DSLR Software for Image Touch-ups/light edits (RAW & JPEG) for Beginners?

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Oct 3rd, 2018 9:39 am

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Jun 11th, 2018 5:03 pm

Axelrod [OP]: Newbie; Apr 12, 2018; 45 posts; 41 upvotes

Jun 11th, 2018 5:03 pm

DSLR Software for Image Touch-ups/light edits (RAW & JPEG) for Beginners?

Hey RFD: quick question for you - Do you have any recommendations for a user friendly image editing software that could handle light touch ups/edits for specifically RAW image types?

I'm new to photography and hoping to start shooting in a RAW image format. I've spent a few hours looking at some popular editing software and discovered a few like PaintShop Pro 2018 Ultimate, Affinity, Gimp to name a few, and then of course the various products Adobe offers but with all of their marketing (and admittedly my lack-of experience

) it's hard to tell the features I actually need apart from the "bonus" features that I'll likely never use.

Does anyone have any software they feel might be a good fit for a beginner who is fairly new to both taking photos and editing them?

What (I think) I'm looking for is your basic software that will allow me to do some light touch-ups/editing to a RAW image. While I love having all the bells and whistles, I'm sure I could get by without them. In a perfect world I'd be spending a little time (avg. 10 minutes or less) tweaking each photo to really make it pop. I'll gladly pay for a premium solution like Lightroom if it's a wise purchase, although I'm assuming this would be a complete overkill for me; I view photography as more of a hobby, something I'll do every other weekend, the odd weeknight, or while traveling. I definitely do not view it as a prospective career or source of income.

I'd love to hear any thoughts or recommendations! Thanks in advance.

- Axe

20 replies

Jun 11th, 2018 6:54 pm

Firebot: Deal Addict; Aug 12, 2004; 4506 posts; 2166 upvotes; Calgary

Jun 11th, 2018 6:54 pm

Lightroom

There is no other alternative that is friendlier or better. Lightroom is extremely user friendly and very intuitive, and the most powerful.

Absolutely looking for free? Use your camera editing software or one of these:

https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best ... -lightroom

Each of these have pros, but also a lot of cons. Try and see if you wish to only use it for fun. Just know that it does not replace or get necessarily the same results. There is a reason why Lightroom is the go to in the industry (despite a lot of hate that Adobe can get).

+1

Jun 11th, 2018 8:50 pm

NewsyL: Deal Fanatic; Feb 16, 2006; 5086 posts; 2081 upvotes; Vancouver

Jun 11th, 2018 8:50 pm

Hmmm.... I've never found Lightroom to be intuitive. Tried a couple of times to move to it from ACDSee Pro and there was always something that held me back from completing the transition. One was the way it managed files a few years ago.

18 years and 100,000+ images later, I still use ACDSee Pro, now known as ACDSee Photo Studio Professional. It also has some quirks in how it manages files but it does handle RAW images and has a non-destructive methodology.

.

+1

Jun 12th, 2018 1:36 am

robertz: Deal Addict; Nov 21, 2008; 1375 posts; 265 upvotes; North Vancouver, BC

Jun 12th, 2018 1:36 am

Use the software the camera maker provides, such as DPP for Canon.

Jun 12th, 2018 3:28 am

hdom: Deal Fanatic; Aug 29, 2006; 7738 posts; 1628 upvotes

Jun 12th, 2018 3:28 am

For Sony shooter you can download Capture One Express for free.

But if op is willing to pay for one, I agree that there is still no real replacement for Lightroom, is not only a powerful editor, but an organizer and web / print publisher. Yes, it may be overkill for ops current need but the advantage if you ever feel you need to do more, and most people I feel eventually do, it is ready with minimum effort to learn the extra. On that, LR is pretty easy to learn and the number of free tutorials online for every topic are unparalleled.

The Devil made me buy it - RFD.

Jun 24th, 2018 7:24 pm

4zim: Member; Dec 3, 2007; 435 posts; 62 upvotes

Jun 24th, 2018 7:24 pm

Is Adobe CC the only way to get lightroom? I don't mind paying for it but I don't want to subscribe to a monthly payment system. Would rather pay once and have it.

Jun 24th, 2018 7:47 pm

bvit6667: Deal Addict; Nov 30, 2011; 2593 posts; 1186 upvotes; GTA

Jun 24th, 2018 7:47 pm

+1 for Lightroom.

I've tried several other software programs but have found Lightroom to be the best (IMHO).

I started using it two or three years ago and was struggling to learn it but found many instructive videos on YouTube - Highly recommend Anthony Morganti's many, many videos - I watched quite a few of them and took notes and soon found my comfort level rising. He has a no nonsense / practical approach that gets you up and running quickly.

Have a Question? Don't be afraid to ask.

Jun 26th, 2018 12:57 pm

hdom: Deal Fanatic; Aug 29, 2006; 7738 posts; 1628 upvotes

Jun 26th, 2018 12:57 pm

If you want the latest edition / update, subscription is now the only way since Adobe no longer release stand alone versions.

Some people get by with LR 5/6 but eventually they wouldn't support the latest cameras or you will need to convert the files before importing, so a bit more work and you miss out on updates and new features.

4zim wrote: ↑ Is Adobe CC the only way to get lightroom? I don't mind paying for it but I don't want to subscribe to a monthly payment system. Would rather pay once and have it.

The Devil made me buy it - RFD.

Jul 4th, 2018 1:09 pm

Prof: Deal Addict; Jul 10, 2001; 1251 posts; 581 upvotes

Jul 4th, 2018 1:09 pm

I’ve mainly used PS and PS Elements for years. Elements is robust enough for most users and there are lots of free online training. The best, Lynda.com may be free through your library system. That said, I switched to Affinity Photo and have found it a bargain for the power. A $70 one time purchase rather than the pay forever Adobe model. It needs a management tool but the editor is great. I’d suggest a course through Udemy.

