Pixel-Pusher Round-up
Creating and/or editing images can be overwhelming at times. But progress has been made to help make that job a little easier for you. Granted, there are tons more out there, but here’s a few that I recommend you consider the next time you start pixel-pushing. Btw, all are free.
Downloadables
- IrfanView - this one has been around for a number of years, and it’s one I still return to for some quick changes. Personally, I use it for resizing or reformatting more than anything else, but it offers a lot more: batch processing, image enhancers, clipping frames from animated gifs, etc.
- FastStone Capture - I use this all the time to make my screenshots. It offers no enhancing capabilities, but that’s okay for me. You can take a screenshot of the window you’re in or drag the area you want either by using the rectangular or freehand tool. If you need to take a picture of a page that scrolls down a few pages, then no problem, this utility can grab the whole thing. It also has a few neat drawing effects. (This version is free, but they’ve started charging for later versions so hurry and get your copy now.)
- Picasa - One of Google’s babies, this is a combination photo editor/organizer. The “I’m feeling lucky” choice on the editing options really does a pretty good job — even takes out those red-eye shots. And organizing your images has never been easier. Simply add tags and descriptions for later referencing. And because it’s Google-owned, you can email your pictures right from this application.
- Paint.net - I’ve only recently played around with this one, but already I see myself heading toward using it more often when I need to do more than resizing or cropping. Like Adobe Photoshop, you can arrange layers of images to narrow your focus on a particular element and make it easier to edit later. But tools like cloning, eyedropper, blurring and so on are just a few of the powerful features this tool brings you.
- GimpShop - Another Adobe Photoshop wannabe, you have all the things you could expect from a high-priced image editing package, but for free. Before, this one was what I used for a while, but I think Paint.net is giving it some stiff competition, at least from my perspective.
Online solutions
- Snipshot - gives you basic editing and image enhancing capabilities. Just upload from your desktop and click away.
- Cellsea - What doesn’t this thing do? Again, your basics are here, but you can also turn your photos into paintings, remove noise, and distort/twist. Additionally, you can upload from your desktop or from a location on the Web — just give it the URL.
- pic resize - a one-trick pony, but sometimes you need just one pony. Upload your image and enlarge or reduce it.
- pixer.us - Another collection of basics: crop, rotate, color adjustment, etc.
- Phixr - basics (of course), but you also have other choices like adding speech bubbles, special drawing effects, converting to sepia tones, and others.
[tags]image editors,pixels,photos,software, web2.0[/tags]
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Benedict Herold | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Nice list, glad to IrfanView in the first place
BTW, Did you miss Picnik in the online section?
Brown Baron | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Nice list. Stumbled.
Mark | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Thank you, buddy.
Mark | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Looks like I sure did. There are a gazllion out there. Thanks for mentioning that.
Benedict Herold | Jul 2, 2007 | Reply
Well.. True… but it is my personal favorite
BillyWarhol | Jul 4, 2007 | Reply
i was just thinking about Irfan View cuz i have an old CD with Kodak shots on it & i can’t seem to open the Files - i’ll see if Irfan supports it*
i love FastStone Capture!! & Gadwin is great too*
;))
Mark | Jul 4, 2007 | Reply
Hi BillyWarhol! I’m glad to have found something useful for you. Sometimes it’s the older utilities that have that special quality that the newcomers just leave behind. Thanks for dropping by!
Wayne Smallman | Jul 8, 2007 | Reply
You tried Skitch?
I really like it and it’s dead easy to use, not least because it offer tons of editing tools and on-line storage options for your images.
I’ve been foolin’ around with it for a couple of weeks and I’m really impressed with it.
It’s certainly pulled me back towards dropping in more images into my ‘blog.
For now, it’s Mac-based and invitation-only…
Polliwog | Jul 8, 2007 | Reply
Excellent list! Thanks for compiling it. I will be checking a few of these out for sure.
Mark | Jul 8, 2007 | Reply
Hi Polli, I’m sure you’ll find at least one of those things to be useful.
Mark | Jul 8, 2007 | Reply
Hi Wayne, no I haven’t tried that out; I’m a PC guy. But I’m sure other readers here might be interested in it. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you return.
Wayne Smallman | Jul 9, 2007 | Reply
Hi Mark, we were both featured over on Brown Barons Link Luv Fiesta, and your feature caught my eye.
Yes, I’ll be sure to stop by once in awhile…
Mark | Jul 9, 2007 | Reply
Yeah, that Baron — he’s a good guy. Thanks for coming back.