Gimp v Picassa v Elements 11: Hi, Is Gimp easier to use than Elements 11? Is the photo cataloging the same as Picassa? My Partner uses Picassa and wants to delete it due to issues with...

swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Hi, Is Gimp easier to use than Elements 11? Is the photo cataloging the same as Picassa? My Partner uses Picassa and wants to delete it due to issues with it 'compacting' and messing up files. I use Elements 11, but he was wondering if Gimp was close to Picassa? I have Googled it but can't find much on the cataloging system and a couple of other tutorials I watched gave me the impression that Elements was easier to use and learn. Am I right or wrong? All opinions valued.

Thanks

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Picasa is a free easy to use photo editor picasa.google.com
Photoshop Elements is the little sister of PhotoShop http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html
GIMP is free alternative of PhotoShop http://www.gimp.org

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

swallowtail wrote:

Hi, Is Gimp easier to use than Elements 11? Is the photo cataloging the same as Picassa? My Partner uses Picassa and wants to delete it due to issues with it 'compacting' and messing up files. I use Elements 11, but he was wondering if Gimp was close to Picassa? I have Googled it but can't find much on the cataloging system and a couple of other tutorials I watched gave me the impression that Elements was easier to use and learn. Am I right or wrong? All opinions valued.

Thanks

Is Gimp easier to use than Elements 11?
- GIMP and Elements have a learning curve, but are both as easy to use.
Is the photo cataloging the same as Picassa?
- GIMP does not catalog your files
My Partner uses Picassa and wants to delete it due to issues with it 'compacting' and messing up files.
- Picasa compacts its database to save room on your hard drive. Picasa does not touch your files unless you manipulate them, even so, you can always revert them.
I use Elements 11, but he was wondering if Gimp was close to Picassa?
- GIMP and Picasa are not meant to compete.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

Each has tutorials on youtubes

swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

St3v3M wrote:

quote=swallowtail Hi, Is Gimp easier to use than ... (show quote)

Thank you, that information is very helpful and will help a lot with my partners decision.

Clicker2014 Loc: Canada

I stopped using Picassa because it takes over everything. I did use Elements 9 and just ordered 11. It has a bit of a learning curve, but I think once you understand it, it is a good system....never used GIMP. With any system you just have to make sure you understand how to tag your pictures properly so you can find them easily. :-)

swallowtail wrote:

Hi, Is Gimp easier to use than Elements 11? Is the photo cataloging the same as Picassa? My Partner uses Picassa and wants to delete it due to issues with it 'compacting' and messing up files. I use Elements 11, but he was wondering if Gimp was close to Picassa? I have Googled it but can't find much on the cataloging system and a couple of other tutorials I watched gave me the impression that Elements was easier to use and learn. Am I right or wrong? All opinions valued.

Thanks

lorvey Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

To answer your first question, I would say, No. Because there is so much help, print and video, on the internet for Elements, I think Elements is easier. However, I would also say, that I don't think Elements is very intuitive. I like software that you can load and use. IMO, Elements is not one of those. It has a learning curve.

If your partner does not like Picasa, he may want to consider other simple editors like Photoscape, Microsoft Picture Manager, or PhotoFiltre. Also, you may want to search "photo editors" on UHH. There has been considerable discussion on this subject.

swallowtail wrote:

Hi, Is Gimp easier to use than Elements 11? Is the photo cataloging the same as Picassa? My Partner uses Picassa and wants to delete it due to issues with it 'compacting' and messing up files. I use Elements 11, but he was wondering if Gimp was close to Picassa? I have Googled it but can't find much on the cataloging system and a couple of other tutorials I watched gave me the impression that Elements was easier to use and learn. Am I right or wrong? All opinions valued.

Thanks

TonyB Loc: Cornwall UK

I use elements11 for cataloging and processing, then transfer to Picassa for printing. Picassa is so simple to use and does a good job, whereas PSE11 and my printer (a Canon pixma 4850) do not get on well together. It often seems to try to print a 6" x 4" when I set the printer to A4, and I wasted quite a few sheets of A4 paper before using Picassa to print from.

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

Clicker2014 wrote:

I stopped using Picassa because it takes over everything.

Picasa does NOT take over ANYthing!! It simply searches your system and 'catalogs' the files. Then you can edit if you choose to do so. Depending on how you finish the edit, the changes may only be saved in Picasa, but the original will still be unchanged unless you re-save the image after editing without changing the file name.

Picasa does NOTHING to your pictures unless you tell it to!!

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Wahawk wrote:

Clicker2014 wrote:

I stopped using Picassa because it takes over everything.

Picasa does NOT take over ANYthing!! It simply searches your system and 'catalogs' the files. Then you can edit if you choose to do so. Depending on how you finish the edit, the changes may only be saved in Picasa, but the original will still be unchanged unless you re-save the image after editing without changing the file name.

Picasa does NOTHING to your pictures unless you tell it to!!

It amazes me how many people do not understand this...

Clicker2014 Loc: Canada

Wahawk wrote:

Clicker2014 wrote:

I stopped using Picassa because it takes over everything.

Picasa does NOT take over ANYthing!! It simply searches your system and 'catalogs' the files. Then you can edit if you choose to do so. Depending on how you finish the edit, the changes may only be saved in Picasa, but the original will still be unchanged unless you re-save the image after editing without changing the file name.

Picasa does NOTHING to your pictures unless you tell it to!!

You are right! I guess what I remember is that it would search for my pictures when I didn't think it should. I probably didn't understand how it worked. I switched to Elements a long time ago and got used to it. Didn't mean to run it down. I do know that many people use Picasa and love it! And best of all ...it's free! Bonus! Cheers!

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Clicker2014 wrote:

quote=Wahawk quote=Clicker2014 I stopped using P... (show quote)

It is wonderful we have so many choices.

Ugly Jake Loc: Sub-Rural Vermont

I tried all 3 of these and fell off the learning curve of all 3 . I now use two free programs ;Faststone (For everything but layers and "Line drawing") and Paint.Net (NOT windows Paint). for those. It'll do just about anything you want, and is very easy.

Before cloning

After - first attempt with Faststone !

Picture before PP & layer

Picture after PP & Layer (Paint.Net for layer)

Clicker2014 Loc: Canada

Great job! Thanks for sharing!

Ugly Jake wrote:

I tried all 3 of these and fell off the learning curve of all 3 . I now use two free programs ;Faststone (For everything but layers and "Line drawing") and Paint.Net (NOT windows Paint). for those. It'll do just about anything you want, and is very easy.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Ugly Jake wrote:

I tried all 3 of these and fell off the learning curve of all 3 . I now use two free programs ;Faststone (For everything but layers and "Line drawing") and Paint.Net (NOT windows Paint). for those. It'll do just about anything you want, and is very easy.

There is a learning curve for Picasa?