D74M

About to pull the plug to acquire post processing software; believe I'm down to 2 choices: Lightroom or Affinity. I'm not too concerned about the learning curve - know it will take awhile. Lightroom's strength seems to be cataloging, which seems quite important realizing it doesn't take much to be working with 1000s of images. Affinity has had some great reviews and is quite affordable, but believe it lacks a cataloging function, which may be a significant issue (not sure). Also, Lightroom now has a mobile app which seems like a pretty good idea given that most folks today have a cell phone, tablet, or both. Feedback is appreciated. I have, and will, watch some more U Tube focused on each program. I compute in a Mac environment - mid 2011 iMac, latest OS, and 8 Gb of ram. Thanks! Dave...

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

Personally I would go with Lightroom and get Lightroom/Photoshop/Bridge/ACR all for 10 bucks a month. I did when they came out with the deal and have had reason to use all of the package more than once.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I believe Lightroom Mobile is no longer available as a stand-alone item. Instead it may only be obtained as part of the Lightroom/Photoshop CC subscription plan (otherwise known as the Adobe "annuity" plan). Don't overlook On1 Photo Raw and MacPhun Luminar as choices. /Ralph

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Lightroom is much more than file management. You can completely process 99.9% of your images in Lightroom. Photoshop can help you do advanced processing that requires pixel peeping or layering. The Adobe Cloud bundle is excellent and you have the recognized "best" photographic editing software in the world. There are those that are opposed to Adobe. Those that won't learn Lightroom and/or Photoshop and, those that keep looking for magic. There are also those that are software junkies…like me.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Lightroom is a wonderful program once you figure out the Library module, which is where you manage photos among other things. Note that the catalog feature within LR is only for the edits you do in the program and other metadata, not for your photos. The catalog does all of its search actions based on metadata in your photo file or sidecar file. You will need to organize and arrange your photo folders and have a good system of folder naming already in place. Then you will simply link those folders to LR and be able to manage them in LR. I use a Mac, Lightroom/Photoshop CC, and several other programs and can easily manage thousands of photos with LR. Using LR keywords you can find photos within minutes if the need arises. I also have Affinity but have not used it other than to "take a look" around so don't know about that program but I was impressed with what I did see. I like the Martin Evening book on LR, electronic, as he was sort of a part of the LR founding team. I could not personally recommend Kelby, don't care for his "jump around" style. Of course, the Adobe folks are great. Read up, in particular, on the Library Module as that is where most people get in trouble. Good luck.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

Lightroom is designed to perpetuate itself. Not necessarily a bad thing but it's good to be aware of it before you get into using Lightroom.
Lightroom does not actually change your photos unless you take an additional step and save the changed version. All of your changes are kept in a "file" and you have to not move your files around and get them separated.

wolfman

If you don't want to go the subscription route, there's a simple solution. Get a standalone copy of LR6 and go with Affinity Photo.

Affinity Photo for $50 is a bargain and all updates are free.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've never really used the cataloging feature of LR because I had my own system before I started using it. It doesn't look like Affinity currently has the ability to use keywords, but give it time. This is the last version of free-standing LR. I can't imagine Adobe discontinuing it, but you never know. Affinity seems closer to PS than LR. For $50 it's a good deal. There is also a free trial available.

https://affinity.serif.com/blog/free-trials-now-available-for-windows-users/

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

You may want to look at ACDsee Ultimate 10. Free 30 day trial (https://www.acdsee.com/en/index) - It is a catalog and post processor - pretty much a combination of Photoshop & LightRoom.
Mark

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

You say that "I believe Lightroom Mobile is no longer available", I have LR installed on both of my Android phone.
Or perhaps I misunderstood your post.

cthahn

Get the Adobe Cloud, LR, PS Br for $10 a month, and you will have everything up to date all the time.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

When in the same boat you are in, I chose Lightroom over Affinity because of the cataloging. It's works well, but there is a learning curve.

D74M

Thanks to all UHH members. Appreciate your input. I'm going to check out ACDsee and take a bit deeper look into Lightroom. I shoot with a Fuji X-T1 and read a bit how Lightroom handles Fuji RAW; something about setting up a Fuji profile before importing; something to do with color, etc. Thanks...

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

I'm a LRcc guy and haven't needed, nor want, to look anywhere else. That said, I've found that the Mobile capability is a huge PITA on a couple of levels...after trying it for awhile I ended-up importing my phone stuff in the standard way (well, I actually re-download from my synced-up shots off Google). Still, LR/PS is the best deal around, IMO..no muss, no fuss, just do the work and get done quickly...