Listening to the Voices in My Head

And it seems that with the exception of hard core professional photogs that use a lot of tools that come in Photoshop, the main reason people keep subscribing/renting it is because of Adobe Camera Raw, which Adobe makes sure will only work up to a certain version of Photoshop (ie 6.7 with CS5, 9.1 with CS6. IMO, Adobe *could* have but didn't make ACR usable with other versions, and not for the reasons they claimed.)

There are ways around getting stuck with renting Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, and to keep using your older version of Photoshop.

1: Don't fall for the often misunderstood phrase "No Longer Supported" if you update your computer's OS. All that means is you will have to make GOOGLE search your friend if you have a problem using CS5 with Windows 10. Or ask a tech savvy friend. If that tech savvy friend says "Subscribe to Abobe" they aren't as tech savvy as they claim.

2: Use the Adobe DNG converter. This will take your proprietary raw files and turn them into 'open source' digital negatives. I've done this when I had CS5 and got new camera. Guess what? Exact same result editing the DNG in CS5 as I got when I edited Canon's proprietary CR2 and Olympus' ORF file in CS6.

3: Find a different program to use as your camera raw editor. Yes, people keep chanting "Adobe is the industry standard", not realizing or caring that it was Adobe company itself that branded itself the industry standard. There are many other camera raw editors you can use, and then 'punt' the resulting JPG into whatever 'old' version of Photoshop you have. I do suggest, do you due diligence when looking for raw editor. There are many that are way over priced for what they do. A few are so slow and clunky.

My PERSONAL experiences are thus so far, in no particular order:

1: CaptureOne - no denying it is a great photo editor, but for the average hobbyist, or learning photographer, it's way over loaded in features. It is also THE most expensive editing program out there. Their 2020 version runs at $515.00 AUD for a single user license, or $35AUD to 'rent' it.

2: DxO Labs - Their latest version is fantastic. I have nothing negative to say about it. It has the best lens correction catalog, and if your particular camera/lens combo isn't on your hard drive, DxO will search and have it available for download if possible. It has not only adjustment brushes/gradients, but it also incorporates the U-Point tech of Nik. DxO has solved issues with certain photos for me. Definitely not overpriced for everything you get. Currently, you can get it for $ 189, no subscription.

3:On1PhotoRaw - Camera raw editor on steroids is how I described it to a friend. Not only do you get everything that is in the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw, it comes with tools found in Photoshop, too. You can use On1 as a standalone editor, not just as RAW editor, or as a plug in for Photoshop (caveat being if you can open the raw image in Photoshop). Pricing varies to $99 to buy it, or an extra $50 to subscribe to On1Plus. On1Plus isn't software, it's priority support, webinars, workshops, and other goodies thrown into the mix. It does have a few shortfalls (they removed Focal Point (creating a focus region bokeh effect), which is what keeps me running Windows 7 on another hdd (dual boot system) because I have their older software on that computer, which does have Focal Point.

4: Exposure X5 (the software previously known as Alienskin Exposure) - This is a great all-in-one camera raw editor. And if it had come out with this prior to my deciding to use On1, it would have given On1 a run for my money. It has many of the same tools, features and functions as On1, but it also has some that are no longer available in On1 (creating a focal point/region focus). I've also found it less of a system resource hog than On1. I have been getting reacquainted with how to use Exposure. Yeah, it's that good. Pricing varies (I suggest if you can, get the bundle. Well worth the $149)

There are others, Affinity (great software for it's pricing). I've imported finished JPGs into Affinity to use some of the features and tools they have, that none of the others do.

Skylum Luminar, Windows version: earlier versions work better than their latest release. If you have 2018, stick with it. I swear it was as if they released buggy beta versions on the general public. I typically use it only as a plug in for Photoshop because of this.

So, there it is. And remember, this is just my opinion and experiences. Depending on your computer, your experiences may be different.

Nor did I know how to use it, I shot all my photos as high res JPGs. Now, everyone knows that now there are raw editors, and I alos know how to use them now, but what to do with the old JPGs? Are they to be relegated to the "Meh" category?

Enter Topaz Labs to the rescue with Topaz JPEG to RAW AI. Now this doesn't just convert the image to a DNG, but carefully, with what AI they use, convert it into a RAW editable image.

I chose one image, applied the same edits, with the exception of lens corrections which is not available in JPG editing.

Here is the jpg, edited with camera raw.

 

Here’s the same one, but pre-processed with Topaz JPEG to RAW AI:

 

The difference in the full sized images are amazing.   Now, I have a lot more work to get done, going through older images, that I liked, but just could not get them edited the way they should be.

A few weeks ago, I got a Sigma 150-600 Sports.  Unfortunately, circumstances kept me from giving this lens the test run I wanted.  Well, today, I got to mount it on my 7DmkII.

First off; the Sigma 150-600 is a beast of a lens. It’s heavy. And unless you’re used to curling 20lb dumbbells on a daily basis, you will need to use a monopod when using it it to photograph birds or anything else you will be walking around to do.  If you’re going to be standing in one spot, you will need a tripod.

Onto image quality.  Wow… just wow.

The lens is very quick to focus, and the images are sharp, without any distortion, even when shooting multiple subjects.

This Sigma is a great piece of glass. I wouldn’t use it every day, but for specific birding or sporting events, it’s a winner.

Skylum Luminar 2018 is a great photo editing software and also great to use as a plugin with Adobe. There is slight boo hiss on this.

I've tried to use Luminar as a plugin with Corel PaintShop Pro X9 and 2018. No joy. Luminar starts but doesn't load up anything. Won't open the image, filter windows are blank/black with nothing in them.

The good news is, Luminar does work with Affinity for Windows. Yeah yeah, Affinity doesn't have "Digital Asset Managing", but go old school, and make your own folders, with names and dates or what the subject is about. Ta da! Manual Digital Asset Managing.

I do wish that other photo editing software makers, especially those who make plugins for editors, would get it through their heads there is MORE than just Adobe products out there.

I remember exchanging emails with NIK before they sold out to Google (I still have the emails to prove it) about developing their plugins to be 100% compatible with Corel (and other) products, that I would be glad to be a tester. They kept saying Oh Sure! Great idea! Then sold it to Google, who gave me same song and dance. And we know how that ended, don't we? Given away for free, no further development.

Now that even Adobe Lightroom has gone to subscription only, even more people are looking for alternatives for RAW processing and photo editing.

Skylum Luminar - The latest program I tried. I downloaded and installed the 14 day, fully functional, trial version. 4 days into using it, I was sold! Luminar makes Adobe Lightroom in all its' incarnations look clunky and sluggish. The "Categories" (or presets if you prefer) are eminently adjustable to the look you want. For those accustomed to Adobes' "Transform" tools, there is a bit of new language learning, but nothing overly difficult to do.

I took this lackluster photo



and turned it into something I would have printed and framed.



A lot of people complain that it doesn't have "Digital assets management", but for me that isn't an issue, as I always make descriptive and dated folders for my photo shoots.

Luminar works on both my low end laptop (Sony Vaio 16gb ram) and on my custom built box.

Again, some will find the lack of Digital asset management a problem, but as I typed above, not an issue with me. The only things I had to do after developing and editing was export the image as a high res JPG, open it in Photoshop, and use a "Purple Fringe Remover" action, as Luminars' lens correction doesn't have that option. After I did that, I put my watermark on it, and saved it. Another good thing about Luminar, like the others above; you buy, it's yours. And it's not that expensive. For less than what it would cost you to rent Lightroom, you can own Luminar.