[watchingskyfallatm]

Hi all,

So I've had a search around the forums for a similar thread but couldn't find any definitive suggestions, and the only big thread on this topic I could find was from 7 years ago, so I figured it'd be ok to start a new one. I've also been googling around of course but would like to get some Pentaxians' opinion.

Up until now I've been using a combination of photoshop and Preview on Mac for PP (Preview is surprisingly good for minor tweaks), but I want to go to the next level. So - what program should I use for PP? I will be editing shots from my GH4, my girlfriend's K-50 and my Pentax FF (... soon). It has to be a Mac compatible program but I assume most are.

What program is best? Lightroom? Aperture? Gimp? Or will Photoshop do everything I need I just need to learn more? I don't mind if there's a steep learning curve, I just want the best results. Also I don't mind b uying a program, though I don't want to be spending hundreds, but around $100ish is ok.

Thanks!

[uday029]

I used to be a jpeg shooter and just started getting into post processing of images. When I gathered some information, many people suggested lightroom for starters. I believe lightroom would be sufficient for simple and basic post processing. However, I got a free version of Photoshop elements installed when I bought a new HP laptop. I have been using it for past couple of months. It is not hard to learn and you can achieve great results with it. You can go beyond post processing and so a lot of complicated stuff with it too. I believe it is sold for $99.

My 2 cents.

[rawr]

For all-in-one solutions, I'd suggest either of the two programs below. Both are basically RAW image processors, but would do most of the post-processing that people would routinely need to do:

- Lightroom as a good choice for routine photo processing (as well as your photo management and printing needs).

- Capture One Pro v8 as an excellent RAW processor and image manager just like Lightroom, but it supports a few more handy image editing features than Lightroom - eg layers.

EDIT: I just noticed Capture One Pro now seems to be more expensive than it used to be to buy (229 EUR), which seems very over-priced. I'd never buy it at that price. However - like Lightroom - they do have a monthly subscription plan at 8 EUR/month, which is more reasonable.

[6BQ5]

I'm going to add +1 to rawr's vote for Capture One. I was a die hard Aperture fan and really enjoyed it. Since Apple abandoned it I have been looking for a new platform I can call "home". I have tried Lightroom, DxO Mark, ACDSee, GIMP, RawTherapee, etc. Many packages! I found Capture One to be the most intuitive, cleanest functioning, and powerful raw image data processor amongst the group. It even outshines Aperture which was excellent for its day. I think Capture One is what Aperture could have become if Apple had continued development.

Capture One has its quirks like any other program but they are not insurmountable. The auto-mask is weak but that means you must be more careful when you draw it. It lacks some effects like simulated polarization but you can do your own simulation by playing with local contrast and saturation. You can't drag images into the trash but you can select them all and press command-delete like deleting a file from your Finder.

It is not cheap at $300 but you can get a monthly subscription for $10/month. Discount coupons codes can be found online if you spend some time Googling them. The cost model works out to a break even point between purchase and subscription being about 5 years. That assumes an 18 month release cycle with major updates costing $100. I've been using the software daily and my trial period is winding down. Once it is over I will probably subscribe to a license.

Phase One also has a very good YouTube channel with webinars and tutorials. I have been soaking them up on my lunch breaks.

[rawr]

Discount coupons codes can be found online if you spend some time Googling them.

They regularly have competitive discounts on offer too. Keep an eye out for what their prices look like once Adobe releases Lightroom v6 soon, or DxO announces something new

When I bought C1 Pro v8, I think I paid something like USD $79 (as an upgrade to the free at the time C1 Express).

[DeadJohn]

Photoshop can do just about any photo processing task that all other software can do. There's a steep learning curve for all those capabilities, though. PS can do layers, mask people out of a scene, merge photos, etc, etc, etc.

Lightroom's strength is cataloging; PS cannot do that. LR also has plenty of processing capability as long as you don't need the most advanced PS edits. LR is much easier to use than PS.

Aperture has been discontinued.

Gimp is like PS: powerful but not very easy to use.

