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02/03/2009 03:15:24 PM · #1 |
So I'm taking up this new hobby, have my nikon d40x and stock lens (planning on buying the 18-200mm nikon af-s vr lens) and I'm wondering what software to get. I am new to this but am very tech savvy so don't need cookie cutter anything. If you ask me: what do you want the software for? I'm going to say: I don't know yet. I guess I'm looking for basic photo editing.
And I was wondering also, if I shoot in RAW mode can I use any of these programs to open/edit? I'm trying to learn as much as I can about technique, software, equipment etc.. (that's why I'm here!). I'm leaning towards Elements 7 since it's less than $100 but I am curious as to everyone's opinion on NX2 or Corel anything or anything else. Thanks guys. |
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02/03/2009 03:57:30 PM · #2 |
As one of the Lightroom evangelists around here, it's probably not a surprise I'd recommend LR first, before any version of Photoshop CS/Elements.
There are many threads in our forums discussing the differences between an LR vs. PS workflow. In essence, with LR, you'll have a fantastic organizational tool and RAW workflow application, which has "most" of the important photo editing capabilities of Photoshop CS/Elements. That "most" caveat is where things become arguable... Remember that LR is primarily a workflow/organization tool which does a little photo editing, while PS is a photo editor which does a little organization. Of course, you can get both and have the best of everything.
However, if you're new and starting out on a budget, I think your money is best spent on organizational tools like LR; if you starting using those up front, you'll save yourself a lot of "re-work" later, and can figure out from the start, what workflow works best for you.
Most people (I make a sweeping generalization here, so be careful if you believe this, but I think "most people" will back up this assertion) who have both LR and PS say that for "most" of their photos, they spend all their time in LR -- using PS less and less. (This, of course, is obviously not considering radical digital art or other "heavy processing" that only an editor like PS can do).
Anyway, many opinions will show up here; all are valuable -- choose what seems right for you. I'd recommend spending some money on LR first. Use a free tool like GIMP as your "back end" photo editor when/if you need it. Next software upgrade? PS Elements. Next software upgrade? PS CS4 Extended.
Only step up with you find you really need to; save the money for lenses.
Last LR plug -- you can try it free for 30 days; why not try it out and see what you think; if you decide it's not for you, nothing lost but the time it took to decide it's not what you wanted.
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02/03/2009 04:02:30 PM · #3 |
Elements is a good choice and you will find lots of others who use it and lots of support online. I use Corel Paintshop Pro and at this point have not come near it's limitations. It supports photoshop plugins, and normal shelf price is close to what Elements goes for. It can open RAW files, but I prefer to do that in the software that came with my camera, then use PSP for the final editing. I found my copy of PSP on sale for $40.
A plugin for noise reduction might be helpful eventually, but it is the kind of thing that you will realize when you start needing it.
Message edited by author 2009-02-03 16:04:19. |
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02/03/2009 04:26:11 PM · #4 |
cdrice thanks for the info. I will def get the free demo of lightroom, though 200+ was a little more than I wanted to spend on a first go (I still may be convinced). So if I understand this right, why would I need Elements if I just jumped right into LR? Seems like for organization LR has it covered and for editing go with GIMP and then eventually CS4.
I'm still curious as to anyone's experience with NX2, if it's a replacement for LR or PS or a complement.
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02/03/2009 05:33:57 PM · #5 |
I will be deciding the same myself soon.. as NX2's trial will be coming to an end. I also have a trial version of LightRoom, as well as Gimp. Personally, I feel Nikon's NX2 does most of the job for me.. Everything else that LightRoom has is extra overhead for an amateur like me. As of now, I am leaning towards getting a full license of NX2. I will update this thread on my decision when I do.
P.S. Lightroom crashed more than 6 times in past 1 month on me.. while NX2 is solid as a rock.. it just hung up twice I think.
ETA: Like  yospiff, I prefer to use the camera bundle SW to do RAW development too. Rarely do I feel the need to do anything extra.... and Gimp suffices in those times. The one thing I miss with NX2 (that Canon's DPP has) is a simple double click that would zoom in the image to 100%. It is so intuituve you dont realise it until you have used it once.
