What editing software do you prefer?

[fltekdiver 0]

I hope I'm posting this in the correct place.

 

I just bought a Olympus E-330 DSLR set up , for shooting underwater pics, and as this is my first DSLR set up, I'm sure I'll need some good editing software.

 

I currentley run Windows Vista Priemum, and would like to choose my first software for editing photo's.

 

I went to the store tonight, to look at Adobe CS2, to find out CS3 is now out, and it was $650 bucks!

 

I have no idea what any of this software does, or how to use it, am I wasting my money?

 

The guy at Bestbuy was telling me I'll be fine with somthing like Adobe Photoshot 5.0 , and it takes years of editing to get used to somthing like CS3.

 

He showed me this magazine, which had a great artical for CS3, as I bought it and read the whole magazine, and couldn't belive what people were doing with that software.

 

Problom is, they new how to use it, and from reading the images, it took them over 15 hours to create.

 

All I really wantt o do, is enhance my photos, but above land and below.

 

What is everyone using for editing, and what would you recommend using for a first timer?

 

I searched all over the form, but couldn't find much on this topic

 

Thanks for your input

[ce4jesus 1]

Your Olympus Master should have came with software. Is there a reason that won't work for you? It has a lot of basic tools. If you're just looking for a quick and dirty RAW file processor you can still find RawShooter out there to download. I've also heard Bibble isn't bad. FTR, I use CS2 but don't know what I'm doing either. It has taken me a year to figure out just a few tricks to sharpen things up. You can't argue iwth the power behind that program. Its very nice.

[fltekdiver 0]

Your Olympus Master should have came with software. Is there a reason that won't work for you? It has a lot of basic tools. If you're just looking for a quick and dirty RAW file processor you can still find RawShooter out there to download. I've also heard Bibble isn't bad. FTR, I use CS2 but don't know what I'm doing either. It has taken me a year to figure out just a few tricks to sharpen things up. You can't argue iwth the power behind that program. Its very nice.

 

 

Yeh, i gave up on CS2 or CS3, I read some reviews and they said those programs are definatley not for begginers.

 

I'm looking into Adobe Photoshop 5.0 for now, I can get it for $60 bucks, and I'd like to try it.

 

The camera did come with the software, do you know whats the differnce between 5.0 and the Oly software?

[ce4jesus 1]

No...have you tried to see if there are any free trials of the software online?

[fltekdiver 0]

No, I guess I'll try it, and try the one that came with the software, between both, I should get some good editing going on

[danclem 1]

No, I guess I'll try it, and try the one that came with the software, between both, I should get some good editing going on

[Elizabeth Cook 0]

I've been using ACDC Pro for a long time and have been happy with its organizing and editing capabilities. I believe you can download a trial copy.

[danclem 1]

Thanks for the help. Will check it out.

[dmoss 0]

You might want to look at Photoshop Elements 5.0. It doesn't have all the tools in CS3, but it's a fraction of the cost and will do a lot of things CS3 does. It will prepare you for a future jump to CS4, CS5, etc.

Regardless of what you use, the first timer will wonder "How do I know what to do with all these filters and tools" ?

Scott Kelby has some excellent books on the Photoshop products in an easy to follow format that tells you exactly what to do to get the results your're after.

 

Scott Kelby Elements 5.0

 

There are obviously other books that teach Photoshop techniques. This is just the one I prefer.

 

Hope this helps,

Edited July 30, 2007 by dmoss

[danclem 1]

Hi David:

 

Thanks for the reply. I have been using Elements for a couple of years and am committed to migrating to CS3 for a Stephen Frink class next summer. I am finding it is really powerful and has a lot of capabilities that do not exist in Elements. But for me, the learning curve is pretty steep. But it is coming.

 

Lightroom is really interesting, but once again, not very intuitive. I was playing with the web posting tools, and they are pretty slick.

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

[V_kids 3]

Currently I'm Using Nikon Capture NX to process my RAW file.

After that i will use Photoshop CS 2 to "tune-up" most of my pictures

[e=me 0]

No...have you tried to see if there are any free trials of the software online?

 

You can register with adobe and get 30 day trials of nearly all their software. it is a great way to test drive these programs to see which one is for you.

