Need recommendations for post-processing software


aaron80

Senior Member
Mar 29, 2006
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Hi guys, I need your advices. I have been taking pictures for a couple of years but have never really learn how to do proper PP. The only thing I know how to do is to cropping and brightness/contrast adjustments using Fastone Image Viewer or Pentax Camera Utility. Sad to say I dun really know how to use Photoshop and never use any noise-reduction softwares before.

I want to start learning PP and to be able to do basic PP on my pics. For a PP newbie like me, what software do you recommend me to get? I think Adobe CS5 is out of the question as it is really too expensive. I heard Adobe Lightroom 3 is pretty good but I dunno how much is it..

Are there student editions of popular PP softwares available outside? My budget is below $200..
 

LR3 is a good start, in fact if you don't need layers and major editing, its all you need, but i dun think there is a education version for this...

CS5 there is education version, do a search in CS you can find it here... think its $138 or $128... You can use bridge and CS5 together... With CS5, the camera raw is more or less = LR3 since most of the functions can be found. I not sure mask and GND functions can be found on camera raw but with CS5 it should be taken care if you need it...

Elements is another option but i will go for CS5 straight away...

there is also CaptureOne... the non-pro version is 100 plus i think, its one of the best raw converters but i find it to be quite slow,there should have a Christmas offer soon which is about 15% off i think...
 

How about GIMP? It's free and has most of PS functions. Just a matter of finding the appropriate plug-ins.

I did try it for a bit and works quite well. Trouble is, I'm too comfortable with LR + CS workflow.
 

Thanks for the recommendations bro! I dun need layers and major editing. I want something easier to use, LR3 sounds like it is easier to use than CS5? Do you know how much it is retailing in Singapore? Is it much more expensive than the CS5 Educational Version which is $119?

LR3 is a good start, in fact if you don't need layers and major editing, its all you need, but i dun think there is a education version for this...

CS5 there is education version, do a search in CS you can find it here... think its $138 or $128... You can use bridge and CS5 together... With CS5, the camera raw is more or less = LR3 since most of the functions can be found. I not sure mask and GND functions can be found on camera raw but with CS5 it should be taken care if you need it...

Elements is another option but i will go for CS5 straight away...

there is also CaptureOne... the non-pro version is 100 plus i think, its one of the best raw converters but i find it to be quite slow,there should have a Christmas offer soon which is about 15% off i think...

What is GIMP bro? Is it easy to use?

How about GIMP? It's free and has most of PS functions. Just a matter of finding the appropriate plug-ins.

I did try it for a bit and works quite well. Trouble is, I'm too comfortable with LR + CS workflow.


Thanks for the link bro! $119 for CS5 is quite cheap!:)

 

Thanks for the recommendations bro! I dun need layers and major editing. I want something easier to use, LR3 sounds like it is easier to use than CS5? Do you know how much it is retailing in Singapore? Is it much more expensive than the CS5 Educational Version which is $119?

LR3 is more expensive than $119... :bsmilie: i think they stop having edu version of LR...

online its USD299, i dunno retail here is selling how much... i got the upgrade version, which is more expensive than CS5 edu version...:bsmilie:

LR3 is easier to use than CS5, but CS5 is cheaper... so you figure it out...:bsmilie:

GIMP is good but you have to wonder why most pros out there is using CS5 than GIMP...

Just use CS5 + brigde...
There are 30 days trial for LR3 which you can try first b4 deciding...
 

GIMP is good, probably the best that you can get which is totally free of charge. It doesn't come with a RAW converter though, so you will need another utility (e.g. ufraw) to do the conversion. The reason most professionals use Photoshop is because they can afford it and it's the most marketed and well known photo editing software out there, kind of like why most professionals use Canon or Nikon. You just "can't go wrong" with PS or LR, since so many other people are using it.

However, there are other good alternatives out there. I used to use LR2 but then I switched to Bibble 5 and immediately fell in love with that, my whole workflow just feels so natural with Bibble 5, so I never looked back at any Adobe products again. You might want to give that a go too: http://bibblelabs.com/products/bibble5/
 

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I found Lightroom very easy to use. You can download a full featured trial from adobe's website to help with your decision.
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_lightroom

I thought that there wasn't a student edition for Lightroom, but amazon tells otherwise:
http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photosh...eacher/dp/B003Q81EL2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

You can purchase a student edition in Singapore too.
 

I use Picasa and Paint.net
Both are free.

Picasa offers very easy navigation, cataloging, viewing and editing. Good enough for the typical 30sec adjustments I need for most daily shots.
Main drawback is the lack of a curve tool, NR and good sharpening.

Paint.net may seem simple at first, but it is quite powerful once the plugins are installed. It works well with Picasa. On Picasa, just right click > Open with > Paint.net
Main drawbacks are the JPG only and no 3rd party plugins.
All plug-ins are free (therefore no 3rd party ones)
 

I use Picasa and Paint.net
Both are free.

Picasa offers very easy navigation, cataloging, viewing and editing. Good enough for the typical 30sec adjustments I need for most daily shots.
Main drawback is the lack of a curve tool, NR and good sharpening.

Paint.net may seem simple at first, but it is quite powerful once the plugins are installed. It works well with Picasa. On Picasa, just right click > Open with > Paint.net
Main drawbacks are the JPG only and no 3rd party plugins.
All plug-ins are free (therefore no 3rd party ones)

I think high time for you to invest and upgrade to a better software suite. The new CS5/LR3 now support 64-bit. A lot more possibilities and you can really get the best out of the K-5 RAW output.
Dead easy and very quick to use. Seriously, stop wasting your time with the free/shareware PP software.
Adobe CS5 Design/Web Premium Edu version at S$119 is a no-brainer.
 

I think high time for you to invest and upgrade to a better software suite. The new CS5/LR3 now support 64-bit. A lot more possibilities and you can really get the best out of the K-5 RAW output.
Dead easy and very quick to use. Seriously, stop wasting your time with the free/shareware PP software.
Adobe CS5 Design/Web Premium Edu version at S$119 is a no-brainer.

With the 14bit RAW and NR advantages, I'm seriously considering :think:
 

I see.. I will go take a look at the LR3 Student Edition that felixcat8888 mentioned 1st. If dun have or too expensive, I will get the CS5 Student Edition.:)

Part of CS5, a managing tool to manage(sort, rate, rename etc) your photos... Work hand in hand together with the rest of the CS5 package.
 

do let me know if there's a LR3 student price at funan. interested to get one as well.