[stormtech]

While not new to photography at all, I have recently regained my interest and have my first DSLR (K20D) and having a blast learning.

One part of my puzzle is finding an editing software package. After a trying a few trials, I have narrowed it down to two - Acdsee Pro 3 and Elements 9.
Let me also add, that since I am just starting with digital processing, I want to keep the cost below $150 until I get my feet wet and find the need to expand.

In my trial of the 2 programs, I keep coming back to liking Acdsee better. So far I've played with RAW processing the most, plus some other fine tuning on JPEG's.

My trials run out in about a week, so I need to make a decision.

Elements:
I find it a bit harder to understand, but have been using the tutorials with some success.
I haven't played with layers at all.
I don't like the organizer at all.

Acdsee:
I feel more "at home" with the editing functions - seems easier for me to get the results I want.
It doesn't offer layers - of course I don't truly understand layers at this point.
The organizer works great for me.

So....am I missing something important if I go with Acdsee?
I guess the reason I am asking, is while reading/researching here, I hear of Elements spoken all the time, and rarely anything about Acdsee.

Just trying to make the right decision with my $100 and don't want to regret something that I missed while trying these out.

[bobpur]

Hi

If you are using linux Os try Darktable for Raw editing, it also has
tethered cam but I have not yet tried it with my Kx

[SpecialK]

I'm stuck on Elements v6. The new v9 has layer masks if that matters. I don't use layers at this point. I also don't use tags and never go near the Organizer :-) But, it's leapyears ahead of Pentax v3.50. The spot-healing brush and leveling tool were missing from Pentax SW...

[davidreilly3207]

Have you tried a trial version of Corel Paintshop Pro Photo X3?

[wlachan]

I have never had much luck with ACDSee 2/2.5/3 which are very buggy and crash constantly. Get the Adobe I'd say.

[stormtech]

Have you tried a trial version of Corel Paintshop Pro Photo X3?

Yes I have that trial also.
While I find PSP more intuitive than Elements, I like the editing controls better in Acdsee.

[davidreilly3207]

Does Acdsee have Layers? They can make all the difference in the world, especially if you learn to use them with masks.

[volley]

I am happy ACDSEE Pro 3 user. I read a lot about crashes or other issues but I have not experienced anything like that (I'm still running XP on my computers). If you plan "heavy" pp than it may not be the best choice. As others stated before, ACDSEE Pro does not offer to work with layers. I don't need that option often, and if needed I use GIMP for that work. But for the typical pp I do it is fine and very fast.

Before buying ACDSEE Pro I compared several raw converters and I just liked the results from ACDSEE Pro best.

[stormtech]

Thanks for all the input folks -

I guess it comes down to layers. I'll have to do some more research to see what I can or can not do with layers.

volley - I like your idea of using Gimp just for layers - will look into that for sure.

[bobmaxja]

I have ACDsee 3 with W7 , no crash and no bug But I am looking in getting PSE9

[Jimmy637]

I'm happy to see comments about ACDsee. I have been using ACDsee photo manager for a year or more and have been offered an upgrade to ACDsee pro 3 for 55% off $74.99 US. I find the manager program very good for organizing my files. When I started saving digital photo files I tried/used programs that came with cameras as well as web browsers. All they did was make it difficult to find my files especially when I changed programs. I found that Photo manager allowed me to control the location I put the files and made it easy to find files when I wanted to see a picture or edit. The program also offers some basic photo editing that I use.
Now I would like to have a more powerful program to allow more editing and be more creative.
For anyone that uses Pro 3, can you advise if the program is good for creative purposes for adding content to photos or is pro 3 just a fancy Manager program for lack of other words.

[reeftool]

As far as editing goes, use what you are comfortable with. I use Elements 9 having recently upgraded from Elements 6. I haven't used ACDsee. Actually, my favorite editing program is Picasa and it's free. The drawback is that it is limited in what it does but for photos that don't need much or any PP, it's the best in my book. The Picasa organizer is top notch. I don't use the one in Elements. I picked up Elements 9 for $49. It was heavily discounted around the holidays and probably will be again soon.

[bobmaxja]

ACDsee Pro3 is more like Camera Raw of Adobe or Lightroom. Yes you can do some editing but that not them main function
That why I want to keep my Acdsee Pro 3 and get the PSE9 for photo manipulation

[Ron Kruger]

I've been using Photoshop for a long time, but I test other programs whenever they come out. I always reverted back to PS, until I tried ACDSee. It seems most compatable with Pentax colors and parameters, while all the other programs I've tested seem more designed for Canon and Nikon, with some Pentax features thrown in as an afterthought.
Still, as far as RAW conversions are concerned, the software that came free with my K20D does the best job. I never use LAB, but simply convert (and sometimes crop) in the Browser. (Beats any other RAW converter I've tried, including ACDSee.) But then, I'm old school, and put my attention to getting it right at time of capture, instead of "fixing it in Photoshop." My fix is the trash bin.
However, just as with film, I rarely take a shot that can't be improved slightly in the darkroom, and I've found ACDSee the best I've tried for adjusting JPEGs. It is so good, in fact, that I now always reprocess older PS processed files with ACDSee before sending them out for publication. All my adjustments, however, are very minor.
For many years, I used full versions of PS, but some years ago switched to PSE, because it has all (and more) than I need as a photographer. I still use it occasionally, if I want to do something complicated. PSE is a very powerful program, with many useful tools beyond layers.
So my workflow, based upon a lot of experiments and comparisons, is to get it right (or as close as possible) at time of capture. RAW is converted in the Browser. JPEGs are processed in ACDSee. And (rarely) more sophisticated or complicated tasks are done in PSE.
This may sound complicated and time consuming, but it really isn't. The Browser is great and fast for initial edits and conversions. ACDSee is fast, and most adjustments can be done with one-click commands (not so with other programs). I don't think it has ever crashed on me. I can convert in the Browser and process in ACDSee much faster than doing the entire thing in PS. Most of all, the end product is better.
I'm a professional, so IQ is very important to me, but I've also been doing this long enough to know that the less one does in PP the better.
I put my attention into taking pictures. Even though I know quite a bit about them (been using computers since the early 1980s) I'm not a computer geek or an IT person--I'm a photographer first and foremost.

[stormtech]

Thank you for your thoughtful insight Ron -

While I am fairly new to digital, been shooting film for 30+ years, I have the mindset as you say as in getting it right in the camera first.

I think I will go forward with Acdsee and still know I have free options for the RAW conversion if I don't want to use the one included. So far in my limited testing though, the Acdsee RAW editing has worked well for me.

Thanks to all for your input!