What software do you use?

harleynitelite · 09-15-2012, 02:01 PM

Lately, my pentax utility software just randomly shuts down or locks up. I'm looking for a good replacement I can afford and was wondering which other programs people out there seem to like and have had good luck with?

jimr-pdx · 09-15-2012, 02:06 PM

I picked up one of the fairly common deals on Elements, it often goes on sale for $60 or so. I added plugins to make it do more: Smartcurve (free?), ReDynamix (about $15) and NeatImage. I bought that one for earlier cameras, since with my K-5 I have very seldom used that one!

I had been looking at deals for Lightroom, and Adam pointed out an extremely good price

on LR3; I have it now but have not installed it, so no comments on its results yet. They must have had ~2 copies in a closet, it sold out in a hurry (thanks again Adam!).

**fs999** · 09-15-2012, 02:14 PM

Corel Paintshop Pro X5

HenrikDK · 09-15-2012, 02:29 PM

I can whole heartedly recommend Light Room. I have Elements too, but I have used it only on about half a dozen of the 20 pictures I have taken in the last 2 years. For the rest LIght Room have worked extremely well, and I love the abilitty it gives me to keep my photos organized, plus I love the non-destructive editing. I have a few plug-ins with it, but I actually find the benefit questionable, as I can typically get as good effects quickly with LR alone.

magkelly · 09-15-2012, 02:36 PM

Photoshop suite...I could use other things, but I'm addicted....

**Lowell Goudge** · 09-15-2012, 02:37 PM

I use Corel PSP X4 It does all I need

glennbp · 09-15-2012, 02:43 PM

I have used Capture One Pro for a long time, but I also use Photo Mechanic and PhotoNinja. I don't like Adobe products because they are way too proprietary. Besides the raw converter in Capture One beats everything else I've tried.

i83N · 09-15-2012, 03:19 PM - **1 Like**

Aperture 3 and Pixelmator

**boriscleto** · 09-15-2012, 03:21 PM

Originally posted by i83N

Aperture 3 and Pixelmator

The best combo if you have a Mac.

uptheriver · 09-15-2012, 03:40 PM

Elements - more than enough for most people. A pro would need Photoshop full deal but for the most part Elements does the trick without breaking the bank even for advance amateurs.
Lightroom is pretty cool if you have a few spare $100 bi;ls kicking around. If you really are a geek or a masochist you could download GIMP for free.
:-)

SpecialK · 09-15-2012, 03:40 PM

**Fries** · 09-15-2012, 03:56 PM

What kind of OS do you use? Windows, OSX, Linux... That can make a difference in the kind of software you can use. As SpecialK links showed you there are many, many options!

dominikkolendo · 09-15-2012, 04:16 PM

i used adobe products through college as they were mandatory for graphic design courses, but they had a monopoly on image manitpulation and school felt liek a faq on photoshop/lightroom/etc.

since then i have deleted windows in favor of ubuntu (runs much faster) and use ufraw/gimp for photo manipulation/editing. it's an ideal match and has no ****ign DRM or other bs.

Bob from Aus · 09-15-2012, 04:52 PM

Don't mess about. Get lightroom 4. It's a bargain at about $150. My computer has everything you could want as far as memory and speed go and paintshop and Elements are still slow and clunky to upload. I just came back with 25,000 images from my African trip and its all sitting beautifully laid out in lightroom, easy to grab any file i want as time goes on I can change the name of my files and reorganize my photos. Lightroom is designed for photographers. Photoshop and paintshop are designed for graphic artists with some tacky add ons for photographers. If you only take a few images they will do nicely. If you spend more time playing with your images than takng them then you are in graphic artist mode and should get paintshop or elements

glennbp · 09-15-2012, 05:04 PM

Originally posted by Bob from Aus

Don't mess about. Get lightroom 4. It's a bargain at about $150. My computer has everything you could want as far as memory and speed go and paintshop and Elements are still slow and clunky to upload. I just came back with 25,000 images from my African trip and its all sitting beautifully laid out in lightroom, easy to grab any file i want as time goes on I can change the name of my files and reorganize my photos. Lightroom is designed for photographers. Photoshop and paintshop are designed for graphic artists with some tacky add ons for photographers. If you only take a few images they will do nicely. If you spend more time playing with your images than takng them then you are in graphic artist mode and should get paintshop or elements

That's the best description of Photoshop & Paintshop I've heard to date and very true. Lightroom is a great program for photographers, I just prefer Capture One Pro.

09-15-2012, 02:01 PM	#1
harleynitelite Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Lawrenceburg, IN Photos: Albums Posts: 118	What software do you use? Lately, my pentax utility software just randomly shuts down or locks up. I'm looking for a good replacement I can afford and was wondering which other programs people out there seem to like and have had good luck with?

