CHG_CANON wrote:
With documentation and demonstration usage / training videos freely available on the internet, you likely don't need to pay for software. But, if you shoot RAW, you have an extra step to convert the RAW to TIFF or JPEG prior to editing in GIMP. For the RAW shooter, this may be worth the money to work directly in the purchased software, particularly software that constantly updates for new camera / RAW releases.
The "extra step to convert the RAW to TIFF or JPEG prior to editing in GIMP" can be the camera manufacturers' free software - DPP4 (Digital Photo Professional 4) in the case of Canon or ViewNX-i from Nikon.
And, there are no issues with new cameras and outdated raw converters.