Anyone also think that we are getting closer to an iPhoto equivalent for Windows?

Andy

Hmmmm..... I don't know exactly what iPhoto does. I do know that Picasa is an attempt to be more like iPhoto.
IMHO, it looks as if PhotoScape is a very simple version of PhotoShop. iPhoto, Picasa, PhotoScape or whatever - if you want to have total control of your photos - as far as editing goes - you can't beat PhotoShop.
However, if you want something that has editing capabilities along WITH organization I guess it's one of those, or add on Adobe LightRoom w/ PhotoShop.

tedbone

I got familiar with Photoscape cause when I knew my girlfriend she used to use it to edit photos and upload them to fotolog.com (some really crappy version of facebook). It does the job, specially for those tech-challenged :P
It has some cool features like the "tabbed" GUI (which it's nice for those not familiar with photo editing, you upload the pic in one tab, edit in the other, save in other, etc... or just pick the tab for your task... like "page" which let's you add multiple images in something like "templates" and save them as one single image)
It has it's audience I think.

pnikkosis

Hey lifehacker (a.k.a. Jason)! How come you posted this and *didn't* discuss how it compares to Picasa? Considering Picasa's mentioned on here a bit, I think we'd like to know if it's worth a switch (if one is already using Picasa) or which to choose (if one hasn't picked a photo file manager).

I personally haven't been as in love with Picasa as I'd like to be. I end up just organizing my photos with folders, and doing quick edits/views with Irfanview.

@tedbone - for photo MANAGEMENT, PhotoShop is a poor tool. Of course it's the bomb diggity when it comes to editing/manipulating, but for quick review, retrieval, and organization it's definitely not the tool.

webnesto

As an amateur photographer, I agree that you can't beat Photoshop for its level of control. But opening up a file to adjust levels and do some minor cropping or color correction in 1 of 60 photos I care a *little* about is annoying, especially when you consider I could do it in Picasa in 30 seconds in a way that preserves the original file.

I love photoshop, and I use it for anything *important* or artsy. For everyday photography that I still want to look good and represent my skill level, Picasa is fine.

razordu30

I haven't tried Photoscape yet.

But I'll chime in that even with the currently available desktop photo editors (including free ones), I'm gravitating more and more towards online tools - notably Picnik, which integrates really smoothly with Flickr but also works well on its own. They take a lot of guesswork out of file formats/management, which may not be a big deal to some, but being able to edit something that's already online without having to download and re-upload it after doing offline edits is a substantial inconvenience-reducer for me!

You'll likely also smile very much at how their site's designed:

» [picnik.com]

I put in a request a few days ago for a selective "fade edges" feature and got a prompt support response. I'm pleased and considering getting a Premium account soon.

Torley

And if you're going to mention Picassa, what about Adobe Photoshop Express?

[www.photoshop.com]

Fierock

@ webnesto: true that! PhotoShop is the bomb in many ways & I agree that it is no photo organizer at all. But I still always find myself turning to manually organizing in Windows Explorer & editing in PhotoShop no matter what. I guess it took so darn long to learn PS back in the day, it is too much a part of my life now. But that doesn't mean I'm knockin' those other apps out there either.

@ Fierock: good call! That is a nice web app too.

tedbone

I downloaded this a couple of weeks ago. I didn't really try it out until after I saw this post on lifehacker. Another cool feature not mentioned in the article is that it is 100% portable. Meaning you can run the program from a portable flash drive, or USB hard drive. This is a pretty handy feature if you are away from your computer and you want to edit some photos on the go. After trying Photoscape, I must say it is pretty intuitive, and easy to use. To learn how to go about using PhotoScape from a USB flash or hdd go to [www.portablefreeware.com] and follow the instructions.

Ameri-CAIN

Andy - I honestly don't think it's going to happen anytime in the near future.

There are also several other freeware photoshop wannabes like PAINT DOT NET, GIMP but ultimately the maestro is Photoshop. Sure, these softwares are alternatives but Photoshop is most convenient as it has the widest array of tools and plugins ever seen.

HadesRocked

Is this any better than irfanview?

se7h

Is it better than irfanview?

se7h

I have been using Photoscape for a month or so. I really like it. It makes very quick work of getting pictures ready for eBay or just tuning them up a bit. The Batch Editing and resizing works very well and saves a ton of time. The quality of the effects are very good. The interface took a bit of getting used to but well worth the effort. I find it much better than Picassa in what it produced while Picassa is better for organizing your collection. Highly recommended.

Another great quality free product is FastStone Image Viewer. It is also worth a look - [www.faststone.org]

EdgeRider289

For *photo management* and *viewer* as well I use Directory Opus 9 (shareware).

For *editing*, there's no tool like Photoshop; for *fast editing* (for jokes, a simple crop, little enhancement) PhotoScape is perfect, lightweight and simple. It's my tool.

For *viewer*, Picasa has no full screen, FastStone (freeware) has a smart full screen letting programs bar visible, if you want, and auto hide sidebars in full screen mode with good and fast editing tools.

For AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS that want to see how things work in their photos (testing crops, more or less light, more or less saturation), fast and simple but good quality (PhotoScape is a really bad choice for correcting colors and exposure), I suggest FastStone.

Dude-Spell