Software Suggestions
- Thread starter Supernova5124
- Start date
Chris Busby
New member
When you say editing power you are referring to organisational editing I assume as there is no actual editing as In changing The actual photo?
No, I meant that it's a powerful program, and to be able to use it for free is really incredible.
blackstar
Senior Member
I think you are correct that there is no actual photo editing in AB unless it is used with other editing programs (LR or PS).
Chris Busby
New member
Yes it’s a good organisational program for sorting your images as in
Adobe Bridge is often used to organize files by renaming a group of them at once, assigning colored labels or star ratings assigned to files from the respective Adobe software suite, edit embedded or associated XMP and IPTC Information Interchange Model metadata, or sort or categorize them based on their metadata.
Vixen
Senior Member
Rehashing this thread coz since Adobe hiked up the cost of their photography plan but over 100%, I can no longer afford it. So... what to use? So far everything I've looked at seems so foreign that I struggle. Is there an idiots editor? or at least something that has a user guide written for idiots 
BF Hammer
Senior Member
@Vixen I continue to use RawTherapee and GIMP as my editing tools. GIMP just this year was finally updated to 3.xx version that has been promised for years. Think of RawTherapee as the replacement for Lightroom and GIMP as replacement for Photoshop. Not all the tools are available, but all the important features are. No AI assists, and that is more a feature than a flaw to me. I think free for life is worth the awkward relearning process.
I have largely switched to DigiKam for importing and organizing files. Also free, open-source. It does just a bit more than Nikon's NX Studio and is not limited to importing from Nikon devices. DigiKam does sort of allow you to integrate a little with RawTherapee so you might launch it by selecting a Raw file in DigiKam, but I find that does not work well yet. But maybe someday.
I did try buying Luminar AI some years ago. It lasted about 6 months until it did an update stopped working on my PC entirely. When I investigated that, tech support informed me my CPU is too old and no longer supported with that update. So remember you need a pretty recent computer to use all that AI enhancement. I'm still trucking on with that obsolete CPU computer.
I have largely switched to DigiKam for importing and organizing files. Also free, open-source. It does just a bit more than Nikon's NX Studio and is not limited to importing from Nikon devices. DigiKam does sort of allow you to integrate a little with RawTherapee so you might launch it by selecting a Raw file in DigiKam, but I find that does not work well yet. But maybe someday.
I did try buying Luminar AI some years ago. It lasted about 6 months until it did an update stopped working on my PC entirely. When I investigated that, tech support informed me my CPU is too old and no longer supported with that update. So remember you need a pretty recent computer to use all that AI enhancement. I'm still trucking on with that obsolete CPU computer.
You can get a significant discount on the Adobe Photography plan if you pay by the year. You may already know this but I thought I'd mention.Rehashing this thread coz since Adobe hiked up the cost of their photography plan but over 100%, I can no longer afford it. So... what to use? So far everything I've looked at seems so foreign that I struggle. Is there an idiots editor? or at least something that has a user guide written for idiots
Vixen
Senior Member
I downloaded Gimp but find the user manual pretty useless (or maybe it is my brain that is useless these days
). I'm persevering with it tho because I can see that it is really quite good.
Dawg Pics
Senior Member
I am not sure what is going on with Affinity, so I can no longer recommend it or at least not at the moment. The company was acquired and it has halted sales for a new release, which scares me a bit. I don't want a subscription, and I really don't want to learn another platform.
I might end up just using the Apple software.
I might end up just using the Apple software.
BF Hammer
Senior Member
Speculation from PetaPixel's Chris and Jordan is that they are switching to a subscription model. The new parent company already has that model in place for their other products.
Dawg Pics
Senior Member
Well, I have Affinity 2, so I am guessing I won't be able to update it.
Vixen
Senior Member
Right... so the upshot is... I just can't get on with GIMP. That's OK tho.... back to plan A. Can anyone suggest a good tool for sharpening/denoise please? Guess I am basically lazy. I want quick. I had a little plug-in called Raya Pro that I used in PS but its not compatible with anything else I don't think as it needs Adobe CC to work. I need something easy, and preferably free as my processing maybe 1 photo a week doesn't warrant spending big money. Is there something in my old Nik4 that will do the job maybe (she thinks out loud)?
Vixen
Senior Member
Yep... learning a new platform sucks. My brain can only take learning a couple of new things at one time, and I'm tring to learn a number of things and failing on a few that's for sure
The Nik tools include Sharpener Pro and Dfine. If your old version works on your current computer, they might meet your needs. They work as standalone products.