Paintshop Pro X5 and/or Lightroom 4: Hi all fellow Hogs and Happy New Year. I'm going to buy my first PP software and don't want something difficult to learn like PS and too expensive.

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Paintshop Pro X5 and/or Lightroom 4

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Dec 30, 2012 12:01:12 #

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

Hi all fellow Hogs and Happy New Year.

I'm going to buy my first PP software and don't want something difficult to learn like PS and too expensive.

I have basic needs in PP but now it's time to learn something that will enhance my photos. After much readind mt choice fell between the two programs: Paintshop and Lightroom. I can get them both or only one of them. My question is: are they complementary or one can be used instead of another? I mean do they have different features so I need both or is one of them complete?
What I understood from my research is that Paintshop is more of an editing tool like PS (I know PS is the best etc. but I don't want it) and LR is something to use for processing raw files, am I right?

Thanks.

Dec 30, 2012 14:41:05 #

Frapha Loc: Tulsa, Oklahoma

I believe you're essentially correct that Paintshop is an editor primarily intended as a competitor to Photoshop Elements. Corel also has Aftershot Pro, which appears to be designed to compete with Adobe's Lightroom.

Dec 30, 2012 17:50:42 #

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

Lightroom will take care of everything you mentioned and so so much more. You will never outgrow it.

Lightroom 4 is available postage paid from Amazon (and other locations) for just $99.

Also buy a book like Scott Kelby's to help you appreciate the merits of getting started correctly to really save you time down the road. He does an excellent job of keeping it simple, easy to understand and accurate.

After installing it, download the update to version 4.3 from Adobe website and install it for the best of everything.

Dec 30, 2012 18:18:36 #

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

Thanks. Does LR4 do anything that Paintshop Pro doesn't do?

Dec 30, 2012 19:27:23 #

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

elandel wrote:

Thanks. Does LR4 do anything that Paintshop Pro doesn't do?

Yes indeed. More that I can possibly list.

Dec 31, 2012 06:53:57 #

lazydog Loc: High Wycombe, UK

Festina Lente wrote:

elandel wrote:

Thanks. Does LR4 do anything that Paintshop Pro doesn't do?

Yes indeed. More that I can possibly list.

Please list a few because I'm an avid avid PSP user and would like to know what I'm missing.

Dec 31, 2012 11:40:01 #

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

lazydog wrote:

Festina Lente wrote:

elandel wrote:

Thanks. Does LR4 do anything that Paintshop Pro doesn't do?

Yes indeed. More that I can possibly list.

Please list a few because I'm an avid avid PSP user and would like to know what I'm missing.

I'll list a few. First off they are both completely different types of editing programs. PSP has a very limited raw editor that does very basic raw editing such as contrast, brightness, exposure, and sharpening. Then in PSP it has the ability to layer and filter and use a lot of plug-ins. LR doesn't do any layering and can't do heavy editing, but it has a very rich raw editor that will edit the original raw image without actually making any changes to it but also allowing it to remember the edits so the next time you develop that same image all the changes are there. LR is also the most powerful organizer available to the retail public. You can organize your images so that thousands of them can be easy to find when you want. LR will allow you to take your editing as far as you can an then open that edited version in another third party editor such as PSP or CS or PSE with a right click. Then you can make your composites or do heavy layering and selections etc.

Dec 31, 2012 12:26:41 #

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

So we can say that they complement each other: I mean LR4 and PPro5?

Dec 31, 2012 12:38:19 #

llindstrand Loc: Seattle Metro

elandel wrote:

So we can say that they complement each other: I mean LR4 and PPro5?

I would say they compliment. PX5 has a group of special effects and other special edits not available on LR or Photoshop. It will do the conversion from Raw but is incapable of organizing. If I could buy only one it would be X5. I started out with it and eventually went to Photoshop and use X5 for special edits not available in Photoshop.
Swede

Dec 31, 2012 12:46:58 #

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

elandel wrote:

Thanks. Does LR4 do anything that Paintshop Pro doesn't do?

Yes it does.

Think of Lightroom as a "digital darkroom"

It's made to "develop" photos...you know...exposure, tone, dodging and burning...color fix..etc.

Photoshop, Photoshop elements, PaintShop and those types of programs serve a different purpose.

If you have a tree that ruins your once in a lifetime shot...Lightroom isn't the tool to use to take it out...Paintshop is.

If you need to do a LOT of correction and things in a photo...Lightroom isn't the tool. It does the occasional zit here and there..and you can do skin touch up...but for real heavy photo fixing....LR isn't it.

I'd say that both are necessary eventually, I'd get Lightroom first if it were me.

Dec 31, 2012 12:47:01 #

Frapha Loc: Tulsa, Oklahoma

jeep_daddy wrote:

quote=lazydog . quote=Festina Lente quote=elande... (show quote)

Corel's other program (Aftershot Pro) also offers non-destructive editing, RAW processing and some organizing features, but is much less powerful than LR and lacks a lot of the LR features.

Dec 31, 2012 13:15:44 #

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

I think I'll get both even if I don't do heavy PP and really I don't do PP at all, but now it's time to start.

Dec 31, 2012 13:27:36 #

lazydog Loc: High Wycombe, UK

Don't think I'll bother with LR (yet). At the moment I can do everything I need to do (contrast, exposure, HDR, sharpening etc) in PSP. I use the free programme Picasa 3 to organise and tag all my photos. With this I can add the GPS co-ordinates from Picassa's supplied maps. It also does face recognition very well.

Dec 31, 2012 15:37:43 #

oldanalyst

I agree with lazydog. I've used PSP through many versions and find it does most anything I need to do. For light editing, organizing or converting a lot of photos ,en masse, to a specific size, Picasa is really easy to use.

Jan 1, 2013 13:45:45 #

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

elandel wrote:

So we can say that they complement each other: I mean LR4 and PPro5?

Yes, but I'd recommend buying Photoshop Elements 11 and LR4 instead of PPro5. They are both made by Adobe and you'd only have to learn one way of doing things - the Adobe way instead of Corel and Adobe.

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