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Archive 2013 · Please recomm specific PP software for me

  
 
ether1
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


Hi all,

As an amature photographer I am now looking to get some basic editing software and after reading several reviews I am still confused.
I am shooting with Canon T2i in RAW.
While I am very comfortable with computers and various applications I tried a few post-processing apps and got really turned off.,
I tried Photoshop CS3 - way too complicated for my needs...
I used and still use the free Canon DSLR editing software - like it but it is missing some features
I used MS Photo editor but it also is missing some features.

I mostly shoot landscape and some family events

What I need:
1. Simple interface that imports RAW files and can convert - batching is important (ie open 20 RAW files and have them all convert to small jpegs).
2. Cropping, resizing, adjusting sharpness, contrast, exposure etc...the basics
3. Red eye reduction (yes - I have some old photos taken with P&S that I want to fix one of those days)
4. Being able to easily do minor edits/ fixes; such as removing power lines or other small objects in the frame.

Some general, build-in FX would be welcomed but not critical....

Key here is ease of use and price under $150 or less

Thank you!!



Oct 28, 2013 at 12:08 PM
Dragonfire
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


Photoshop Lightroom

I ruined more pictures with Photoshop CS because it was wayyyyy more than I would ever need.

Lightroom might offer a trial version.

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_lightroom

Edited on Oct 28, 2013 at 12:16 PM · View previous versions



Oct 28, 2013 at 12:12 PM
ether1
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


forgot to mention...I tried LR too....it was an older version on my friends computer and couldn't figure out how to do Red Eye correction....
With MS Photo Editor you can do it with one click....I guess in LR you need to do it manually ??

It seemed to me at the time that the only good thing it was for - was to organize my pictures and albums....



Oct 28, 2013 at 12:15 PM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


ether1 wrote:
forgot to mention...I tried LR too....it was an older version on my friends computer and couldn't figure out how to do Red Eye correction....
With MS Photo Editor you can do it with one click....I guess in LR you need to do it manually ??

It seemed to me at the time that the only good thing it was for - was to organize my pictures and albums....

Red eye correction is very easy in LR. One click on each eye and a little slider adjustment and you're done.

LR will get you everything you need. It's worth it just for the organizational ability. It's pretty much a standard. Because of this, there are a number of great plugins you can get down the road as your skills increase.



Oct 28, 2013 at 12:26 PM
ether1
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


what's the Adobe Elements ?

People say it is like CS5 but much easier....



Oct 28, 2013 at 02:07 PM
Dudewithoutape
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


What was lacking with Canon DPP?
What was lacking with MS Photo Editor?



Oct 28, 2013 at 02:42 PM
boingyman
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


I would go lightroom and ps element for your budget. Lightroom can do it all for you and elements is good enough to do other basic editing such as blending and removing objects like you mentioned. Only downfall of elements is that you can only work in 8-bit files


Oct 28, 2013 at 02:46 PM
Dragonfire
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


At the tender age of 55 I purchased and learned Lightroom because this is the digital age If you don't keep up with technology you get old.




Oct 28, 2013 at 02:55 PM
dgdg
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


Many people like DXO. It has gone up a few versions since I last used it and happily jumped to LR4


Oct 28, 2013 at 03:34 PM
ether1
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


Dudewithoutape wrote:
What was lacking with Canon DPP?
What was lacking with MS Photo Editor?


Canon DPP doesn't allow me to touch up my pictures, such as Red Eye correction or removing things from the frame; such as power lines or utility pole

MS Photo Editor does red eye but not cleaning up other things from the frame and I can't open 20 files at once and convert to jpg



Oct 28, 2013 at 04:18 PM
DanBrown
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


You can download trial versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 and Lightroom 5. Why not try the programs yourself?




Oct 28, 2013 at 06:41 PM
Bifurcator
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


ether1 wrote:
Hi all,

As an amature photographer I am now looking to get some basic editing software and after reading several reviews I am still confused.
I am shooting with Canon T2i in RAW.
While I am very comfortable with computers and various applications I tried a few post-processing apps and got really turned off.,
I tried Photoshop CS3 - way too complicated for my needs...
I used and still use the free Canon DSLR editing software - like it but it is missing some features
I used MS Photo editor but it also is missing some features.

