Which Software

[Iguide]

I shoot both RAW & Jpeg with my 50D, and do most of my editing with the canon software. What programs would be generally recommended to compliment that software mostly for bracketing, removal of unwanted items etc.? I'm still very new to digital after just leaving film & don't even know what it is that I should know to what questions to ask about such matters,


Thanks Much!!!


Wayne


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[Scott]

Hi Wayne
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]I use and can recommend Photoshop Elements 7, version 8 has been out for a while and does all what I need for now.
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<o><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]</o>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]Cheers
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<o><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]</o>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]Scott

[bob williams]

I am a huge advocate of Photoshop Lightroom---Its a little more pricey than Elements, but the workflow from downloading to output is very easy, yet fairly robust. Also, If you can qualify for education pricing,I think it's only $99 US.

[NFLD Stephen]

Personally, I just use Canon's own DPP (Digital Photo Pro) software for most of my post work. It's easy to learn, always compatible with canon cameras and easily does the minor adjustments I make on most pictures: ie. RAW conversion, resizing,cropping, white balance adjustment, exposure adjustment, etc.


For more complex or detailed work I use Photoshop CS3. If you're just starting, photoshop is likely "too much" software: there is a steep learning curve. The advantage is that there isn't much that can't be done in photoshop if you know what you're doing.


I'm not familiar with Lightroom, but I've heard good things, particularly with respect to simplifying the digital workflow. I may consider switching to Lightroom myself if the opportunity/need ever arises.


Basically it comes down to how much post work you intend to do and how comfortable you are in working with different software. I suggest just using Canon's DDP for starters and then progressing from there if you need something more powerful.


Stephen

[Lars]

I agree with Stephen. I use DPP, and Photoshop only when needed. DPP covers the essentials and works nicely with the picture catalogue created when you load the pictures onto you computer. Remember also that if you are careful during the pre-procession (i.e. when you shoot [:P]) you reduce the amount of post-processing. As I have gotten to know my camera (it was a huge difference from film to digital, so it took a while), I usually only do one or two steps before converting to .jpeg. Ten seconds pre-processing often saves a minute of post-processing.

[Tucker]

removal of unwanted items

I am sort of a Photoshop Guru so I know I may underestimate the learning curve, but I think that elements and lightroom are poorsubstitutesfor the real deal. If you can swing it Photoshop CS5 has by far some of the most powerful image touch-up tools. The new "content aware fill" is incredibly powerful and I have noticed a huge leap in the spot healing tool's ability to fix in some pretty amazing ways.


If you are serious about digital photography Photoshop is really the best. It's like the L lens of software.

[Lars]

I agree with Tucker on the superiority of PS. No software I have come by has ever managed to compete with PS. If I want to spend some time to enhance pictures for printing, I always use photoshop (I am so fortunate that I get it through the University, I have never tried lightroom or element, though). But as you suggest, the learning curve is quite steep. But when I went through two years of pictures to convert to .jpeg for on-screen viewing, DPP was the easiest to use. And as my experience with digital photography increased, the amount of post-processing decreased correspondingly.

[Colin500]

Ok, I use "Aperture" for first-stage processing, and if I really need to manipulate the image then it's "GIMP", which at least is free...


Colin

[Sheiky]

I shoot both RAW &amp; Jpeg with my 50D, and do most of my editing with the canon software. What programs would be generally recommended to compliment that software mostly for bracketing, removal of unwanted items etc.? I'm still very new to digital after just leaving film &amp; don't even know what it is that I should know to what questions to ask about such matters,

Hey Wayne,


the cheapest way for general stuff: DPP which you got with the camera. I personally didn't like the workflow. I use Photoshop Lightroom for importing, sorting and tonal and quick adjustments of the photos. It's also very easy to adjust one photo and them apply the same corrections to whatever amount of photos you select. I found this very easy when needing to crop all images the same at 16:9 rate for a time-lapse for instance. It also has a clone stamp option which helps out with the removal of most unwanted items. Of course it doesn't have the magic photoshop touch, but it's good for 99/100 times. It's also very easy to use and you could also publish and export with it...


I persoannly also have Photoshop CS4, but I rarely use it. I only use it for real specific needs.


I believe you can also try out Lightroom 3...I personally think it's worth it and it doesn't cost that much either. (Of course there are also free programs like DPP and Gimp) It's a real easy program to learn and it offers you a very broad variety of uses from importing to adjusting to exporting.


As for bracketing images...I assume you mean HDR? I use Photomatix Pro, which is also available as a Lightroom plug-in.


Good luck!


Jan

[Iguide]

Thank You every for the advise. It is very helpful. []


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