 |  |  |  |  | ||||
 | | | | | | | | |
Program | Minimum OS | Rating | MSRP | Amazon | Comment |
Photoshop CS5 | 10.5 Intel | ***** | $700 | $661 | I use Photoshop CS3. Does everything but has a steep learning curve and price. |
Photoshop Elements 10 | 10.5 Intel | | $100 | $70 | I've not used later versions. |
Pixelmator 2 | 10.6 Intel/ | ***** | $30 | | Very good, but lacks lacks a few useful tools. |
Acorn 3.2 | 10.5 Intel | *** | $50 | | I upgraded to version 2.6, but don't use it as I like Pixelmator better. |
GraphicConverter 7 | 10.4 Intel/PPC | **** | $39 | | I use and like GraphicConverter 6.7. It has many useful features, but it's image editing tools are weak. New version out, but I don't have it |
Pixelmator 2
I'm always on the lookout for moderately-priced image-editing software, I gave a presentation October 2007 on GraphicConverter and mentioned a few other programs, including Pixelmator 1.0, but was unimpressed at the time. The current version 2 is a much more mature program. It's my favorite.
Photoshop is the King of image editors, but how would you like to have a prince for a fraction of the price? I've used Photoshop for a long time; rather I only use about 10% of it since I'm not a graphic professional.
Take Photoshop, strip out some of the advanced features and sell it for a low price. That's Pixelmator.
It's very Mac friendly and takes advantage of Core Image and OpenGL for fast image processing.
It's interface is similar to Photoshop. The toolbar, shown on the right, looks like Photoshop's. Although Pixelmator lacks many "high-end" features -- magnetic lasso, vector tools, CYMK and adjustment layers.
You can download a 246 page, lavishly-illustrated user manual. Unfortunately it's still for version 1.6. Still, there's good on-line help.
Below is a quick comparison of some image editors. The ratings are from download.cnet.com, but be suspicious, particularly where there are few reviews, and make sure it's the current version being reviewed. Prices and versions change often so what I show is approximate. E.g. Pixelmator is now $30 on the App Store.
I've used all of these, except later versions of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and GraphicConverter, and would appreciate comments from others who have, as well as any editors I've overlooked.
Acorn
Both Pixelmator and Acorn attempt to provide a low cost alternative to Photoshop. In many respects they succeed, but lack some important features.
Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture
These are not image editors in the strict sense, but are workflow processors for photographers. They perform a lot of global image editing functions. A major advantage is speed. You can edit a large number of photos very quickly. I use Lightroom 3 ($150 Mac/PC), but have not tried Aperture ($80 on the App Store). There's a vigorous debate on which is best.