[watchingskyfallatm]

I used to be a jpeg shooter and just started getting into post processing of images. When I gathered some information, many people suggested lightroom for starters. I believe lightroom would be sufficient for simple and basic post processing. However, I got a free version of Photoshop elements installed when I bought a new HP laptop. I have been using it for past couple of months. It is not hard to learn and you can achieve great results with it. You can go beyond post processing and so a lot of complicated stuff with it too. I believe it is sold for $99.

My 2 cents.

Thanks - appreciated!

---------- Post added 02-18-15 at 09:12 PM ----------

For all-in-one solutions, I'd suggest either of the two programs below. Both are basically RAW image processors, but would do most of the post-processing that people would routinely need to do:

- Lightroom as a good choice for routine photo processing (as well as your photo management and printing needs).

- Capture One Pro v8 as an excellent RAW processor and image manager just like Lightroom, but it supports a few more handy image editing features than Lightroom - eg layers.

EDIT: I just noticed Capture One Pro now seems to be more expensive than it used to be to buy (229 EUR), which seems very over-priced. I'd never buy it at that price. However - like Lightroom - they do have a monthly subscription plan at 8 EUR/month, which is more reasonable.

Thanks heaps, I will check them both out.

---------- Post added 02-18-15 at 09:14 PM ----------

I'm going to add +1 to rawr's vote for Capture One. I was a die hard Aperture fan and really enjoyed it. Since Apple abandoned it I have been looking for a new platform I can call "home". I have tried Lightroom, DxO Mark, ACDSee, GIMP, RawTherapee, etc. Many packages! I found Capture One to be the most intuitive, cleanest functioning, and powerful raw image data processor amongst the group. It even outshines Aperture which was excellent for its day. I think Capture One is what Aperture could have become if Apple had continued development.

Capture One has its quirks like any other program but they are not insurmountable. The auto-mask is weak but that means you must be more careful when you draw it. It lacks some effects like simulated polarization but you can do your own simulation by playing with local contrast and saturation. You can't drag images into the trash but you can select them all and press command-delete like deleting a file from your Finder.

It is not cheap at $300 but you can get a monthly subscription for $10/month. Discount coupons codes can be found online if you spend some time Googling them. The cost model works out to a break even point between purchase and subscription being about 5 years. That assumes an 18 month release cycle with major updates costing $100. I've been using the software daily and my trial period is winding down. Once it is over I will probably subscribe to a license.

Phase One also has a very good YouTube channel with webinars and tutorials. I have been soaking them up on my lunch breaks.

Legend, thanks Boris. The quirks you mention are maybe a bit advanced for me at this stage so sounds like it could suit. I'll check into it.

---------- Post added 02-18-15 at 09:15 PM ----------

Photoshop can do just about any photo processing task that all other software can do. There's a steep learning curve for all those capabilities, though. PS can do layers, mask people out of a scene, merge photos, etc, etc, etc.

Lightroom's strength is cataloging; PS cannot do that. LR also has plenty of processing capability as long as you don't need the most advanced PS edits. LR is much easier to use than PS.

Aperture has been discontinued.

Gimp is like PS: powerful but not very easy to use.

Thanks for summing those up - it sounds like Lightroom is more suited to my level of skill over PS..

[RMabo]

Since you're using Mac there are some things to consider here:

* Mac has built in RAW-processing with software that uses the built in Core Image library, so all applications which uses Core Image has the same RAW-processing, uses the same algorithms and therefore has the same results. Only features between the programs can differ. You are already using Preview, this uses Core Image, as well as Apples other image applications.

* Aperture is about to die and to be replaced by the new Photos application that will be released at the same time when Mac OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite is released. It will use ICloud photo library and be compatible with iOS. (iOS already has a version of the new Photos application). Reports from the beta-version shows it is really user friendly with nice power-on-demand for advanced RAM processing. This one will probably be released sometime in march - april this spring, probably at no cost at all.

