rglenn6245 Loc: Irving, TX

Good afternoon to all, hope your (US) Holiday went well.

Question / Recommendation for Windows based PC - Looking for the best "Bang for the Buck".

Looking at various Adobe monthly on-line subscriptions, knowing learning curves may be a bit high ? - Lightroom and Photoshop)

Currently using the Canon software

I appreciate suggestions from UH users - Thank you for your time & have a great day

Guzser02

When it comes to a "Bang for the buck" perhaps Adobe may be a serious consideration, in terms of software and storage.
They all have a learning curve. That's why in terms of Post-processing (PP) you may lean towards a software with a good DAM that will help you along like ACDsee.
I suggest that you do a free download of either ACDsee, Luminar, Affinity Photo, DXO Photolab 4, take it for a spin, and see if you like any of them AND WHY.
You may want to look at external storage.

BebuLamar

Isn't the Canon software best bang for the buck? For zero buck it should be great right?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

That's what I use 98% of the time.

BebuLamar

I use the Nikon software though. But for zero buck whatever bang you get should be best.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Quixdraw Loc: x

Actually, you can do an awful lot easily in Windows Live Photo Gallery. Pretty sure there are free downloads available for Win 10. I'm still using it with Win 7 so it may be different. I have several other programs which I rarely use.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

The LR learning curve is neither very easy or very hard. Photoshop, on the other hand, requires lengthy dedication to master. But, it's $10/mo for both of them - not everybody can afford it, but most can. So, subscribe, learn LR, and PS will be there for you when you're ready for it.

rglenn6245 Loc: Irving, TX

Thank you for the feedback

rglenn6245 Loc: Irving, TX

Thanks to all - Free is indeed good...

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you haven't bought anything, consider the trial period offer for any candidate software. Use one-at-a-time for the entire trial period, including the available training, possibly always against the same set of 20 to 100 images. Make an informed decision that hopefully gets it right the first time. Consider the online documentation and free video training (u-tube) in the context of your trial-period comparisons.

The Adobe subscription is industrial-strength, professional-grade software. They're not made for the casual user who expects to sitdown and click around and pick it up. Most of the other pay-for software is the same level of complexity. A distinguishing characteristic of Adobe and the other upper-tier titles is the amount of training support and the size of their user communities. Adobe is both the oldest and the largest community. There's a lot to be said for that wealth of accumulated knowledge readily and freely available as you start your learning and usage.

Do you need industrial-strength, professional-grade digital editing and image management software, dependent upon an investment in training to learn to use effectively? Only you can decide.

MDI Mainer

And well worth it. You don't need to master every bell and whistle, but sooner or later you'll want or need to do something that's beyond the more simplistic alternatives.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There is lots of very good processing software available for very good prices.

Affinity
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/software-review-affinity-photo-1-5-2
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/affinity-photo-software-review-has-photoshop-met-its-match#d1c5lY5EQ03QoLjh.97
http://www.diyphotography.net/affinity-photo-can-give-adobe-run-money/
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/affinity-photo-1.5,review-4257.html

Others
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-lightroom-alternatives
http://digital-photography-school.com/a-beginners-guide-to-choosing-the-right-post-production-software/
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/photo-editing
https://www.reviews.com/photo-editing-software/
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-photo-editing-software,review-1972.html
http://www.redmondpie.com/best-adobe-photoshop-alternatives-for-windows-and-mac-list Affinity
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/affinity-photo-software-review-has-photoshop-met-its-match#d1c5lY5EQ03QoLjh.97
http://www.diyphotography.net/affinity-photo-can-give-adobe-run-money/
https://photographypro.com/photo-editing/

Free -
https://www.darktable.org/
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59324818
https://www.lightstalking.com/how-to-edit-rawtherapee/
https://www.lightstalking.com/free-photography-software/
http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-photo-editor
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-best-photoshop-alternatives-that-are-totally-free-5974500
http://lightzoneproject.org/

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

You may wish to consider Adobe Photoshop Elements which is an affordable software package that gets you into the Adobe universe and helps you become familiar with editing if you want to use Lightroom/Photoshop in the future.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

I use the Olympus Workspace and Nikon Studio for raw editing of files from these brands of cameras, Cost is free.

I also use Paintshop Pro with some Topaz enhancements for refinement of the tiffs. Affinity does some things very well but I find it less intuitive.