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09-15-2012, 02:06 PM	#2
jimr-pdx Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,897	I picked up one of the fairly common deals on Elements, it often goes on sale for $60 or so. I added plugins to make it do more: Smartcurve (free?), ReDynamix (about $15) and NeatImage. I bought that one for earlier cameras, since with my K-5 I have very seldom used that one! I had been looking at deals for Lightroom, and Adam pointed out an extremely good price on LR3; I have it now but have not installed it, so no comments on its results yet. They must have had ~2 copies in a closet, it sold out in a hurry (thanks again Adam!).

09-15-2012, 02:14 PM	#3
fs999 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Luxembourg Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,629	Corel Paintshop Pro X5

09-15-2012, 02:29 PM	#4
HenrikDK Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 386	I can whole heartedly recommend Light Room. I have Elements too, but I have used it only on about half a dozen of the 20 pictures I have taken in the last 2 years. For the rest LIght Room have worked extremely well, and I love the abilitty it gives me to keep my photos organized, plus I love the non-destructive editing. I have a few plug-ins with it, but I actually find the benefit questionable, as I can typically get as good effects quickly with LR alone.

09-15-2012, 02:36 PM	#5
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Photoshop suite...I could use other things, but I'm addicted....

09-15-2012, 02:37 PM	#6
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,886	I use Corel PSP X4 It does all I need

09-15-2012, 02:43 PM	#7
glennbp Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Clarkston, Michigan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 148	I have used Capture One Pro for a long time, but I also use Photo Mechanic and PhotoNinja. I don't like Adobe products because they are way too proprietary. Besides the raw converter in Capture One beats everything else I've tried.

09-15-2012, 03:19 PM - 1 Like	#8
i83N Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lithuania Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,203	Aperture 3 and Pixelmator

09-15-2012, 03:21 PM	#9
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,474	Originally posted by i83N Aperture 3 and Pixelmator The best combo if you have a Mac.

09-15-2012, 03:40 PM	#10
uptheriver Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Gallery Posts: 50	Elements - more than enough for most people. A pro would need Photoshop full deal but for the most part Elements does the trick without breaking the bank even for advance amateurs. Lightroom is pretty cool if you have a few spare $100 bi;ls kicking around. If you really are a geek or a masochist you could download GIMP for free. :-)

09-15-2012, 03:40 PM	#11
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,480	I use Elements 9. Here are many of the previous opinions. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1876...-software.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1965...o-you-use.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1964...m-4-worth.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1966...-photolab.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1896...me-advice.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1845...lements10.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1544...oom-other.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/digital-processing-software-printing/1785...ggestions.html

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09-15-2012, 03:56 PM	#12
Fries Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Gauw Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,582	What kind of OS do you use? Windows, OSX, Linux... That can make a difference in the kind of software you can use. As SpecialK links showed you there are many, many options!

09-15-2012, 04:16 PM	#13
dominikkolendo Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: portland, or Posts: 105	i used adobe products through college as they were mandatory for graphic design courses, but they had a monopoly on image manitpulation and school felt liek a faq on photoshop/lightroom/etc. since then i have deleted windows in favor of ubuntu (runs much faster) and use ufraw/gimp for photo manipulation/editing. it's an ideal match and has no ****ign DRM or other bs.

09-15-2012, 04:52 PM	#14
Bob from Aus Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,094	Don't mess about. Get lightroom 4. It's a bargain at about $150. My computer has everything you could want as far as memory and speed go and paintshop and Elements are still slow and clunky to upload. I just came back with 25,000 images from my African trip and its all sitting beautifully laid out in lightroom, easy to grab any file i want as time goes on I can change the name of my files and reorganize my photos. Lightroom is designed for photographers. Photoshop and paintshop are designed for graphic artists with some tacky add ons for photographers. If you only take a few images they will do nicely. If you spend more time playing with your images than takng them then you are in graphic artist mode and should get paintshop or elements

09-15-2012, 05:04 PM	#15
glennbp Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Clarkston, Michigan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 148	Originally posted by Bob from Aus Don't mess about. Get lightroom 4. It's a bargain at about $150. My computer has everything you could want as far as memory and speed go and paintshop and Elements are still slow and clunky to upload. I just came back with 25,000 images from my African trip and its all sitting beautifully laid out in lightroom, easy to grab any file i want as time goes on I can change the name of my files and reorganize my photos. Lightroom is designed for photographers. Photoshop and paintshop are designed for graphic artists with some tacky add ons for photographers. If you only take a few images they will do nicely. If you spend more time playing with your images than takng them then you are in graphic artist mode and should get paintshop or elements That's the best description of Photoshop & Paintshop I've heard to date and very true. Lightroom is a great program for photographers, I just prefer Capture One Pro.