[Macworld]

Post your comments for Pixelmator 2.0 provides powerful image editing in a sleek package here

[MacTechAspen]

Anyone have experience with Pixelmator vs. Elements?

My personal computer is one of the last to make the move to lion, primarily because of my ancient copy of PhotoShop. I am not a graphics pro, just a publisher that needs to clean up and tweak the ocassional photo, or create text effects.

I want something with a short learning curve that will replace PS without costing me much. This may well be the ticket.

[TheMacU]

Pixelmator and PSE 10 are about equal in what the can do. PSE 10 does offer adjustment layers though so if you are sued to using those that is a big plus. Aside from that Pixelmator is a great alternative to PSE and the full version of Photoshop.

This post has been edited by cpoff: 20 January 2012 - 09:57 AM
Reason for edit: Removed promotional plug.

[MacHed]

One glaring omission for graphics professionals is the lack of cmyk support.

[monocle]

So is the free upgrade available only to those who purchased it at the App store?

I received the CD as a gift Xmas 2010. What's my status?

[Jeromedy7i]

Does the 2.0 upgrade add text-on-path? That is a major omission in the previous version. If the new version does not include text-on-path, it is still a non-starter for me, and I'll be sticking with PSE.

[PSGuru]

Well, if the author actually did production work, and had significant experience with imaging software, he'd know that the lack of Fill Layers in Pixelmator is a non-issue: just make a new layer, fill it with a solid color, and you're done. They're not exactly the same as those in PS, but they end up with pretty much the same functionality. Meanwhile, it looks like there's no support for RAW files - which pretty much makes it useless for digital photographers. The mention of Adjustment Layers - in terms of their omission - neglects whether Pixelmator offers the ability to save color correction tool settings, which might help partially mitigate the lack of adjustment layers.

I know, for $30, it's a very nice little program for dealing with JPEGs for Facebook and eBay, but even PS Elements has substantial RAW import support. Someone brought up the lack of CMYK support, one of the main differentiators between that program and the full PS, another key point missing from the piece. It's sad that MacWorld puts this piece forward as a "review", it's really a mostly puffy placeholder.

[meta]

TheMacU, on 20 January 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

Pixelmator and PSE 10 are about equal in what the can do. PSE 10 does offer adjustment layers though so if you are sued to using those that is a big plus. Aside from that Pixelmator is a great alternative to PSE and the full version of Photoshop.

Photoshop Elements also has the magic healing brush, panorama assembly, content-aware image recomposition, magic extractor, and a bunch of other things Pixelmator lacks.

[albertross]

PSGuru, on 20 January 2012 - 12:45 PM, said:

Well, if the author actually did production work, and had significant experience with imaging software, he'd know that the lack of Fill Layers in Pixelmator is a non-issue: just make a new layer, fill it with a solid color, and you're done. They're not exactly the same as those in PS, but they end up with pretty much the same functionality. Meanwhile, it looks like there's no support for RAW files - which pretty much makes it useless for digital photographers. The mention of Adjustment Layers - in terms of their omission - neglects whether Pixelmator offers the ability to save color correction tool settings, which might help partially mitigate the lack of adjustment layers.

I know, for $30, it's a very nice little program for dealing with JPEGs for Facebook and eBay, but even PS Elements has substantial RAW import support. Someone brought up the lack of CMYK support, one of the main differentiators between that program and the full PS, another key point missing from the piece. It's sad that MacWorld puts this piece forward as a "review", it's really a mostly puffy placeholder.

I don't quite understand the the lack of RAW importing. I drop RAW files into Pixelmator without any drama. A little bit condescending the reference basically saying it is only good for JPEGs for Facebook and eBay. It isn't every time I work on an image that it requires a full blown PS makeover. For $30 it does an amazing amount of things.

[PSGuru]

albertross, on 20 January 2012 - 03:26 PM, said:

PSGuru, on 20 January 2012 - 12:45 PM, said:

Well, if the author actually did production work, and had significant experience with imaging software, he'd know that the lack of Fill Layers in Pixelmator is a non-issue: just make a new layer, fill it with a solid color, and you're done. They're not exactly the same as those in PS, but they end up with pretty much the same functionality. Meanwhile, it looks like there's no support for RAW files - which pretty much makes it useless for digital photographers. The mention of Adjustment Layers - in terms of their omission - neglects whether Pixelmator offers the ability to save color correction tool settings, which might help partially mitigate the lack of adjustment layers.

I know, for $30, it's a very nice little program for dealing with JPEGs for Facebook and eBay, but even PS Elements has substantial RAW import support. Someone brought up the lack of CMYK support, one of the main differentiators between that program and the full PS, another key point missing from the piece. It's sad that MacWorld puts this piece forward as a "review", it's really a mostly puffy placeholder.

I don't quite understand the the lack of RAW importing. I drop RAW files into Pixelmator without any drama. A little bit condescending the reference basically saying it is only good for JPEGs for Facebook and eBay. It isn't every time I work on an image that it requires a full blown PS makeover. For $30 it does an amazing amount of things.

I stand corrected - I downloaded the demo version and you're right, it handles RAW files.

There's no question that, for the money, Pixelmator is the standout bargain for the Mac. Personally, I'd splurge for Photoshop Elements, but I also understand that Adobe has done little to make their users feel appreciated.

It's still surprising that Apple hasn't come out with a real image editor. Aperture plays against Lightroom, but it would be amazing to see what they'd come up with for an image editor combining the best aspects of After Effects and Photoshop, with an integrated 3D engine and the ability to be a full-featured multimedia authoring tool. Imagine iBooks Author for everything - the image editor is just another module that plugs in.

Anyway, thanks for setting me straight.

[rlav]

"like those in Illustator"
>>
Illustrator

[sebzar]

Pixelmator is an awesome tool for those who want to take their first steps into the world of image editing too. Yes it has it's shortcomings compared to for example photoshop but then again both apps are aimed at a totally different user base. A great recourse for learning image editing with Pixelmator is http://pixelmatortutorials.net The guys there make some awesome tutorials that not only learn you how to use the app but learn you image editing as well.

[jmck]

MacHed, on 20 January 2012 - 09:41 AM, said:

One glaring omission for graphics professionals is the lack of cmyk support.

As a graphics professional, I'm confident that CMYK support is less important as the years go by. There's an advantage to staying in RGB, and most separators are pretty well used to receiving RGB files at this point.

Of course, I can't really imaging a graphics professional not having access to a copy of Photoshop. But I'm so glad smaller programs like this and Acorn are sprouting up outside the 800 lb gorilla's shadow.

[DavidAllen]

MacHed, on 20 January 2012 - 09:41 AM, said:

One glaring omission for graphics professionals is the lack of cmyk support.

Depends whether you design for print or not. If you only design for the screen - no problem.