Generally, is better the GIMP or Photoshop Elements?

[dekaro]

Hi all. As I said in the title: Generally, do you think is better the GIMP or

Photoshop Elements?

[rainer_t]

If you're working on a PC, PSE is simply faster with most operations.

 

Also, the newer versions of PSE handle 16bit tiff files, and can do

some operations on them (like levels) ... whereas the actual version of gimp is still only capable of handling 8bit (per color that is) files.

 

If you want use colorspaces, you should also stick with PSE rather than gimp.

 

All that said, gimp is a damn excellent program. I'm personally looking forward to version 2.4

[richsimmons]

No. Not really. although the gimp is free and has some cool scripts, but PSE is a lot more powerful than people give it credit for.

[glenbarrington]

PSE is color managed and GIMP is not. Personally, I found the GIMP user interface to be VERY dfficult to use. I much prefer PSE.

 

That being said, GIMP does offer a LOT of editor for free. But I think on the whole PSE is a better fit for the beginner or causal user.

[crabseye]

Plus, I was delighted to see when I just installed PSE5, that it has a plug-in to utilize dual core CPUs. Not sure if the Gimp (which I also have) has that capability.

[mtwhite]

<p>Being an open-source fan, I love Gimp, but it's falling behind PSE in some ways. PSE's 16-bit support may be more limited than PSCS, but at least it's better than Gimp. 16 and 32 bit support is promised when Gimp switches to <A href="http://www.gegl.org/">GEGL</a>, but that's a long way off. Still, the price is right. I use it all the time for simple touchups and exact cropping. Also, a lot of Gimp's code is multithreaded. It'll get a boost on a multi-cpu setup, including dual-core processors.

<p>I've always found Gimp's interface easier than Photoshop. I have a burning hatred for MDI interfaces.

[steven_clark]

Quite frankly the Gimp project's been claiming to have higher bit-depth, color management, and non-RGB color models in the works for so long I'll never believe them even if they do get it working, and I certainly won't be trying them again anytime soon, I have better things to do than give them a 3rd chance.

[eric_barron]

Regarding the Gimp's interface...

 

There is a variation on the Gimp called GimpShop. The interface is rearranged and some tools are renamed so that the program feels more like PS. If anyone it interested here is <a href="http://plasticbugs.com/">the website</a>.

[dekaro]

Hi All. Thanks for your advices, today I bought PSE 4 (for Mac) and, at first glance, it looks very very good to me. I don't feel much difference with photoshop. What are these plug-ins you talked about? Also, why PSE should be only for beginners and not for professionals? (I'm not professional, just to know the reasons)

Thanks.

[glenbarrington]

I'm pretty sure some pros DO use PSE, it would seem to me that when coupled with Lightroom, PSE would work rather well (and be pretty cost effective) for many wedding photographers.

 

However those pros who need create pre press output will need to use CS2 or CS3. AND there are a lot of tools in those apps that allow for much more control than what is found in PSE.

 

There's nothing wrong in using a lower priced product until you demonstrate a continuing need for a more expensive one.