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This image viewer and editor is a longtime Download.com favorite, and with good reason: IrfanView is simple, fast, and free for individual use.

The program lets you make basic edits to images, as well as multiple media formats. You can cut and crop, apply batch conversions, add, sharpen, or blur effects, create panoramas, and change color modes easily. The program continues to add support for an array of file formats and has plug-in support for most image, video, and sound formats, including MP3, AVI, audio CD, and WMA. An IrfanView Thumbnails shortcut on the desktop offers an Explorer-like file tree that quickly displays all images in a particular folder. The latest version even includes a basic drawing palette.

Do note that upon installation, it will attempt to install two Google programs you can opt out of. IrfanView's not going to replace a major paint program, but why use a meat cleaver to cut a stick of butter?

IrfanView has long been one of the more popular freeware image-editing applications on CNET Download.com, and with good reason. Other than the fact that everyone loves freeware, IrfanView comes in multiple languages and packages a range of features to draw in beginners and keep the more advanced users interested.

You also can't discount the lovably homegrown interface that, to me, anyway, underscores the app's birthright as one developer's pet project (it matches well with the author's photos of his Bosnian hometown on IrfanView's Web site.) This video takes a quick look at IrfanView 1.4, which has added editing tools and an effects preview window.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Once I've taken care of installing security software on a new a PC, one of the first programs I end up downloading is an image editor. Whether I'm using it to make a quick edit to a screenshot, convert a digital photo to a more Web-friendly image format, or even something as mundane as cropping an image for a desktop background, an easy-to-use image editor is a must have. Those of you with recently acquired computers probably have a lot of holiday photos you've resolved to go through, so this little collection will definitely come in handy.

Obviously, Photoshop is the heavyweight champ in the image-editing category, but most people don't need such an advanced toolset for everyday image-editing tasks. Also, $650 (for Photoshop CS3) is not exactly pocket change for most of us. Fortunately there are a lot of options available at a fraction of the cost, and some of the best downloadable image editors are completely free. For those who just need a tool with a modest feature set for everyday tasks, I've rounded up my three favorite free image editors.

For the most lightweight and nimble editor, IrfanView is the best choice

(Credit: CNET Networks)

IrfanView is longtime user favorite for its simplicity. It was the go-to for free image editors a few years ago and remains as one of the best for quick image editing. Basic features such as cropping, resizing, and file conversion are all part of the toolset, and if you want more options, there are IrfanView plug-in packs you can download from the IrfanView developer site. This one doesn't have the prettiest interface of the group, but for basic tasks it gets the job done.

FastStone Image Viewer's easy-to-access full-screen mode lets you view and edit your images without distraction

(Credit: CNET Networks)

FastStone Image Viewer is the program I use to crop and resize screenshots here at work. I even have Photoshop on my hard drive, but it just can't beat the speed and convenience of FastStone Image Viewer. An intuitive interface lets you browse your image folders and select what you want quickly and easily. But my favorite thing about this free program is the ability to double-click an image to bring it up in full-screen mode for closer inspection. You can then mouse to each side of the screen for pop-up tools for editing and basic effects, file management, and image info.

Paint.NET gives you more effects to play with along with a layer manager and history window.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Paint.NET is a free alternative that is closer to Photoshop than the rest in this collection. Complete with Photoshop-like toolbars, a layer manager, a history window, and more image effects than the others, Paint.NET offers just about everything you might need. Though the feature list is not nearly as long as Photoshop, you can't beat what you can get for free with Paint.NET. The only caveat is you'll need to download Microsoft's .NET framework to run this program.

If you're a digital camera enthusiast or like to scan or collect images, you need a good image editor. These apps are definitely great for the basics and some offer extra features that make them an even better value. As always, if you have a favorite image editor which is not listed here, let me know in the comments!

IrfanView arguably has the worst name in all of freewaredom, but that doesn't stop it from being a top-notch lightweight image editor. Oh, and it just got better.

... Read more

The free app Paint.NET offers strong image-editing features in a small package.

(Credit: Paint.NET)

Adobe Photoshop is a fantastic software product. I use it at CNET every single day. However, I don't own a personal version at home, and I find that I don't miss it much for my own limited image editing and graphic design needs. For cropping snapshots, removing red-eye, resizing, or creating LOLcat images, I turn to the free image editors available at CNET Download.com.

The grandaddy of free design software is the GIMP (short for GNU Image Manipulation Program), which provides much of the functionality of Photoshop, with a very large and dedicated community that produces tons of valuable tutorials. However, the GIMP isn't the most user-friendly application. Newbies would be advised to try GIMPshop, which puts a Photoshop-like interface on top of the GIMP's core functionality. ... Read more