Post processing software

nutsnut

nutsnut

nutsnut

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22 Apr 2009
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Birmingham
I'm currently use a combination of Gimp and Coral photo paint X, but never will edit 16 bit TIFF files without either converting the image to 8 bit or changing the colour gamut to sRGB from Abode RGB.

I have tried the trial of lightroom and it is very good, but at the moment I cannot justify spending the money Adobe ask for.

Is there any other cheap, preferably free image editing software that i should try?
 
I've really grown attached to Helicon Filter. It'll handle RAW and 16-bit TIFF, it's cheap and though its interface is a little eccentric, I really like its workflow model for regular every day PP. I've tried CS4 and and Lightroom and though I appreciate that they're pretty much the ultimate, I don't need that power and can't justify the cost for regular shots.
 
I personally think lightroom is worth every penny. After trying loads of free ones I was all too pleased to splash out on a decent product!
 
I would seriously think about buying lightroom if it handled my raw images (the trial doesn't handle RAW from my Canon 500D) so I could have a one software workflow.
 
The latest version has support for the 500D (V2.4) so you should be able to use the trial, and make up your mind from there. I personally use lightroom all the time, and now wouldn't go back!
 
I have tried the latest lightroom demo, downloaded from adobe just three days ago.

It doesnt list my RAW files, only JPEG, half the time if doesnt list 16 bit TIFF's either.

Might uninstall/reinstall.
 
Lightroom is DEFINITELY worth the money.

It has made my post processing work go from painful and tiresome to a really enjoyable part of the process of creating photographs! I still use Photoshop and the end of my workflow though.

:)
 
To add to this discussion, this week I have been fairly extensively using bibble (5 pro preview release) for the first time, after running into some performance issues with my usual (free) package "rawtherapee".

To say it has been a revolution is an understatement. The peformance of this software is unreal (maybe my expectations were low?), maxing out all 4 cores on my box quite happily. But perhaps the biggest surprise has been how much better my images have looked afterwards. I had naively assumed that a raw file would look the same no matter what package you used to open it with - but I'm not rethinking this. Images seem to be noticeably sharper that what I was getting before, although it seems to give me an "out the camera" image rather than having an automatic go at adjusting the exposure level, despite having the auto-adjust option on. It also comes with a cut down version of NoiseNinja integrated into it, which is leagues ahead of what I was using.

If you are still looking, I advise giving the preview version a whirl, http://bibblelabs.com/products/bibble5/index.html. Its not perfect, I've found a couple of bugs so far, one where if I straighten the image the noise reduction facility stops working, and another where it seg-faults on my Linux box occasionally for no apparant reason, but its quick to restart.
 
Been using Lightroom again after a reinstall, and every does appear to be working now, opeing RAW files and TIFFs.

I like it, but won't buy it at the moment, Idealy I want something like this but with the added fucntion of image manipulation too rather than using two packages.
 
so i take it that lightroom is good then:D

but do you have similar editing options like in photoshop or are they 2 different programs?
 
Two different programs, Light room controls contrast/colours/lumince/hue etc

Photoshop allows for image manipulation, layering etc
 
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