tdozier3 Loc: Northern Illinois

I'm pretty sure that Corel has a 30 day free trial of ASP 3. You can always try it and see if it meets your needs. If you do decide on it, check out the Grad Filter Pro plug in. It's a very nice addition to the software

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

In that case, the best choice is Lightroom.

redlegfrog

I understand that Lightroom has a monthly fee. I wouldn't use the program enough to justify the cost.
After I get things organized I don't envision using the software but every couple of months or so.

But thanks for your ideas.

Tom

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Can I assume that you do not plan to shoot raw regularly, and that post processing will just be an occasional thing? If so, maybe you should be looking at dedicated Digital Asset Management (DAM) software rather than post processing solutions with built in DAM functionality. I am not knowledgeable about these software packages since I do not use them myself, but others here may be able to suggest the best one to use for your purposes and budget.

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

If you are not going to use the software on a daily basis, and don't want to pay the monthly fee for Adobe CC, consider purchasing Luminar 3, which has implemented a Library and Asset Management in the new version of L3. Skylum just recently released an update, Luminar 3.0.2 to Luminar 3, which when it first was released in December 2018 was somewhat quirky, and the PC version was considerably worse than the Mac version.

I have the newest version of Luminar installed, and it seems to work okay, but I have not used it extensively as of yet. I still use Lightroom for importing, cataloging, and doing my first processing of images, as that is what I am used to.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

It is a poor carpenter that blames his tools. A good photographer can get good results with any camera, lense and post processing program. That said, I use Aftershot Pro 3 and like it. I do have a stability problem with it on my computer that is annoying. I use the program for Raw processing and cataloging. I use Paintshop Pro for final results. The best program is the one that you feel comfortable with and produces the results you seek. Any of the programs you cite will give satisfactory results. For ameture photographers, price is an important factor in selecting a program. The “best” program may be overkill for most people.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I bought it (it was cheap), downloaded it, and tried it out. I went back to using my Adobe Camera Raw (PS Elements 14) because I like ACR better. I just like the way it renders my photos better. I don't know why I think it renders the photos better, but it does (for my taste).

You should know that I bought Aftershot Pro with the full intent of using it instead of ACR.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

While I certainly agree with your first statement that a poor carpenter blames his tools, it's also true that inferior tools can affect the quality of one's work no matter how skilled they are. Aftershot Pro 3, although certainly a usable tool is unfortunately inferior in a number of significant areas. Some program had to be on the bottom of that pile.

While it may give you satisfactory results, our definitions of satisfactory may differ significantly. As an example, try using it to extract deep shadow detail without unacceptable noise. Try using it to effectively and naturally dodge and burn. In fact compare almost anything it can do with it's more respected competition and you can easily see After Shot Pro's limitations.

I'm not suggesting you stop using it any more than I would tell someone to stop using a truly simplistic piece of software like Picasa. There is software out there with different levels of quality and functionality for every user, and at every skill level and price point. None of them are absolutely equal to each other in quality or usability. But some have a significantly better implementation of their tool sets than others. For many people the quality differences do not matter, but make no mistake, the differences are there and clearly recognizable.

royb_36-cox.net Loc: Phoenix

I have and use Aftershot Pro 3 in conjunction with PrintShop which is how I understand the Corel PP software was designed to be used. There have been some comparison videos on YouTube which compared AfterShot to LightRoom and it compared favorably. Use of AfterShot as PP software by itself would perform as reported here in my opinion.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Nobody used the word “poor,” big guy, but you.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I believe he was referring to my comments. In my testing of AfterShot Pro 3 and seven other post-processing packages I found the results from AfterShot mosrly ranged from poor to mediocre in comparison to the other applications I tested, not necessarily on an absolute basis. That doesn't mean that those poor and mediocre images were unacceptable, merely that they were lacking in comparison to what the better software was capable of achieving.

I set a high standard based on what the best programs like Capture One Pro, DXO Photolab Elite, and Lightroom/Photoshop can accomplish. By comparison to these programs the quality of AfterShot Pro 3's raw conversions, tool implementation, and feature set is simply not in the same league and also fell below the more mid-priced software like ON1, Affinity Photo, and Luminar. It was purely a comparative exercise and I'm sure that many AfterShot Pro 3 users are happy with their purchase. I do believe though that if they spent the time I did reviewing the alternatives they would mostly agree with my findings.

cliodiver

Works ok. Paid for app through their program that did not work. Spent a frustrating week dealing with tech support. Final day... tech forgot appointment . Called company and they said I had to file a claim to fix problem. That was the final straw so I requested my money back. That meant a different claim to their resolution center. Oh well, I could go on . Bottom line is that thanks to PayPal I got a refund. Stay away from

redlegfrog

I'm the guy who started this thread about Aftershot Pro 3 and I thought you all might like to know how things ended up.

Shopping for software it looked like Aftershot Pro 3 was just what I needed. I downloaded a copy of their software and instruction manual and while studying it could not find info on making subfolders or renaming files.

On Monday I contacted them, the person I spoke with did not know but said she would have someone who did contact me. Sense then I have had 3 emails telling me they are going to let me know, but this is Friday afternoon and still no word so I still don't know.

Probably not the kind of company support we all like to deal with.

I'm going to look else where and suggest you do the same.

Thank you all for your input and software suggestions it was most helpful,

Tom

klaus Loc: Guatemala City, Guatemala

I bought AfterShot Pro 3, installed it played with it...and then never used it!

I thought at first it would be a good fit since I use PaintShop Pro 2019 as my main editing program. I was also lured in since it promised lens correction for third party lenses. As other people have mentioned the RAW (NEF) conversion is mediocre and the lens correction doesn't work very well or not at all depending on the lens.

So now I am using an older version of DXO Optics Pro which gives me the correct lens correction for all my camera and lens combinations. If I really want to nail skin tones I use Nikon Capture NX-D even though I hate the interface and logic flow of that program.

I sort my pictures in a simple Windows folder structure by occasion and date so I don't have to rely on proprietary software.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Some folks in this thread appear to be happy using After Shot Pro 3 and one poster may have inadvertently felt insulted by my very negative opinion of this product. After Shot pro may be better then using nothing at all but it is a flawed product. I suspect that those who are happy using it may not be shooting raw or don't have a lot of experience or expertise with post processing and other software.