+1

Jul 5th, 2018 3:14 am

twitchyzero: Deal Addict; Sep 26, 2007; 4156 posts; 522 upvotes

Jul 5th, 2018 3:14 am

Lightroom is a flaming turd
crashes, poorly optimized (though last few minor revisions has gotten a lot better), still no camera colour profiles for DJI drones that've been out for 2 years, going towards tablet-like UI
but I cannot recommend a better product because I never bothered learning the other fully-fledged programs

Russell wrote: ↑We come here looking for deals. We use the savings on the things we buy to justify buying more things, thus filling our homes with tons of unnecessary consumer products. Such is the key to happiness.

Jul 6th, 2018 11:08 am

Prof: Deal Addict; Jul 10, 2001; 1251 posts; 581 upvotes

Jul 6th, 2018 11:08 am

Was browsing this morning and came across this discount link to Affinity Photo through an ephotozine review. Price is $51.99 Canadian. They do offer a free trial download.

+1

Jul 8th, 2018 3:37 am

phuviano: Deal Addict; Sep 3, 2005; 3368 posts; 986 upvotes; Vaughan

Jul 8th, 2018 3:37 am

twitchyzero wrote: ↑ Lightroom is a flaming turd
crashes, poorly optimized (though last few minor revisions has gotten a lot better), still no camera colour profiles for DJI drones that've been out for 2 years, going towards tablet-like UI
but I cannot recommend a better product because I never bothered learning the other fully-fledged programs

The only time i find lightroom crashes, is when you try to export to many images to jpg at the same time. I try to stick to maybe 20 or 30 at most when exporting to jpg. I've never had a crash since i started doing this. I have no other issues with LR including unloading a full 32gb sd card to into LR. I haven't had LR crash for a few years now.

For Sale

Nothing at the moment

Jul 8th, 2018 5:42 am

twitchyzero: Deal Addict; Sep 26, 2007; 4156 posts; 522 upvotes

Jul 8th, 2018 5:42 am

it's a lot less crash prone if I turn-off MSI afterburner... it doesn't like GPU overclocks when cropping at ultra-high res
it was poorly built for Ryzen architecture, but seems to run a lot smoother now (16-cores)

Russell wrote: ↑We come here looking for deals. We use the savings on the things we buy to justify buying more things, thus filling our homes with tons of unnecessary consumer products. Such is the key to happiness.

Jul 8th, 2018 4:38 pm

Omydeal: Jr. Member; Jan 2, 2013; 191 posts; 188 upvotes; Leaf nation

Jul 8th, 2018 4:38 pm

Adobe Photography plan costs me $15.02 cdn per month. That includes both Lightroom and Photoshop. I doen't think Ive ever had issues with lightroom and can honestly say I don't think Ive had it crash before. Tons of YouTube tutorials out there make it a pretty simple program to use imo.

Jul 8th, 2018 7:04 pm

rebel_rfd: Deal Fanatic; Aug 4, 2008; 5559 posts; 2339 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 8th, 2018 7:04 pm

Luminar is pretty easy to use if you are familiar with Instagram/Snapseed. Also lets you further tweak like Lightroom if you want.

Jul 11th, 2018 7:36 pm

Prof: Deal Addict; Jul 10, 2001; 1251 posts; 581 upvotes

Jul 11th, 2018 7:36 pm

I'll add that I posted a current sale in this thread for all Affinity products. They just released their Designer for iPad platform. $48 for Affinity Photo Win or Mac and $20 for iPad. The iPad app was chosen the 2017 App of the Year by Apple.

Jul 13th, 2018 3:08 pm

CCHIPSS: Deal Addict; Nov 4, 2016; 1736 posts; 1735 upvotes

Jul 13th, 2018 3:08 pm

I had been using FastStone to edit my photos (JPEG only) because it is free. It had been serving me well. Highlights, shadows, contrast, satiation, sharpen, etc

Are there other "better" free photo editors out there?

Best shopping deals I got from here:
Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom $300, ZTE Blade V8 Pro $175, Fluld 55' 4k TV $360

Aug 10th, 2018 10:01 am

mrumble: Member; Mar 11, 2008; 457 posts; 947 upvotes; London

Aug 10th, 2018 10:01 am

For the first year I used DxO Optics Pro... while technically paid software, it's available for free every few months from Digital Camera Magazine and I'm sure a few other places.

It processes my Sony RAW files and, according to what I read on the internet, is one of the best at lens corrections.

I've just switched over to Lightroom (this morning) because it really is the standard.

Aug 14th, 2018 9:26 am

EndrewSmith: Member; Nov 24, 2009; 398 posts; 48 upvotes; Ottawa

Aug 14th, 2018 9:26 am

I used Lightroom until they decided to go Cloud and changed it to subscription base. If you want something comparable, I'd suggest Affinity. It's affordable and yet as capable.

+1

Sep 24th, 2018 10:17 pm

CCHIPSS: Deal Addict; Nov 4, 2016; 1736 posts; 1735 upvotes

Sep 24th, 2018 10:17 pm

CCHIPSS wrote: ↑ I had been using FastStone to edit my photos (JPEG only) because it is free. It had been serving me well. Highlights, shadows, contrast, satiation, sharpen, etc

Are there other "better" free photo editors out there?

A note that I had been using DarkTable for a few months. Working great!

Best shopping deals I got from here:
Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom $300, ZTE Blade V8 Pro $175, Fluld 55' 4k TV $360

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