I'm trying to figure out which editing program(s) to get.
Until I started looking at things, I thought adobe elements 5.0 would be fine for me as I could work with raw which I want to start shooting.
Now there's a thread on lightroom and I'm confused about what it does as it seems you use it and then use cs or something else.
Then there's the talk about rawshooter and other programs for raw files.
I've tried to find something that compares and gives features of the different programs but all the information is aimed at people that already know what the programs do or don't do.

I've only used elements 2 and recently elements 5.0 which seemed like it was good but then I read that it doesn't do well with the nikon raw files. I had a trial of capture nx but the images didn't look any better there to my untrained eye.
If it makes a difference I'm shooting with a nikon d80.

I would appreciate any info that can help me sort it out or even a link/site that can do so.
I'm not sure right now how much I'd be willing to spend but $300 would be pushing it and I'd sure rather spend less.

Well since $300 probably eliminates Photoshop CS2 which is $700+ in Canada and still probably more than $300 in the U.S., I would suggest you download a tryout copy of Corel Paint Shop Pro X1 which is probably between $100 and $200 american.

If you have used Elements or Photoshop, you will find that this program is very similar and easy to learn and use. The magic wand, selection tools, layers, adjustments, effects, colour, noise and sharpness management etc., they are all there. There is even a video tutorial on the disk for extra assistance.

Ronnoco

Thankyou, Ronnoco.
I'll give both of them a try.

If by chance you are a student, you could get PS at an educational discount, but you're not allowed to use the software to make money.

Going that route you can get it for around $200-$300 or so.

I tried Elements 5 and became very annoyed. It is big, slow, clunky and overloaded with buttons and panels. Very disappointing.

I would suggest that you look at Picture Window Pro, an editing application based specifically on photography. I now have version 4 and it is fantastic. It's about $89 for new users. It works differently than PhotoShop so there is a large learning curve. Once you get used to it you'll never go back.

Of the PhotoShop wannabes, Paint Shop Pro is excellent. Corel bought out the company and has avidly kept developing it. It is also under $100 and does everything you need.

Don't get trapped in the bottomless pit of "PhotoShop is better." For the vast majority of people on this board, it is very expensive overkill.

Picture Window Pro 4 is indeed a very worthy alternative to Photoshop. It does require you know what you are doing and as mwfanelli stated, the interface is quite different and thus it is not an easy quick program. I use it on a notebook with some regularity.

There's another interesting contender, and that is ULEAD's Photo Impact 12. It even has HDR capabilities. The RAW converter segment is very similar in many way to Adobe Photoshop and its RAW capability. This program has an interface that though highly customizable, is almost obscure at places. Lots of Right-click options and pulldown menus and icon menus and wizard menus have different content in some cases. Lots of wizard capability that can be easily re-paramaterized. Plus a lots of gimmick for those that want them.

The program seems to have great power and for $50 is worth buying. There's a fully functional 30 day free trial the the ulead web site:

www.ulead.com

Happy editing!

Thankyou everyone!
I'm now wondering if it might be good idea to get both adobe and paintshop.
Is it feasable to transfer photos back and forth to use the best of each?
Editing is my area of least knowledge and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Re: the discussion on darkroom.....I keep reading about it and no where does it actually say what it does that the photoshop or paintshop don't do.

Thankyou everyone!
I'm now wondering if it might be good idea to get both adobe and paintshop.
Is it feasable to transfer photos back and forth to use the best of each?
Editing is my area of least knowledge and I have a lot of catching up to do..

Yes, I go back and forth between Adobe and PaintShop all the time. Even separately purchased, or downloaded plug-ins work equally well in both programs. Some procedures are faster in PaintShop while others may be easier in PhotoShop.

Ronnoco

Yes, I go back and forth between Adobe and PaintShop all the time. Even separately purchased, or downloaded plug-ins work equally well in both programs. Some procedures are faster in PaintShop while others may be easier in PhotoShop.

Ronnoco
Ron,

How do upload PS plug ins into PSP X? or did I misundertsand what you wrote?

Roger

Ron,

How do upload PS plug ins into PSP X? or did I misundertsand what you wrote?

Roger

When you install PSP X, there is a plug-ins folder. You just copy your plug-ins into that folder and you are all set. In the menu however, unlike Photoshop, it is under EFFECTS towards the bottom of the pull down and out to the right.

