[11GTCS]

I’m a big capture one guy. I don’t use it on every camera, but whatever calibration they do with all the sensors really does make some cameras shine a lot brighter than they would in other software right out of the gate. I’m honestly quite impressed. It’s also quite easy to use. That said, as others have mentioned, if you are willing to put in the time, the freeware is honestly every bit as good in most cases.

[5ks]

I find the Adobe "monthly lease" totally painless – it is really just 2 lattes a month. In addition, there are automatic updates. Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Bridge and Camera Raw, and Photoshop all in one package. If you are a long-time Lightroom user, I suggest you give it a try. After all, you can always cancel.

I wonder if trying the CC version is riskless. What if you decide not to continue - can you download you LR database and continue using with the traditional 6.x without a dependancy to Adobe Cloud?

I use LR 6 myself on a Windows PC and I'm quite happy with it. I wonder if Kendra59's problem is limited to Mac usage.

[wkadruje]

I've been using LR+PS for quite some time, now when I shoot less often and have more time to process I finally migrated everything to Darktable + GIMP. Spent long hours watching YT tutorials but it was worth it (now that the help/docs are improved I'd probably just read them and learnt the same faster). I also took a look at the Capture One for Fuji and liked the file organisation/sessions workflow. Trying to figure out if it's possible to the same with DT.

[Wheatfield]

I wonder if trying the CC version is riskless. What if you decide not to continue - can you download you LR database and continue using with the traditional 6.x without a dependancy to Adobe Cloud?

I use LR 6 myself on a Windows PC and I'm quite happy with it. I wonder if Kendra59's problem is limited to Mac usage.

I read somewhere on the internet that if you discontinue your subscription on a computer that doesn't have an internet connection to Adobe, you will continue to have a working program, but it wont update, and won't have whatever features that are cloud dependent. If Adobe can't talk to the program, they can't disable it.

Of course, I have read a lot of things on the internet that are flat out wrong, this might be one of those things, however, I did just close my internet connection and launched both LR and PS, and both worked as expected.

I don't know if the software needs to check in with the mothership from time to time to keep operating. It would make sense, otherwise people would pay the first 15 bucks and then stop paying.

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Last edited by Wheatfield; 04-24-2021 at 10:48 AM.

[ThorSanchez]

I'm moving on from Lightroom to RawTheapee. There's a step learning curve, but it's free and just as capable as Lightroom.

Made the same transition a number of years ago. I'm now well versed in RT and think it does an excellent job. Compared to subscribing to Adobe CC for the last three years using RT has saved me the cost of a new 55-300 PLM.

Also, getting rid of Adobe helped with the transition from Windows to Linux, which I absolutely love.

[gatorguy]

One that I like as an option is IrFanview. Has a lot of the capabilities found in PhotoShop

Had no idea that still existed. I used it maybe two decades ago as a Photoshop fill-in at home.

[Kwong]

It was a good program, but is no longer supported. It is now crashing when it used to be dead reliable. The problem is, I am not keen on buying software on a subscription model, and don't need the full power of the Adobe Creative Cloud anyway.

On the other hand, I do intend to do more colour to B & W conversion, using Nik Silver Effex or something of equal quality. Would I be able to do this using Capture Pro 10? After recovering from several strokes, my "workflow" processes must be relearned anyway, so if I am going to try something different, now is the time to do so.

P.S. I use a Mac computer...

I was in the same situation with LR5. Did not want to pay monthly so went with DXO and so far doing everything I want it to

[mtkeller]

I wonder if trying the CC version is riskless. What if you decide not to continue - can you download you LR database and continue using with the traditional 6.x without a dependancy to Adobe Cloud?

