What photo software do you use?
Discussion
For years, on my old computer, I downloaded all my photos into the Olympus Camedia suite then manipulated them as I wanted. I don't mess around with them too much, mainly resizing and cropping them. But for the past couple of years, my new PC doesn't support Camedia so I've been using the default Microsoft package but find it less than useful for my very basic editing requirements.
So, would appreciate some advice please chaps (and chapesses). Which package would you recommend? Ideally free but nominal cost is OK.
TIA
So, would appreciate some advice please chaps (and chapesses). Which package would you recommend? Ideally free but nominal cost is OK.
TIA
How about the latest Olympus software, might be worth a look at least
http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/product/software/o...
For everyday use, I still use Picasa. Retired by Google, but you can still download it and it works with no issues
https://picasa.en.uptodown.com/windows
http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/product/software/o...
For everyday use, I still use Picasa. Retired by Google, but you can still download it and it works with no issues
https://picasa.en.uptodown.com/windows
Was going to suggest https://www.darktable.org
but this and some of the other recommendations above probably more than the OP needs given he states “very basic” requirements.
I’d give Picasa a go
but this and some of the other recommendations above probably more than the OP needs given he states “very basic” requirements.
I’d give Picasa a go
steveatesh said:
Not free but no annual subscription and does a lot more than Lightroom - I use ON1 PhotoRaw 2018.
All depends upon what you want of course!
Would you mind giving what you'd consider the primary advantages of that vs Adobe Lightroom please? Also any areas where it falls down in the same comparison? Genuine question, I'm a Lightroom user but never been entirely happy with it, wondering what else is out there.All depends upon what you want of course!
you could have a look at Pixlr its a bit basic but its free https://pixlr.com/editor/ could also have a look at Afinity photo not free but seem to think there's a trial and then a one off payment
8bit said:
Would you mind giving what you'd consider the primary advantages of that vs Adobe Lightroom please? Also any areas where it falls down in the same comparison? Genuine question, I'm a Lightroom user but never been entirely happy with it, wondering what else is out there.
If RAW processing is what you need (not the OP) consider Capture One.8bit said:
Would you mind giving what you'd consider the primary advantages of that vs Adobe Lightroom please? Also any areas where it falls down in the same comparison? Genuine question, I'm a Lightroom user but never been entirely happy with it, wondering what else is out there.
ON1 have a page of comparisons up on their site but really in everyday use its night and day.ON1 PR2018.1 is significantly faster than LR (I was using LR6.1 on a retina iMac, late 2014 model, when they went subscription only) when applying edits or anything else for that matter with the exception of exporting which is slower.
The RAW develop module is very similar to LR in all respects and has the adjustment brushes etc to go with it. It produces well rendered images in my view. There is a context aware object removal tool which is streets ahead of LR although can be a little slow if its a large object.
It is with the effects and layer modules where ON1 differentiates itself though - in effects there are over 20 different filters (eg sunshine, colour enhancer, tone enhancer, glow, B&W, bleach washout, blur lens blur and many more) that can be applied then adjusted in an infinite amount of ways (or it seems like it!) plus with the various excellent masking tools you can apply the effects (and local adjustments globally or very very discreetly.
Masking includes the masking brushes, luminosity mask and colour range masks, making it very easy to apply discrete changes, even around tree lines and other hard to mask subjects (hair can still be a problem depending upon colour and background colour).
The layers module allows you to composite photos and still make adjustments, something that PS does of course but not LR.
It does HDR and panorama blending and has a full import and cataloguing system with key words etc like LR.
There are of course any amount of presets and ON1 has many videos available to help learn the software and get the best from it, as have third party users too.
I don't see ON1 as a competition to PS or LR, it sits somewhere in between the two but without the subscription m model and the very steep learning curve that PS needs.
It does everything LR does and a lot more, and for the majority of photographs would be all you need. ON1 is relatively new compared to Adobe and the software is not as mature so there are still the odd bugs, but then again LR was the same in my experience.
In my view anyway! HTH
Affinity.
I've used an older version of Photoshop alongside PhotoPlus and that was good enough for all my needs. Then I got the opportunity to try the beta of Affinity and I was blown away. I now use it and PhotoPlus.
It takes a bit of getting used to but I found it worthwhile. Lots of stuff on YouTube to help and the forums are good. I haven't had to ask a question as my problems have already been ansered.
