Has anyone tried GIMP?

glatt · 07-07-2004, 03:07 PM

OK, you perverts. Stop thinking about Pulp Fiction.

I just stumbled across the GIMP website. I had never even heard of this image program before, but it sounds promising. I have an old version of Photoshop on my old Mac at home, and a copy of Irfanview on my PC at work. Irfanview is good, but there are lots of things you can't do with it. Batch processing is my favorite thing about Irfanview.

GIMP appear to be free, and looks like it will run on my PC. I'm not a big fan of loading software off the web onto my work computer all willie nilly, so I'm looking for feedback.

Have you used GIMP? Is it any good? Is it stable? Install spyware? Is it safe?

I mostly do basic image adjustments like resizing, cropping, brightness, contrast, color balance. But sometimes I like to fool around with more powerful stuff. I'm pretty familiar with Photoshop, and I've had 3.0 at home for years.

I'm cheap and am only interested in free software. I bought Photoshop 3.0 at full price years ago, and don't want to spend money on this type of software ever again. I've paid my share.

Thanks!

Happy Monkey · 07-07-2004, 03:15 PM

I used it for all of my woodworking/cicada/art photos for resizing/cropping/jpg compression. It's got decent features, relative to Photoshop, but its interface takes some getting used to. I don't do enough image manipulation to give a full review, but I'm satisfied.

perth · 07-07-2004, 03:15 PM

It might just be me, but Gimp seemed even more complex to use than Photoshop. From what I understand, it is almost, if not as powerful as Photoshop. Stable? Dunno, but I expect it is, I guess it's very popular on Linux boxes. Install spyware? No. Safe? I imagine so.

hot_pastrami · 07-07-2004, 03:46 PM

I used Gimp for awhile, but Paint Shop Pro won out for me (even with it's $99 price tag), mostly because of it's excellent Raster/Vector support. But if price is your main concern, go with the Gimp. It'll give you 90% of the features for 0% of the cost. It's a well known, highly respected piece of free software.

Scopulus Argentarius · 07-07-2004, 06:04 PM

I've used it for a while. In fact, it took a while to get used to it - the ui is quirky but make sense after you use it for a while....

jaguar · 07-08-2004, 08:04 AM

It's good for more basic and web stuff but no good for anything more serious than that, it lacks a lot of the high end stuff and support needed for any kind of print work. Colour management and file size limitations are the two biggies. I've got pre-press stuff in the gigs, I think the GIMP still chokes above a few meg.

SteveDallas · 07-08-2004, 09:12 AM

Picture Window Pro is a good program to check out... alot of bang for the buck. It's what I use. Here's a good intro to it.

jaguar · 07-08-2004, 10:31 AM

More specific but intersting.
Their calibration gear is remarkably cheap, last one I used was near 1500.

glatt · 07-08-2004, 12:38 PM

Thanks for all the feedback.

I think I'll install it and fool around with it for a while. So far, the biggest negative feedback I've heard here is the UI takes some getting used to, and it chokes on big files. Most of my files are about 1MB when compressed, and a couple MB when opened. Hopefully it will work well with those.

Thanks again!

glatt · 07-13-2004, 09:36 AM

Well, I though I would let you all know that I downloaded the GIMP. It's pretty good. It can do just about everything my older version of Photoshop 3.0 can do, In fact, I haven't found anything it can't do.

I've been using it for an hour or two a day for the last few days. I'm still having trouble finding my way around it, but everything works well once I do find what I'm looking for. The price can't be beat. $0.00 is very appealling to me.

Thanks again for all your comments.

07-07-2004, 03:07 PM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Has anyone tried GIMP? OK, you perverts. Stop thinking about Pulp Fiction. I just stumbled across the GIMP website. I had never even heard of this image program before, but it sounds promising. I have an old version of Photoshop on my old Mac at home, and a copy of Irfanview on my PC at work. Irfanview is good, but there are lots of things you can't do with it. Batch processing is my favorite thing about Irfanview. GIMP appear to be free, and looks like it will run on my PC. I'm not a big fan of loading software off the web onto my work computer all willie nilly, so I'm looking for feedback. Have you used GIMP? Is it any good? Is it stable? Install spyware? Is it safe? I mostly do basic image adjustments like resizing, cropping, brightness, contrast, color balance. But sometimes I like to fool around with more powerful stuff. I'm pretty familiar with Photoshop, and I've had 3.0 at home for years. I'm cheap and am only interested in free software. I bought Photoshop 3.0 at full price years ago, and don't want to spend money on this type of software ever again. I've paid my share. Thanks!

07-07-2004, 03:15 PM	#2
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	I used it for all of my woodworking/cicada/art photos for resizing/cropping/jpg compression. It's got decent features, relative to Photoshop, but its interface takes some getting used to. I don't do enough image manipulation to give a full review, but I'm satisfied. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

07-07-2004, 03:46 PM	#4
hot_pastrami I am meaty Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,119	I used Gimp for awhile, but Paint Shop Pro won out for me (even with it's $99 price tag), mostly because of it's excellent Raster/Vector support. But if price is your main concern, go with the Gimp. It'll give you 90% of the features for 0% of the cost. It's a well known, highly respected piece of free software. __________________ Hot Pastrami!

07-08-2004, 08:04 AM	#6
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	It's good for more basic and web stuff but no good for anything more serious than that, it lacks a lot of the high end stuff and support needed for any kind of print work. Colour management and file size limitations are the two biggies. I've got pre-press stuff in the gigs, I think the GIMP still chokes above a few meg. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain Last edited by jaguar; 07-08-2004 at 08:07 AM.

07-08-2004, 10:31 AM	#8
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	More specific but intersting. Their calibration gear is remarkably cheap, last one I used was near 1500. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

07-07-2004, 03:15 PM	#3
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	It might just be me, but Gimp seemed even more complex to use than Photoshop. From what I understand, it is almost, if not as powerful as Photoshop. Stable? Dunno, but I expect it is, I guess it's very popular on Linux boxes. Install spyware? No. Safe? I imagine so.

07-07-2004, 06:04 PM	#5
Scopulus Argentarius Your current user title is: Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: BTR Posts: 301	I've used it for a while. In fact, it took a while to get used to it - the ui is quirky but make sense after you use it for a while....

07-08-2004, 09:12 AM	#7
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Picture Window Pro is a good program to check out... alot of bang for the buck. It's what I use. Here's a good intro to it.

07-08-2004, 12:38 PM	#9
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Thanks for all the feedback. I think I'll install it and fool around with it for a while. So far, the biggest negative feedback I've heard here is the UI takes some getting used to, and it chokes on big files. Most of my files are about 1MB when compressed, and a couple MB when opened. Hopefully it will work well with those. Thanks again!

07-13-2004, 09:36 AM	#10
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Well, I though I would let you all know that I downloaded the GIMP. It's pretty good. It can do just about everything my older version of Photoshop 3.0 can do, In fact, I haven't found anything it can't do. I've been using it for an hour or two a day for the last few days. I'm still having trouble finding my way around it, but everything works well once I do find what I'm looking for. The price can't be beat. $0.00 is very appealling to me. Thanks again for all your comments.

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