software

I have a *istD and have been using the pentax software that came with the body,(very limited, but good to start with). I am now ready to buy better more advanced software, but looking at whats available, I need some help. I could go the easy way and buy the popular 'Photoshop Elements', but as I like to not 'follow the crowd', I want to find out if there is anything else out there.

There's little point IMHO is looking at something apart from Photoshop just for the sake of it - the full program is after all the one most of us use. There has to be a good reason for that!

I use Photoshop 7, but am about to upgrade to CS2. There are some very useful features that are not in Elelments, but having said that Elements is considerably less expensive and does an excellent job.

Maybe someone else has a favourite alternative?

One excellent reason for not using the full version of Photoshop is the price. The cut-down version, Elements, used to be quite good, but the current version looks as though it was designed for use by the denizens of a kindergarten.

I was introduced to Picture Window Pro by a very good photographer, whose work is always stunning. The things you actually need to use are more accessible than in PS, and it usually starts with a suggested adjustment which can be easily over-ridden if you don't like it. Not expensive, and very usable. It's Help system is much better than anything ever produced by Adobe. Don't be put off by its somewhat primitive appearance.

For RAW conversion I use Phase One Capture One, which can deal with a batch of pictures very quickly. This program is used by professional photographers using medium-format digital backs, for whom time is money.

Both of these naturally have free trials, as has Photoshop Elements.

G

I, too, use Picture Window Pro. Took a bit of getting used to, but as guest states, when it takes a guess, its usually pretty good. It has a basic interface with no frills. Also the Pro version is fully 16-bit compatible on all functions - useful when converting from RAW to 16-bit Tiff files. You can download a trial of it: www.dl-c.com.

For RAW, I have used RawShooter Essentials (free), but just taken advantage of their upgrade offer (now run out) to the Premium vesion - which I like. Having said that, having had a trial version of Capture One, I feel that gives a slightly better/ punchier first attempt of converting before any adjustments are added (for most pictures)
Andy

I use Paint Shop Pro 10, and have PS also. But prefer PSP-10. The price for PSP is less than a third of PS.

Personally I'd use Photoshop Elements. I've used version 2 then upgraded to full Photoshop (now on CS2 and the Creative Suite Premium). I have version 3 as well, and this isn't bad at all.
The benefit of using Elements is there's a whole heap of techniques for Photoshop that are equally applicable to Elements... and a reasonably common set of terminology and basic features. So upgrading to "pro" software isn't too painful.

But, then, as has been mentioned, there's plenty of image editing stuff out there. Don't forget Gimp2 (GNU software, so you can use it for free).

Best thing is to try as many as you can then stick with it

Matt

Apple has just released their new image editing software called APERTURE.
It's enhanced for a photographer with a RAW file work-flow...

http://www.apple.com/aperture/

Is cost a factor? What do you do with your images? Pro or amature?
I like bmw's and can list a million reasons why I think they're great, but I drive a chevy astro van 'cause I couldn't find a used beemer in my price range that came with 8 seats...
one could buy photoshop elements, and a whole whack of plugins for the price of photoshop cs....