Bill Eaton Loc: Palm City,Florida

I have been photographing wildlife (mostly birds) for several years and I am basically a purist but still do some
photo editing.My Mac which died had Iphotos and for a variety of reasons I have switched to a PC. So here are
the tools I will need. Cropping , color saturation , noise , sharpness , healing tool , brightness , and hue.
Most of the editors I have looked at seem to be oriented more to special effects rather than making some basic changes to photo that is good to start with.
Any suggestions are welcome.

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 decisions 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.

bleirer

What kind of camera? both Canon and Nikon have free software to give you all you asked for and more. Other brands probably do also, I don't know.

Lightroom classic/photoshop cc is the standard by which all others compare but costs a $10 month subscription. Photoshop elements gives you everything you asked for, someone said it is on sale now. Many others that I don't have experience with will give the basic level of adjustment you asked for.

You might even look at the free Fastone image viewer. Has a fair number of adjustments built in.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

My suggestion will always be the "no-compromise" app, or more accurately bundle. This would be Photoshop/Lightroom. My second choice would be DXO Photolab/Nik bundle. My last choice would be On1 RAW which is bundled with Effects, et al. The least desirable is On1 - it shows great promise and they are working overtime to steal some market share from Adobe, but even after 6 versions of migrating to their raw converter it still suffers from "NRFPT" syndrome (not ready fro prime time) - it crashes, some things take way too long to accomplish, etc. DXO PHotolab is pretty mature and Nik is a legendary plugin suite that is now integrated with PhotoLab. Honorable Mention goes to Capture One Pro - but this seriously underrates the application - IMHO it is the BEST raw converter on the market for a long list of reasons. My problem with it is that as good as it is, it is NOT a complete solution. It is a very powerful raw conversion engine, but it misses the mark on fussy, detail-level editing/retouching. However, I use it together with Photoshop/Lightroom - just because it is a better raw converter than LR.

There is a lot of junk out there for free or almost free - for me it takes too much effort to get the results I get with the above-mentioned applications, and yes, I do use all of them.

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

These are basic editing tools. As long as you are sure you are not going to get a lot fancier, there is no reason at all to buy editing software.
So just download Gimp. This is a free photo editing tool that does everything you want, and more. Lots more. I use Gimp routinely. If you later feel like you need more capabilities, well Gimp will still be there.

Bill_de Loc: US

Avoid being sucked into spending more than you need to.

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Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Listen to CHG Canon on this topic

Keith S Loc: Federal Way, Wa

I just found an open software application called Darktable. All the reviews say it is very similar to Lightroom and if you are not a professional photographer it is a good option. I have not tried it yet, but will look into it tomorrow,
.

srt101fan

Why is it that when someone asks for advice on a commuter car, some of us want them to buy Corvettes? 😕

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

I agree!. Just listen to the OP, and try to fit ideas into what they see for themselves. 👍

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

My personal choice is the Lightroom/Photoshop and Photoshop Elements programs.

But, for the "making some basic changes to photo that is good to start with", be sure to try out the Windows Photos app that you get with your Windows computer.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Of course, PhotoShop is the photographic gold standard, and both Gene51 and CHUG_CANON give Great Factual Advice.
They also post great examples of what they can do, so there is NEVER BS from these guys.

However, I like simple tools. I guess that I am just lazy, but I like specific tools for specific applications/jobs. So I use Topaz Products. They have a free trial period and I find that they work great.
Topaz Products FAQs: https://help.topazlabs.com/hc/en-us

Topaz workflow: https://topazlabs.com/the-ultimate-workflow-for-topaz-labs-ai-software/?utm_source=Topaz+Updates&utm_campaign=8c480bdca3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_19_04_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5e4dd8652a-8c480bdca3-92602881&mc_cid=8c480bdca3&mc_eid=c9be7297b0

Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=topaz+tutorials+on+youtube
Jim Nix Topaz Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jim+Nix+topaz
David Kelly Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dave+kelly+topaz

How to make Topaz Products Run Faster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GraqwH2YYJ4
Whatever you choose, good luck on your photographic journey, and always use/do what is best for you.

Smile,
JimmyT Sends

traderjohn Loc: New York City

We are talking about people who take pictures. They will always be chasing the rainbow and spend more than they need to.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Get a free trial of Paint Shop Pro, I think it will do all your asking.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

FastStone Image Viewer, which is much more than just a viewer, might meet your modest requirements very well. It's totally free so nothing to lose by trying it. Below is a quote from a comparison review of several similar apps and that is by no means a complete list of it's features.

"If you like viewing your photos in full-screen, the FastStone Image Viewer allows you to get a clear view of the photo. The app is user-friendly, fast, and stable with a wide array of features such as resizing, cropping, red-eye removal, color adjustments, retouching, and emailing."