what software to buy?

[medinavic]

Adobe has a great deal, you can have the latest version of Photoshop (CS6) AND Lightroom for $ 10.00 dlls /month and they have great educational material.

[xpatUSA]

Thanks all for the great advice. After reading, we decided to stay with free software from Google: Picassa . I tried
To figure out the Nikon software but couldn't. It didn't take long to figure picassa out. Also after reading I should figure out
what I'm doing for free before spending more money. Thanks again!!!!!

Picasa is a good choice to start with for your purposes, IMHO. It can open RAW (Nikon .NEF) files too, should you ever give that a try.

[JR1]

One option nobody's mentioned is Adobe Photoshop Elements. It's US$74.99 on Amazon.

What a laugh, it took you to state what we all forgot and most use

[JR1]

Thanks all for the great advice. After reading, we decided to stay with free software from Google: Picassa . I tried
To figure out the Nikon software but couldn't. It didn't take long to figure picassa out. Also after reading I should figure out
what I'm doing for free before spending more money. Thanks again!!!!!

People usually say (and rightly so) Use what first comes with the camera, I never liked NikCans software and most peple later change

[William W]

My wife and I just bought our first camera a couple of months ago. . . We have been looking at editing software. Can anyone help or make suggestions. Our budget is $75 dollars(not more than). . .

Adobe has released CS2 (Photoshop Version 9) for free download.

Picasa3 is a also a free download.

I recommend these two programmes to my Students who are on a budget.

Using Picasa for the Library, Sorting and also for the Framing – NOT for editing

All the editing is done in Photoshop.

I don’t know of any better deal than these two for free.

If CS2 does not read your camera’s raw files then you can use the software that came with your camera to convert and import to CS2.

I have both these programmes loaded on my two field computers and often do my own work using only these two programmes.

My Studio Editing Computer and Monitor uses the latest CS (Photshop) and Lightroom, but frankly a lot of my work gets to the end use directly from the field in a very quick turn-around time and is edited (from JPEG SOOC) using CS2 and is often embellished with a frame, using Picasa.

Here is an example of the power of these two free programmes.

This is a Photograph that I made near Salzburg and it was edited from the JPEG SOOC on the train journey back to the hotel and it was one of many photographs that was uploaded to our internet preview folder, that evening:

Image, DSC1168 JPEG SOOC:


*

Edited version, DSC1168v01-web, uploaded within two hours:

"House on the Corner" Salzburg 2014

WW

Images © AJ Group Pty Ltd (AUS) 1996~2015

[jcuknz]

I am now with PSPX6 and started with PSP7AE ... my feeling is that not until PSP8 did it become really useful with the tools I use.
Since I bought a copy of PSPX3 for $15 on Amazon [for my laptop] and found it little different to PSPX4 I was then currently using on my desktop I suggest getting anything within your budget on Amazon.
With a comment that when I bought PSP7AE becuase Photoshop was simply too expensive for me I was ready to give the whole idea up it was so complicated ... but I perservered and now I wouldn't be without PSP having tried PS and simply didn't like it.
The only bad thing about recent PSP versions is the amount of organisational junk included which I simply ignore because I have my Windows based system. It seems obvious to me that having all this junk causes the programme to take more time to load when I want to use it.

[jcuknz]

What camera do you have? Do you shoot in raw format? If you are using a DSLR, you should first be shooting in raw. It will give you a lot more room in your image data for editing. Next, you should look at the software you got with your camera for free, This will support the raw format of your camera better than any third party software, and allow you to make significant adjustments to your images. Once you have gotten familiar with that software, you may find it inadequate in particular ways for what you want to do (or it may be just what you want.) If you want more capability, you'll know what you want above what the free software offers and be able to make a buying choice that is tuned to your actual needs. FWIW

What a laugh I have been doing digital for over a decade now and still find jpg and PSP more than adequate for my needs. RAW is an unnessary complication.

[xpatUSA]

What a laugh I have been doing digital for over a decade now and still find jpg and PSP more than adequate for my needs. RAW is an unnessary complication.

LOL, a bold statement indeed!

