Free scientific ImageJ-ing
Rapid advances in technology lead to a more affordable and precise scientific imaging which is necessary for the modern analysis techniques done almost every day by the scientific community. If you're either a scientist by profession or a science enthusiast looking for the best image-processing program from a wide variety of software available online, then ImageJ is just the perfect thing for you.
Open source software
After its release, the software became a significant aid for everyday scientific researches and discoveries.
ImageJ is an open-source freeware designed for scientific image processing and analysis. It was created and constantly revamped by US software developer Wayne Rasband at the National Institutes of Health. The software is also a public domain, which means you’re allowed to add plug-ins and make changes to its program and share it to the user community without any copyright restriction.
Once you’ve downloaded the program, you’ll get a mini toolbar which gives you access to the program’s main functions including the menu bar and status/progress bar. The software’s mini structure allows you to display and process multiple images at the same time. Basic functions of the toolbar includes a wide range of measurement tools, image selection and enhancement, geometric operations, scaling and color processing. It is simply interactive which allows you to easily edit and analyze images for printing. You can also make your own image calculations using the program and create statistics according to your preferred parameters such as mean and standard deviations. The software also allows you to download or write additional plug-ins to customize the program to fit your research needs. You can also create and debug macros to automate the tasks you used most often. While its nature as an online applet allows you to develop your own mini-programs.
Where can you run this program?
Since the software is written in Java, you can run it on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux in both 32-bit and 64-bit modes. You can access the download link for free on the software’s official website.
Is there a better alternative?
ImageJ is simply the best image-processing freeware for scientific purposes. Although, you’ll have to spend your time studying some of its crucial features since it’s designed for a specific audience. To put it simply, this software is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some may prefer popular software such as Adobe Photoshop, which is the world’s best imaging and design app.
Our take
The program is not only user-friendly but also customizable based on your preferred functions and needs. The software has a large worldwide user community composed of knowledgeable users and developers. And the greatest thing about the program is it works with various file formats such as TIFF, JPEG, ASCII, FITS, and other raw formats.
Should you download it?
Absolutely. Even though the software is free of charge, it is still the world's fastest image processing program which can process 40 million pixels per second. It also works well with other programs such as Canon Utility, Nikon Remote Control 2, and Capture One.
