Post Processing Software and Battery Grip

Trapshooter

Nothing like asking 2 questions at one time.

I am new to digital photography and really know absolutely nothing about it other than I take a lot of picture that need some help. I have heard about post processing software and assume this is something like Photoshop or Lighthouse but am not sure. So, my question to those of you in the know is what is a good in-expensive post processing software for a newbie?
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I ran into a guy at a wrestling meet last weekend that said to use Picasa. I downloaded it and it is good for organizing photo’s but not so good for manipulating. I know if I took better pictures than I would not need to mess with them but remember I am learning and there is a steep curve ahead.

In addition, he recommended that I get a battery grip as it would make vertical picture taking more comfortable. I tend to look like a human pretzel trying to take vertical pictures. Does a battery grip help and is it necessary?

Camera is a Canon 40D
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Thanks in advance for any recommendation or advice.

basflt

Gimp has a good name , try it , its free
Faststone image viewer can be used , very simple and free too

Art Scott

Photoshop elements can usually be picked up for under $100 at walmart and other such stores...goes on sell a lot....some one on here had copies of LR3 for $150...great price and you cannot go wrong with LR, especially if you shoot raw.......LR3 will also process jpgs.....if you are getting truly serious LR3 is the way to go.....I do 99.9 of all my processing in LR3 and very seldom ever go into Photoshop except for sharpening with unsharp mask.......

As to the grip...they can make shooting verts much more comfortable....not all grips are equal....cam maker grips are usually better built and have better ergonomic that a lot of 3rd party grips.......I got so used to shooting film cams without grips (actually before grips / motor drives) that it is 2nd nature for me and I find my grip to be hard to use......a grip can also increase shoot time, meaning you can shoot longer before changing batteries...and it can increase frames per second...with mine I can add a different nikon battery or add AA batts for faster frames per second...I do not need that so I do not use it....................much.

ziggy53

Normally you would ask for software information in an appropriate forum like our Finishing School:

http://dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10

... but since you're already here and your second question is about an accessory item I think I'll leave this post here.

If you have Windows operating system I am familiar with some of the freeware that's available and worthwhile.

Yes, Picasa is mostly for organization but it does have a usable number of features that make it otherwise useful.

Picasa has one of the best leveling algorithms that I have found and it let's you "eyeball" the leveling which, in some cases, is the best approach.

Picasa also has a decent cropping facility and you can crop the original, save a copy, then undo the first crop and choose a second crop, ad nauseum. It's all very fast.

Next up is RAW Therapee. Like it's name describes this is a great RAW image processor, but it also works on other image file types as well. You can stay in 16 bit mode for processing and it has very decent demosaicing, noise reduction and sharpening algorithms. It's only problem is rendering speed. Large images takes more time to process than a more mainstream product like Photoshop. Raw Therapee is free, and it's well worth your consideration.

The GIMP. This is 8 bit software that does a commendable job duplicating many of the tasks that software like Photoshop can do. You can have multiple layers and masks than many other software lack. Since it's 8 bit only I do save any processing for it until last. (Actually I don't use it at all anymore but when I was at my friends house and 200 miles away and she wouldn't purchase any software, well, the GIMP was better than nothing.)

I also use FastStone and IrfanView for their file viewing and file management capabilities.

Here are the links to the above (including Picasa for those who may want to check it out.) Some of these software are also available for Mac and *Nix.

http://picasa.google.com/

http://www.rawtherapee.com/

http://www.gimp.org/

http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

http://www.irfanview.com/

ziggy53

I'll start another post just for the second question.

I only use a vertical grip for my smallest "Rebel" dSLRs. The xxD and such I don't seem to need the grip for either power or real estate, and a grip mostly complicates carrying the camera to the site. An accessory grip also adds to potential electrical problems and I want the greatest reliability possible. An accessory grip also adds to the flex or "lash" of the body mounted on a tripod.

None of these are deal-breakers in and of themselves and if the primary benefits of longer run time and more camera real estate with the extra camera controls for vertical shooting are important then the positives can far outweigh the negatives.

Indeed, I have 2 - 1D MKII bodies that have an intrinsic vertical grip and I use 2 separate cases for them and their lenses.

NeilL

First reaction is that you need not be apologetic about post processing. It's not optional with digital, unless you are happy with sooc jpgs. The absolute best photogs are just that because of post, just as with film, where it was darkroom technique.

Second, any decent PP SW requires not inconsiderable commitment from you. If you can't make that, no advice is worth giving.

Third, there are two RAW converter-editing applications that I can recommend very highly for quality of result, choice of tools, painless operation and affordability. They are LightZone and Bibble 5.2 Pro (no earlier version!). LZ is easy to find your way around and quick to learn, it has sophisticated selective editing tools, nonrestrictive options and produces excellent results. B5.2Pro is leading edge tech and quality and ease at half the price of Lightroom and a fifth the price of Photoshop while more rich in features than PS Elements. I am finding it an unaccustomed joy to use! (Remember I am talking about the very latest 5.2 version.)


Neil