New to digital - Which editing software?

[john_h11]

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I recently purchased a used Canon 5D and am trying to piece together some information on the various editing options. The obvious options are Photoshop, Lightroom, Elements, Aperture and the NIK programs.</p>

<p>I have an old version of Photoshop (version 7.0) which doesn't integrate raw capabilities. I would like to get some current software and think Elements is probably the best choice. I am not a professional and cannot justify the Photoshop expense at the present time insofar as my skills are minimal. That said, I don't want to waste money either. I've been trying to figure out if Lightroom is a stand alone program similar to a more robust version of Elements or if it works only in conjunction with Photoshop or some other editing software. While Lightroom costs more than Elements it is significantly cheaper than Photoshop.</p>

<p>A camera shop near me in Boston sells the NIK software which apparently can be purchased in modules. I'm not sure this has a core program of basic functions but seems to offer editing features in components. Nevertheless the expense could possibly be spread out over time. </p>

<p>Then there's the Tiffen DFX2 which looks interesting at $99.00 which apparently works with Photoshop 7 and above as well as with elements.</p>

<p>Lastly, I have both a Windows and a Mac option. I have Windows in my office and a PC and MacBook Pro laptop at home. I've been using the Mac most of the time at home. It appears the Canon software offerings a greater for Windows than Mac. I'm curios, for those who have used both PC and Mac do you have a preference?</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>John</p>

<p> </p>

[andylynn]

<p>There's a lot of info in the backlogs - for example:<br>

http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00UlMT<br>

http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00UkPX</p>

[howard_m]

<p>lightroom is standalone and probably will do 98% of what you want in addition to organizin your collection. If you know someone in college, you could get educational pricing on Adobe s/w. The NIK software is really best as an adjunct to some existing software, it's not a replacement for Elements or PS.</p>

<p>Which camera shop? Hunt's? Zeff?</p>

[joe_oconnor3]

<p>Hi John,<br>

Welcome to the big question. Elements is a great choice. I find that my friends who are less obsessed than I am find Elements an excellent product. There are 2 kinds of NIK software. The modules which you see available are plugins for Photoshop. Nik also sells a competitor to PS called Capture NX-2. I don't think you would find that software good for reading RAW files files from your Canon, it only reads Nikon RAW files. I have both Lightroom and Photoshop and although I find Lightroom to be the place I do most of my work, I find that Photoshop is also needed. The Tiffen product is also very good but again it is more of a plugin. I notice from your post that you are in the Boston area. I live near Worcester and would be glad to talk with you through this stuff.<br>

Best<br>

JPO</p>

[howard_m]

<p>Joe is absolutely correct. NX2 does rock (although it can be clunky) but it doesn't work w/ Canon RAW at all.</p>

<p>I'm in the Concord,MA area if you want to connect.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>NX2 is for Nikon, and it's not for dealing with more than one photo at a time - that's where Lightroom and Aperture stand out. Both of those programs integrate editing functions (a full set of tools for color, exposure, curves, etc., and some tools for local edits) with a good setup for organizing, tagging, rating, sorting and exporting images in large numbers.</p>

[john_deerfield]

<p>Aperture & Lightroom (and iPhoto) are image organizing/cataloging tools that will do RAW conversions as well as a few other global type adjustments. </p>

<p>Photoshop and PS Elements are pixel based editing tools going beyond the few tools that the Raw converter can do. As example, you want to work with layers. Layers can be adjustment layers, text layers, or simply a smaller image on top a background image, and more. </p>

<p>NIK filters/software is great, but more of an add on to your workflow instead of an overall solution. </p>

<p>With that in mind, I would suggest using the Mac which would have come with iPhoto already. You can use iPhoto to do your Raw conversion and manage your growing database of files. Should you deem iPhoto doesn't do what you want, you can always "upgrade" (at full price) to Aperture- which is iPhoto on Steroids. In conjunction with iPhoto, I would suggest Photoshop Elements as your pixel base editing tool. You can send an image right from iPhoto to PS Elements. IE- do you Raw conversion and "global" tweaks in iPhoto and then open it in Elements for further editing as needed. After that, you can determine what plug-ins for Elements (another reason to get Elements) might best suit what you want to do.</p>

 

[CharlesBecker-Toronto]

<p>Hi John-I use Photoshop Elements and have done so for several years; I highly recommend it. It has most of Photoshop's features at a fraction of the price-I rarely miss the features it lacks but then I don't do a lot of post processing (mainly cropping, levels, brightness) and the learning curve is reasonable-especially for a beginner. I previously used it on a pc and now use it on a Mac and I prefer the Mac but I prefer the Mac in all respects. Why not go to the Adobe site and download the 30 day free trail and see what you think of it. Make sure you calibrate your monitor for best results-the most common result of an uncalibrated monitor is a print that is too dark. regards, cb P.S. Elements 8 is the newly released current version for both pc and Mac.</p>

[chrise_boris]

<p>You may consider GIMP. It's a very powerful open-source editing program that is finally going 16-bit. GIMP is free.</p>

[bruced530]

<p>Hey John I'm from MA myself about 20 miles north of Boston. You say you have Photoshop7, now is that also called Photoshop CS? The reason I ask is I had that version myself, and updated to Photoshop CS3 for about $35. You may need CS4 for your 5D I'm not sure.<br>

