[Codazzle]

I know how powerful Photoshop is, but, historically, I never used much more than the Camera Raw portion of the program 99% of the time. I was basically just out to alter exposure, colors, size, sharpness etc.

To me, paying $120/year when I'm only after Camera Raw seems like overkill. Am I wrong? (I am MORE than welcome to hear I'm wrong)

Is there another editing program that is similar to Camera Raw that is free/reasonably priced?

Thanks!

[Not a Number]

Adobe Bridge is 100% free and works with Camera Raw.

[Kerrowdown]

Adobe Bridge is 100% free and works with Camera Raw.

Bridge does work fine with ACR... but as far as I'm aware does not give you the functionality of ACR.

[Tas]

I've been recommending the brand new On1 Photo RAW program that was released on December 19th.

ON1 Photo RAW – ON1, Inc.

You can trial it free for 30 days, then buy it if you like it. The price is reasonable as you can install it on up to 5 machines and you own the program, no ongoing subscription required.

It does more than ACR, and will be adding new features over the coming six months. Of course all the items you're after are founding in the Develop module and can be applied globally or locally with some really handy tools.

Watch some of the videos on the program and I think you'll find it's a good option to go with.

Tas

Oh, whether you go with the program or not they have a user input program running and those of us who use the program are trying to get forum members to jump into the Discussions section of the webpage and support Pentax Pixel Shift. If they add that this will be a brilliant option for Pentaxians.

[Kerrowdown]

if I only want the functionality of Camera Raw?

Lightroom uses the the same ACR engine, so that's something for you to look into, which may work out cheaper.

For me... Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC and Lightroom Mobile, all latest versions, constantly updated for £8.78 per month is a no brainer.

[rayallen]

If you want a free RAW processor, try Raw Therapee RawTherapee Features
It is very powerful.

[slartibartfast01]

You can try DXO Optics Pro 9. It is a free download until February 2017. Google it or find a link here
http://www.techno360.in/dxo-optics-pro-free/

[BigMackCam]

Adobe Bridge is 100% free and works with Camera Raw.

Yes, but you need one of the qualifying paid Adobe apps for it to open files with Camera Raw, I believe...

[Rondec]

I'd consider a free standing version of Lightroom.

[chuck_c]

Lightroom uses the the same ACR engine, so that's something for you to look into, which may work out cheaper.

For me... Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC and Lightroom Mobile, all latest versions, constantly updated for £8.78 per month is a no brainer.

I absolutely agree. And in addition to that you get the excellent cataloging system, IMHO, that is in Lightroom.

[wissink]

You can try DXO Optics Pro 9. It is a free download until February 2017. Google it or find a link here
Get DxO Optics Pro 9 Elite for Free

Thanks for sharing. I noticed they are on version 11 now. I'm sure version 9 still has a lot to offer.

[eyrr]

I know how powerful Photoshop is, but, historically, I never used much more than the Camera Raw portion of the program 99% of the time. I was basically just out to alter exposure, colors, size, sharpness etc.

To me, paying $120/year when I'm only after Camera Raw seems like overkill. Am I wrong? (I am MORE than welcome to hear I'm wrong)

Is there another editing program that is similar to Camera Raw that is free/reasonably priced?

Thanks!

Have you tried the Pentax Silkypix Developer that comes with the camera?

My needs are similar to yours. I did the Lightroom free trial and concluded for a number of reasons that although it's impressive it wasn't right for me. I had never tried the software that comes with the camera and realized I had nothing to lose by checking it out. I was very pleasantly surprised. It contains distortion corrections for specific Pentax lenses, which is very helpful. The English translation of the functions is sometimes a little obscure, but it doesn't take much effort to sort that out. I've found it to do the sort of processing you describe very well

As far as I could tell, Canadians have to use the USA Adobe site for Adobe Creative Cloud. $9.99 US = $13.37 CDN this morning. $120 USD = $160.61 CDN per year. Plus service charge for the currency exchange. When these things "go on sale" the reduction is generally offered only to customers in the US, even if Canadians have to get it from the US website. I think it's wise to look at alternatives before you commit to that, especially given the needs you've listed.

[wibbly]

photoshop CC with the Nik plugin package is definitely nice to have. for the most part i only use camera raw as well, and camera raw 9? i believe has some excellent features not found in previous versions (like ca removal sliders with hue adjustments).

[Ontarian50]

I originally rolled my eyes when Adobe announced the CC subscription thing.

But I'm now into my second year with it, and I consider it good value.

First off, while there are some very good, less costly image editing packages out there, Photoshop is still king of the hill. Working in layers, applying gradients, etc. etc. helps get my images closer to what I originally intended when I took the shot.

I use Lightroom sparingly. It has its uses, especially for batching large projects, but for my pictorial work, I prefer to just browse for the best image, and then open it in Photoshop (via camera raw, of course). And since Adobe bundles Lightroom with Photoshop, that just reinforces my view that Lightroom is a pre-Photoshop tool, not an alternative.

I used to be a big fan of Elements, given that it delivers 90% of what most people need from Photoshop at a fraction of the cost. But after spending your $100 or so, it doesn't take long for it to become obsolete - no new Raw updates, or it won't run well after an OS update, etc. etc. So three years later you're already looking to buy the next one.

Honestly, for what people are willing to spend on goofy artisan neckstraps, or seldom used oddball ND filters, having access to a state of the art image editing package for $150 a year is a good deal. Maybe what Adobe need to do is send you a product key on a gilt edged card inside a walnut box. Then you'd feel better about it

[E-man]

I'm generally not a fan of software by subscription. Elements seems to cover most of my Photoshop needs. I miss the days when you'd buy a software package and generally be assured of free or low-cost upgrades for the next version or two. Of course, I also miss getting software in a box with a detailed printed user manual.