Message edited by author 2009-02-03 17:38:45. |
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02/03/2009 05:37:09 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Lockke:
cdrice thanks for the info. I will def get the free demo of lightroom, though 200+ was a little more than I wanted to spend on a first go (I still may be convinced). |
If you're any kind of student, check out Academic Superstore and see if they accept your credentials. If you can get it at a student price, you can save a lot of $$$ (same of other versions of PS also).
Originally posted by Lockke:
So if I understand this right, why would I need Elements if I just jumped right into LR? Seems like for organization LR has it covered and for editing go with GIMP and then eventually CS4. |
You would be fine for quite some time with LR alone. If you found you really, seriously, had to do some editing outside of LR's capability, you could use something free like GIMP. Some feel GIMP has matured enough to be a serious alternative to PS. If you really feel like you "need" it, then you can easily add PS Elements to your workflow.
The thing to remember about an LR workflow is that LR can use *any* editor as a back-end. PS CS, PS Elements, GIMP, NX, whatever. You'll find it has the best/easiest integration with other PS products, like PS CS4, but you can tie it together with anything.
Originally posted by Lockke:
I'm still curious as to anyone's experience with NX2, if it's a replacement for LR or PS or a complement. |
Bought it, have LR configured to edit with it (as an alternative to PS)... never use it.
I mean, I used it a few times to play with what it could do, but never found anything that I personally needed which I could not do with LR or PS.
I would equate it to a PS Elements alternative. It's organizational tools pale in comparison to LR. It's photo editing pales in comparison to PS. It has a few different bells and whistles, and it's main claim-to-fame is the "U-Point Technology" stuff... to which, I personally say "ummm, okay, so?"... but your mileage may vary, and you may think it's the best thing in the world.
Also, consider that tools like LR are vendor-independent (so you can seamlessly use the same workflow on Nikon RAW, Canon RAW, many-other-camera-RAW, any JPG/TIFF/PSD file, etc, etc, etc)... You might have a little more issue with doing that with NX, although I have to admit I haven't tried. There again, that may not be a concern for everyone, but personally I have no interest in "locking" myself into any one format or camera vendor, based on the tools I use to process photos.
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02/03/2009 07:51:14 PM · #7 |
cdrice you have been very helpful. Thanks for your time. I suppose the bottom line is I just get them all as demos and try them out, but it helps to have this framework. Downloading the LR2 demo now - unfortunately beyond the student stage but if it's great (and is stable) it won't be a deal breaker.
Prash, let me know what else you decide on, I will do the same. |
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02/04/2009 08:06:26 AM · #8 |
In regards to NX2- it's useful to an extent. I prefer it for small, light editing, because I feel that I can get things done faster.  cdrice mentioned the U-Point technology, which is convenient in that it's terribly easy to use. IMO, if you're somewhat techie, all you need to do is mess around with NX a bit and you already have figured out how things work. This is nice if you want to get things done and aren't already versed in the whole mask/layer technique of PS. I will also say that D-lighting is pretty useful for quickly and effectively helping out underexposed areas, with only one click and a slider bar for operation. If you're already familiar with PS use, many of these things will not seem useful though, because you can do them in PS just as well, but you just additional need clicks and more background know-how to accomplish it.
Capture came with my D300, so I didn't need to invest anything in it. Do I think it's useful? Definitely. Do I think it's worth the money? Well... maybe. Chances are, if I didn't get it for free, I would've just been forced to learn the PS approach, and been just as happy after spending the required time perusing tutorials and books and figuring out what I did and didn't need to know. It isn't woerth mudh as far as very advanced editing, so, at some point, you will need to learn the PS approach, anyway, but Capture provides a sort of bridge initially, enabling you to jump in and get things done quickly.
Note of caution: Make sure your system has a decent amount of RAM.The requirements only list 768mb as the "requirement" but don't think you'll be even remotely pleased with the performance of the program with that much RAM. I use 4GB (3.5 utilized (XP user)) and find it's performandce very zippy, but found certain tasks would make it hang a bit when I only had 2GB. |
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02/04/2009 02:36:14 PM · #9 |
| I downloaded lightroom awhile ago, and absolutely loved it--however, I kept having to go into elements to do things after I finished with lightroom. I ended up not buying lightroom--I just found ways of doing the same thing in elements. Personally, I would love the full photoshop--the ability to do HDR is really calling to me! It's just beyond my price range now. |
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