[glee46]

I've been doing research on the different programs. Mostly Youtube, Adobe, Corel web sites, & here to get a feel for what they can do.
I'm leaning toward Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 Ultimate. Price & features is more than what I feel I need. I just want to make sure it does not crash, have major hiccups on Win 7 64 bit.
What I'm not sure of and what I really need some info on is HDR software. I just want to take a 3 to 5 raw shots, input into program and go from there. Some HDR looks great, while others look blown out every way possible. I'm not sure if that is user or software output.

[Hypocorism]

I'm leaning toward Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 Ultimate. Price & features is more than what I feel I need. I just want to make sure it does not crash, have major hiccups on Win 7 64 bit.
What I'm not sure of and what I really need some info on is HDR software.

Re: The PSPP X3 Ultimate package - for me, in a word: Brilliant!

Their recent critical update sealed the deal for me, it addressed all the previous horrid instability issues with X3 (on all flavours of Windows), and now runs rock stable and slick~responsive in my Win 7 64 bit.

Sorry I can't report on its HDR handling abilities, yet, it's a built-in function that attracted and do want to exploit though, when time permits.

Fwiw: I also run Adobe PSE8, and find the two low-price apps together supply a lot of combined, useful function that even some hi-end stuff might not -- HDR in Corel, Panoramic stitch and basic exposure blends in PSE, etc., -- that I 'd have to spend extra for in standalone utilities.

Corel (ex Jasc) being the far more extensive and easier to use Editor, and I just love the more intuitive contextual UI too. Better at browsing as well.
PSE Otoh, has that good solid Adobe Organiser/dataBasing to manage masses of photo collections, as they inevitably grow, and provides trusty Adobe standards rendition~colour mgmt if/when needed too.

And PSPP has the superior noise reduction IMhO. Each has its certain merits.
Plus, install a few bits of best-in-class dedicated Freewares, and life with Pix on a PC becomes (almost) fun.


Just an alternative way of trying to cover all bases on a strict budget, I suppose. YMMV.

FYI: Corel email tells me they're doing a 10% discount on Ultimate ATM, but you'd probably score it cheaper elsewhere anyway. (I wouldn't trust scamBay for s/w licences though)

.R.

[jeffkrol]

As to panoramic stitching in Corel Panotools plug in is good and last I checked free.
I have 2 versions installed mostly for the CA correction and PTLens for distortion correction. One works in 16bit. The other is only 8 bit BUT it's mask and apply tool is better since the 16bit only allows global corrections (I'm referring to the PTCorrect for CA color adjustments)
current incarnation is here:
Panorama Tools Tutorial for Printable Panoramas
As to licensing, yes ebay can be tricky BUT I've never had problems getting full sealed retail versions for a good savings and generally around the cost of the OEM or "academic" or used versions for that matter. .........
One thing to watch for is, as you noted, some are JUST Corel Draw which photographically isn't very helpful.
At one time Photopaint was also a "stand alone" program but is no longer BUT it is wise to stay away from any that just list it since it will be an old version and a full suite generally can be found for the same or close price.........
16bit, LAB color mode, CMYK color mode are what really set it apart from most other "lesser" packages.....and the ease of the GUI. They have spent a ton of time working on color management.... at least in the past. It was a bit of a sore point and they hit it hard though I have not kept up on it recently.
As RAW editors get more functional the need for the likes of Corel and photoshop get less and less except for pros (pre press ect) and the more hard core.

[magkelly]

I'm a total Photoshop person and I freely admit it. I've used just about every graphics program out there at one point including the free ones just to make sure that I was up on them all for cross training purposed but in the end, for me, it's always Photoshop that I go back to. Ultimately it's just the best tool for what I tend to do which is mostly photography, drawing, and some design work. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily willing to pay $600 for it though, and that's ALL I'm ever going to say on that subject! (Cough, cough...)

[Naturenut]

Why not contact your bank and be done with it?

I contacted my banking establishment and they said that the merchant has 30 days to refund the money. Thereafter if I still have not received it I can go in and fill out a dispute letter (where essentially my bank will give the money back to me and then get it from Adobe). So, I sent another message to Adobe telling them that if I did not receive my refund w/in x # of days, that I will be filing a dispute claim, etc.

This is just so ridiculous. I flat out will not wait 2 or 3 or 6 months for them to refund my money. Outrageous. Really Adobe? That's your interpretation of good customer service?

[Naturenut]

I contacted my banking establishment and they said that the merchant has 30 days to refund the money. Thereafter if I still have not received it I can go in and fill out a dispute letter (where essentially my bank will give the money back to me and then get it from Adobe). So, I sent another message to Adobe telling them that if I did not receive my refund w/in x # of days, that I will be filing a dispute claim, etc.

This is just so ridiculous. I flat out will not wait 2 or 3 or 6 months for them to refund my money. Outrageous. Really Adobe? That's your interpretation of good customer service?

For anyone curious, only after contacting Adobe and telling them I was filing a dispute did someone spring into action and assure me my refund (now almost 30 days later) will be issued ASAP and that they aplogized profusely for an "error in routing" (seems to be the standard lip service excuse from what I've read elsewhere).

So again, if you order something from Adobe and change your mind (return), be aware that you will not see your refund back in your account for at least a month, if not longer if you don't hound them.

Okay, nuff said.

[Naturenut]

Warning: This is going to be a whiny rant/vent about the cost of photography related software.

I'm so frustrated with how much photography software costs! I'd like to get CS4 OR CS5...but who has an extra $600, not me.. I'd also like Lightroom...there's another two or three hundred to lay out. Oh sure, I'll take two please. Okay I'll go look on Ebay or elsewhere to see if I can find a bargain...hmmm...there's some out there but who can be sure that those 'discount' prices will guarantee a valid license number...scary/risky.

Good grief. Why does this stuff have to be so darn expensive? Looks like I'm going to have to make do with PSE8.

Okay, I'm done whining. Back to penny pinching to save up for what I want to buy.
Thanks for allowing me the platform to have my tantrum and thus get it out of my system.

You guys n gals are not going to believe this but here goes:

I recently received an email from Adobe offering me CS5 at $299.99 for a short time, as a registered Elements 8 user. Well naturally this was quite appealing and I decided to go for it.

To make a long story short, Adobe bumbled and fumbled my order so badly that last night they called me three times in addition to emailing me and get this....they are going to SEND ME THE BOX OF CS5 SOFTWARE (full Windows verison, full licensing) FREE OF CHARGE for all the grief I've had to deal with!

Can you believe it?! I still can't. They assured me I'd have it in 3-5 business days and are going to email a tracking # to me.

Beforehand I was beside myself with frustration and aggravation and let them know in no uncertain terms that I was not a happy camper with Adobe. Moral of the story: The squeeky wheel really does get the grease!

---

Last edited by Naturenut; 03-16-2011 at 05:27 AM.

[Naturenut]

P.S. I guess they remembered their last fiasco with me a few months back. lol Hey I decided to give them another try and they screwed up again, so I had good reason to be exasperated with them.

[glee46]

. Moral of the story: The squeeky wheel really does get the grease!

And, some times the squeaky wheel gets replaced.

It's a fine art to know what to say; how to say it, and when to say it.

Good for you, and glad to hear that these companies are maybe learning they're dealing with people who work hard for their money.

[D4rknezz]

!!!!!!!!
NICE.

I am glad it worked out for you. Now make sure you take full advantage of it

[sjwaldron]

As someone who has written a computer program or two Photoshop is well worth the cost in sheer scale and refinement. The amount of person hours that went into that program must be massive to say the least. Now if they would only support linux, I'd buy the latest version...