Help?

[vince101]

For Post-processing:

which is more better/detailed to use in terms of editing pics ?

Adobe Photoshop CS5 , Lightroom or Topaz Adjust???
Whats the diference between the three of them?

rockpaperscissorsph.com

[Markulous]

Personally, use CS5 as it'll do anything and everything and I like to maintain full control - but it's not for everyone as it's a pretty steep learning curve and is not very intuitive

I've tried LR and didn't get on with it - fine if you batch process but I don't!

Dislike most of what Topaz does in the way of effects as they always seem overblown - but I'm sure it's perfectly capable

[donoreo]

You missed PS Elements. Most people do not need the extra functionality of CS, so Elements is great.

I use Lightroom myself, because I wanted some functionality of CS (the RAW controls are about the same) and love it. I never start up Elements anymore unless I need something that the content aware cloning is the best option.

[jeaspeke]

I agree with previous posting, PS Elements 10 is now very advanced package, and a great place to start. Lots of tutorials are built in and on-line. Most magazines cover PS Elements techniques too.

I use CS3, but also bought PS 9.0 last year for teaching beginners, and I see no need for me to upgrade from CS3 to CS5 (whopping great price) while Elements retails at about £70-£80 in UK, you may even pick up PS Elements 9.0 at an even lower price, as Adobe has just launched V 10.0.

Ref LR - some people at our camera club swear by it, but I find it a pain for single image work. I think it suits pros who have a large number of digital files to sort and for making the same changes to a large number of shots, e.g. wedding shoots. LR excels at Digital Image Management but it has a steeper learning curve for beginners.

Finally, about 80-90% of the tools and methods in Elements are the same as the full PS package. so should you upgrade later to CS5; you have in fact already learned the basic and intermediate tools and techniques. Elements is a great way to step up in 2 stages.

Good luck and let's see your work.

John
Rushcliffe Photo Club Member

[jet_kit]

I agree with Donoreo and John. If you're just starting out then Elements is the way to go.
Cost is a major factor in any software procurement. Photoshop CS is about £600 while Elements 10 can be found for as little as £57. Bizarrely, Amazon are selling E9 for more than E10.
I don't know anything about Lightroom other than it comes in around £100, but a lot of people like it.
Again, Topaz is a mystery to me. But I understand that it's a plug-in to Photoshop anyway. So, you'll need to go that way first.
If you want something that is reasonably powerful and, crucially, FREE. You should have a go at Gimp or Photofiltre. You won't find much in the way of tutorials in magazines but they're fairly intuitive and there's a heap of people out there using them and you should be able find a few on this forum.

[GeoffWessex]

Yes, the great benefit of Elements (apart from the fact that, in general, has many of the same features of its big brother) is that there are many more learning resources around - both in print and on the web, and it takes many (but not all) of the plug-ins that full Photoshop can use. If you follow a "Photoshop Tutorial" for a particular effect, even if it's been written for full PS, you can usually find a way for Elements to do the same.

Topaz is a plug-in for PS and Elements - it's really several little plug-ins, not a standalone program and not really a 'photo-editor' as such. I liked Topaz Adjust but after a while it becomes just another filter - and the effects are just a little too obvious to any photographer.

Lightroom is used by many members of my Photo Club, to the exclusion of other programs. I try to encourage the use of Elements for those 'special jobs' - in particular the benefits of working with layers - but people seem happy with Lightroom alone. I think an ideal setup for most photographers, both amateurs and (most) pros, is LR with Elements. Having said that, I'm still using a Windows XP machine until I move home again and LR3, which I got over a year ago, has been unusable on it..... it 'runs', if that's the word for it, but at a snail's pace.

[jet_kit]

Originally Posted by GeoffWessex

I'm still using a Windows XP machine until I move home again and LR3, which I got over a year ago, has been unusable on it..... it 'runs', if that's the word for it, but at a snail's pace.

Hi Geoff,
Yes, I hung onto XP long past its 'Sell By Date' and switched to Windows 7 about a year ago - wish I done it earlier. The major drawback is that some of my older software (Acrobat 6 etc.) wouldn't work with W7 so I had to go shopping again, but no regrets. W7 knocks spots off XP, it really is "Vista that works".