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what app do you use for RAW editing?

R

Rossatron

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 4, 2013
663
209
in a ziplock bag inside a car's trunk
hey there,
i was wondering which non-adobe app people are using to edit their raw pictures. I've been reading here and there, and came across an app called "Affinity", which seems nice but I'm afraid i was to dazzled by the promotional video to make any sound judgment :D

thanks in advance
 
If you are not going Adobe LR & PS, then go Capture 1 Pro. That way you get a library module plus good editing capabilities. Folks who use Fuji camera swear by the C1P raw converters.
 
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MCAsan said:
If you are going Adobe LR & PS, then go Capture 1 Pro. That way you get a library module plus good editing capabilities. Folks who use Fuji camera swear by the C1P raw converters.
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Huh? How in the **** does that make any sense? If you're going LR and PS go CP??
 
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Rossatron said:
i dont like subscribing to software
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I don't want to derail this thread from your original question Rossatron but I will say that I get it…it's a personal choice. But, be sure to base that choice for reasons that are important to you and not because it's all the current rage.

IMO, $10.00 a month (less if you pick-it up on sale) is less than the cost of a couple lattes for two great photo management/editing apps that will always be up to date. I couldn't wait to sign-up.

Besides, it could be worse...you could purchase an app like Aperture only to have the developer pull the plug on future development leaving you hung-out to dry.

~ Peter
 
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Cheese&Apple said:
I don't want to derail this thread from your original question Rossatron but I will say that I get it…it's a personal choice. But, be sure to base that choice for reasons that are important to you and not because it's all the current rage.

IMO, $10.00 a month (less if you pick-it up on sale) is less than the cost of a couple lattes for two great photo management/editing apps that will always be up to date. I couldn't wait to sign-up.

Besides, it could be worse...you could purchase an app like Aperture only to have the developer pull the plug on future development leaving you hung-out to dry.

~ Peter
Click to expand...

i understand that, but it still bothers me.
(on a side note, i think i can remember they had some big security issue and were a bit late with the response, but not sure).
 
Rossatron said:
i understand that, but it still bothers me.
(on a side note, i think i can remember they had some big security issue and were a bit late with the response, but not sure).
Click to expand...

Not sure about a security issue but as with any application, I don't update Lr or Ps automatically or jump on an update release right-away. Adobe does make mistakes like any other developer. I wait till an update was been released and feedback provided by all those who feel a need to be the first to try it. Only after the dust settles and I feel that the update is stable, do I update.

~ Peter
 
dwig said:
Well and good, but...

... Lr can be purchased with a perpetual license as Lr6, as opposed to the Lr/CC that is part of the subscription Creative Cloud collection.
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While it's true that you can get perpetual LR license (I have one, plus CC, because I need to run on 3 computers) it's also true that they don't update it so that it has all the features the CC version does.

For example, my copy of LR6.1.1 doesn't have the Dehaze control.

(However, it's also true that didn't have to recover from that very odd set of file handling/import/library procedure that we CC people had to endure until Adobe fixed things.)
 
All the main products listed have free trials I think...just try them as one will probably suit you better than the others...
 
Rossatron said:
hey there,
i was wondering which non-adobe app people are using to edit their raw pictures. I've been reading here and there, and came across an app called "Affinity", which seems nice but I'm afraid i was to dazzled by the promotional video to make any sound judgment :D

thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Does anyone use ViewNX2?
 
Adobe is definitely the ubiquitous choice - they mostly write decent software. Their RAW tools are definitely good and people are used to it. Like others here have also noted, it's a personal choice. There are a quite a number of great RAW tools out there though - and to circle back to your original post, don't discount Affinity. They're hungry and they see an opening and they are pushing really, really hard right now to be a competitor to Adobe. And for a 1.X release, it's absolutely fantastic. Their support is fantastic, they listen to feedback, they push those changes out very quickly and have a great beta program.

For other RAW converters, Capture One and DXO are excellent. AfterShot Pro is an alternative too - I'm a little leery of Corel. Iridient Developer is a quality tool too. All have their strengths and weaknesses. You can get zillions of opinions of them all over the interwebs but the best is to just try them. I have them all. :)

All except for Adobe. This is my first Adobe-free year, we'll see how it goes. I should note that I'm not trying to be hip (or at least too hip) in chucking Adobe, I was simply not using their tools for much and in particular, for me, Affinity completely replaces anything I ever did in Photoshop. There's a lot of great stuff out there.
 
