to GIMP for further enhancement?

For years, I was a jpg shooter, but lately I'm shooting RAW+jpg to hedge my bets....

It's just like PhotoShop in that sense. You can use an external program (like DPP) to convert and then use the output in GIMP OR you can use a Plug-in (like UFRaw) where you can open RAW files from within GIMP. Either way, you are still converting from RAW before you edit it further in GIMP.

e-k

davidcrebelxt wrote in post #6833282
Nicely put jpatten. I for one have no problem switching between gimp an ps. But I've been around computers nearly my entire life so adapting to user interface changes doesn't even phase me. Others seem to think gimps lack of UI eyecandy is an insurmountable obstacle... So it really is dependant on the user.

Just curious: What about keyboard shortcuts?

I hardly know where some things are in the menu, since I always use a shortcut, so I'm likely to get very frustrated very quickly if a shortcut is changed...

(Never used the Gimp, always PS.)

René Damkot wrote in post #6844497
Just curious: What about keyboard shortcuts?

I hardly know where some things are in the menu, since I always use a shortcut, so I'm likely to get very frustrated very quickly if a shortcut is changed...

(Never used the Gimp, always PS.)

Well, for one... although I had used Photoshop, I had never done so extensively before using Gimp... so I didn't really have shortcuts drilled into my head. (secondly, for people who already have PS CSx... why are you using Gimp anyway... If you've already got a legal copy of CSx, use it. I'm not deluded into thinking Gimp is BETTER than PSCS, just it is a MUCH more affordable alternative, and surprisingly powerful even compared to some other editors people might pay for.)

Finally, from the preferences menu you can remap shortcuts if desired.

René Damkot wrote in post #6844497
Just curious: What about keyboard shortcuts?

I hardly know where some things are in the menu, since I always use a shortcut, so I'm likely to get very frustrated very quickly if a shortcut is changed...

(Never used the Gimp, always PS.)

You can completely remap any key to any command in Gimp.

davidcrebelxt wrote in post #6844584
Well, for one... although I had used Photoshop, I had never done so extensively before using Gimp... so I didn't really have shortcuts drilled into my head. (secondly, for people who already have PS CSx... why are you using Gimp anyway... If you've already got a legal copy of CSx, use it. I'm not deluded into thinking Gimp is BETTER than PSCS, just it is a MUCH more affordable alternative, and surprisingly powerful even compared to some other editors people might pay for.)

Finally, from the preferences menu you can remap shortcuts if desired.

Hahaha, agree; I'm not likely to be using Gimp anytime soon... But a friend of mine is looking into cheap or free editing software. And I'm thinking that it could be useful to set up gimp to use the same keyboard shortcuts as Photoshop (Elements) for example. Makes transition easier at a later time...

Nice to hear it's possible.

Go4EVA! wrote in post #6833354
I am in a similar situation. Currently don't own Photoshop, and would like to get started with *something* soon. I'm torn between Photoshop and Aperture -- but wondering if GIMP would be a good place to start before investing in the more costly packages. Can anyone comment on how Aperture compares with GIMP?

Go4EVA! wrote in post #6839708
OK, I know this is a dumb question, and I should probably take a class, buy a book, or watch an on-line tutorial, but are you saying that I need to use DPP (or something) to convert my RAW files to .jpg and then import them over to GIMP for further enhancement?

For years, I was a jpg shooter, but lately I'm shooting RAW+jpg to hedge my bets....

Aperture and Lightroom are basic Image Library tools which are capable of doing some GLOBAL edits eg Exposure/Levels Adjustments.

Gimp and Photoshop are geared more towards doing specific LOCALIZED edits eg selections, cloning and healing.

I use Aperture as my library application and to do basic adjustments. I use the Gimp for selective edits.

One is constantly learning new things about Post Processing. The gimp is an excellent application on which to learn the basics.

I've also be playing with PSCS4 this last week. So far, the only thing that I really miss for not being in the Gimp are Actions (although Gimp has it's own scripts one can use). However, my wallet will not stretch to those extremes.

As to the Gimp UI, I don't thinks it's bad at all.

Thanks 'DunnoWhen' that helps me a lot!

I'm saving up for a new iMac computer, and was hoping that I could get started with something like GIMP, and upgrade to Photoshop later. Regards!

DunnoWhen wrote in post #6852197
Aperture and Lightroom are basic Image Library tools which are capable of doing some GLOBAL edits eg Exposure/Levels Adjustments.

Sorry, no.
LR2 (and I think Aperture 2 as well) offer localised adjustments.

The big difference is that Gimp and PS are pixel editors.

Wow.

I tried GIMP once around 6-7 years ago and HATED it! I've been using Photoshop since PS2, and it simply did not come close.

I work for a university and was asked about open source image editors, so I downloaded the latest version of GIMP and gave it a go yesterday. What a difference! It's a great piece of software now - a genuine free alternative to Photoshop. I plan to use it a lot more as I think it'll be invaluable to lots of our staff at the price!

I want to like GIMP. So far the UI is fine. The only thing which gets me is batch processing. I'm not a programmer and it seems far to hard for me to figure out. I've looked at the tutorial but can't seem to get things working.

I'd like it more if I could get the save for web to work. The pre-built plugin for OS X that I found doesn't work and I can't get it to build.

Not that I need it anymore (just sold my XSi), but has anyone had any success with UFRAW and XSi RAWs? I got magenta-hue monochromic negatives when I tried, but it had no problem with old XT RAWs, 5D RAWs or D700 RAWs.

This might be helpful for anyone using an XSi, should someone here have a solution.

AngryCorgi wrote in post #6998578
Not that I need it anymore (just sold my XSi), but has anyone had any success with UFRAW and XSi RAWs? I got magenta-hue monochromic negatives when I tried, but it had no problem with old XT RAWs, 5D RAWs or D700 RAWs.

This might be helpful for anyone using an XSi, should someone here have a solution.

What version of UFRaw are you using? I believe support for the XSi was added in dcRAW 8.84. You would need at least version 0.14 of UFRaw(October 2008 ) which uses dcRAW 8.88.

e-k

I'm a Linux user, and use GIMP to process images. I use F-Spot to manage my image library, and it uses UFRaw as a plugin to work with RAW files. It handles the multiple files from the "RAW + Jpeg" setting quite nicely.

I had problems with UFRaw turning my 450D images pink too. I had to compile the latest UFRaw from the CVS source. It wasn't difficult, I just followed a tutorial I found via a Google search.

I wish GIMP would support adjustment layers. Other than that, I'm quite happy. I like PhotoShop, but I don't want to run it in a virtual machine, or run it under WINE. I much prefer the native (GNOME) interface to spoil it with Windows-style applications.