Photo edit software (Page 3): Yes, Lightroom Classic was designed for working pros. It's the hub of a professional grade workflow. HOWEVER, it is NOT difficult to learn to use. As with...

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

gvarner wrote:

My understanding is that Lightroom's marketing target is for pros who process large batches of photos at a time and need 16 bit processing to produce high quality edits for their prints. It doesn’t have an easy learning curve.

Yes, Lightroom Classic was designed for working pros. It's the hub of a professional grade workflow.

HOWEVER, it is NOT difficult to learn to use. As with any other tool, you just need to USE it. Practice is the key.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

keywest305 wrote:

I'm looking for a new photo edit tool. I had Corel but with new laptop now looking for something good but not a big learning curve. If anyone can give their 2 cents on something decent but simplistic

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Affinity Photo, ON1 Photo RAW or Photoshop Elements

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Photoshop Elements.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Bill_de wrote:

Somebody once told me: br Never take authority whe... (show quote)

That's new to me. Thanks. For a very long time it has been a 10 day trial with a 30 day refund. I wonder when they changed it.

The 30 day refund still exists. So one can use Photoshop and Premiere Elements for 60 days without risk.

It has been that during the 10 day trial, output from Premiere Elements had a watermark that only went away when you paid. If you were devious you could work on projects now for a month, pay, remove the watermark and still get a refund.

The refund page: https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/return-cancel-or-change-order.html

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

gvarner wrote:

My understanding is that Lightroom's marketing target is for pros who process large batches of photos at a time and need 16 bit processing to produce high quality edits for their prints. It doesn’t have an easy learning curve.

I respectively disagree. The Lightroom system is not marketed at pros. It is intended for anyone that cares about digital photography. The learning curve is not at all bad. I can get someone going in the right direction in a few minutes. The learning curve only get hard when one jumps in with no planning and screws it all up!

Dennis833 Loc: Australia

If you're looking for simplistic trial Luminar Neo.

radiojohn

Fast Stone Image Viewer/Editor faststone.org Free!

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

The nice thing about Photoshop Elements is that it's a one-time purchase. You're not locked into a monthly subscription.

jimmol

I compared ACDSee with Lightroom a while back and found ACDSee definitely superior. For instance, it has layers. I have been able to use ACDSee Ultimate to do anything that I have seen anyone actually do in Photoshop. (This is not to say that it has as many features, but I suspect that most Photoshop users make use of only a subset of its features.)

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Sorry. This is an impossible choice. There are too many competent, inexpensive programs available.

I prefer paying once and using it as long as I like. The alternative is to get a subscription and get updates as soon as they become available. Look online for reviews and comparisons.

Lots of links -

Affinity
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/software-review-affinity-photo-1-5-2
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/affinity-photo-software-review-has-photoshop-met-its-match#d1c5lY5EQ03QoLjh.97
http://www.diyphotography.net/affinity-photo-can-give-adobe-run-money/
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/affinity-photo-1.5,review-4257.html

Others
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-lightroom-alternatives
http://digital-photography-school.com/a-beginners-guide-to-choosing-the-right-post-production-software/
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/photo-editing
https://www.reviews.com/photo-editing-software/
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-photo-editing-software,review-1972.html
http://www.redmondpie.com/best-adobe-photoshop-alternatives-for-windows-and-mac-list Affinity
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/affinity-photo-software-review-has-photoshop-met-its-match#d1c5lY5EQ03QoLjh.97
http://www.diyphotography.net/affinity-photo-can-give-adobe-run-money/
https://photographypro.com/photo-editing/

If you prefer not to pay at all, you can still do processing -

https://www.darktable.org/
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59324818
https://www.lightstalking.com/how-to-edit-rawtherapee/
https://www.lightstalking.com/free-photography-software/
http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-photo-editor
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-best-photoshop-alternatives-that-are-totally-free-5974500
http://lightzoneproject.org/

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

keywest305 wrote:

I'm looking for a new photo edit tool. I had Corel but with new laptop now looking for something good but not a big learning curve. If anyone can give their 2 cents on something decent but simplistic

Stay with Corel. Every year they upgrade the product and your learning curve will be much less with a product you already use. I find their PP products are very good in almost all situations. The noise reduction tools are limited but I use Topaz for that. I didn't like their new format but there is a switch you can flip to make it operate like the traditional versions.

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

radiojohn wrote:

Fast Stone Image Viewer/Editor faststone.org Free!

Windows only.

radiojohn

Yes, but that covers a lot of users.

GIMP is Windows/Mac/Linux and also free.

Thanks!

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Bridges wrote:

Stay with Corel. Every year they upgrade the product and your learning curve will be much less with a product you already use. I find their PP products are very good in almost all situations. The noise reduction tools are limited but I use Topaz for that. I didn't like their new format but there is a switch you can flip to make it operate like the traditional versions.

I agree with your "stay with" philosophy - but it does not have to be Corel - if an app does all that is required, go with any upgrades when available for free and continue to use what is familiar. Familiarity breeds good results and less frustration.

markwilliam1

TucsonDave wrote:

Affinity Photo. No subscription. Less than $50 to purchase one time. Automatic updates. Very comprehensive. Steep learning curve, like Photoshop.

Affinity Photo took over 1000’s of photos I had on my computer! Could not open Any photo without their logo Converting all my Lightroom photos and everything else to Affinity Photo. I had to delete Affinity Photo to recover my photos. NOT RECOMMENDED