Recently, free software has come up in one of my posts, and a couple of others, so I thought it might be cool to ask for people to throw out any software that they know of, that others might not. Here are the ones I've used/know about :
Enblend : Stitching software for panoramas, that I haven't tried yet.
Autostitch : Stitching software for panos - and I've used this one pretty extensively.
The GIMP : Full featured image editor. I didn't like the interface too much, but the features are close to PS CS.
RAW Therapee : Free RAW converter - seems very full featured and does a nice job on the few RAWs I've used it on.
Stepok's RAW Importer : RAW converter that isn't as full featured, but is set up like a Wizard. I think it needs a little more work, but is nice.
Anyone else? Feel free to throw ones out there that you haven't used, or didn't really like - these things tend to change over time, and somebody may find a different use for it.
I found Photoshop Express interesting. A online photo editing applications, currently in beta form. Go to https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html to give it a try.
Irfanview : A basic image viewer/editor, it's very quick for simply looking through your files. It can also do some basic tasks, like crop and resize. One interesting thing is that it has an implementation of the Lanczos algorithm for resizing, which I don't think PS offers.
I'll heartily second IrfanView!
When I need to batch convert/rename images, I don't even bother with PS when IV presents such a simple way to go about it.
I use the free Picasa Image Organizer to organize and locate my work on my computer. I know that I should spend some serious $$$ to get a cooler and more professional program, but I just haven't figured out Picasa's shortcomings yet.
The free Polaroid Dust & Scratch filter is a PS plugin that removes gunk from scanned images while leaving details sharp. I recently used it with a 3.5 hour 'star trails' image I took with my 40D and which had a number of white spots throughout (even after the 3.5 hour Dark Frame Subtraction!), and this filter took care of them pronto. Other than that, it's application is pretty much limited to scanned film for those without Digital ICE.
Nik Software offers 4 free filter plugins from their extensive Color Efex Pro lineup. The most useful one by far is the Brilliance/Warmth filter.
Last but not least, Action Central offers dozens of free PS actions, many of which I found quite useful.
Great point Richard - unfortunately I only have Windows experience with these, so all of those I've mentioned definitely work under XP, and probably under Vista. I have no idea whether or not there are MAC versions, but if anyone wants to throw out free MAC software, feel free...
Discussion
9 repliesEnfuse : HDR from 4 or more shots with minimal user input. For an example result, check my weekly challenge entry for HDR.
Enblend : Stitching software for panoramas, that I haven't tried yet.
Autostitch : Stitching software for panos - and I've used this one pretty extensively.
The GIMP : Full featured image editor. I didn't like the interface too much, but the features are close to PS CS.
RAW Therapee : Free RAW converter - seems very full featured and does a nice job on the few RAWs I've used it on.
Stepok's RAW Importer : RAW converter that isn't as full featured, but is set up like a Wizard. I think it needs a little more work, but is nice.
Anyone else? Feel free to throw ones out there that you haven't used, or didn't really like - these things tend to change over time, and somebody may find a different use for it.
Irfanview : A basic image viewer/editor, it's very quick for simply looking through your files. It can also do some basic tasks, like crop and resize. One interesting thing is that it has an implementation of the Lanczos algorithm for resizing, which I don't think PS offers.
When I need to batch convert/rename images, I don't even bother with PS when IV presents such a simple way to go about it.
I use the free Picasa Image Organizer to organize and locate my work on my computer. I know that I should spend some serious $$$ to get a cooler and more professional program, but I just haven't figured out Picasa's shortcomings yet.
The free Polaroid Dust & Scratch filter is a PS plugin that removes gunk from scanned images while leaving details sharp. I recently used it with a 3.5 hour 'star trails' image I took with my 40D and which had a number of white spots throughout (even after the 3.5 hour Dark Frame Subtraction!), and this filter took care of them pronto. Other than that, it's application is pretty much limited to scanned film for those without Digital ICE.
Nik Software offers 4 free filter plugins from their extensive Color Efex Pro lineup. The most useful one by far is the Brilliance/Warmth filter.
Last but not least, Action Central offers dozens of free PS actions, many of which I found quite useful.
Tufuse [Windows] -- Focus-blending and exposure blending (small command-line program; you have to align the images first).
Maskerade LE plugin [Windows] -- Makes luminance, hue, and saturation masks; nicely adjustable; lots of online documentation.
AAA FotoFrame plugin [Windows] -- Makes frames quickly & easily; very adjustable.
Note that the plug-in won't process resolutions above 1024x1024 unless you purchase it. I believe the stand alone version will though.
rosemarie - it would have been nice to tell me this before wasting my time.