MusicMan Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 It's a slightly older version, but sharing on here as it's free and I know a bunch of people on here use photo editors and sometimes share this type of thing.. that and it's not a competing DAW, so I should be safe posting it ? Why choose ACDSee Gemstone 12? (Aside from the obvious reason – it’s available for FREE!) ACDSee Gemstone Photo Editor 12 has all the artistry and layered prowess you need to satisfy your photo editing desires, no matter how complex the composition. For maximum productivity, the MDI (Multi-Document Interface) layered editor allows you to carve your images into full spectrum splendor. Let sultry tone curves and spinning color wheels feed your imagination as you whip through Gemstone’s non-destructive RAW image processor, ACDSee RAW, and layered graphic editor. With an intuitive design, and presets for everything from creating files to fine-tuning colors, the Gemstone Photo Editor will polish your design workflow. https://www.acdsee.com/en/gemstone-giveaway/ 7 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMan Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 Here's a review on this version on Fstoppers and it's quite favorable: https://fstoppers.com/reviews/lightroom-killer-review-gemstone-photo-editor-12-603426 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starship Krupa Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 8 hours ago, MusicMan said: Here's a review on this version on Fstoppers and it's quite favorable: https://fstoppers.com/reviews/lightroom-killer-review-gemstone-photo-editor-12-603426 ACDSee, that's a name from the past. I was using ACDSee (their original program) 30 years ago when I was working at Macromedia (now part of Adobe). Gemstone seems to be two products rolled into one, there's a RAW editor (which the review focuses on), and then a conventional photo editor in the Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop vein. I got Paint Shop Pro in a Humble Bundle with Painter last year, and while I was interested in it, my attempts at trying to use it to replace Paint.NET have been futile. I just can't get cozy with its way of doing things. It's always asking me if I want to convert this or that either to a bitmap or a vector layer because it supports both of them, which is supposed to be a big deal but means diddly 5hit to me. I just want to edit images, I don't care whether intermediate steps are vector or bitmap or whatever, I just want to crop, rotate, adjust color, add text, etc. Maybe I'll warm up to this one better. I'm running up against Paint.NET's limited feature set. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirean Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) I used to use ACDSee's image viewer in the 90s. Stopped using it when it took first steps into bloat in the early 2000s. For the longest time I've now been using Faststone Image Viewer (which is freeware, doesn't really offer photo editing though). Edited July 30 by Kirean 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude77 Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 4 hours ago, Starship Krupa said: I got Paint Shop Pro in a Humble Bundle with Painter last year, and while I was interested in it, my attempts at trying to use it to replace Paint.NET have been futile. I just can't get cozy with its way of doing things. It's always asking me if I want to convert this or that either to a bitmap or a vector layer because it supports both of them, which is supposed to be a big deal but means diddly 5hit to me. I just want to edit images, I don't care whether intermediate steps are vector or bitmap or whatever, I just want to crop, rotate, adjust color, add text, etc. Maybe I'll warm up to this one better. I'm running up against Paint.NET's limited feature set. I always appreciate these types of comments because they're made by real-world users and not "influencers", so you know you're getting honest opinions and not the thoughts of someone who's looking for clicks. Thanks! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan o driscoll Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 When you go for the freebie, go and sign up a new account at ACDsee .. login and select ACTIVATE. Use the license Key they emailed you. Its now added to your account with an upgrade option. This is Gemstone Photo Editor 12, to upgrade to 14 is $49 instead of $79: https://www.acdsee.com/en/products/gemstone-photo-editor/ 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralfrobert Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 1 minute ago, aidan o driscoll said: When you go for the freebie, go and sign up a new account at ACDsee .. login and select ACTIVATE. Use the license Key they emailed you. Its now added to your account with an upgrade option. This is Gemstone Photo Editor 12, to upgrade to 14 is $49 instead of $79: https://www.acdsee.com/en/products/gemstone-photo-editor/ They will probably mail you a better offer. I got 59 for the suite which is really good. Didn't buy it, however. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Walton Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 2 hours ago, pwal²³ said: GIMP? Affinity photo at 50% off ftw. Gimp is powerful but painful to use 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettelus Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 5 hours ago, Starship Krupa said: I got Paint Shop Pro in a Humble Bundle with Painter last year, and while I was interested in it, my attempts at trying to use it to replace Paint.NET have been futile. I just can't get cozy with its way of doing things. It's always asking me if I want to convert this or that either to a bitmap or a vector layer because it supports both of them, which is supposed to be a big deal but means diddly 5hit to me. I just want to edit images, I don't care whether intermediate steps are vector or bitmap or whatever, I just want to crop, rotate, adjust color, add text, etc. +1, the footprint of newer programs is often overwhelming (both load time and RAM consumption) with obtuse features that no one will know or care about. I keep an old copy of Paint Shop Pro 5 for this very same reason (and is also my default image viewer). 17.6MB (is from 1998 when JASC still owned it) and opens instantaneously, with layers, histogram adjustments, and a standard set of manipulations (cloning, FX, etc.). I keep that on all of my thumb drives as well to edit ppt presentations on the fly when needed, which has happened more frequently than it should. Brushes seem to add undue overhead to the newer Corel versions of Painter/Paint Shop Pro; but even without that burden, the GUI is cluttered IMO. JASC at least thought far enough ahead to use "available RAM," so it can open and manipulate massive pictures without issue. Escape Motions (Rebelle 7 and Flame Painter 4) have become my default for complex graphic manipulations; but for bread and butter work, PSP5 remains the go to for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Walton Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, pwal²³ said: tbf, i found gimp ok compared to photoshop, complex tools for complex jobs ?♀️ My problem is more to do with the UI and some of the organization of tools. It is like saying dark table is powerful...it is but a chore to use. Edited July 30 by Brian Walton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMan Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 6 hours ago, Brian Walton said: My problem is more to do with the UI and some of the organization of tools. It is like saying dark table is powerful...it is but a chore to use. Darktable had a bit of a learning curve, but I actually quite like it now and find it quick and efficient and love not paying Adobe for Lightroom instead! I did have to Google some things and watch a couple of YouTube vids though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Walton Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 17 minutes ago, MusicMan said: Darktable had a bit of a learning curve, but I actually quite like it now and find it quick and efficient and love not paying Adobe for Lightroom instead! I did have to Google some things and watch a couple of YouTube vids though. It isn't the worst program, but they have a long way to go to make the UI and experience like Capture One. I don't think they will ever get there. I personally think they need a lite version that responds better and focuses on making the tools a joy to use. It is far too clunky. 6 hours ago, pwal²³ said: furry muff, i also found the ui (cross platform always causes hoo har, especially open source) not necessarily intuitive, but with any tool, the more you use it the more familiar it gets, and tbf it is feature rich and free (eta, don't know what a dark table is) (eta2, i googled it, never heard of it) so in summary, i'll currently always suggest gimp as a free photoshop alt, but i mainly use paint.net for my simple needs ? GIMP is the solid free choice for individuals truly averse to paying anything. But honestly, I'm of the mindset that if you are going to dedicate the time to learn the tools (which is substantial), a 50% off of Affinity Photo is money well spent to have a more enjoyable user experience for the many hours one is going to sit in front of that program not only to learn it but to really use it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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