There's a lot on line about whether it is as good as/better than/worse than Photoshop but that, I think, misses the point. It is an alternative, and a cheaper one at that. No subscription. See later for other payment options. I'm running with 1.6.4 at the moment. The forums would appear to be populated by enthusiasts.
Everyone reckons that Serif are out to challenge Photoshop so sooner or later the price will go up and, maybe, the price of Photoshop will drop. Until then, I'm sticking with Affinity.
Don't pay the asking price. Subscribe to their email marketing lists, open them, click the links and go onto the website. Sooner rather than later they'll offer you a decent reduction in price.
One thing though: I used to use their web-authoring software, WebPlus, but they's stopped supporting it and, for those still using it, they've stopped the online systems that were necessary for some features to work. These were the ones that made the price of it very competitive. I'd already changed to Wordpress so it didn't have any effect on me, but it shows, perhaps, Serif's attitude to customers.
They've made a big investment in Affinity.
I've used an older version of Photoshop alongside PhotoPlus and that was good enough for all my needs. Then I got the opportunity to try the beta of Affinity and I was blown away. I now use it and PhotoPlus.
It takes a bit of getting used to but I found it worthwhile. Lots of stuff on YouTube to help and the forums are good. I haven't had to ask a question as my problems have already been ansered.
There's a lot on line about whether it is as good as/better than/worse than Photoshop but that, I think, misses the point. It is an alternative, and a cheaper one at that. No subscription. See later for other payment options. I'm running with 1.6.4 at the moment. The forums would appear to be populated by enthusiasts.
Everyone reckons that Serif are out to challenge Photoshop so sooner or later the price will go up and, maybe, the price of Photoshop will drop. Until then, I'm sticking with Affinity.
Don't pay the asking price. Subscribe to their email marketing lists, open them, click the links and go onto the website. Sooner rather than later they'll offer you a decent reduction in price.
One thing though: I used to use their web-authoring software, WebPlus, but they's stopped supporting it and, for those still using it, they've stopped the online systems that were necessary for some features to work. These were the ones that made the price of it very competitive. I'd already changed to Wordpress so it didn't have any effect on me, but it shows, perhaps, Serif's attitude to customers.
They've made a big investment in Affinity.
OP ... Touched upon by Derek Smith .... Serif Photoplus X8 is still available and is only £20.
Plenty of info here:
https://community.serif.com/tutorials/1/tags/photo...
Buy here if you want:
http://www.serif.com/photoplus/
Should Affinity be of interest, there is a free trial, link at the bottom of this page:
https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/?utm_source...
Plenty of info here:
https://community.serif.com/tutorials/1/tags/photo...
Buy here if you want:
http://www.serif.com/photoplus/
Should Affinity be of interest, there is a free trial, link at the bottom of this page:
https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/?utm_source...
Edited by sgrimshaw on Sunday 1st April 17:54
sgrimshaw said:
Be interested to know you use both Affinity and Photoplus?
Affinity is supposed to replace Photoplus.
I've used lots of incarnations of PhotoPlus and have become vary familiar with it. If I need a 'just job' then it is straightforward to use and I can predict results. Affinity is not quite so intuitive, although I suspect that if I used it regularly I'd soon click into automatic mode.Affinity is supposed to replace Photoplus.
I also use DrawPlus and it meshes nicely with PhotoPlus.
Affinity is similar to Photoshop in many ways although the differences can catch me out on occasion; looking for a particular function in the wrong place. Given how infrequently I used Photoshop over the last year I assumed I'd soon forget about it but that's proved wrong.
According to Serif, Affinity was not a replacement to PhotoPlus but a new bit of software entirely and if that was their intent then they've been successful. Whether their challenge to Photoshop is on course I have no idea.
It's the same with competing software though: if you get into the swing of one, there's got to be a good reason to swop and a slight monetary difference is often not enough.
I've just checked. I've got Gimp, Photoshop, PhotoPlus and Affinity on my desktop. I'm behind with my New Year cleanup - I had flu in Jan and most of Feb. I will probably delete the first two.
I was quite impressed with Gimp.
8bit said:
Simpo Two said:
If RAW processing is what you need (not the OP) consider Capture One.
At USD 299? Is it THAT much better than Lightroom?If you shoot for fun then C1 would be hard to justify I agree. If you shoot for money then 0.2 of a wedding has paid for it.
My preferred version of C1 won't see D500 NEFs so I'm experimenting with Nikon NX-D (free). There are a few things I haven't figured out yet which makes it slow to use at the moment, but it it's OK. Not much use if you don't shoot Nikon though I guess!
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