Are you a Mac-based modeler?

[klutz_100]

Do you use a Mac? I'd appreciate some advice

I have just migrated from a PC to a MacBook and despite being overall mega-happy and blown away by the Mac, I have one problem.

On my PC I used a great freeware program called PhotoScape which combined all the functionality I needed and more while still remaining very easy to use. Unfortunately this program is not available in a Macintosh version

The only program I have on my Mac is iPhoto and I can already tell that I don't really like it and that it doesn't do what I need in a simple and quick way i.e cropping, resizing, rotating images, simple image re-touching etc. It seems more suitable for photo albums, archiving and plugging-in to other Mac applications.

What program(s) do you use for editing your modeling pictures? I did a bit of surfing already but I couldn't find anything that looked free and appropriate. I'd really appreciate your help if you can. BTW my system is Snow Leopard.

PS Moderators, I know this may not be strictly OT for this part of the forum but I am really interested in the opinions of AF modelers. Thanks

[gulfclk]

I use a Mac for over 1 year now and ... I'll never get back to a PC anymore, although my CNC mill and the CAD program I use only run on PC ...
Stable as hell, easy to use, never blocks ... MAC RULES!

For the moment I use IPhoto ... the cropping and resising is all I use, but I'm also interested to find a program to do small touch-ups.

So ... I'll be following this closely!

[mattbacon]

Personally, I use Photoshop Elements, which I've bought, but if you want a shareware programme, then you can't beat Graphic Convertor, which does a LOT more than it says on the can:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/263

If you want really free freeware, then the GIMP Linux editor is available in an OS X friendly version:

http://www.gimp.org/macintosh/

GIMP does pretty much everything Photoshop does, but getting it up and running on your Mac is a little bit more difficult than a native app (you need to install or activate the graphical interface environment that it uses as well as the GIMP software). It's not hard though, andthere are plenty of walkthroughs of how to do it online...

Hope this helps,

bestest,
M.

[Red_Firecracker]

Photoline;

http://www.pl32.com/

is quite a good (shareware) image processor, but for simple crops and retouching I normally just use iPhoto. I've been a Mac user for many years so I'm maybe a bit more in tune with the general feel of of the bundled apps so tend to turn to them first.

[TurboGuru]

Interestingly I have done the reverse.

I migrated to mac for the first time 2 years ago, and back then I had the same opinion on how good the mac was and still is.

Due to my job, I need to use Microsoft Technologies which as you guessed don't run on the mac so I recently built a new machine with Windows 7 - and already I can say its such a leap from XP .... its essentially Vista with all the crap and bloatware removed, and runs really fast and quite stable too.

I'll still keep my macbook pro as a laptop though! - anyways enough about OS....

As someone already said, 'Photoshop' ... it really is the de facto standard. Photoshop elements is the cheapest but has more than enough features packed into it. Suprisingly I hated iPhoto, I just couldn't work out what it was doing half the time.

You can always download a free trial of photoshop elements and see how you get on.

[freakmech]

Im a Mac user and have been for years. I hate iPhoto too. I fortunately have all the Abobe programs. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc... As far as modelling is concerned i did like my PC with Photoshop. On my Mac I cant even find a simple way to drag and drop images from my camera to my desktop for edited and uploading to Photobucket. But otherwise, i love my Mac. Photoshop elements might be the way to go for you.Of course there are other less legal ways of obtaining Photoshop but we wont get into that .

[gionc]

Ever used the Adobe suite on Mac since the 1988, when I bought my fist (super-expencive comparing today.........) Mac. My last one is a old G5 since by 3 yeas I fully migrated on a PC platform, due my activity moved from graphic to product design in the last 5-6 years and I didn't foud a reliable designing suite on mac. Obviously my laptop is a mac , but I use it more or less like a dvd/mp3 player when I'm sick or travelling

BTW when I saw you're using the Iphone I guessed you would switch to the dark side now or then...

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by gionc

BTW when I saw you're using the Iphone I guessed you would switch to the dark side now or then...

hehe

Thanks guys - some VERY useful tips and ideas there.
The pl32 looks quite interesting.

In the meantime I found a program called PhotoMagic which i have downloaded for a trial and it seems so far to fit my needs quite well.


I'll let you know if I decide to stay with it. The good news is that, at 19$, I can have it legally and very cheaply

[robertgreen94]

The latest version of iPhoto has the ability to crop,resize, adjustment control etc. Yes it is more basic than Photoshop elements, but then it's main focus is photo storage and sharing, not image manipulation. Photoshop elements will cover 99% of what anyone needs. If you need more, you know this and are using Photoshop. Take a look at the free tutorials on apples web site about iPhoto. If I recall it's www.apple.com/findouthow

oh and welcome to the Mac!

[360spider]

Steve,

There is a beautiful program called Graphic Converter by Lemke Software.
It does everything that you need. Email me.

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by 360spider

Email me.

I would...but I left your email address in my Windows machine!

[360spider]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

I would...but I left your email address in my Windows machine!

Well, I'll PM you then :-)