Which would suit my needs better?

nightspidy

Hi everyone,

I'm STILL shooting in JPEG, but now that I've gotten my Canon 30D, I am ready to start shooting in RAW. I am not really into spending a lot of time doing too many modifications to my images, I'd rather be out shooting. I'm trying really hard to "get it right" instead of heavy manipulation afterwards. I mostly shoot landscape, macro and animals. I would be interested in playing around with sharpness, saturation and contrast but that is pretty much it (at this point). What would be the best software program for me? I have a pretty new and up to date computer (windows). I am also looking into getting a laptop (windows) any suggestions there as to what I would need to burn my own images and edit? Sorry, I am not really a "computer person" so any ideas, suggestions and feedback are ALWAYS appreciated - the good, bad and the ugly! :rofl

z_28

You always got two ways:
continue to shot JPEG - it's good and easy
shot RAW - it's better and a bit less easy

if RAW - just use Digital Photo Professional - already included with your's 30D

BTW - what's photo processing software do you use right now ?

SloYerRoll

Download lightroom's 30 day trial.
Shoot RAW.

When you work w/ the images in Lr. You won't even know if it's RAW or JPEG. (you can tell which is which. It just doesn't matter from your viewpoint)

So you get the best of both worlds. No extra steps in handling RAW but you have maximum lattitude w/ editing.

nightspidy

z_28 wrote:

You always got two ways:
continue to shot JPEG - it's good and easy
shot RAW - it's better and a bit less easy

if RAW - just use Digital Photo Professional - already included with your's 30D

BTW - what's photo processing software do you use right now ?

Actually, I don't do any touch-ups with my pics at all. I just get the "good" photos printed at the local photo place. That's about it.

Pupator

You may want to download the 30 day trial of PSPX2 from Corel also. It's what I've been using for years and really like it. Lightroom is very good if you want to shoot raw and are into the "workflow" mentality, but it sounds to me like you're just going to do occasional touchups and PSP would be better for that.

claudermilk

nightspidy wrote:

What would be the best software program for me?

Only you can answer that. My suggestion is ignore everyone's biased opinion here (mine included), grab a trial of every converter available to you (main ones: DPP which you have, ACR, LR, Bibble, C1, DxO, Silkypix, LightZone)--then determine which meets your definition of "best."

Poseidon

^^^^^

He s right! I do have an opinion on LightRoom though..... I LOVE IT!

Glenn NK

claudermilk wrote:

Only you can answer that. My suggestion is ignore everyone's biased opinion here (mine included), grab a trial of every converter available to you (main ones: DPP which you have, ACR, LR, Bibble, C1, DxO, Silkypix, LightZone)--then determine which meets your definition of "best."

Which technically is the right thing to do.

I find however, that the time it takes to learn a program and get to know its pros and cons can take some considerable investment in time.

Some like CS3 will take weeks at least, and the surface will barely be scratched, while the simpler ones may only take hours to become familiar with. I've been using Lightroom since it was released in Feb this year, and I really haven't learned all its features.

Some programs (Apple Aperture) are only for Macs - if you have a Mac, add this to the list.

Maybe searching the web or (as you are doing) asking questions will assist you in this task.

There is a thread on another forum that debates the advantages of Lightroom vs Aperture - if you want the link, PM me. But of course it's just more opinions.

Generally many LR users are also PS/CS3 users, but there are some of us that just use LR.

It seems to me that the powerhouse king of PP is Adobe's CS3; but it has a price to match.

David_S85

I just moved this discussion over to Finishing School since the OP's main question and posted answers thus far revolve around what software to edit images with.

nightspidy

What to do...
Wow, thanks so much for all the feedback. I just recently read articles about elements 6.0 and the new Lightroom upgrade as well, which both have me curious. I think my best plan of action is to actually try the software that came with my camera. I've never used it, even when I got it with my Rebel XT and now with the 30D, so I'm going to see if I'm happy with what I can do with that or if I feel that I need more. I think I may also download the free trials and go from there. I have just switched both of my cameras to RAW and am now just waiting to get out and shoot. The weather is really crappy here lately so I'm just waiting for a nice day. I'm definately not into something that's too complicated and takes a long time to learn, my time off from work is so limited that I'd rather spend it shooting. Thank you so much everyone!