MiroFoto

Can somebody let me know what will be the best post processing program for me.
I do now want to have a monthly pay arrangement-> last version of Adobe Photoshop?
I will not do elaborate work, but I would like to do HDR and use color control + sharpening in batches ... maybe some basic tricks later.

Thank You

M

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

The best PPP for you is the one you like and use.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

This is a difficult question to answer. Post processing is not a casual event. Either we are dedicated to it, or we do a lousy job of it. In my opinion, the Adobe products do the best job, with the largest set of available tools. I cannot speak to other products.

dannac Loc: 60 miles SW of New Orleans

How old is your computer ?

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

Take a look at Photoshop ELEMENTS. It can do a lot, the learning curve is not steep, there are a ton of "How To" videos, many website discussion groups, it's not expensive, and it's what I use.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

If you are not sure what you need, try Pisassa (it's a free download); after you use that for a while, you will be better suited to jump into some other--higher level--program. Personally, I like PS Elements, but like the full blown and expensive PS, it is not intuitive so make sure you get a Manual, perhaps Scott Kilby's just released on on PSE14. Without some reference, you will quickly become frustrated.

Larrymc Loc: Mississippi

Take a look at Zone Photo Studio 18 http://www.zoner.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=3&utm_campaign=en-brand-zps18&gclid=COi3rev18ckCFcKGaQodfrIIug its pretty good and won't cost you an arm and leg. Free trial for 30 days. You can buy ZPS18 Pro for $99 which is pretty low priced for a editing program with a RAW module. It can use Adobe camera profiles and much more.

Larry

ralphc4176 Loc: Conyers, GA

I have and primarily use Photoshop. But I also have and sometimes use DxO Optics Pro and Cyberlink's PhotoDirector. DxO Optics Pro does a few things better (or easier?) than Photoshop, and PhotoDirector is relatively inexpensive and does a lot of "quick-and-dirty" work with almost no learning curve. You get what you pay for: if you want a Cadillac and can afford it, get it; if you can't afford a Cadillac, get a Chevrolet and live with it.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I like Lightroom and Photoshop, but I do elaborate work. There are many people who don't like the licensing system, but it works for me.

One thing I like about Lightroom is that it doubles as a database that allows me to find photos from the distant past. Whatever you wind up using, you should consider some sort of organizational tool (whether part of the postprocessing program or not) that will enable you to keep track of things and be able to find them when you want them.

As far as postprocessing is concerned, there are many different styles out there. If you just want to do cropping, exposure adjustments, maybe some color balancing, there are lots and lots of programs. If you need to combine photos (like panoramas) your options get more limited. Generally the manufacturer of your camera offers a free online download of a basic program that can do basic things and allows you to convert raw data to images. That's probably the best place to start, but those programs don't come with organizational tools.

As far as organization is concerned, you want something that allows you to attach keywords to your images, and to search for all the images with a given keyword. In my opinion, keywords are the most powerful way to do searches.

Another possibility is to give your images meaningful file names that describe the subject briefly (and maybe include the date). Something like "Suzie's Birthday Party 20121223 001" (Subject/Date/Index#) makes it easy to do a file search for the subject. Dates in YYYYMMDD format sort numerically in chronological order.

fjrwillie Loc: MA

Another alternative is Paintshop Pro X8. The ultimate version is selling at 79.99. Has the functionality of Photoshop at a much lower cost.

http://www.paintshoppro.com/en/products/paintshop-pro/ultimate/?currency=en-US&hptrack=ussopsp&_ga=1.182825958.1716545297.1450188245

Worth looking at.

Willie

houdel Loc: Chase, Michigan USA

I too do not like "renting" my software. Over the years I have had the full version of Adobe Photoshop (when you used to be able to purchase it), Photoshop Elements, and Corel Paintshop Pro. I currently am running PSE 9 and PSP X7 Ultimate. Both will do pretty much the same thing, but no one program, not even Photoshop CC, can do everything. Each one has a few features that are missing in the others.

Just today I ordered Photoshop Elements 14 + Premiere Elements from B&H - on sale for $99, $79 if you qualify for the Student & Teachers Edition - because it has some features PSP X7 Ultimate doesn't have. I will continue to use PSP X7 as my main program because I find it easier to work with than PSE, and only use PSE for the extra features.

That said, if I were to buy my "first" PP software today, I would get Corel Paintshop Pro X8 Ultimate. I think it is a great program and it is currently on sale at B&H Photo for $49.99 - that's half off the regular price:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1177566-REG/corel_pspx8ulenmbam_paintshop_pro_x8_ultimate.html/mode/

ticTOC Loc: IL

I'd like to suggest the IRFANVIEW software. This is what I use for PP and all I can say is that it does a heck of a lot in PP so since it's a freebee it would be well "worth" it to give it a try!
I hope you like what I've suggested here. If you do try IRFANVIEW and find that it doesn't do what you need I would like to hear what you needed that it didn't do!

The attached pictures were multiple shots of one bird from which I made a panoramic shot to make it look like 5 birds flying together.

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Panoramic of the previous 5 shots

(Download)

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

IrfanView is a good program, well worth getting. And the price is certainly right. I use it extensively (probably more than 20 years now). I use it as a viewer primarily but it is useful in basic editing of jpgs (cropping, resizing, brightness, contrast, some color adjustments). It will also produce contact sheets of multiple photos and can save in a lot of different formats. You can add text to your images with IrfanView.

I would definitely recommend IrfanView.

But IrfanView is not a raw converter. If you open a raw file with IrfanView, what you get is the preview contained in the raw file. It's not the full 12 or 14 bit raw data, but an 8-bit jpg. For many things, that's enough, but in my opinion it's not worth shooting raw if you are only going to process an 8-bit image.

ticTOC Loc: IL

You're right in that IrfanView doesn't save in the camera's raw format. However when I shoot in raw format and use IrfanView to PP, then I tell IrfanView to save in " *****.tif " format to avoid jpeg compression!

houdel Loc: Chase, Michigan USA

Remember a TIFF file is roughly 3X-5X times or more the size of a RAW file though....