Which Photoshop Program?

[jonw9]

I want to get some PS software for messing with some pictures we have taken.

I can get PS Elements 7 for ~$60, CS4 Extended for ~$150, or Lightroom 2 for ~90.

I don't think I need the CS4, as I think the Elements will do pretty much what I need, but I am not real sure on the differences.

I want to get more into shooting RAW with our DSLR, so a program that can deal with those files may be be harder to find.

Ease of use is another plus.

i guess what I want to do is adjust levels (contrast, etc), clean up some areas, remove power lines, etc.

Thanks

[Nifty03]

Gimp $0

http://www.gimp.org/

[jonw9]

Well, i knew gimp would be recommended, but I was unsure of the comparison between it and PS.

Can they do the same things? It seems PS is the gold standard for photo editing.

Elements is targeted more towards the beginner user, and that would allow my wife to dabble in editing her own pictures as well.

[wmansir]

Gimp is less powerful (but still probably way more than you will need) and even more difficult to use than the already challenging PS, but it's open source/free. Either one sounds like overkill for what you want to do.

PS Elements sounds like the tool for you, but before you drop the cash you might want to give Google's Picasa a spin. It's basically PS Elements with better photo organization but a less powerful photo editor. You could probably use it 90% of the time and then move over to Gimp or Paint.Net when you require more editing power.

[jonw9]

It looks like Elements does handle RAW files. I downloaded the trial and mess with it for a few days.

I will check out Picasa, if not just for the organizing aspect.

[danwiz]

If you need to work with RAW Images - what RAW Image programs or editors came with your Digital Camera?? If you bought a Canon Camera then the Zoom Browser program which came with it is a pretty powerful RAW Image tool. You might want to also give ACDSee Pro a look see and read the specs on it. The Pro version has RAW Image tools included with it. I have PhotoShop CS2 and I personally like the RAW Image tools which came with my Camera (Canon ZoomBrowser Ver 5.8) better than either PS or ACDSee Pro.

[jonw9]

There is RAW software that came with the camera (Canon). I was trying to find an all-in-one solution so my wife would be willing/able to use it as well. The more steps required, the less likely she is to mess with it.

The only reason I was leaning towards CS4 is because the discount seems greater, like I could get a lot "more" for almost the retail price of Elements. If the benefits aren't worth the extra $100 (and it looks like not really) than I will stick with elements.

I played with the Elements demo some last night. I tried using the clone tool to cover a doorway in a picture, but nothing was happening. I don't know if it was an issue with the new layer I created, or something else.

[jonw9]

Sorry to hijack my thread with PS questions, but:

I am using batch processing to take a bunch of the original JPEGS and just opening/copying them to another folder. Mostly just to correct rotation on a bunch of them, so the show up right in different programs.

These new files are 1/4 the size of the old ones. The resolution is the same (2048x1360) but the file size itself is smaller. Is PS stripping out extra information the camera had embedded? Should this be an issue?

[TallGuyMe]

www.aviary.com

$0

[wmansir]

Originally Posted by jonw9

Sorry to hijack my thread with PS questions, but:

I am using batch processing to take a bunch of the original JPEGS and just opening/copying them to another folder. Mostly just to correct rotation on a bunch of them, so the show up right in different programs.

These new files are 1/4 the size of the old ones. The resolution is the same (2048x1360) but the file size itself is smaller. Is PS stripping out extra information the camera had embedded? Should this be an issue?

It's possible PS is saving them at a different JPG compression ratio.

Another issue is that I don't think Photoshop does lossless JPG rotation. You could use Irfanview with it's lossless jpg plugin to do batch roation fixes without losing any quality. Irfanview overwrites the original, so you may want to try it on copies first.

Install Irfanview and then install the plugin pack. Use the Thumbnail Viewer or Open one of the files in the DIR with Irfanview then go to File->Thumbnails. Highlight the files you want to rotate and then select File->JPG Lossless operations->Rotate Selecte files... It has several options including auto-rotate by EXIF.

[Dr Mabuse]

Originally Posted by Nifty03

Gimp $0

http://www.gimp.org/

What I use.

Join The Gimp Forum and you'll have no issues.

[danwiz]

ACDSee for lossless JPEG rotation - you have to set the options for lossless though - it's not automatic.

[McHawkson]

I would recommend Photoshop Elements because it's easy to use. And I wouldn't recommend GIMP for novice user. Yeah, it's free, but it's too complicate for them.

[jonw9]

I read some more on lossless rotation. I didn't think it would be as complicated as it is.

It seems Vista Explorer does lossless rotation, although the file size does change slightly. Apparently I was saving my files as "large" in Elements, not "Max" so it was still reducing the file size (although the dimensions stayed the same).

Then I see there is "metadata" that photoshop reads, and automatically rotates, but many/most programs don't use it. These pictures were for emailing, so they needed to be orientated correctly for novice users, but the smaller size is OK there, I was just trying to figure out what is going on.

[Geoffy]

Picassa is a GREAT editor for simple, quick fixes.

Regarding Photoshop, I recently found a FREE & LEGAL download of version 7. Google is great sometimes. It is quite complex, but for simple adjustments like the OP mentioned, they are also quite easy in PS7. Then if you want to dig deeper you already have the prog.

[danwiz]

Geoffy: Note that the OP said he wants to be able to work with RAW images - I think I am correct when I say that PhotoShop 7 does not have the capability to do RAW adjustments, or even open RAW Images!

I just remembered that I actually have PS 7 on my PC because I bought the upgrade version of PhotoShop CS2 a few years back - I opened PS 7 and tried to open a RAW Image and I am correct - can't open it!

[SoSpacey]

Any Photographer that hasn't recommended Lightroom in this thread hasn't used it.

Photoshop was designed with the graphic designer in mind, Lightroom was designed for the photographer.

Lightroom mimics the photographers workflow. It has almost all of the features of Photoshop built in that you would ever need for pictures.

It is also an amazing tool at managing your picture library. You will neevr have to store JPEGs. Lightroom will store the settings you used to create the jpeg so if you need to use the picture again it becomes one click.

You can set custom conversion/processing settings. You can export directly to sites like flickr.

Lightroom is a must for anyone who is getting in to photography. There will be a learning curve with any of the software you listed so you/she may as well learn on the best for your needs. You can create various tags for photos or batches of photos and easily recall them. It really is amazing software and I have just barely scratched the surface or real editing.

FYI - DPP is the best RAW converter for the 40d but I still allow Lightroom to do it.

Question - Where can you get Lightroom for $99???

[TomOpus]

Originally Posted by McHawkson

And I wouldn't recommend GIMP for novice user. Yeah, it's free, but it's too complicate for them.

No, it's not. But then I'm one to play around and see what stuff does. Maybe it was difficult for you.

If anyone has used an editing tool, it's fairly easy to jump right in.As for the more advanced features, yes, there is a learning curve. But there are plenty of online tutorials and YouTube videos.