On my Sigma SD9, RAW is a necessary simplification because, guess what, it doesn't do JPEG

[xpatUSA]

The only bad thing about recent PSP versions is the amount of organisational junk included which I simply ignore because I have my Windows based system. It seems obvious to me that having all this junk causes the programme to take more time to load when I want to use it.

I had the same experience with PSE 7 or was it 8? The dam' Organizer took over everything and it too took a hundred years to load, once it got it's claws in. And imagine having to uncheck 'save to the Organizer' every time you save a file!

A cheap PSE6 disk from eBay soon fixed that sucker.

[Tringa]

Don't buy any software until you have tried the free stuff.

If you only take jpegs then Photoscape is worth a try - http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php

Compared to other editors it is limited but it is VERY easy to use and often does all I want.


If you shoot RAW have a look at GIMP. http://www.partha.com/

It is available for PC and Mac. Version 2.8.14 is the latest one and is available in 32 and 64 bit. It has a RAW converter, has lots of capability with many of the features of paid for editors and, like Photoscape is free.

If you do not like these have a look at Photshop Elements. I think the latest version is 13, so you may be able to find earlier version quite cheaply.

Dave

[Shadowman]

Saw this program recommended through a youtube vid, decided to post on this older thread. Used the free trial which supposedly never expires. Only applied noise reduction and sharpening, the noise filter doesn't do much; although this image was shot at ISO 4000 so wasn't expecting too much. Purpose of installing was really for the browser function as an alternative to FastStone or View NX, very slow to pull in large libraries and large files. Only edited a few images so far, will play with it a bit more.

[JBW]

My wife and I just bought our first camera a couple of months ago. Loving what we are learning from all the threads. We have been looking at editing software. Can anyone help or make suggestions. Our budget is $75 dollars(not more than). Do we stay with free stuff or buy an app or software. Sorry if this has been answered before. Thanks for all the help. Kauffman

if you bought Sony take a look at Capture 1 Sony Express.
https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products...y-Express.aspx

[Black Pearl]

The OP joined in Feb 2015 and hasn't been back since Feb 2015

[rpcrowe]

One option nobody's mentioned is Adobe Photoshop Elements. It's US$74.99 on Amazon.

Photoshop Elements can be found even less expensively on eBay. Just make sure that the seller has good reviews.

However, I suggest that you peruse YouTube for some tutorials on your Nikon editing software. I made the mistake early in my digital career by flitting from one program to another, trying to find an easy one to use. I finally figured out that it is best to just pick a program and put some work into learning it.

The nice thing about Adobe programs (Photoshop Elements, Lightroom and Photoshop CC) is that they are well documented online and you can find lots of YouTube videos on their use. Probably more that on other programs...

[plugsnpixels]

When you're ready to add plug-ins to your host app, don't pay full price for those either.

As I write, all of the developers have gone mad over Black Friday.

[Mikehd70]

You know it is easier to ask what colour,make and model of car to buy than what is the best editing software.To me any ver. of LR from V4 plus latest camera raw and you good to go.No you do not HAVE to have Photoshop,most that say so are trying to get you to beleive in what they beleive in and not what can do the job.

[Manfred M]

You know it is easier to ask what colour,make and model of car to buy than what is the best editing software.To me any ver. of LR from V4 plus latest camera raw and you good to go.No you do not HAVE to have Photoshop,most that say so are trying to get you to beleive in what they beleive in and not what can do the job.

This post is almost two years old and the original poster has not been back on this site since February 2015.

You do really have a negative opinion of Photoshop (which I do not share).

That being said, it is NOT a piece of software I recommend to the casual photographer. It takes a large time commitment on the user's part to become good at it. It is overkill for most people who are not advanced photographers (or are trying to get to this level in their photography).

As for your recommendations on Lightroom. I believe Adobe is up to version 6 now, so if you are shooting with a camera that has been released since version 5 was introduced, then the software will not be able to open up the raw files. Likewise, camera raw is only available as part of Photoshop, so the most recent version is only available with a Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. I suspect you can still get around some of the issues by using Adobe's DNG converter, but that is a bit of an awkward solution as well.