I mostly shoot landscape and some family events

What I need:
1.
...Show more

Most of these fit your description. Some are free even. Almost all of these have free timed trial versions you can download in order to evaluate their use for yourself:

Aperture - Download / Site - Good/average but a little slow, OS X only AFAIK.
CaptureOne Pro - Download / Site - Probably the best there is.
The Gimp - Download / Site - The last 2 or 3 point releases are excellent!
CinePaint - Download / Site - Very powerful but used to have stability problems on Mac/Win - I dunno current.
PS Plugins 4 Gimp - Download / Site - Haven't tried it but used similar for LightWave3D which worked well!
Matlab - Download / Site - Excellent but very technical and not good for photo editing.
PaintShop Pro - Download / Site - Excellent tool but same experience a lot of crashes.
Photo Impact - Download / Site - I have no experience with this one.
AfterShot Pro - Download / Site - Extremely promising but needs a few bug fixes!
Pixelmator - Download / Site - Sexy and fun but I dunno if I would base a workflow on it with no 16bit support.
GraphicConverter - Download / Site - Excellent but better for web and game graphics than photography, OS X only AFAIK.
RAW Therapee - Download / Site - Haven't really tested any of the latest versions.
ImageJ - Download / Site - Never used it but it looks like a web and game tool not really a photo editor.
PhotoLine - Download / Site - Excellent, I dunno why I don't use it more.
PhotoShop Elements - Download / Site - Scaled Down cheaper version of Photoshop.
PhotoShop CC - Download / Site - Excellent, this is what I use most, that and CS6.
LightRoom - Download / Site - Scaled down Photoshop with workflow streamlines GUI.
Acorn - Download / Site - Very simple features - I never used it - it's supposed to be fast.
AVS Photo Editor - Download / Site - I dunno but older versions were OK-ish - no Mac.
ACDSee Pro - Download / Site - Excellent but not worth the asking price IMO!
F-Spot - Download / Site - Excellent, there may be Mac or Windows compiles of it.
PhotoStudio - Download / Site - Excellent but I haven't used it all that much.
Silkypix Dev Studio - Download / Site - I think excellent but I only really feature-checked it.
ArtRage Studio Pro - Download / Site - Excellent unique PSD compatible editor - no RAW support last I checked.
Photogenics - Download / Site - Raw support but mostly just good for HDRI editing.
Photo Mechanic - Download / Site - Excellent, simple editing, good cataloging.
DigiKam - Download / Site - Looks excellent, it's strengths are DB interfacing and organizing.
Erdas Imagine - Download / Site - Never used it the dox say it's good for geospatial image processing and analysis.
Krita - Download / Site - Haven't used it much.
PhotoPerfect - Download / Site Never used it before.
Photo Plus - Download / Site - It's supposed to be good, <shrug>
Zoner Photo Studio - Download / Site - Excellent, shareware.
Project DogWaffle - Download / Site - Awesome but really more of an animator's paintbox than a photo editor.
UF-Raw - Download / Site - I've heard of this but never tried it.
RawStudio - Download / Site - Beats me, looks worth trying.
DxO Optics Pro - Download / Site - Excellent, very structured workflow.
Forografix - Download / Site - Ultra simplistic, pretty average results.
Photo Filtre - Download / Site - Looks very powerful, Windows only.
Paint.NET - Download / Site - Windows only I think. Looks nice.
Photo Ninja - Download / Site - Looks OK... I have no experience with it yet.



Oct 28, 2013 at 06:55 PM
Sarsfield
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


Elements would be a way better choice for your needs than Lightroom. Lightroom is more of a cataloging software although many do use it for streamlined post processing of photos. I own and use Photshop CC and PS6, Elements and Lightroom and for basic and easy post processing for someone just starting out, Elements is the best choice.


Oct 29, 2013 at 12:23 AM
Alan321
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


If you own CS3 then you can get the latest Ps and Lr for an ongoing cost of just $10 per month with all upgrades free. Not a bad price but the offer end this year and is only available to those who own Ps CS 3 or newer.


Oct 29, 2013 at 07:34 AM
Alan321
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


ether1, some programs will happily alter the original files (especially jpegs) during editing, in which case you need to save it as a new file or else lose the unedited version.

Others (such as DPP, Lr, etc.) will store a list of edit commands without changing the actual image data and apply those edits whenever you need it to but may also save a preview of the edited version for speedy browsing. These programs might be a little slower for subsequent edits but they are much safer when dealing with your image files.

Just something for you to watch out for.


Lightroom is not Photoshop but for most purposes it is just as capable and adds a lot of image management stuff that improves your ability to find the images you want when you want them. For the heavy duty stuff you need Ps. It is not uncommon for people to say that it does at least 90% (or 99%) of what they previously used Ps for and that Ps gets very little use. Considering the relative prices that may be a good thing. I recommend Lr whereas I would not inflict Ps onto anyone who wasn't in serious need of its additional features and could cope with a much steeper and higher learning curve to use them.

Don't get rid of DPP, however, because you could well need it to show you which focus sensors were in use. Adobe software does not do that.

- Alan



Oct 29, 2013 at 09:28 AM
Lutefisker
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Please recomm specific PP software for me


If you're a Mac user, test drive Apple Aperture. It'll do what you're looking for and is very intuitive.
Cheers,
Rick



Nov 07, 2013 at 10:36 AM





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