* There's a new Photoshop contented for Mac, that is being worked upon now and is in beta version: Affinity Photo, from Serif Europe. It looks amazingly good! Very easy to remove parts of image and doing interesting stuff... I'm thrilled! Look at it here:
https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/

I believe Affinity Photos will use the Core Image RAW-processing algorithms, but you should also be able to use it within the new Photos application: Having Photos as the photo library and then access Affinitity Photos as an external photo editor if you wish. Today's iPhoto and Aperture can already do this...

* Corel AfterShot 2 is a new version of the Bibble Pro RAW-conversion from Bibble Labs (Corel bought Bibble Labs) I used it for some time and I was happy, but then I decided to switch to Aperture which I'm using today... AfterShot 2 is very fast and is very capable, and it has a low price too... But I prefer Aperture, and I will switch to Photos when it comes and I'm probably going to buy Affinity Photos.

I currently uses Pixelmator, it's like a low cost Photoshop 6 but much nicer Macish user interface... This is for when I have the need for advanced image manipulation. For me, Affinity Photos will probably replace it...

Capture One has been mentioned and yes this is very nice in terms of RAW processing, probably the sweetest of them all... I used it when I had Windows and it was wow...

Aperture, Lightroom, Capture One, and the coming Photos, are all photo library software with built-in RAW-processing tools. Photoshop, Pixelmator, Affinity Photos - they are image manipulation programs, they are not primarly RAW-processors. You need both, one library and RAW-processor - and one image manipulation program. THey do different things.

[boriscleto]

+1 for Pixelmator. As OS X oriented as Pixelmator is I have a hard time believing they wouldn't be just as compatible with Photos as Affinity.

Affinity does look interesting for the Prosumer though, but if you don't need the CMYK & Adobe plug-in support it is kinda overkill.

[tvdtvdtvd]

I'm very intrigued by Affinity as well. I've used Serif products (WebPlus) in the past and they are feature rich
and capable. Their forums are active and a wealth of knowledgable end users. However, they're sales staff
was REALLY aggressive. I would get phones calls about once a month giving the hard sell on their other
products. Quite unsavory. When I upgraded to a new PC, I found that I couldn't port the WebPlus license
because it was 'old' and and was required to purchase a new license. I let the product drop and moved on.

I plan to demo the Affinity beta and expect it to be a good tool. Will have to take a closer look at their current
licensing policy and trust that their sales staff has switched to decaf.

[RMabo]

+1 for Pixelmator. As OS X oriented as Pixelmator is I have a hard time believing they wouldn't be just as compatible with Photos as Affinity.

Affinity does look interesting for the Prosumer though, but if you don't need the CMYK & Adobe plug-in support it is kinda overkill.

Yes Pixelmator will surely work too as an external editor from Photos, but I really like the new tools and look of Affinity and price difference will be minor...

---------- Post added 02-19-2015 at 11:33 AM ----------

I plan to demo the Affinity beta and expect it to be a good tool. Will have to take a closer look at their current
licensing policy and trust that their sales staff has switched to decaf.

Affinity Photo will be sold through Mac App Store, as the Affinity Designer is today, so you just download it.

[Kerrowdown]

How's about the latest versions Lightroom, Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop for US $8 odd a month?

[DAZ]

Paint Shop Pro X6 or X7. Cost a lot less then going the Photoshop route and has a lot it can do.

DAZ

[Supakatti]

Paint Shop Pro X6 or X7. Cost a lot less then going the Photoshop route and has a lot it can do.

DAZ

I am having a PC running WIN7 64bit and using Corel AfterShot Pro and PSP X6. I have every now and then tried Photoshop too, my friend is using it. However, I prefer my combination of these Corel programs better. I think it is easier, and I can do everything I need with it. Plus it is much cheaper too.

Most of these companies give a free fully functional trial period. Just try them all and figure out, what is that you like the most. Photoshop may be the leader of the markets, but do you really need it all and are you willing to pay for it. It is you, who desides.

[wildman]

will Photoshop do everything I need I just need to learn more?

If you have the time, money and inclination then yes.