Photoshop Alternatives
Jul 1, 2019 14:30:15 #
Photoshop elements is 85-90% of the function at a fraction of the price. One1 is my solution, reasonable one time charge and extremely powerful image editing. It's about $150 but is often on sale. There's a free download trial and a return policy. Don't rule out GIMP, a free alternative that also offers many features.
Jul 1, 2019 15:21:07 #
sirlensalot
Loc: Arizona
Suggest visiting youtube. They have several comparisons from free to one-time pay programs. Have been hearing many good things about Affinity. Looking at it now. Want to see how it compares to my stand alone version of LR6.
Jul 1, 2019 15:47:58 #
Amadeus
Loc: New York
I'm also a hobbyist like you. I got Affinity a few months ago. I think it's terrific. It's all you would ever need at our level. I used photoshop for years, and I find it does the same things, but it's easier to use and the tutorials are great. A one time fee of $50, and they upgrade it forever at no additional cost.
Jul 1, 2019 16:43:50 #
David Martin
Loc: Cary, NC
My suggestion:
Before you spend your hard-earned money, you should download and test-drive the trial versions of each LR/PS alternative mentioned by UHH colleagues above, and see which one - if any - suits you best. Each has strengths, weaknesses, and different learning curves. Some are more like PS, and others take different approaches to post-processing.
From my experience, you should definitely check out Affinity Photo, Luminar, DxO and ON1. Perhaps PaintShop Pro if you use Windows (though I liked PSP better when it was offered by Jasc, before Corel bought it in 2004). Plus additional other options (Capture One, GIMP, etc.) suggested by others.
Good luck and have fun!
Before you spend your hard-earned money, you should download and test-drive the trial versions of each LR/PS alternative mentioned by UHH colleagues above, and see which one - if any - suits you best. Each has strengths, weaknesses, and different learning curves. Some are more like PS, and others take different approaches to post-processing.
From my experience, you should definitely check out Affinity Photo, Luminar, DxO and ON1. Perhaps PaintShop Pro if you use Windows (though I liked PSP better when it was offered by Jasc, before Corel bought it in 2004). Plus additional other options (Capture One, GIMP, etc.) suggested by others.
Good luck and have fun!
Jul 1, 2019 16:44:29 #
[quote=Stardust]I use Corel PaintShop Pro 2019 (and been using some version since PaintShop 7) and have been very happy with results,
The only drawback to Coral PaintShop is that for those of us working on a Mac, it is not compatible.., or so I hear?
The only drawback to Coral PaintShop is that for those of us working on a Mac, it is not compatible.., or so I hear?
Jul 1, 2019 16:56:50 #
Wanderer2 wrote:
I'm an old guy mired in film era thinking and find the more advanced features of photo editing difficult to learn. I've tried about 6 different programs and have found Affinity Photo to have the easiest learning curve. As other's have said, it's also very capable. It's a bargain at a one time fee of $50 and there is a free trial available, for two weeks ABIR.
Does Affinity work with RAW images?
Jul 1, 2019 16:57:55 #
philz
Loc: Rockaway Township NJ
Yes. It has a Persona (module) for that. Open automatically any raw image.
Jul 1, 2019 17:03:27 #
Jul 1, 2019 17:05:14 #
shotgunner wrote:
Does Affinity work with RAW images?
The Affinity develop module opens raw files and lets you do a lot of basic adjustments before sending the image to the photo persona for further enhancements. I am pleased with the results I get from all the Affinity modules and you can move instantly from one module to another.
Jul 1, 2019 17:20:51 #
One thing to be aware of if you decide to ditch ps many programs can not read native ps files so you need to save stuff in a universal format like tif
Jul 1, 2019 17:46:38 #
Affinity was recently upgraded to version 1.7. One of the changes is an improved RAW developer.
The old video tutorials are being revised and the new ones are now at https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/tutorials/photo/desktop/
The old video tutorials are being revised and the new ones are now at https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/tutorials/photo/desktop/
Jul 1, 2019 18:49:33 #
I've used Paint Shop Pro for years and it does all I need. No pro am I but I like to "massage" all that I take. People appreciate the results.
Jul 1, 2019 19:28:02 #
shotgunner wrote:
In order to avoid paying an eternal subscription fee to Adobe, I'm researching alternatives to Photoshop. I'm hearing good things about Corel Paintshop Pro and Affinity Photo, but I have not used either one. If you have experience with either of these programs , or other Photoshop alternatives, I'm eager to hear what you have to say. FYI, my interest in photography is strictly as a hobby.
Iv'e tried both Affinity and Photoline. Photoline is a very powerful program but because it was developed by to German bothers there is only a little bit of information available about it. Affinity is a great program.
You will be able to do everything you will every need to do with it and there are lots of tutorials online.
Jul 1, 2019 19:32:15 #
I use Elements. I bought it last year from Amazon during their primebdays for $50! It does all I need.
Jul 1, 2019 19:42:33 #
Ysarex
Loc: St. Louis
shotgunner wrote:
Does Affinity work with RAW images?
Yes, BUT Affinity's raw module processing tools are (being kind) mediocre. No highlight reconstruction, limited local adjustments, no HSL adjustment..... BUT, BIG BUT Affinity's raw processing workflow is forced destructive. The instant you click Develop and move an image from the raw processing module to the Photo module Affinity trashes any work you did in the raw module.
Wake up in the morning sober and decide you'd like to tweak the WB from what you did last night and you get to start over from scratch. Affinity saves your output RGB image and you can reopen that but that is not giving you access back to your raw file. Since other software does not do this and in fact some pixel editors like PS actually bend over backwards to not do this (smart objects in PS) it's worth repeating that Affinity's raw workflow is forced destructive. What that means is that if you want to return to your editing and make a change your earlier work was forcibly destroyed and you get to do it over again.
Affinity's bias toward pixel editing is obvious as such.
Joe
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