As long as you use Lightroom Classic (the current name for what LR6 has moved on to), all your files are stored on your computer. You can sync some smart previews up to the Adobe Cloud, but your files are on your computer. If you stop your subscription, you can still export your files and several other things, just not use the Develop module. See What happens to my photos if I cancel my Adobe subscription? | The Lightroom Queen

Honestly, I’m with those who are absolutely fine with paying $10/month for the Photography Plan. People will tell you that product x or product y is as full-featured as LrC and Photoshop, but it’s simply not true, and in many cases, the other programs are harder to use. You will also find way more information on how to use the Adobe products online than for anything else. You get (at least) two major upgrades to both LrC and PS every single year. Adobe’s selection and content-aware technology is constantly getting more and more amazing. Their sky replacement is impressive. I’m still trying to get the hang of color grading in LrC, but it’s clearly very powerful. The B&W profiles Adobe provides are some of the best out there…they hired the guy who did the ones for Nik and got him to develop even better ones for them.

[Kendra59]

There is a lot to consider here. I will be getting a new computer this fall, as my mid-2011 iMac is at the end of it's useful life. I intend to spend most of the spring/summer/fall taking photos, and will work on them in a photo software program over the winter. In the meantime, I will simply copy the digital files from my camera onto a dedicated hard drive. That way, I won't have to worry about any LR 6 image export to new software problems. When I DO buy a new computer, it will probably be one of the new iMacs that were just released, although it definitely won't be in one of the Easter egg colours.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. I particularly want to thank subsea, whose lengthy reply gave me a lot to think about...

[vrphoto]

^^^^

Agreed - monthly payment for the Lightroom/Photoshop is pretty painless.

Here's why I'm staying:
- can't live without Texture/Clarity/Dehaze - they are doing marvels to old photos, including scans.
- Negative Lab Pro plugin is essential for film scans.
- need the image management functions in the one package.
- I now have such ingrained muscle memory for moving Development sliders, etc that I'm really reluctant to even try anything else. (I can look through my camera viewfinder and know what post-processing will be needed - heck, I don't even need a camera, just looking at the scene is enough!)


And I'm confident that Adobe will eventually improve image management and catch up with Topaz/DXO sharpening and noise reduction, there's not much else to improve

[5ks]

As long as you use Lightroom Classic (the current name for what LR6 has moved on to), all your files are stored on your computer. You can sync some smart previews up to the Adobe Cloud, but your files are on your computer. If you stop your subscription, you can still export your files and several other things, just not use the Develop module. See What happens to my photos if I cancel my Adobe subscription? | The Lightroom Queen

Honestly, I’m with those who are absolutely fine with paying $10/month for the Photography Plan. People will tell you that product x or product y is as full-featured as LrC and Photoshop, but it’s simply not true, and in many cases, the other programs are harder to use. You will also find way more information on how to use the Adobe products online than for anything else. You get (at least) two major upgrades to both LrC and PS every single year. Adobe’s selection and content-aware technology is constantly getting more and more amazing. Their sky replacement is impressive. I’m still trying to get the hang of color grading in LrC, but it’s clearly very powerful. The B&W profiles Adobe provides are some of the best out there…they hired the guy who did the ones for Nik and got him to develop even better ones for them.

Thanks for the explanatory info. So it's more about where your database is stored. I also appreciate Lightroom very much and may move the CC subscription some day to get the latest enhancements. But as long as I can postpone that ... I keep saving some money ... eg. to buy new gear

[pschlute]

I wonder if trying the CC version is riskless. What if you decide not to continue - can you download you LR database and continue using with the traditional 6.x without a dependancy to Adobe Cloud?

There is no requirement to use the cloud with adobe classic. Your pictures are always on your computer

[dvoth]

Another program to consider is GraphicConverter which has variety of capabilities. You can set other photo editors to open from the program, including Silver Efex Pro. Affinity Photo is an excellent photo editing program, it has a B&W adjustment layer and you can also install the Nik filters to work from within it.

[fuzzyphotos]

I use capture one, it has really nice image quality, you can set presets and defaults to get close to the look you want then just fine tune your keepers.

[bscott]

Why not consider Ricoh's Silkypix Digital Camera Utility 5 that is furnished with the K 11 camera?