Any reason to keep Photoshop CS6 and GIMP installed if you have Affinity Photo V2?

[AMonty]

Hello,

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this. It possibly qualifies as a technical question, since it translates to roughly "does Affinity Photo have all the features, or workarounds, of these other 2 apps combined?"

I'm tidying up a Windows laptop and a MacBook after purchasing the Affinity universal license.

I can't for the life of me see any need to keep either GIMP or Photoshop CS6 installed. I have no plugins for either of these apps that I'll miss.

Does anyone have good knowledge / memory of Photoshop CS6 so they can think of any unique features that would make it worth keeping? Until a few days ago, it was my "current" photo app! (I've never used the Adobe Creative Cloud stuff). Similar question for GIMP?

I can see myself getting bogged down for days doing a feature comparison, but it would be great if somebody who has been down that rabbit hole already can convince me to just delete and move on!

Thanks in advance.

[Ron P.]

I haven't used PS for about 8 yrs. I had the PS/LR (Photography bundle) because I'm mainly into photography. I tried GIMP years ago, and it just wasn't for me. I still have the last perpetual license version of LR. I don't use it much at all now. IF I do, it's for batch processing RAW files. I can do all the adjusting on one image, then apply to the rest.

I think you answered you're own question:

8 minutes ago, AMonty said:

can't for the life of me see any need to keep either GIMP or Photoshop CS6 installed

Everyone is going to have their own reasons, needs, which probably won't be applicable to your needs.

[AMonty]

2 minutes ago, Ron P. said:

I haven't used PS for about 8 yrs. I had the PS/LR (Photography bundle) because I'm mainly into photography. I tried GIMP years ago, and it just wasn't for me. I still have the last perpetual license version of LR. I don't use it much at all now. IF I do, it's for batch processing RAW files. I can do all the adjusting on one image, then apply to the rest.

I think you answered you're own question:

Everyone is going to have their own reasons, needs, which probably won't be applicable to your needs.

Thanks Ron.

I'm 99% sure I've answered my own question, but don't trust my memory regarding all the features I've found useful in Photoshop in the past.

One thing I checked in Affinity Photo before I bought it was the 'inpainting' feature, as I'd definitely miss Photoshop's 'content-aware deletion' feature. Affinity Photo seems to do it just as well, in the few spot-checks I made.

Good point re the batch conversion functions. I just installed XnView MP on my MacBook on the same day as Affinity Photo, as part of the same effort to update all my photo processing software. It seems pretty solid for batch conversion. I'm pretty confident that with XnView MP and Affinity Photo I'm covered, but I'll probably wait for further input here before I cut all ties with my past software...

[dominik]

2 hours ago, AMonty said:

since it translates to roughly "does Affinity Photo have all the features, or workarounds, of these other 2 apps combined?"

Hello @AMonty,

I cannot comment on Gimp since I hardly used it. But I do keep my old version of Photoshop CS6 around. Not to create new content but to be able to access my old Photoshop files in case there is a need to it. Very occasionally I start PS to look something up or to open a file I received for some reason in this format.

But in general APh has completely replaced my workflow when it comes to photo editing or manipulation. I always was able to accomplish what needed to be done (and that is for me more than just touching up a couple of photos).

d.

[AMonty]

39 minutes ago, dominik said:

I do keep my old version of Photoshop CS6 around. Not to create new content but to be able to access my old Photoshop files in case there is a need to it.

Thanks Dominik.

This comment tumbled me on to the fact that two-way conversion between PSDs and Affinity Photo files is not guaranteed. I hadn't been clear that that was the case.

So I've just done some reading around about what to expect. More importantly, I've dug up some of the more complex PSD files I've saved in the past. They opened fine in AP, were editable, exportable in PSD format, and re-openable in Photoshop in case anyone else wants them in that format.

I think I'm lucky that I'm not a particularly advanced user. Mostly my layers are raster, text, adjustments like selective color etc.

I'm grateful you made me aware that I needed to check file compatibility!

That's a big step towards feeling comfortable about letting go of past software.

 

[dominik]

10 hours ago, AMonty said:

This comment tumbled me on to the fact that two-way conversion between PSDs and Affinity Photo files is not guaranteed. I hadn't been clear that that was the case.

This can be a very important factor for some users, especially those who are now looking into migrating from Adobe to Affinity.

I did not test import of PS files into APh intensively. But I'd rather expect some problems with more complex files. I even think this is more or less to be expected due to the fact that both 'worlds' are quite different.

Better then to hear that you've successfully transferred some files back an forth 🙂

d.

[henryanthony]

If drive space is not an issue, I would keep CS6 just because "you never know". Once you delete it, you will not be able to reinstall it unless you have the version Adobe made available that doesn't require online activation. You can probably always reinstall GIMP if you so desire. 

[AMonty]

8 hours ago, henryanthony said:

If drive space is not an issue, I would keep CS6 just because "you never know". Once you delete it, you will not be able to reinstall it unless you have the version Adobe made available that doesn't require online activation.

That's a good point, I'd forgotten about the hassle of activation. I just checked around and apparently in just the last few months a lot of people who paid for the 'lifetime' license of CS6 have just been locked out of using their copy.

In my case one of my installations does take up a huge amount of space on a small drive, because it's running in a virtual machine so there's an entire operating system taking up space. I'll delete that VM, but keep CS6 installed on an old laptop. And I'll block all the Adobe spyware from getting in touch with their servers and deactivating my copy.

Yet another very helpful post that's made me very glad I asked the question! Thanks.