(My) Alternative to Picasa
I started writing the following post back in February 2016, when the Internet started screaming about another Google project being killed. This time it was a program that millions use, but Google didn’t find a direct source of income from it, so it’s doing what it always does… killing it.
End of Picasa
Picasa, a program for organizing and basic editing photos. Although it has not been significantly developed for some time, it has always had my approval and I have recommended it to my friends. Unfortunately, Google decided to discontinue its development and remove it - the possibility of downloading - in May 2016.
Although the program itself still works, it is worth looking for an alternative, because if something starts to break, there will be no help from anyone.
Google encourages storing photos in the cloud and using its latest application Google Photos. However, there are still people who want to store photos in a traditional way - and not only photography enthusiasts.
Since it will be difficult to convince anyone in Poland to buy Adobe Photoshop Elements or ACDSee, and using an illegal version is out of the question, I started looking for something else - equally good, which will not be discontinued in development - although we can never be sure of that.
Another equally important option is availability on both Windows and Mac - however, this is not a necessary option.
So I searched, searched and searched. Unfortunately, but good and simple program is not so easy to find - especially if you want to transfer a user 60+ accustomed to using Picasa and additionally in Polish.
I will not write a review here, because it is best to test the program in practice. Some options that will suit me may not appeal to other users, for this reason I leave it to your discretion.
CyberLink PhotoDirector 7 Essential - Free (Free)
http://www.cyberlink.com/stat/product/free-zone/enu/free-software-static.jsp
Minus:
- No Polish language;
- Fully functional for 30 days, in a limited version, but free after that period.
digiKam (Windows/Mac/Linux) - Free Open Source
Minus:
- auxiliary applications running in the background
LightZone - Free (Windows/Mac) (Free)
http://www.lightzoneproject.org
Minus:
- registration on the site required to download the program
Zoner Photo Studio Free (Windows) - Free
Minus:
- Not a very well-known manufacturer
- Lack of Polish language
- necessary to create a Zoner account to use the program (sic!)
Magix Photo Manager (Windows) - Free
http://www.magix.com/us/free-download/photo-manager/
Minus:
- Not a very well-known manufacturer
- Lack of Polish language
- Firebird SQL Server required for the program to work (sic!)
- Registration required on the manufacturer’s website (sic!)
Finally, something I recommend due to the quality, support and available options - even though it’s not free.
Adobe Photoshop Elements (Windows/Mac)
http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop-elements.html
Minus:
- price (sic!)
- to burn photos to a disc, you need Adobe Premiere Elements (sic!)
And for more advanced users:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (Windows/Mac)
http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop-lightroom.html
My choice (2016)
I tested all of the above programs (as well as a dozen others) and didn’t find an alternative simple enough to quickly and without unnecessary explanation switch from Picasa.
For my needs I use Adobe Lightroom, however for a person 60+ who doesn’t need so many options, I would lean towards Photoshop Elements if not for the fact that I would also have to buy Premiere Elements (no go!).
There is one more option…
Microsoft Photos
Photos built into Windows 10, easy to use, but far from the functionality of Picasa. As you could see by looking at previous versions of Windows, here too we can’t be sure that the program will make it to the next version, so the learning will be wasted.
In the end I chose Adobe Lightroom version 5 Despite its price (version 5 is available in quite affordable options), this choice will require me to devote some more time to introduce and transfer people from Picasa. We’ll see how it goes.
Best regards
