Help me pick a editing program for my Mac.

[OLDSKEWL]

Right now I have been using View NX2 and it is a little iffy running on Mac OS (Mountain Lion) I have been pretty happy with it except for the problems with running it on my OS.
What I am looking for us something I can do a little more with, such as touching up portraits, cloning out objects, making watermarks, etc. I need for it to be able to process Nikon RAW files (NEF)
This program needs to run on my basic edition MacBook 13 Air.
What are my best options?

 

[runnah]

1. Photoshop
2. Photoshop elements
3. Gimp

 

[ChrisedwardsHT]

Photoshop Elements is good if you don't wanna spend a wad of cash on CS6. Also checkout Lightroom. I just got it and I'm seeming to like it.

EDIT: Lightroom may not be able to do everything you are wanting.. Like I said, I just got it and I'm not 100% sure what it is ALL capable of.

 

[MLeeK]

Well, first the Mac Rep himself told me that a macbook Air is NOT good for a photographer's editing needs and program demands. That's not what they're designed for. SO, that may be why you are having a problem with the raw editor and it may be something you can't avoid. It's been a good year since I asked and I can't remember what he explained to me, but the jist of it was that it'd be slow.

SO... Give that some consideration when you are frustrated with how it runs on there.

You are either going to want Photoshop CS6 or Photoshop Elements at the very least. Elements has a bit of a stripped down version of the raw editor.
Honestly, for Nikon files you REALLY want Nikon's CaptureNX(whatever version) It is designed by Nikon for Nikon's proprietary software and really and truly is better for the processing of Nikon Raw files. It's better than their ViewNX2 by far. Combining that with Elements would be rather powerful.

 

[OLDSKEWL]

Well, first the Mac Rep himself told me that a macbook Air is NOT good for a photographer's editing needs and program demands. That's not what they're designed for. SO, that may be why you are having a problem with the raw editor and it may be something you can't avoid. It's been a good year since I asked and I can't remember what he explained to me, but the jist of it was that it'd be slow.

SO... Give that some consideration when you are frustrated with how it runs on there.

You are either going to want Photoshop CS6 or Photoshop Elements at the very least. Elements has a bit of a stripped down version of the raw editor.
Honestly, for Nikon files you REALLY want Nikon's CaptureNX(whatever version) It is designed by Nikon for Nikon's proprietary software and really and truly is better for the processing of Nikon Raw files. It's better than their ViewNX2 by far. Combining that with Elements would be rather powerful.

The problem I had with View NX2 was that the version I had was not compatible with Mountain Lion OS. I uninstalled and then reinstalled an updated version so we will just see if it goes down again.
Can Elements do all the tasks I mentioned? If so I could process RAW with NX2 and then send the work to Elements.
I have been considering LR4 but I'm not sure how intensive the editing tools are. From what I gather its more of a library manager than a editor?

 

[MLeeK]

Well, first the Mac Rep himself told me that a macbook Air is NOT good for a photographer's editing needs and program demands. That's not what they're designed for. SO, that may be why you are having a problem with the raw editor and it may be something you can't avoid. It's been a good year since I asked and I can't remember what he explained to me, but the jist of it was that it'd be slow.

SO... Give that some consideration when you are frustrated with how it runs on there.


You are either going to want Photoshop CS6 or Photoshop Elements at the very least. Elements has a bit of a stripped down version of the raw editor.
Honestly, for Nikon files you REALLY want Nikon's CaptureNX(whatever version) It is designed by Nikon for Nikon's proprietary software and really and truly is better for the processing of Nikon Raw files. It's better than their ViewNX2 by far. Combining that with Elements would be rather powerful.

The problem I had with View NX2 was that the version I had was not compatible with Mountain Lion OS. I uninstalled and then reinstalled an updated version so we will just see if it goes down again.
Can Elements do all the tasks I mentioned? If so I could process RAW with NX2 and then send the work to Elements.
I have been considering LR4 but I'm not sure how intensive the editing tools are. From what I gather its more of a library manager than a editor?

LR's power is in cataloging and raw processing and it's definitely amazing, however CaptureNX2 (NOT ViewNX2) is even better with processing Nikon files.

LR is the same engine in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw which is part of Photoshop CS6.

If you have a student (ANY student) that you can use to purchase CS6 or LR the price is significantly lower and much easier to swallow. If it weren't for the student discounts I wouldn't be upgrading every time a new version came out... I'd probably still be on about CS3 if I were lucky! Same goes for LR.

Elements will allow you to do the cloning and editing part of your wish list.

 

[OLDSKEWL]

Well, first the Mac Rep himself told me that a macbook Air is NOT good for a photographer's editing needs and program demands. That's not what they're designed for. SO, that may be why you are having a problem with the raw editor and it may be something you can't avoid. It's been a good year since I asked and I can't remember what he explained to me, but the jist of it was that it'd be slow.

