What program can you recommend...

[photoguru]

..for editing pics..I am not familiar with any right now..I've heard of Photoshop, never used it..and want something that is very simple to use! Thanks

[kiley9806]

i use paint shop pro 9 for most of my post-processing. it does the trick, and it didnt cost me anything. its very user-friendly, with tips on how to use each tool when selected, and that kind of stuff. i think the more professional type photographer would maybe use photoshop, or something else im not aware of, but for what i need to do, this program has helped me out tons!

[Marko]

Photoshop elements is appreciated by many for its many features and lower price than full photoshop.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/features/

[tirediron]

In my opinion, there are four main contenders in the image-editing software field. They are:

Adobe Photoshop CS3. Industry standard, more tools and capability than any one person is likely to use in a life time. Good help files, reasonably intuitive for most basic operations, but expensive at $700 and up depending on which package you get.

PaintShop Pro X2: About 80% of the functionality of CS3, inluding built in HDR merge functionality, and levels and curves. Uses most Photoshop plug-ins. Will do everything 99.9% of amateur and semi-pro users ever need. Must more wallet-friendly at around $90-110.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6: The "light" version of CS3, contains most of the important functions. IMHO, not as capable as PaintShop Pro, but very close. Price typically around $110.

GIMP (Download at http://www.gimp.org). Capability between that of CS3 and PSP X2, but as this program was originally developed for the Linux OS, the user interface will be a bit of a departure for Windows users; not quite as intuitative, but once you learn how to use it VERY powerful. Price? Free!

If you have $100ish dollars to spare, I recommend PSP X2, if you're budget concious, try the Gimp. PSP is also available as a free download (Ver 10 I believe, X2 = Ver 12) when you buy certain memory cards.

[tegan]

I agree with the assessment of Tired Iron but I would also suggest that a look should be taken at Viveza by Nik Software.

It is pricey but very fast and efficient to use. It is particularly good for selecting very complex shaped areas for adjustment or brightening by just one click. No layers, no masks,...instant results.

Tegan

[Travis]

I agree with the assessment of Tired Iron but I would also suggest that a look should be taken at Viveza by Nik Software.

It is pricey but very fast and efficient to use. It is particularly good for selecting very complex shaped areas for adjustment or brightening by just one click. No layers, no masks,...instant results.

Tegan

is Viveza stand alone software? or is it just plug in for other apps?

[JoeMezz]

..for editing pics..I am not familiar with any right now..I've heard of Photoshop, never used it..and want something that is very simple to use! Thanks

I use Photo Mechanic http://www.camerabits.com to edit my photos. "Edit" -- meaning to organize/delete/compare, apply metadata data, select the good/bad/better/best images. It is the industry standard in the world of photojournalists.

Then I use Capture NX2 (NX) to process 99% of my finished products. I think NX is very under rated and one reason is that people do not realize how the selection tools actually work until you learn how to work them, and another reason is that it's capabilities/functions are not obvious because of the simplicity of the user interface.

I suggest you go to CaptureNX.com and watch the videos. If you like it, they have a 60 day demo that is not crippled in anyway. NX is very unlike Photoshop and I think people shy away from it because of that that.

NX is very powerful and designed to save you time. It is meant to post process photos only - - not manipulate images.. so yes it is less powerful than Photoshop but very powerful at doing post processing.

If you plan on learning Photoshop at some point to a serious level ... then maybe Elements is a better way for you to go.

Since I only process images and do not alter images AND want to do that as fast as possible - I selected NX as my primary post processing software. I use Photoshop on rare occasions.

I hope that helps.

(File brower in NX sucks, but I use Photo Mechanic for that function)