Editing Software

cmaag · Nov 15, 2011

Hi,

I'm new to photography. Just started learning how to use my first DSLR in the past month.

What is your recommendation for editing software for RAW images on a mac?

First I was thinking I should get Photoshop CS5 and learn how to use that but then I saw some reviews on Amazon saying Photoshop Elements is sufficient. I am primarily doing this as a hobby to take pictures of my pets and first baby due in February. But I do love to learn things (especially on the computer) so I don't want to invest $100 on software I'll be over in a few months, if that makes sense.

I would truly appreciate any thoughts/insights/recommendations on editing software that you can share! Thanks!

MTVision · Nov 15, 2011

Elements will take longer than a month to figure out. There is so much you can do with it. Most people will never need/use the full capabilities of photoshop.

PBSNature · Nov 15, 2011

I personally use Photoshop CS5 and I love it. However I have been using photoshop for years now on other things other than editing Raw image files. Elements is a great choice for someone just starting to get into it and will allow you to tweak and edit what you need without issues. You can also look into GIMP which is free and Open Source. I supports a lot of different formats and can have many plug-ins installed to increase its functionality. It is a close competitor to photoshop in many aspects and sometimes surpasses it. You can load custom brushes even in photoshop format to be used and all kinds of stuff. Personally I haven't tried editing Raw files in GIMP but I have heard of others doing it. Its also lightweight and small so it won't take up a lot of computer space and can even be put on a USB drive and used as a portable application on the go for editing your photo's. I use Portableapps to do this as they have GIMP and other graphics programs already there and optimized for portability. Hope this helped some.

KmH · Nov 15, 2011

cmaag said:
Hi,

I'm new to photography. Just started learning how to use my first DSLR in the past month.

What is your recommendation for editing software for RAW images on a mac?

First I was thinking I should get Photoshop CS5 and learn how to use that but then I saw some reviews on Amazon saying Photoshop Elements is sufficient. I am primarily doing this as a hobby to take pictures of my pets and first baby due in February. But I do love to learn things (especially on the computer) so I don't want to invest $100 on software I'll be over in a few months, if that makes sense.

I would truly appreciate any thoughts/insights/recommendations on editing software that you can share! Thanks!

Only part of Photoshop Elements can be used to edit Raw image data files.

That part is called Camera Raw. Camera Raw's full name is Adobe Camera Raw or ACR. The version of ACR in Elements is a de-featured version, and Elements regular workspace is also de-featured to justify the greatly reduced price of the consumer grade Photoshop Elements compared to the professional grade Photoshop CS5.

As mentioned, Photosho Elements is a consumer version and is no where close to being sufficient for anyone needed a complete image editing application.

Photoshop Elements has about 30% of CS5's editing capabilities.

MLeeK · Nov 15, 2011

Elements is an IMPRESSIVE tool that will serve you very well for a very long time. When it's time to upgrade then if you really want to go to CS you can, but chances are Elements will do what you need it to do and more.

KmH · Nov 15, 2011

For editing Raw image data files, which the OP specifically mentioned, Elements is far less than IMPRESSIVE.

If you're considering Photoshop Elements I'd recommend you also consider the comparably impressive, but free, GIMP or Photoscape. GIMP's Raw plug-in is the free UFRaw.

Elements biggest shortcomings are not being able to do 16-bit edits, plus its limited masking, selection, and layering capablilites.

You could also consider Corel's Paint Shop Pro X4 ultimate for $50 Corel PaintShop Pro X4 Ultimate

WesternGuy · Nov 15, 2011

Why don't you download Photoshop Elements from the Adobe web site and try it for a month and see if you like it - you can do this at no cost to you and then if you like it you can buy it. You can also download Adobe Camera Raw (its free) in conjuction with Elements. If you decide to buy elements, shop around, often places like Costco have better prices than Adobe. I would advise against trying to implement and use Photoshop CS5 as your first editor, the learning curve is very long and using CS5 for simple editing is, in my opinion, like using a sledge hammer to drive finishing nails - it (CS5) has over 500 menu commands alone - Elements has a shorter learning curve and you can probably be up and using it in a few days, granted the more sophisticated tasks take a little longer to learn, but there are lots of helping sites out there on the web, e.g., Elements Village - Powered by vBulletin, which is part of a larger site here: Photoshop Elements Techniques, Tutorials, Downloads, Video Tips, Newsletter and more - Photoshop Elements User. If you decide to go with Elements, then get a good book and work through the exercises in it. Alternatively, local colleges sometimes offer evening or weekend courses in Elements that will get you up and running fairly quickly.

There is always Lightroom, which is fully fledged raw image editor, combined with an excellent asset management Library facility that will allow you to keep track of your images using key words. It also has web, slide show and printing modules if you decide that you want to go in that direction. It is, however, a bit more than $100.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

thierry · Nov 16, 2011

I would hands down go with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom it is amazing.. Honestly I use it for everything i need.. It is always good to have a photoshop cs5 on hand, however it is hard to learn to use and takes a lot of time..

SCraig · Nov 16, 2011

KmH said:
... You could also consider Corel's Paint Shop Pro X4 ultimate for $50 Corel PaintShop Pro X4 Ultimate

I don't know how it handles Canon RAW format nor do I know if they have improved it in X4. I have X3 and had X2 before this and both versions left a bit to be desired when decoding Nikon RAW files. I use it for occasional cloning and putting a signature on my photos using a script, but that's really about all I use it for. They do have a 30-day demo though so trying it out costs nothing.