[cor 0]

Lately ive been using Lightroom (after seeing Eric do magic with Aperture, but alas..no Apple here) and it's quite cool. All the raw editing features of CS3 without the missing rib and 15GB memory footprint.

 

Cor

[james 0]

Yeah, Lightroom for me too. I hardly even open Photoshop right now unless I'm preparing a print.

 

I'm having to process 1200 photos I shot at a Dance Houston show on Thurs and Fri as well as another 250 under/overs that I shot today and it is a lifesaver. My only complaint is when adding photos to a quick collection, it's kind of slow. But they are 16 megapixel RAW files so...

 

James

[fltekdiver 0]

Is lightroom just for apple computers ?

[cor 0]

No, Lightroom is for both Windows and Apple. Aperture, which is similar to Lightroom, is apple-only.

 

Cor

[danclem 1]

After spending a couple of weeks with transitioning to CS3 and Lightroom from Elements and Nikon Capture, here are my two cents worth. I am a decent amateur photographer.

 

Photoshop CS3 is unbelievable, and I probably should have made the switch a long time ago. It took about a week of playing to get comfortable with CS3. It is complicated, but not that bad. Learning the nuances will take a while.

 

The ability to remove back scatter and adjust color is simply amazing. I don't believe it is possible to remove backscatter with Lightroom. Elements is no where near as powerful. The editing software from Nikon is good, but once again no where near as powerful as Elements or Photoshop.

 

I live in the Seattle area, and there is a lot of particulate matter in the water. Even if you are really good about positioning strobes, unwanted spots frequently appear in photos. The conditions were similar in the Galapagos a few weeks back. I have found the Spot Healing Brush tool works miracles, especially if it is sized a bit larger in diameter than the flaw being eliminated.

 

I am still a bit mixed about Lightroom. It is a great work flow tool, but I still wind up using Photoshop for color, lighting, and backscatter tweeks. I have access to both Apples and PC's, and I tend to favor PC's: more for work related programs than photo editing. Both platforms work very well.

 

The bottom line for me is that I wish I would have moved to Photoshop earlier. It is really amazing and worth the money.

[fltekdiver 0]

Thanks for the information and comparing the two.

 

For now I thought I would start with photoshop 5.0.

 

I would love to learn the CS2, or CS3, but I think starting from scratch, would be over whelming.

 

Hopfully in a few months to a year, I'll be ready to upgrade

[james 0]

Photoshop 5.0 was released before the "invention" of the RAW file and the RAW file converter. As an underwater photographer you'll probably be wanting to use RAW just about all the time, so Photoshop 5.0 may not be a good option for you.

 

I think if you get Photoshop 7 you can buy an upgrade to the current version for about $150.

 

Sincerely,

James Wiseman

[herbko 0]

I agree. If you decide to go with Photoshop, you'll want the version with the raw converter.

 

If you already own Photoshop 5 you can get a Photoshop 7 upgrade + a Photoshop CS3 upgrade. The two will probably cost less than the full CS3.

[danclem 1]

Hi James/fltekdiver:

 

I think fltekdiver is refering to Photoshop Elements 5.0. I used Elements 4.0 to process my Nikon NEF RAW files, and it worked fairly well.

 

James: what processing are you doing with Lightroom? I have only been using it for a few weeks, so I am still learning about its capabilities. I primarily use the workflow, slide show, and web preparation functions. I use the Image/Adjustment commands in Photoshop quite a bit, and I don't find comparable commands in the Develop section of Lightroom. The histogram adjustment seems pretty slick. Any hints?

 

Fltekdiver: While you are transitioning to processing RAW files, I found it a bit comforting to shoot both RAW and jpg files initially. I had worked with jpg so I there was a bit of a comfort level. James is correct in that once you get rolling you will stick with RAW.

 

Dan

[james 0]

I typically use Lightroom to go through a folder of photos and tag the good ones by adding to the quick collection. Then I use show quick collection and tweak each photo. Some typical things I do are adjust white balance, the exposure settings (blacks, exposure, highlight recovery, etc), add saturation, and use the clone or healing brush to smooth out backscatter. After tweaking all the photos, I export them to a "Develops" folder as JPEG's.

 

Lightroom is slow for photo browsing, so I use BreezeBrowser to go through image folders and quickly delete out of focus or black shots. I also use Breezebrowser for resizing and watermarking photos.

 

Cheers

James