Ron

Here's some food for thought Frog. Current scuttlebutt puts the unveiling of Adobe Photoshop CS3 somewhere around April 2007 (beginning of the second quarter). I'm guessing all of those suddenly obsolete copies of CS2 that are still on the shelves will be going for bargain-basement prices. Could be wrong though.

Joe.

Here's some food for thought Frog. Current scuttlebutt puts the unveiling of Adobe Photoshop CS3 somewhere around April 2007 (beginning of the second quarter). I'm guessing all of those suddenly obsolete copies of CS2 that are still on the shelves will be going for bargain-basement prices. Could be wrong though.

Joe.

Photoshop CS3 is probably more oriented to 64 bit, dual core, 1 gig of memory or more and perhaps Windows Vista.

Ronnoco

Photoshop CS3 is probably more oriented to 64 bit, dual core, 1 gig of memory or more and perhaps Windows Vista.

Ronnoco

As Betas are generally pre-releases of software, I highly doubt the requirements will change from what is listed below.

From Adobe.Com (http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/photoshopcs3/)


System Requirements

The minimum system requirements for the Photoshop CS3 beta are listed below.
Macintosh

* PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel based Macintosh processor
* Mac OS X v.10.4.8
* 320MB of RAM (512MB recommended)
* 64MB of video RAM
* 1.5GB of available hard-disk space
* 1,024x768 monitor resolution with 16-bit video card
* DVD-ROM drive
* Internet or phone connection required for product activation
* QuickTime 7 software required for multimedia features

Windows

* Intel Pentium 4, Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon, or Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor
* Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista
* 320MB of RAM (512MB recommended)
* 64MB of video RAM
* 650MB of available hard-disk space
* 1,024x768 monitor resolution with 16-bit video card
* DVD-ROM drive
* Internet or phone connection required for product activation
* QuickTime 7 software required for multimedia features

Picture Window Pro 4 is indeed a very worthy alternative to Photoshop. It does require you know what you are doing and as mwfanelli stated, the interface is quite different and thus it is not an easy quick program. I use it on a notebook with some regularity.

There's another interesting contender, and that is ULEAD's Photo Impact 12. It even has HDR capabilities. The RAW converter segment is very similar in many way to Adobe Photoshop and its RAW capability. This program has an interface that though highly customizable, is almost obscure at places. Lots of Right-click options and pulldown menus and icon menus and wizard menus have different content in some cases. Lots of wizard capability that can be easily re-paramaterized. Plus a lots of gimmick for those that want them.

The program seems to have great power and for $50 is worth buying. There's a fully functional 30 day free trial the the ulead web site:

www.ulead.com

Happy editing!

I have Paint Shop Pro (actualy verison 7) and it's a very good option. I've tested the PSP XI trial version and it's a good one also, but the menu is very different. I prefered the pre-X image browsing windows to the current one, though.

Also just tested Uleads Photo Impact and I think that's a pretty nice contender, half the price for PSP.

Also, Microsoft Digital Image Editor is a good option for begginers (and not so begginers). It has a lot of photo manipulating tools, but no layering.

As Betas are generally pre-releases of software, I highly doubt the requirements will change from what is listed below.

From Adobe.Com (http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/photoshopcs3/)

The general consensus from magazines that are playing around with the betas on PCs is that 1 gig of ram is really needed to run Vista with all its features efficiently and although systems at stores with integrated graphics are sometimes labelled as Vista Ready, the visual features of Vista require a separate graphics card with good speed and memory. Testing on cheaper PCs specifically with minimum requirements showed that Vista ran slower than XP for many standard apps. and popular games.

Ronnoco

Oops! Got totally sidetracked. It has been a long day. Ignore!

Ronnoco

Lightzone is also a nice alternative to Photoshop. I've been playing with it and there are some nice features that I really like.

Mark

Have you looked at the plug-ins available for Photoshop and PaintShop Pro? Sometimes the plug-ins make the main program worth purchasing and easier to use.

Ronnoco

How bad is the GIMP? I've never really used it much but it seems to have a lot for a free program. Also I have a program called ACDSee on my computer. For simple stuff I really like it a lot. It's also a great picture viewer.

GIMP is too good