Picasa! I’m not sure what the heck that means, but it’s fun to say really loud in crowded places. I have been using this program for the past few weeks and thought I would share my findings. Rob told me to try out this free photo program that Google has out called Picasa2. I used to use Photoshop for any and all photo touching/editing other than image resizing and I was very skeptical that a free program could be any good. But Rob is my best friend and a great photographer, so I had to give it a try. I was wrong to doubt the good Sir Berto.
Picasa2 is a great and very powerful program that now takes care of the majority of my cataloging and photo editing. It’s all around a very strong program, and best of all it’s a free download no ads, popups or other bull poopskies. When you first open the program it takes you to the library. Here it searches your computer and keeps track of all of your image files. It catalogs them in a nice clean list, even if you have your picture folders scattered all over your hard drive. As you add or remove pictures, it adds them to your library automatically. From here you can make some simple modifications and batch re-size/export your pictures.
Once you go into a folder you can take advantage of some of the more advanced features and editing capability. The program easily allows you to make basic adjustments under the basic fix tab : crop , straighten, remove redeye, fill flash (light) and auto color/contrast/balance. The fill flash alone makes this program worth having because it will save many pictures that are just too dark, and will make some of your good pictures into great pictures. Please note that the fill light function is not the same as just turning up your brightness. Below is a picture I took on a longer exposure with the factory flash on my XT. I stood a little too far away for the flash to do it’s job on that particular exposure. The second picture was adjusted with fill light in less than 2 seconds.
In the tuning tab and effects tab you will find more advanced filters that can really change the look of your image. Sharpen, sepia, B&W, film grain, tint, soft focus and graduated tint are a few of the filters you can use. You can add these filters, and even combine multiple filters to achieve the desired effect. It is also very easy to remove any effect you have added.
The batch resizing (“Export”) function is another that I use frequently. With a single button you can resize your pictures for storage or web use with full control over the image size, output folder, and image quality.
There are many other features that I don’t use, but look like they might be handy. It looks like you can export to your Bloger account, make collages, size and scale for printing, and even order your pictures for printing online.
The best thing about this program is that it is very easy to use for the basic to somewhat advanced user. This will never replace Photoshop (just have to have that clone tool for some things!) but for %85 of what I used to use Photoshop for with digital photographs, Picasa2 will do more efficiently and more simply. It’s free. It’s easy, and it’s powerful. I highly recommend you give it a try.
Thanks Google!
0 Responses to “Picasa2- Google’s free digital photo software. Review”