Editing Programs

[AlejandroHernandez]

If you want to do extreme retouching and all that stuff and even color correction i'd say Photoshop CS3. You'll have everything in that. The first time you use it you'll be like "what is this? where do i start?" but look for tutorials online and you'll learn a lot. I did.

 

[usayit]

I'm also very surprised at all the votes for lightroom... read... "extreme beginner"... Going a little off the deep end aren't we?

There are ssssoooooooOOOoooo many options in life other than always getting the best/most expensive.

 

[ricepudding]

Bah! OK, so I read it wrong.:blushing: Yes, I do know what RAM hungry is. I just got Capture NX today in the mail and can't run the thing.......now I need to spend another $100 on memory. Maybe I should've popped for PS...................I thought the laptop I bought in '05 would run the program. My God! It was working earlier in the day but now freezing up every time I try to edit a pic. First I thought buying the camera was expensive, then was suprised that photo editing was a MUST and had to spend more on the software.....now I need memory to run the software....am I repeating myself? Poor and frustrated that I can't do anything with my pics.

Not sure what RAW hungry is... but RAM hungry is pretty self explanatory.

 

[Rock]

I would say Elements for cost and a great starting point. I use Lightroom and CS3 but at $300 for LR and $650 TO $999 for CS3 regular or Extended, it might not be the most cost effective to start with.

There is Gimp2 and that is free and not a bad program as well.....

 

[RacePhoto]

I have the following on various computers:
Elements 3
Elements 5
Photoshop 6
CS2
JASC paint shop pro 8 (does GIF animations!)
Corel 9
Irfanview
all kinds of things called Photo Suite that came free with CDs.

I find myself clicking on Elements 5 and most comfortable with it. Price is right, $85 maybe less if you shop around, and it does everything I need to do. (probably because I don't understand or need all the power of CS2!)

Quick and dirty, for web and basic editing, IrfanView. Free Download

GIMP is free, I haven't had the urge to try it yet.

Never tried Lightroom, so I'd be wrong to ignore it. However over $200

My vote goes to Elements 5 :thumbup: Under $100!

 

[Chris of Arabia]

I'd say go for PSE5 as well. Not only does it do the majority of what you would want to do from a photo editing perspective, it also has a competant photo library management tool in the built in Organiser. Start looking at the Lightrooms and CS3's when you know you've outstripped the capabilities of Elements. As an extreme beginner, you can expect that to be a little way off yet.

 

[itoncool]

I used Picasa 2, and happy with that... Then, I tried Lightroom and Capture NX...

Capture NX is awesome for NEF (Nikon RAW), I receive best pictures from NX, but IMHO it's not for beginner, slow, and not easy to understand the function, you can consider this program if you already know what you want. I only use it for project. I can't wait to see the newer version 1.3.

Lightroom is easier to understand, faster, I don't need to talk more since others already did that, but you can receive great result from LR too. Even though not as good as NX for NEF. I use it for daily purpose, and organizing.

I never use Picasa 2 ever since... but, it's a good program, you can do post processing for FREE.

I'm planning to go with MAC in a short time, and I really curious with Aperture.

 

[Mike_E]

I'd suggest that you try the free ones first, If for no other reason than to get an idea of what you really want in the program you wind up buying.

Asking which photo editing program is best is like asking people which ice cream is best- some have better ingredients than others but it is still in the end a personal choice.