SO... Give that some consideration when you are frustrated with how it runs on there.
You are either going to want Photoshop CS6 or Photoshop Elements at the very least. Elements has a bit of a stripped down version of the raw editor.
Honestly, for Nikon files you REALLY want Nikon's CaptureNX(whatever version) It is designed by Nikon for Nikon's proprietary software and really and truly is better for the processing of Nikon Raw files. It's better than their ViewNX2 by far. Combining that with Elements would be rather powerful.

The problem I had with View NX2 was that the version I had was not compatible with Mountain Lion OS. I uninstalled and then reinstalled an updated version so we will just see if it goes down again.
Can Elements do all the tasks I mentioned? If so I could process RAW with NX2 and then send the work to Elements.
I have been considering LR4 but I'm not sure how intensive the editing tools are. From what I gather its more of a library manager than a editor?

LR's power is in cataloging and raw processing and it's definitely amazing, however CaptureNX2 (NOT ViewNX2) is even better with processing Nikon files.

LR is the same engine in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw which is part of Photoshop CS6.

If you have a student (ANY student) that you can use to purchase CS6 or LR the price is significantly lower and much easier to swallow. If it weren't for the student discounts I wouldn't be upgrading every time a new version came out... I'd probably still be on about CS3 if I were lucky! Same goes for LR.

Hmmm, yeah, I'm looking at Capture NX2 right now and it looks like what I need. Now I just need to find out if it will run on Mountain Lion OS ok. hahaha, I hate to admit it, but I just now realized Capture NX2 and View NX2 were different programs.

 

[MLeeK]

The problem I had with View NX2 was that the version I had was not compatible with Mountain Lion OS. I uninstalled and then reinstalled an updated version so we will just see if it goes down again.
Can Elements do all the tasks I mentioned? If so I could process RAW with NX2 and then send the work to Elements.
I have been considering LR4 but I'm not sure how intensive the editing tools are. From what I gather its more of a library manager than a editor?

LR's power is in cataloging and raw processing and it's definitely amazing, however CaptureNX2 (NOT ViewNX2) is even better with processing Nikon files.

LR is the same engine in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw which is part of Photoshop CS6.

If you have a student (ANY student) that you can use to purchase CS6 or LR the price is significantly lower and much easier to swallow. If it weren't for the student discounts I wouldn't be upgrading every time a new version came out... I'd probably still be on about CS3 if I were lucky! Same goes for LR.

Hmmm, yeah, I'm looking at Capture NX2 right now and it looks like what I need. Now I just need to find out if it will run on Mountain Lion OS ok. hahaha, I hate to admit it, but I just now realized Capture NX2 and View NX2 were different programs.

You're not alone. A LOT of nikon shooters don't know much about Capture unless someone has told them about it! I wish Canon had something equal in power for raw processing!

 

[unpopular]

Check out Photoline32. The GUI is kind of weird, but it can do many things photoshop can't. Also, Raw Photo Processor (RPP) is not for everyone, but in my opinion it's the best, most accurate and highest resolution RAW processor available. Don't let the minimal GUI fool you, you have more direct access to the raw data than anything else, without the layer of BS that other less technical processors possess. It can also be integrated with Lightroom.

 

[panblue]

Google Photivo. Open-source.

 

[unpopular]

I tried Photoivo. I was really excited about it but the previews are not accurate.

Is Faststone available on Mac?

 

[panblue]

I tried Photoivo. I was really excited about it but the previews are not accurate.

Is Faststone available on Mac?

I jus checked, there isn't a ML OS install at the moment.


What do you mean the previews are not accurate?

 

[unpopular]

Like I'd make a bunch of killer edits, and then go to submit them to a tiff at final size, and they're completely wrong. Many of the most interesting features are size-dependent, but they don't scale the controls accordingly. It's fine if you do everything at web-size, but if you want to make a print it's either going to not look the same, or every edit is going to take forever to get any feedback.

 

[KmH]

Can Elements do all the tasks I mentioned? If so I could process RAW with NX2 and then send the work to Elements.

Just 8 threads down the page - http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/graphics-programs-photo-gallery/305212-pse10-vs-pse11.html

Yes, though PsE 11 includes a Raw converter of it's own - ACR (Adobe Camera Raw), which is a consumerized version of the ACR used by Lightroom, and CS 6.

 

[unpopular]

PSE is WAY overpriced IMO ... last I knew, it doesn't even support 16-bit/ch. If you're thinking PSE, certainly check out Photoline.

I mean unless "Create tilt-shift, vignette, high-key, and low-key effects" is what you're really after. But PSE has always struck me more as a toy.