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Pixelmator or Photoshop

Ifti

Ifti

macrumors 601
Original poster
Dec 14, 2010
4,356
3,030
UK
I have PhotoShop on my Mac at the moment, but dont really do much with it - just the basics like cropping, resizing etc.

Was thinking of swappin gover to Pixelmator instead - it seem smuch easier to use with plenty of online tutorials.

Anyone have any experience of it??
 
I've been using it for like a week now and I like it. It has got to be way limited compared to Photoshop I assume. I don't do heavy stuff either so it works for me. I like the clean interface better than Photoshop. Since I'm a bit of a noob with PS, the menu system seems intimidating. I think when I sit down and really start trying to learn about PS it won't be as bad though. So far in Pixelmator I've found it easy to blur the background of a pic, and turn a picture black and white and then colorize certain aspects. Youtube helped a bit there. I've also worked with levels, and liked the results. I'm curious to see others chime in who are more familiar with both applications though.
 
Ive never really been able to get into Photoshop - it just seems too large and far, far beyond my photo editing capabilities. Although I have it on my MAC, I only use it at a very basic level, or to import images from my scanner!

Im after something simpler, which is easier to pick up, but something I can do the basics with, such as cropping, resizing etc, as well as blending images togather, and adding the odd special effect on top. Thats really as far as I'd ever need or want to go. Hence the reason why I feel Photoshop is OTT for me.
 
Ifti said:
I have PhotoShop on my Mac at the moment, but dont really do much with it - just the basics like cropping, resizing etc.
Click to expand...
If you're just doing that type of stuff, then pixelmator will be up to the task and then some.

Of course this begs the question if you have a current copy of PS, why bother using a different product. PS has more flexibility, power and ability to use plugins. You'll have to get used to a different UI and how pixelmator does things.
 
I dont really use PS very often, and find it difficult to use TBH.
That why I was looking at Pixelmator.
 
Unless you need to earn money from your efforts Pixelmator will meet your needs. I've been using it for a few years now and don't regret moving over from Photoshop at all.

The online tutorials include free video podcasts on the iTMS BTW.
 
Queso has it nailed. The Photoshop CS suite is more for people whose image-manipulation skills pay their bills.

I've had Pixelmator for a few years myself, from a MacHeist bundle; it works quite well, is not too hard to learn, and has a large enough set of editing tools for most of us "amateurs".
 
Ifti said:
Photoshop removed.
Pixelmator installed.
;)
Click to expand...

I'm considering this scenario myself. Pixelmator has always intrigued me and when MacUpdate had it up for 50% off I decided pick it up to play around. So far it's met my needs, and I'm toying with the idea of removing the older version of PS that I have.
 
Ive already removed PS!
The only downside Ive seen to Pixelmator is the lack of TWAIN support - so I cant scan images in. However, its no biggie - I can still use Image capture to scan an image in if need be (which is on the rare occasion anyways).

Above all else, its saved a lot of space on my drive. I think PS was around 550MB, whereas Pixelmator is only around 33MB!
 
Just in case you haven't already spotted it you can access Image Capture directly from Pixelmator by selecting Import from the File menu.
 
The only thing that holds me back from going whole hog on pixelmator is plugins. I have a handful of PS plugins that I like to use. They make my life a lot easier on doing some things.
 
I misplaced (yes, really) my copy of Photoshop and use it at work but instead of trying to scrape together a few hundred dollars for a new copy, figure it’s worth $30 to try it via the App Store. The UI looks fairly similar to that of Photoshop and, worst case scenario, if I don’t like it – it’s only $30. From everything I’ve seen and read about Pixelmator, I think I’ll like it.
 
Pixelmator needs to get layer styles and the ability to align layer contents to a selection and then it'll be perfect. As much as I love Pixelmator, I still have to use PS from time to time as it doesn't have all I need.
 
I would throw in a third option, Gimp. I have not used Pixelmator but Gimp has helped with basic editing and it free. Since I moved to LightRoom my need for more power has diminished.
 
Phillie14586 said:
I would throw in a third option, Gimp. I have not used Pixelmator but Gimp has helped with basic editing and it free. Since I moved to LightRoom my need for more power has diminished.
Click to expand...

I used GIMP for years (almost since its inception) but I find Pixelmator a much more elegant solution on the Mac. GIMP requires X Windows and uses nonstandard windows and does not have the speed of Px.

GIMP falls between PS and Px (Pixelmator) in my opinion, and it is free but at $30 I'd say to Px--unless there's some feature in GIMP/PS you need.
 
Ifti said:
Photoshop removed.
Pixelmator installed.
;)
Click to expand...

Same here. I've been looking for a way out of using Adobe products for a while now and Pixelmator is looking better all the time.
And on an 11.6MBA Ultimate it makes all the difference.

•Footprint - PhotoShop CS5 752.8MB install :(, Pixelmator 103.6MB install. :)
•Price - PhotoShop CS5 £699 :(, Pixelmator £18, That's 39 times cheaper. :D (not to mention Pixelmator's price consistancy across the globe :) .... as opposed to Adobe's favouritism towards the USA :mad:).
•Speed - well, I haven't done any serious tests, but Pixelmator feels very fast indeed. :)

And then the fact that I feel more comfortable supporting a small dev team rather than the money sucking behemoth that Adobe is.
I'd like to see a few more bits and pieces that I miss from PS, but all in all no regrets so far.
 
I use both extensively for anything from photo retouching to texturing 3D models. Here is my take:

Adobe better watch out. Pixelmator is a million times faster than Photoshop and has things such as instant filters that you can adjust in real time. This is huge for texturing work. The real time gradients is an awesome feature as well.

Even though Pixelmator doesn't have all of the features Photoshop has, it comes pretty close and for most peoples uses they could use either program. Pixelmator is by no means a "dumbed down photoshop", its actually very powerful.

A few things photoshop has that pixelmator does not:

-Layer styles
-Vector capabilities (Many people use Illustrator anyway for this not PS)
-Channel support
-CMYK support

There are a few others that I can't think of off the top of my head but for most people, they don't need those type of features anyway.

Unfortunately, you will run into the Adobe evangelists (that is an actual title believe it or not) who just started learning Photoshop and think its the be all end all image editor that can work miracles and save lives and such so often you will find the "If its not photoshop it sucks" people. There may be people in this thread I don't know I didn't read the whole thing. (I've been using Photoshop almost since it came out, before it even had layers so I'm well aware of Photoshops capabilities).

The best bet in the end is to try out both and see which one you prefer. The toolset for both is extremely similar so its easy to switch between. You'll notice though Pixelmator is a LOT faster than Photoshop.

As most people who have used Photoshop for a long period of time will tell you, Adobe's products have been going downhill after they bought out all their competition :/
 
I do web related work. create websites, etc etc etc...

Does anyone know if Pixelmator would be a viable replacement for photoshop, for this sort of work?
 
thejadedmonkey said:
I do web related work. create websites, etc etc etc...

Does anyone know if Pixelmator would be a viable replacement for photoshop, for this sort of work?
Click to expand...

The lack of layers to me would be a significant factor in determining whether pixelmator is a suitable replacement.
 
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