Gimp 2.6 vs Photoshop CS5

So Gimp 2.6 is free and Photoshop CS5 you need to take a 2nd mortgage out to buy. Just messing around Adobe!

Seriously, has anyone ever done a side by side comparison? I was going to down load Gimp, but was warned that free software are prone to virus attacks?

Anyone ever have any security problems with Gimp?

Pros
I've been using Gimp for about 2 years now with no problems. You can do a lot of the same things that photoshop can do and it has a similar layout and tools. There is a large library of plug in for it, and effect filters, and those are also free. So being FREE and those other things are major bonuses in my book. Also if you really want it do something specific that is doesn't already do... you can try your had at writing that script or editing the program yourself. And once again... it's FREE and you don't loose anything to try it.

Cons
it is an 8 bit program where as photoshop is 16 bit, So PS is definitely a higher powered program. Most of these differences won't show up in on screen but will if you are trying to make a high quality large picture and then depending on the pictures itself, sometimes you can tell, sometimes you can't (personally my eye is not that discerning yet). The latest PS has some really nice features like it's smart cloning/filling and things like that, that Gimp doesn't have yet. The plug ins and effects aren't typically as polished as their equivalents in PS would be. There are more PS users, so it's easier to find help and resources for PS. And finally because there aren't as many plugins and filters, you have to learn how to achieve many of the looks and effects manually. This is a plus and a minus. It's good to actually know what is going on, but it takes longer.

If I had the spare money laying around I would love to get photoshop, but for now I'm very happy with Gimp. If it's being open source bothers you, just make sure you are downloading it from it's official source. Keep up to date protection on your computer as you should be doing anyway, and don't go downloading plugins and scripts from crazy sources unless you are willing to risk it. That would go the same for PS downloads I'm sure. Maybe there is a PS trial or demo you can try to see them side by side. Good luck.

I have been experimenting with Corel Paintshop Photo Pro X3. It functions a lot like PS at 10% of the cost (I paid $80 for a boxed unit). There is an upgrade but I need to learn this one first. The only downside so far is lack of classes but I found the "Picture Yourself Learning CPPP X3" and it does a good job of taking you step by step.

I use Paint Shop Pro as well. So far what I have read about in Photo Shop there is a matching function in PSP. I'm running X2 ATM but I normally upgrade every other time. I think my first install was on version 4...

The industry uses photoshop, and for good reason. If you can make another program work for you for a lot cheaper, more power to you. it's all about results in the end anyways.

I've been using Gimp for about 2 1/2 years and just can't seem to let go of 800.00 for PS so I continue to use it. Also there are free brushes on line for both. just down load the brushes in a file and put them into gimp when needed they do slow down the loading time of gimp, but they are also a must have. I just made a file in documents for them and then when I need I I go to my program files> Gimp> share>gimp>2.0>brushes. Very simple and gimp still loades fast. You should try Gimp and see if you like it before you spend al of your money on PS.