12 replies to this topic

[johna]

Hi

Having just invested in my first DSLR (PenatxK200D) I am wondering what software to purchase. I have the option of shooting raw files so would wnat something to deal with these. If I purchased Elements 6 would that be all I needed to deal with Raw + JPEG. I do not want to spend loads of money if I dont need to. I have been bombarded with ideas from other photographers about should get, Silkypix, Lightroom, not bother with any just use free downloads etc.. What advise can anyonye offer me please, ideally I would like one package that will be capable of working with JPEG and Raw.

Regards

Johna

[markgoldstein]

Johna, if you can afford it and you don't mind spending some time learning the ropes, than I'd advise buying Adobe Lightroom, or Apple Aperture on a Mac. These programs are aimed at the keen photographer and are quickly becoming the de facto standard, so time spent getting to grips with one of them will be a wise investment.

[johna]

Johna, if you can afford it and you don't mind spending some time learning the ropes, than I'd advise buying Adobe Lightroom, or Apple Aperture on a Mac. These programs are aimed at the keen photographer and are quickly becoming the de facto standard, so time spent getting to grips with one of them will be a wise investment.

Thanks Mark. Do you think this is a better option than PS elemnets?

[markgoldstein]

If you are going to mainly shoot in RAW mode, then yes.

[donmac]

You can download a free 1 month trial Beta version of Adobe Lightroom 2.0 from the following site.

https://www.adobe.co.....bs_lightroom2

Try before you buy.
Rgds
Don

[markgoldstein]

I forgot about that, well pointed out Don!

There's also a trial version of Photo Elements:
http://www.adobe.com.../?promoid=BPCXA

and Apple Aperture:
http://www.apple.com/aperture/trial/

Now all you need to do is find some time to test them all out!

[Nigel C Young]

Hi, Johna,

Email me at nigelcyoung@aol.com for some advice before you go putting your hand in your pocket.

[Digital SnapHappy]

Hi - I use PS7 - and the Adobe site suggests that anything less than CS2 cannot use the RAW plug-in? Is there any workaround to make PS7 use RAW?

[Nigel C Young]

Hi,

Go here to download Rawshooter Essentials:

http://www.download....cdlPid=10518796

Once converted, edit away in PS7.

[chappo1]

Do Pentax not supply a raw converter as part of the package..... After a morning's shoot a few weeks back I discovered that I had not put the camera settings back to daylight from fluoro so I had to do a crash course in raw conversion...The Sony software supplied with my A700 does a fantastic job in my opinion...Probably not much use to you but surely Pentax will offer one....john

[Stuart M0SJV]

Hi,
I use photoshop elements6 and shoot all of my shots in raw mode, from a pentax 1stds and to be perfectly honest I find I donot need the extra complication of light room, I did try bothe before I purchased elements so as a user of elements I think it would probably suit your needs adequatly.,

Stuart m0sjv

[Mr. Robb]

I just started using ACDSee Pro 2 and it's fantastic! See site and check it out (free trial) http://www.acdsee.com/
It was on sale when I got it, but it's worth the list price too. What I like is the speed of the workflow starting with a great image viewer/organizer. This application can be used alone or as a supplement to image editing tools like Photoshop Elements. It's a workflow manager (capture/organize/view/edit/print/archive) that includes most of the editing functions that you will ever need, perfect for a newbie. Plus it works with just about any file format you might have. And the powerful database feature for organizing files and viewing EXIF data is the best I have seen. It's important to get started on the right foot with organizing your photos with a new SLR because it is so easy to pile them up hundreds at a time. If you add Elements of another editor later, ACDSee can still be your front end that will jump to another editing program with just a click on the menu, so you keep your files organized in one application regardless of which additional tools you use. Have fun !!

[Allan Cass]

check this our
Visual Similarity Duplicate Image Finder

I just started using ACDSee Pro 2 and it's fantastic! See site and check it out (free trial) http://www.acdsee.com/
It was on sale when I got it, but it's worth the list price too. What I like is the speed of the workflow starting with a great image viewer/organizer. This application can be used alone or as a supplement to image editing tools like Photoshop Elements. It's a workflow manager (capture/organize/view/edit/print/archive) that includes most of the editing functions that you will ever need, perfect for a newbie. Plus it works with just about any file format you might have. And the powerful database feature for organizing files and viewing EXIF data is the best I have seen. It's important to get started on the right foot with organizing your photos with a new SLR because it is so easy to pile them up hundreds at a time. If you add Elements of another editor later, ACDSee can still be your front end that will jump to another editing program with just a click on the menu, so you keep your files organized in one application regardless of which additional tools you use. Have fun !!