Its just there are plenty of people out there that upgrade to a newer vesion and don't use the old one anymore. When I bought mine all the licenses had been used up. So I contacted Adobe and they updated my version with a new license, and voila I have CS3 now. Its perfectly legal, and a great way to upgrade, besides imagine all those old versions just going to waste.<br>

Thats If you can locate an older version someone wants to part with. If not I think elements is a great alternative, and has many more features than it did just a few short years ago.</p>

[JAPster]

<p>While you are researching the best commercial package, you can download and install the free program "Irfanview". Its a popular freeware "multi-format graphics file viewer & editor". It will load up a very wide variety of digital picture files, and provides a good assortment or basic image editing functions. It can also serve as a "backup editing" program, just in case your commercial app decides to go schizoid. Just Google on "Irfanview" to get a link to a download mirror site. Its not a big package, so download and install does not take too long on any Windows system. This is a good tool to have in your image manipulation toolbox.</p>

[peteraitch]

<p>Undoubtedly PhotoShop is the de-facto standard, but reading your post you just want to edit your files (including RAWs) and get the job done. So, take a look at Picture Window Pro. This was recommended to me years ago (in the CompuServe days) by a very experienced photographer and is well worth a look. Try it out (current version is 5, free for 30 days) and you may find that you like it. Full-featured, relatively inexpensive, nice learning curve.<br>

 

<p>Just a thought, they don't pay me or anything!</p>

</p>

[john_deerfield]

<p>Here's the thing, Photoshop Elements will be under $100 and have far more market penetration and therefore far more peer-to-peer support. Heck, there are possibly hundreds of podcasts on how to do things within Photoshop Elements. To me, that means quite a bit. On top of that, you can get previous versions of Elements <em>cheap</em>. Here is v7 for under $30:</p>

<p>http://store.purplus.net/adphel70.html</p>

<p>BTW, I have tried GIMP and beggars can't be choosers, but WOW is GIMP slow! I would spend $30 for Elements!</p>

[Richard Williams]

<p>Apart from raw compatibility, and especially if your budget is limited, I'm not sure there's a compelling reason to use GIMP, PictureWindow Pro, IrfanView (except as a fast viewer, where it excels), or even Elements in place of Photoshop 7.0, the excellent editor you already have. It's fast, has a clean interface, is 16-bit for the most important manipulations, and has a really comprehensive set of tools. One way to approach this would be to use it in combination with a separate raw converter (e.g. Canon's DPP, which is free with their cameras). Otherwise, Elements is the cheapest route to Adobe's own raw converter, while Lightroom would give you better image organisation and multi-image processing capabilities. I don't think there's an upgrade path from PS 7.0 to CS4, the current version (Bruce's CS is Photoshop 8.0, which does qualify for upgrades). However, an educational version can be a cheap option if your family qualifies.</p>

[roger_smith4]

<p>I'd get Lightroom and maybe an older (cheap) version of Elements. You'll probably use Lightroom for almost all of your edits and Elements for the exceptions. I used PS7 for years and started with Lightroom when I bought a DSLR. It is so much quicker to do edits in Lightroom.</p>

[john_h11]

<p>Thank you for all the responses, they've all been most helpful.</p>

<p>I will try the trial versions of Aperture, Lightroom and Elements before making any decision. I have seen used versions of CS3 Extended on craigslist ranging from $75.00 to $150.00. I don't believe the extended version is upgradeable to the standard CS4.</p>

<p>Part of my desire to move away from Photoshop 7.0 (it doesn't reference any "CS" designation) is because I have never used it and there is little current info regarding its use and operation. I would like to be using something that people are currently talking about.</p>

<p>While $600 may be too steep at this point the $300 price tag for Lightroom or Aperture plus Elements is more reasonable.</p>

<p>Right now I am trying the trial version Aperture and so far I like its layout. I'm really staring from the ground up and have yet to gain an in depth understanding of precisely how the various editing programs manipulate the file data. I've been reading book from the library entitled "The Complete Guide to Digital Color Correction" which I find very interesting.</p>

<p>I'm leaning toward using the MacBook Pro and will be trying the Mac versions of Lightroom, Aperture and Elements. Elements sounds like it's ultimately a no brainer given the relatively low cost.</p>

[johnclinch]

<p>Have you noticed that you can have lightroom beta 3 free until April 31st 2010.</p>

<p>I am using lightroom 3 at the moment. It is great at what it does but it has 2 things missing that I can't really do without.</p>

<p>A proper curves tool<br>

The ability to use masks as a means of selective adjustments</p>

<p>In your posistion I'd use photoshop 7 for these functions. Currently I use GIMP (which is free) for these extra functions.</p>

<p>Elements doesn't have a proper curves tool either (and I think it doesn't do layers and masks)</p>

 

[johnclinch]

<p>repeat due getting an error message the first time</p>

[Richard Williams]

<p>' I have seen used versions of CS3 Extended on craigslist ranging from $75.00 to $150.00.'</p>

<p>Be careful! Given that CS3 Extended goes for around $640 USD from Amazon, I'd assume these are fake (cracked pirated versions).</p>