Photo editing software?

[lindqvist]

I know that a lot of people will say Photoshop CS3 without even considering any alternatives, but for one thing it's way expensive when photography is a mere hobby. (PS CS3 costs something like $1500 over here, I understand the price point is lower in the US.)

I have no aspiration of using it professionally, I just want to do photo editing / touching up, including RAW files (NEF in my case).


What options are there?

For basic work, I like Picasa, but it doesn't take advantage of the possibilities of RAW files (adjusting white balance, etc) even though it will open those files, and is a bit limiting otherwise sometimes.


Is Photoshop Elements 6 a worthwhile option? I have the trial version installed, and while the the RAW tool seems a bit tacked on to say the least, it does the job. However, other than this RAW tool, I don't know how much PSE actually adds compared to any free alternative...?

Nikon Capture NX is another option I am considering. I have the trial version of this also, and while it's quite different, it actually seems pretty good. It's entirely oriented around touching up photos, and has quite a lot of options for this as well as good NEF tools.

Any other alternatives?

Unfortunately Gimp or Paint.Net alone is not an option (to solve the whole problem) unless there is some addon that does RAW (NEF).

[chris3d]

I was going to recommend Photoshop Express (http://desktopvibes.com/photoshop-express-image-editing-as-youve-never-seen-before/) until you said that Gimp and Paint.Net were not options to the whole problem. I would definitely look @ Photoshop Elements (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/) as an alternative if it gets the job done.

Also...I have assumed that you are using Windows. Is this the case?

[lindqvist]

I was going to recommend Photoshop Express (http://desktopvibes.com/photoshop-express-image-editing-as-youve-never-seen-before/) until you said that Gimp and Paint.Net were not options to the whole problem. I would definitely look @ Photoshop Elements (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/) as an alternative if it gets the job done.

Also...I have assumed that you are using Windows. Is this the case?

Yes, what I'm looking for is a Windows application, although I do prefer an as platform agnostic solution as possible.

I'll test Photoshop Express too just to see what it can actually do. Thanks for that tip!
Maybe that together with some other tool for RAW files would be enough...

[Mal]

Photoshop Elements is usually your best bet, Paint Shop Pro (http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=uk/ProcessLayout&lc=en&ppg=CorelCorp/Trials/Login&pid=1186758097812&cid=1189977215418) is the nearest competitor and sounds like it might indirectly support what you want (http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=8959027).

[lindqvist]

Photoshop Elements is usually your best bet, Paint Shop Pro is the nearest competitor and sounds like it might indirectly supports what you want (http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=8959027), so is worth trying.

Interesting, I had forgotten all about PSP, I used to use that some 10 years ago... :)


Anyone here have any thoughts on Capture NX? Seems a bit more sophisticated in some regards, but less flexible in that it really only does photo editing.

[megahz]

Don't forget about adobe Lightroom, it should do what you are looking for at a lower price point than Photoshop. If you are just using as a hobbyist, you may want to consider pirating Photoshop.. hear me out on this.

If you are using Photoshop as a hobbyist, if you ever turn professional and start making money off your work, you (and adobe) know Photoshop will be the first thing you purchase. This is how I came to buy Photoshop myself. I pirated it for years, but when I actually started making money off of web and logo design, I purchased it. Namely because I had invested all my time into learning it over the years, so I knew it was a great investment. There isnt a web designer or photographer in the world that would drop $1500 on a program to find out if it does what they want it to or not.

If you are 100% stuck on spending large amounts of money on a casual hobby, I'd recommend checking out eBay. You will find Photoshop CS3 for about $300 US.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=photoshop+cs3&category0=

[lindqvist]

Don't forget about adobe Lightroom, it should do what you are looking for at a lower price point than Photoshop. If you are just using as a hobbyist, you may want to consider pirating Photoshop.. hear me out on this.

If you are using Photoshop as a hobbyist, if you ever turn professional and start making money off your work, you (and adobe) know Photoshop will be the first thing you purchase. This is how I came to buy Photoshop myself. I pirated it for years, but when I actually started making money off of web and logo design, I purchased it. Namely because I had invested all my time into learning it over the years, so I knew it was a great investment. There isnt a web designer or photographer in the world that would drop $1500 on a program to find out if it does what they want it to or not.

If you are 100% stuck on spending large amounts of money on a casual hobby, I'd recommend checking out eBay. You will find Photoshop CS3 for about $300 US.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=photoshop+cs3&category0=

Okay, thanks, I'll take a look at Lightroom too.

Regarding the piracy approach, which I'm not really a fan of (I guess that's obvious as I even asked this question), there is certainly a point to the "extended trial" or "training period" argument, as opposed to the normal 30 day trial or whatever is available.
The flip side is of course that if Adobe had wanted Photoshop to be free for non-commercial use, they would have done that.

[lindqvist]

For the record, I decided to go with PSE 6.

I found that it was probably the best choice for my needs in the price range.

Lightroom and Capture NX are in some ways in the same space in terms of functionality, but I found that the more "conventional" approach of PSE felt more natural to me.

All in all, it was pretty interesting to take a look at those other programs, and I think that PSE will meet my needs for the foreseeable future.

Thanks everyone!

[coronaboy]

For quick touch ups, I use Paint Shop Pro. It seems to do the job, when I don't feel like messing with Photoshop.

[vanden]

I love Fireworks 8 great app.

If you want somthing free I go with paint.net or gimp.