OEM Post Production Info

**StiffLegged** · 06-24-2021, 04:42 AM - **1 Like**

You’re already using the Adobe photographers’ package? I can only assume it’s the monthly tenner or a slow laptop that’s prompted this query because I’d stick with LR/PS unless you really hate it: the tools are top-notch.

**BigMackCam** · 06-24-2021, 06:03 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Cerebum

Fabulous. I also tried luminar, that was equally unsuccessful. It would be nice to try raw therapee. Don't get me wrong, I love lightroom and £10 pm for all I get is actually OK, but if I could find a viable alternative...

OK, those specs sound similar to lightroom. I will give it a wizz

Where Adobe really wins over any of the free options (and many of the other paid ones) is digital asset management. Lightroom's Library module is excellent (as I'm sure you'd agree), and whilst there are open-source alternatives - digiKam, for example, is quite powerful - none comes close for power, flexibility, ease of use and polished presentation.

Some folks will tell you that their photos look under-exposed and/or washed out in RawTherapee, or that shadow and highlight recovery works poorly compared to LR. They're plain wrong - but it takes some time to get used to RT, the default settings, how each adjustment works, and how to get the best from it, especially coming from another app such as LR...

**MossyRocks** · 06-24-2021, 11:02 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by BigMackCam

They're plain wrong - but it takes some time to get used to RT, the default settings, how each adjustment works, and how to get the best from it, especially coming from another app such as LR...

Yes it is a steep learning curve for RawTherapee but once one really understands what is going on it allows a lot more control since it doesn't hide options for similar controls like Lightroom does. Add in the number of tools not found in LR to manipulate an image and I do prefer it. Personal favorites are the contrast by level tool and the various wavelet tools. It is a very technical piece of software

**Sakura** · 06-24-2021, 12:22 PM - **1 Like**

Corel aftershot pro is also a rather strong alternative for LR and Photoshop

**Cerebum** · 06-24-2021, 11:53 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by MossyRocks

Yes it is a steep learning curve for RawTherapee but once one really understands what is going on it allows a lot more control since it doesn't hide options for similar controls like Lightroom does. Add in the number of tools not found in LR to manipulate an image and I do prefer it. Personal favorites are the contrast by level tool and the various wavelet tools. It is a very technical piece of software

I shall give it a go. I tried gimp with little success so that bodes well

**MossyRocks** · 06-25-2021, 09:01 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Cerebum

I shall give it a go. I tried gimp with little success so that bodes well

GIMP is more of a Photoshop alternative. RawTherapee has a similar feel to GIMP with all the knobs and adjustments exposed. RawTherapee and Gimp are very different animals from Lightroom and Photoshop even if they fill similar roles. With astro images I have found that I really like working in GIMP as I can do everything in 32bpc unlike photoshop where you are mostly stuck at 16bpc and yes it is possible to actually have an image that realistically has more than 16bpc of data when doing astro shooting like with my almost 9 hours of exposure for the Great Orion Nebula shot. Most of my editing in GIMP is with things like curves, levels, highpass filters, or minor touchups using the clone stamp tool so it isn't too different from photoshop. Also I do like the some of the GIMP plug-ins like the liquid resize (non uniform across the frame resize), and resynthizer (content aware fill like functionality).

**Cerebum** · 06-25-2021, 10:21 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by MossyRocks

GIMP is more of a Photoshop alternative. RawTherapee has a similar feel to GIMP with all the knobs and adjustments exposed. RawTherapee and Gimp are very different animals from Lightroom and Photoshop even if they fill similar roles. With astro images I have found that I really like working in GIMP as I can do everything in 32bpc unlike photoshop where you are mostly stuck at 16bpc and yes it is possible to actually have an image that realistically has more than 16bpc of data when doing astro shooting like with my almost 9 hours of exposure for the Great Orion Nebula shot. Most of my editing in GIMP is with things like curves, levels, highpass filters, or minor touchups using the clone stamp tool so it isn't too different from photoshop. Also I do like the some of the GIMP plug-ins like the liquid resize (non uniform across the frame resize), and resynthizer (content aware fill like functionality).

Damn! I am going to have to try Gimp again now

---------- Post added 25-06-21 at 10:36 AM ----------

Originally posted by BigMackCam

.

Mike
My lappy is
AMD A4-5000
RADEON HD 8330
8gb ram

Don't laugh

**MossyRocks** · 06-25-2021, 11:12 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Cerebum

Damn! I am going to have to try Gimp again now

It has that same steep learning curve but there have been a lot of changes with the 2.10 branch, most notably the 32bpc support. The 2.10 branch has a layout more similar to Photoshop but still has that GIMP chunkiness. The plug-ins are add-ons that you have to install separately.

