Can't afford PS

[luvmyfamily]

Photoshop and Lightroom are not for everyone. I actually didn't care for lightroom, maybe great for RAW photographers. Any recommendations on a good photo editing software that is user friendly at a good price. I have tried a few trial versions, like Corel paintshop Pro X4. Anyone use this? What do YOU use?? Thanks!

[TPF Sponsor]

[luvmyfamily]

matter of fact....doing good to afford FOOD this week until payday Friday! Gotta love that MORTGAGE!!

[Schwettylens]

Lightroom is probably best even for JPEG photographers... seriously... The price is not bad either.

[otherprof]

If you have a Mac, try Pixelmator, available only from the Apple Store, for about $30. It is designed to work with the Mac system. You can try it for 30 days to see how you like it. I've never used PS, but I find this program very comprehensive. You can do layers, etc. I work with JPEGs but it can also handle Raw.
otherprof

[luvmyfamily]

Lightroom is probably best even for JPEG photographers... seriously... The price is not bad either.

Thanks, but I must have spent 2 weeks playing with Lightroom, really trying to give it a good chance. It's ok, but I found oter software could do almost the same thing (not everything) Was hoping to hear what software others use.

[unpopular]

Photoline32 is better than The Gimp, but the UI can be kind of clunky.

If you're using a mac, people seem to be pretty happy with Pixelmator and Acorn. There is always PaintShop Pro on win.

[luvmyfamily]

If you have a Mac, try Pixelmator, available only from the Apple Store, for about $30. It is designed to work with the Mac system. You can try it for 30 days to see how you like it. I've never used PS, but I find this program very comprehensive. You can do layers, etc. I work with JPEGs but it can also handle Raw.
otherprof

Unfortunately, we my husband and I built this big house recently, money is a bit tight now and I do not have a MAC. Bummer....

[unpopular]

Try downloading the demo for Photoline32. It does almost everything you'd want to do with Photoshop (at least for photography), and some things it can't.

My grandparents built a custom home. There's the cost in building, then there's the cost in making it livable, then there's the cost of getting everything to work right. It's not a project for the weak willed for sure.

[luvmyfamily]

Try downloading the demo for Photoline32. It does almost everything you'd want to do with Photoshop (at least for photography), and some things it can't.

My grandparents built a custom home. There's the cost in building, then there's the cost in making it livable, then there's the cost of getting everything to work right. It's not a project for the weak willed for sure.

Thank you, will try.

[ann]

Corel Painter Pro, is very good. try ebay, for software, get one that has never been opened and can be registered. My students use this program a lot as they don't have a lot of money either.

There is also Photoscape, which is free and very slick.

[luvmyfamily]

Corel Painter Pro, is very good. try ebay, for software, get one that has never been opened and can be registered. My students use this program a lot as they don't have a lot of money either.

There is also Photoscape, which is free and very slick.

Thank you Ann...seems like I ran across Photoscape. Their are sooooo many out there.

[SCraig]

Corel Paintshop Pro X4 - Don't have X4 but I have X3. It has a lot of features and I use it for some things. Overall I prefer other software.

Corel Aftershot Pro - Formerly Bibble 5. Just got it today and haven't used it a lot. I tried the trial of Bibble and liked it but didn't care for the price. Corel has it down to $100 ($80 upgrade) so it was worth it to me. Very comprehensive editing software with a lot of experience behind it in Bibble.

DxO Optics Pro 7 - DxO has the largest database of lens correction data and that is a big feature of this software. It will automatically correct many lens problems automatically. Otherwise, while it is good software it is rather slow at times. Very good editing software and I do use it from time to time.

Nikon Capture NX2 - My main editing software. Once you get accustomed to it this software can do a lot.

Adobe Photoshop - Too expensive for my tastes. I just won't bring myself to spend $600+ for software.

Adobe Lightroom - Some love it, some hate it. I'm one of the latter group.

Gimp - I have it but haven't used it. The price is right: Free. And from what I understand it has a lot of capabilities.

[luvmyfamily]

Corel Paintshop Pro X4 - Don't have X4 but I have X3. It has a lot of features and I use it for some things. Overall I prefer other software.

Corel Aftershot Pro - Formerly Bibble 5. Just got it today and haven't used it a lot. I tried the trial of Bibble and liked it but didn't care for the price. Corel has it down to $100 ($80 upgrade) so it was worth it to me. Very comprehensive editing software with a lot of experience behind it in Bibble.

DxO Optics Pro 7 - DxO has the largest database of lens correction data and that is a big feature of this software. It will automatically correct many lens problems automatically. Otherwise, while it is good software it is rather slow at times. Very good editing software and I do use it from time to time.

Nikon Capture NX2 - My main editing software. Once you get accustomed to it this software can do a lot.

Adobe Photoshop - Too expensive for my tastes. I just won't bring myself to spend $600+ for software.

Adobe Lightroom - Some love it, some hate it. I'm one of the latter group.

Gimp - I have it but haven't used it. The price is right: Free. And from what I understand it has a lot of capabilities.

Thanks for taking the time to share. I have heard of all of those but DxO Optics pro 7. I have a Canon, so can't use the Nikon software. I'll check to see if DxO Optics Pro 7 has a trial version to try.....I am just exploring all of my options now.

[Hickeydog]

You might want to try the Canon software that came with your T3i. It won't do everything, but for basic post-processing, it does quite well.

[ann]

You can use Capture NX2 but not with your RAW files, but with jpeg's.

One advantage to this software is the Nik's use of control points.


The reality , there isn't any one perfect piece of software, just as there is no perfect camera. All have their pros and cons, limitations and advantages