Adobe Photoshop Elements, in the long run, may be best if your interest is
more than just a few quick adjustments before printing . Irfanview has very
limited editing capabilities (though it's a great program, and free), but
photo editing is a learning process, and if you're going to invest time, you
don't want to be learning program after program. Photoshop is by far the
industry leader for advanced photo editing, and PS Elements has most of the
basic features of PS, at a fraction of the cost. What you learn in Elements
will be very similar if you ever get to the point of wanting Photoshop.
When you need "how to" help, you have a large base of experienced people to
draw from, since Photoshop users can help also, the procedures being very
similar. It's quite common in photo groups to see help questions posted
that go unanswered because they're using a photo editor that doesn't have
widespread use...if it's Elements or PS, you will certainly get an answer
quickly. I think Elements lists at around $89, but you can often find
rebates and bargains, which I've seen bring it down to $30 at times.
Most any of the programs will do the basics, and there are many free ones
that may do all you need. If this is just to get the photos reasonable
before you print them, the software from the printer may be plenty; if it's
going to be a hobby or more, the time you invest in learning might make it
worthwhile getting something that will stick with you and meet your needs as
you get better, such as PS Elements.
--
Gary
Photo Albums:
http://www.pbase.com/roberthouse
I just received a camera and do not have a photo editing program other than
what came with the printer. Any recommendations as to which/what software to
buy?
I am using XP Pro. TIA