I use DxO.

try all the free trials, I did to get away from adobe again (new camera buy had aperture no longer viable since apple killed her off for support, I slummed it back with adobe till I said...oh yeah, this is why I left this crap long ago).

Capture one I also liked a bit in my testings. just came in second place for reasons.


Things to help you test, maybe. deliberately shoot high iso shots and see how it cleans up noise. Go for god awful you know you probably shouldn't shoot that high just to give the application workout. I like easy...so software that makes it easy gets +1. Not scared to play with slider bars....just I will happily avoid it if possible. This is one of DxO things. I used to use applications like LR or aperture plus nic tools for this.


Look for lens and body profile support and see if current gear and predicted buys are in them already. To me they are a nice to have One click fix of stuff like common chromatic aberration (CA) and such. Or at least a very good start.

Do you need DAM features? DxO does not have this really. It won't have the catalogue features like LR. I stopped using this tbh so wasn't a deal breaker. Adobe to aperture, aperture died and had to go back to adobe then adobe to DxO. I tired of the "what about my catalogues?" dilemma. My cataloguing is folders with good name schemes and structure. that and I am picky about file structure in apps. Overtime a DAM catalogue can build up to the point I hate it and blow it out anyway. Same with my FCP. 6 months to a year later I know full well I won't be going back to touch this stuff up. Export a backup, delete from the app.
 
Affinity is nice as a photoshop alternative. You also get some advanced editing in Apple Photos Extensions that work with RAW (more like a Lightroom experience.

DXO also makes a Photos extension as does MacPhun. This will really up there edit capabilities of Apple Photos if you want to go that route.

I do not like subscribing to software either. You could BUY Lightroom outright, but it is not as good as Lightroom CC at $10 a month (which includes photoshop).

Someone else, somewhere in this forum, pointed out that if you are spending thousands of dollars on gear, going cheap on your software seems kind of dumb. C1Pro is pricy, but really well regarded.

Personally, I like the way Apple Photos integration works. The cataloging system makes sense to me and is so much easier than Lightroom (I know, I know ... I blame it on me being left-handed).

Anyway, C1Pro is good. DXO is another option. If you like Photos, but want more power - Affinity and Pixelmatr are both options. Dark Table (open source answer to Lightroom) is out there and free, but I liked it less than Lightroom. Your mileage may vary. There are a few other options if you go looking.
 
v3rlon said:
Someone else, somewhere in this forum, pointed out that if you are spending thousands of dollars on gear, going cheap on your software seems kind of dumb. C1Pro is pricy, but really well regarded.
Click to expand...


From a different viewpoint, upgrading from Aperture to C1P was as good as a camera upgrade, I spent 3 days allowing C1P to reprocess my entire library it was that much of a difference. That said, once you have a personal Style setup, you can also apply that on import for a very efficient workflow.
 
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You can do a similar import with LR. Whenever I import from a card, the import process uses the specified Develop Module Preset to do corrections, add a little Clarity and Dehaze...etc.
 
I can recommend having a trial of Exposure X by Alien Skin Software: http://www.alienskin.com/exposure/
It is kinda a hybrid between Adobe Bridge and Lightroom. You view the images within the folders you saved them (so no need for an import process), editing is non-destructive, and you edit with sliders much like you do in Lightroom. You then export your images with the edits applied (ie the same as you would with Lightroom).

It is non-subscription. I tried it and really liked it, it is amazing for when you need to work quickly as the images are just there ready to be edited - no waiting for the import process and for previews to be generated.

Affinity Photo is meant to be really good too, but I've not used it.

I tried Capture One Pro whilst I was deciding what to use when I made the switch away from Aperture last year. The image quality of the files it produces is incredible. The interface takes longer to learn and customise (to your liking) than Lightroom's (in my opinion) and I didn't have the patience to take the time to learn it. Moving to Lightroom was an easier transition for me.

My sister uses Pixelmator and likes it.
 
Rossatron said:
hey there,
i was wondering which non-adobe app people are using to edit their raw pictures. I've been reading here and there, and came across an app called "Affinity", which seems nice but I'm afraid i was to dazzled by the promotional video to make any sound judgment :D

thanks in advance
Click to expand...
I use Capture One Pro and love it...
 
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