I don't know if your laptop has an SSD or not but if it doesn't I would seriously consider throwing one at it as that will provide a dramatic improvement in performance. Even my ancient laptop (about 10 or 11 years old) does fairly well and it only has a dual core AMD XP processor with some ancient nvidia laptop graphics chipset in it with 4GB of ram but it has a 500GB ssd so it isn't too painful. I also run Slackware Linux on it so I have a lean fast OS which also helps.

**Cerebum** · 06-25-2021, 12:10 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by MossyRocks

It has that same steep learning curve but there have been a lot of changes with the 2.10 branch, most notably the 32bpc support. The 2.10 branch has a layout more similar to Photoshop but still has that GIMP chunkiness. The plug-ins are add-ons that you have to install separately.

I don't know if your laptop has an SSD or not but if it doesn't I would seriously consider throwing one at it as that will provide a dramatic improvement in performance. Even my ancient laptop (about 10 or 11 years old) does fairly well and it only has a dual core AMD XP processor with some ancient nvidia laptop graphics chipset in it with 4GB of ram but it has a 500GB ssd so it isn't too painful. I also run Slackware Linux on it so I have a lean fast OS which also helps.

Yeah, it had a 1tb ssd that was renowned for its slowness, so I took the disc drive out, made that my D drive and put windows 10 on a far faster 500gb drive

**SelrahCharleS** · 06-25-2021, 02:52 PM - **1 Like**

I can recommend both Rawtherapee and Darktable. Darktable is harder to pick up, but is quite powerful if you put in some time to learn it. Raw Therapee is also a powerful editor, but the interface is easier to come to grips with.

Raw Therapee can also process pixel-shift files and has what seems to be very good motion handling if there is any movement in your pixel shift capture. I use Darktable for most things since it has some photo management tools and makes bulk edits easier, and now that I've recently started playing around with pixel-shift I use Raw Therapee for that.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Helios 44-series production dates & concurrent production?	BigMackCam	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	11	12-24-2016 04:24 PM
People Suggestions wanted for post production background blow out	comprock	Photo Critique	5	06-16-2015 03:26 PM
Post Production technique	rob1234	Digital Processing, Software, and Printing	6	09-11-2011 07:48 PM
What post-production software do you use?	bluebronco	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	3	08-05-2009 10:10 PM

06-24-2021, 04:42 AM - 1 Like	#16
StiffLegged Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,619	You’re already using the Adobe photographers’ package? I can only assume it’s the monthly tenner or a slow laptop that’s prompted this query because I’d stick with LR/PS unless you really hate it: the tools are top-notch.

06-24-2021, 06:03 AM - 1 Like	#17
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,673	Originally posted by Cerebum Fabulous. I also tried luminar, that was equally unsuccessful. It would be nice to try raw therapee. Don't get me wrong, I love lightroom and £10 pm for all I get is actually OK, but if I could find a viable alternative... OK, those specs sound similar to lightroom. I will give it a wizz Where Adobe really wins over any of the free options (and many of the other paid ones) is digital asset management. Lightroom's Library module is excellent (as I'm sure you'd agree), and whilst there are open-source alternatives - digiKam, for example, is quite powerful - none comes close for power, flexibility, ease of use and polished presentation. Some folks will tell you that their photos look under-exposed and/or washed out in RawTherapee, or that shadow and highlight recovery works poorly compared to LR. They're plain wrong - but it takes some time to get used to RT, the default settings, how each adjustment works, and how to get the best from it, especially coming from another app such as LR...

06-24-2021, 11:02 AM - 1 Like	#18
MossyRocks Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,982	Originally posted by BigMackCam They're plain wrong - but it takes some time to get used to RT, the default settings, how each adjustment works, and how to get the best from it, especially coming from another app such as LR... Yes it is a steep learning curve for RawTherapee but once one really understands what is going on it allows a lot more control since it doesn't hide options for similar controls like Lightroom does. Add in the number of tools not found in LR to manipulate an image and I do prefer it. Personal favorites are the contrast by level tool and the various wavelet tools. It is a very technical piece of software

06-24-2021, 12:22 PM - 1 Like	#19
Sakura Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Netherlands Photos: Gallery Posts: 438	Corel aftershot pro is also a rather strong alternative for LR and Photoshop

06-24-2021, 11:53 PM - 1 Like	#20
Cerebum Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Lancaster Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,828	Originally posted by MossyRocks Yes it is a steep learning curve for RawTherapee but once one really understands what is going on it allows a lot more control since it doesn't hide options for similar controls like Lightroom does. Add in the number of tools not found in LR to manipulate an image and I do prefer it. Personal favorites are the contrast by level tool and the various wavelet tools. It is a very technical piece of software I shall give it a go. I tried gimp with little success so that bodes well

