Which photoshop is the right one?

Bountyphotographer

In this world of software one might get a bit off track when looking for the best suited pictures editing software. Everybody says Ill photoshop it" However there are lots of softwares out there.
Can anyone tell me of 2-3 software that are worth buying without spending $$$$
I still have my old photoshop 7 , yes not even css . I got my Canon software and picassa.
yesterday I used ps 7 to get rid of racoon eyes and I was somehow glad with the result but I had to jump through hoops in order to get what I wanted done. The learning curve is a bit steep .
Friends told me about light room, darkroom, and many others that seem to be resonable in price and get the job done in no time.
I do a bit of everything but tend to do more portrait than anything else.
Im not a freak control and dont look for super perfection. I just want my portrait to look good not top model excellent top of the line great. I hate spending too much time editing a picture I would rather reshoot than sending 30 + minutes editing one single picture.
Any suggesstion:scratch:scratch:scratch:scratch:scratch

Thank you


Bountyphotographer

divamum

Lightroom, hands down. If you only want fairly basic editing and don't need layer masks or sophisticated cloning tools, it's the way to go. Otherwise, I'm guessing Photoshop Elements would do the trick for you (and if they're avaialble as a bundle, that should cover your needs 100%)

basflt

+1 for Lightroom

i would say keep your current PS along with LR , in case you want to do some editing

as for the money ;
there are also free editors and also on-line editors , which are also free

Bountyphotographer

Lightroom sounds good.


Thanks

basflt

Bountyphotographer wrote: »

Lightroom sounds good.


Thanks

it realy is
and it also communicates with other applications ( Photoshop , but not only )
why dont try a trial version

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_lightroom

ziggy53

What operating system and computer specifications do you have?

What camera(s) do you need to support?

What quantity of images?

What level of image quality?

Bountyphotographer

Hey Ziggy,

I should not be allowed to say that but I currently have a vindow vista premium from 2006 that freezes every 20 minutes huh
I know I know but will replace it soon with either a mackbook pro or a regular laptop dunno

Still have my Canon 30 D clap ( I love tha old camera) with my 70-200 2.8 Canon lens probably will get a Canon 7 D ...

Quantity of images .........whenever I shoot I do 100-200 but dont always edit all of them (maybe because I dont get pay and dont have the right software)

Quality...........well I m not a pro getting $$$$ but it has to be above the crowd for sure


thanks

BP

Bountyphotographer

basflt wrote: »

it realy is
and it also communicates with other applications ( photoshop , but not only )
why dont try a trial version

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_lightroom

thank you

bp

ziggy53

Bountyphotographer wrote: »

... I should not be allowed to say that but I currently have a vindow vista premium from 2006 that freezes every 20 minutes huh
I know I know but will replace it soon with either a mackbook pro or a regular laptop dunno

...

Your choice of computer and OS will probably affect what choices you have available. Lightroom should be available for any modern Mac OS or Windows and computer configuration. Photoshop is still indicated for working with layers and smart objects, but Photoshop is likewise available for the same platforms as Lightroom.

Bountyphotographer wrote: »

... Still have my Canon 30 D clap ( I love tha old camera) with my 70-200 2.8 Canon lens probably will get a Canon 7 D ...

Canon 30D RAW files are supported by almost all available RAW processing software. I agree with the suggestion of trial versions before you purchase.

For Canon files I do like Phase One Capture One* for its control of pattern noise better than Adobe products, and that includes my tests on Canon files through the 5D Mark III. Combined with Neat Image Noise Reduction software, I'm able to achieve considerably better results than from Adobe software, but that only applies for Canon RAW (CR2) files.

For small batches a recent version of Canon DPP, which you may download for free since you are a Canon user, also does a decent job on Canon RAW files.

For very small quantities of files, the free and open source Raw Therapee is also very good, but it's very slow compared to Adobe stuff, since it processes with higher internal precision than Adobe software.

*(Capture One Pro 7 is the current high-end version.)

Bountyphotographer wrote: »

... Quantity of images .........whenever I shoot I do 100-200 but dont always edit all of them (maybe because I dont get pay and dont have the right software)

Quality...........well I m not a pro getting $$$$ but it has to be above the crowd for sure ...

Adobe products are very fast, so for properly exposed images it is still the industry leader. Both Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Bridge within Photoshop are able to process large batches quickly and efficiently. Like I said before, if you need layers and masks I still prefer Photoshop. If you have the budget, a combination of Lightroom "and" Photoshop (CS6 or CC) is pretty killer. Photoshop is awfully nice for its automation capabilities too.

Again, Adobe products can produce pattern noise on underexposed images and in deep shadows, so if that's a concern I do think that Capture One Pro 7 is an effective software which is still reasonably fast.

Lightroom is an excellent tool for file organization, but I prefer a more manual method and again, Capture One Pro 7 has "some" organization which I find suitably effective for my needs.

Bountyphotographer

Thanks let me try some free trial first

BP

Bountyphotographer

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr both my computers are too old to accept any free lightroom software.
Got to buy a new computer first dunnodunno