Camera Labs

Hi all,

I just got my first DSLR and I was wonder if anyone can let me know which software I should be using for post processing (not sure if that is the right term)?

I do not mind and would like to learn from basic even if the software is complicate. I read a lot about people using Photoshop, some advise Picasa for beginner, some say they use lightroom, but I am sure there is more that I haven't heard of before.

I am planning to get one of he software but would like to know if I am getting myself a "right" software for myself. Once I get some pointers I will do further research.

Thanks for any reply!

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-Isulami

you should try Photoshop Elements

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http://www.AnderssonPhoto.com
Cameras: Leica M8, Nikon FE-2, Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 40D
Lenses: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4, Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm 5.6 ASPH II, Nikkor AI-S 28mm 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8L, 85mm 1.2L II, 300mm 2.8L IS, TS-E 45mm 2.8, Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro
Canon 1.4x/2X TC II, Canon 580EX II X2, Gitzo + Manfrotto.
Wishlist: Leica Monochrom, Summilux 50 ASPH, Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 ASPH II

Another option is a legally free program called the Gimp. It is available for PC, Mac and Linux. I don't recall if it runs RAW natively or if I added a plugin to make that work, but it is quite a nice program. It is a good starting place until you know how much processing you tend to do and what your requirements for software are. You might find that you do not even need anything more.

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Still nursing along my Canon XTi/400D with EF 100-400L IS, EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM, EF 50 f/1.4, EF-S 18-200, EF 75-300, EF-S 18-55.

Picasa - free, get it and try it
Lightroom, Photoshop (any version) - free trial, get it and try it

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

lightroom 2.7 (v3.0 is laggy on my actual computer) & photoshop cs4 (cs5 is very laggy on my pc & I don't really need the upgrades)

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Gear: Nikon D80, 18-105mm, 35mm F/1.8, 85mm F/1.8, SB-600
Visit my work here

Best is to check if your camera is supported by the older generations in that case. Not everyone has the latest camera, but if you do, it is possible that it is not supported in the older generation software.

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

I use xnview for general viewing and browsing and canons DPP and Photoshop.
I find Xnview easy for cropping of jpg`s and resizing, use the others for raw files and when more editing is required.

here is a good list, its a sticky http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7811

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

Lightroom is very user friendly and gives you the most used post procssing tools + powerful organizing features + a wealth optional plugins for processing, emailing, uploading e.t.c.

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Radu
Canon PowerShot S100
Canon 50D , SIGMA 10-20 f3.5 ,Canon EF 24-105 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 macro Canon EF 50/1.4 ,Canon EF 85 f1.8,Canon EF-S17-85 4-5.6 Old Tamron 28-300 inherited from my Canon Rebel G film camera
Canon580EXII
http://www.errre.net

+1 to the favorable comments about Lightroom.

I haven't experienced any lag problems with it either

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Jason

Just a new guy learning his way

Film: Olympus XA2
Digital: Nikon D3100 w/SB-600: , Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G, Tokina 12-24MM F4 Pro II

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkmcdonald/

My Blog: http://jmcdonaldphotography.tumblr.com/

Thanks for all of the reply, i'll definally try out some of the demo and the freeware mention here before making any purchase.

On a side note I am really confuse by Adobe product. It seems like they have a lot of product that overlap in functions. All I know is that Photoshop Element is an entry form of Photoshop, but where does lightroom fit into it? How about CS5 (was reading Gordon's guide)?

The Adobe website is not really helpful in this matter, of course maybe I am looking at the wrong place.

Thanks for any help, it would save me a lot of time in redundant Google search.

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-Isulami

photoshop elements, basic stuff for photo editing, more like snapshots use, but does the same trick as its older brother most of the times. Lightroom is a stripped from graphical work photoshop intended for photo organizing and hardcore editing of photos. Photoshop CS5 is the all in one package for graphical processing, it does more than just photos (example editing video frames and 3D graphics). In general lightroom is the budget version for photographers but with all the power.

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

Ah, I guess I see the picture now.

Thanks for you explanation, it is making more sense now.

Cheers

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-Isulami

I've used Photoshop for about 12 years for just about everything except major photography work. I got Lightroom 3 about 6 months ago, and I hardly ever use Photoshop now. Lightroom does almost everything you need to do, plus it's fantastic with organizing as well.

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Rebel T2I, Tamron 17-50 2.8, EF 70-300 f4-5.6, 50mm f 1.8

flickr

I use LR3 to import and catolgue all my work, great array of labels, ratings and key words available. It is a much improved version from 2.## and personally haven't found it to be laggy. It has great editting capabilities and more than enough to get you started. There all hundeds of presets available to download and mess around with various effects.
When you are ready for some serious processing, I beleive Photoshop is the industry standard. CS5 for me.

HTH
Alan

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Alan
D4 & D700


http://www.alanwilliamsphotography.co.uk
BLOG: http://www.ayrshireweddingphotographer.org