06-25-2021, 09:01 AM - 1 Like	#21
MossyRocks Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,982	Originally posted by Cerebum I shall give it a go. I tried gimp with little success so that bodes well GIMP is more of a Photoshop alternative. RawTherapee has a similar feel to GIMP with all the knobs and adjustments exposed. RawTherapee and Gimp are very different animals from Lightroom and Photoshop even if they fill similar roles. With astro images I have found that I really like working in GIMP as I can do everything in 32bpc unlike photoshop where you are mostly stuck at 16bpc and yes it is possible to actually have an image that realistically has more than 16bpc of data when doing astro shooting like with my almost 9 hours of exposure for the Great Orion Nebula shot. Most of my editing in GIMP is with things like curves, levels, highpass filters, or minor touchups using the clone stamp tool so it isn't too different from photoshop. Also I do like the some of the GIMP plug-ins like the liquid resize (non uniform across the frame resize), and resynthizer (content aware fill like functionality).

06-25-2021, 10:21 AM - 1 Like	#22
Cerebum Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Lancaster Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,828	Originally posted by MossyRocks GIMP is more of a Photoshop alternative. RawTherapee has a similar feel to GIMP with all the knobs and adjustments exposed. RawTherapee and Gimp are very different animals from Lightroom and Photoshop even if they fill similar roles. With astro images I have found that I really like working in GIMP as I can do everything in 32bpc unlike photoshop where you are mostly stuck at 16bpc and yes it is possible to actually have an image that realistically has more than 16bpc of data when doing astro shooting like with my almost 9 hours of exposure for the Great Orion Nebula shot. Most of my editing in GIMP is with things like curves, levels, highpass filters, or minor touchups using the clone stamp tool so it isn't too different from photoshop. Also I do like the some of the GIMP plug-ins like the liquid resize (non uniform across the frame resize), and resynthizer (content aware fill like functionality). Damn! I am going to have to try Gimp again now ---------- Post added 25-06-21 at 10:36 AM ---------- Originally posted by BigMackCam . Mike My lappy is AMD A4-5000 RADEON HD 8330 8gb ram Don't laugh

06-25-2021, 11:12 AM - 1 Like	#23
MossyRocks Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,982	Originally posted by Cerebum Damn! I am going to have to try Gimp again now It has that same steep learning curve but there have been a lot of changes with the 2.10 branch, most notably the 32bpc support. The 2.10 branch has a layout more similar to Photoshop but still has that GIMP chunkiness. The plug-ins are add-ons that you have to install separately. I don't know if your laptop has an SSD or not but if it doesn't I would seriously consider throwing one at it as that will provide a dramatic improvement in performance. Even my ancient laptop (about 10 or 11 years old) does fairly well and it only has a dual core AMD XP processor with some ancient nvidia laptop graphics chipset in it with 4GB of ram but it has a 500GB ssd so it isn't too painful. I also run Slackware Linux on it so I have a lean fast OS which also helps.

06-25-2021, 12:10 PM - 1 Like	#24
Cerebum Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Lancaster Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,828	Originally posted by MossyRocks It has that same steep learning curve but there have been a lot of changes with the 2.10 branch, most notably the 32bpc support. The 2.10 branch has a layout more similar to Photoshop but still has that GIMP chunkiness. The plug-ins are add-ons that you have to install separately. I don't know if your laptop has an SSD or not but if it doesn't I would seriously consider throwing one at it as that will provide a dramatic improvement in performance. Even my ancient laptop (about 10 or 11 years old) does fairly well and it only has a dual core AMD XP processor with some ancient nvidia laptop graphics chipset in it with 4GB of ram but it has a 500GB ssd so it isn't too painful. I also run Slackware Linux on it so I have a lean fast OS which also helps. Yeah, it had a 1tb ssd that was renowned for its slowness, so I took the disc drive out, made that my D drive and put windows 10 on a far faster 500gb drive

06-25-2021, 02:52 PM - 1 Like	#25
SelrahCharleS Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 935	I can recommend both Rawtherapee and Darktable. Darktable is harder to pick up, but is quite powerful if you put in some time to learn it. Raw Therapee is also a powerful editor, but the interface is easier to come to grips with. Raw Therapee can also process pixel-shift files and has what seems to be very good motion handling if there is any movement in your pixel shift capture. I use Darktable for most things since it has some photo management tools and makes bulk edits easier, and now that I've recently started playing around with pixel-shift I use Raw Therapee for that.