I have many digital photos that I have taken over the past years, and I am transitioning from a Nikon DSLR to a much smaller Lumix DC-XS200 with electronic and optical viewfinder and plan to use it with my iPhone on future travels when COVID-19 allows. That said, I am looking to replace Picasa 3 as my digital photo editing and cataloging program as Google no longer supports Picasa. I have continued using it because it is a simple system to use and does most everything I want to do to keep my photos together and edit them, and I am comfortable with it. I don’t mind paying for a good but somewhat simple system that does what Picasa does, but I find some programs do too much and are rather complicated to learn and use. I can always use Photoshop Elements to do more elaborate editing for specific photos. Once I select a new program, I want to send all my Picasa groups of photos into the new editing program. Also, I am interested in programs that may be used to share edited collection of photos with friends on the internet. I would appreciate any suggestions.
Posted by
North Carolina
2490 posts
I’ve been using the Snapseed app for awhile, and like it quite well.
Posted by
Meridian, Mississippi, USA
124 posts
Jim,
I would suggest Google Photos. It has a quick, limited edit feature for lighting, contrast, a couple of filters, etc. It's not photoshop. Additionally, it gives you free cloud storage (up to 16 megapixels, if your images are larger you can use your google drive space which would cost if you use more than 15 gigs), and an easy way to share with friends. I no longer back up or save any images, they are all on Google Photos. Additionally, there's an app for your phone that will automatically back up to the cloud pictures you take with the phone. Check it out and see if you like it, since it's free no loss if you don't
Good luck!
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI
768 posts
Check out www.irfanview.com
I've been using it for a decade, and it's free.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6918 posts
Have you considered Lightroom?
Posted by
NC
212 posts
I use CaptureOne but that's probably more than you'll need. Before I got into photography I used Snapseed & would recommend it.
Posted by
Cape Ann, Massachusetts
3324 posts
I really like Adobe Lightroom as well.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32345 posts
Jim,
I suppose the answer depends on how extensively you want to edit your photos. With the new Lumix camera, will you be shooting RAW images or JPEG?
I typically only shoot RAW images, and keep my photos together in file folders on my computer. I use a program called DXO Photolab 4 for editing my images and convert selected photos to JPEG for sharing online or with family. That may be more than you need, so Lightroom may be an more suitable choice for your situation.
Posted by
North Carolina
2490 posts
Just wanted to mention that Snapseed does convert RAW photos.
Posted by
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
3100 posts
Another freeware option is GIMP, which edits photos, in either final form (.jpg, .tiff, .png) or in RAW (with a plugin). It's widely available.
I do a lot of stuff with ImageMagick. It is a freeware tool which allows you to edit a photo using commands. This scares people, but it's not that hard. You need to use the command window.
Here's how to convert a photo from .jpg to .tiff.
convert apple-chart.jpg apple-chart.tiff
This took about .5 sec. You can resize, adjust brightness-contrast, hue, add a virtual frame, all kinds of things. There's a learning curve, of course.
Posted by
US
397 posts
I treat editing and storage/sharing as two different entities.
For editing, I use Photoshop.
For bulk storage, I use my hard drives and cloud.
For select images (already edited) for sharing, I use Picasa (then) and Google Photos (now).
Pros for Google Photos:
- free
- options to share each album: no sharing, or public for all, or share with a link to the album
- those receiving a link can access the album, without having to register or to login
I tried and could not find another program that can do the same.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33720 posts
I would be very careful with jon's little link - it does not appear to go to the Adobe website. I don't know where it eventually drops anchor but I'm not going there, I've asked the Webmaster to have a little look and make a ruling...