Which software is better? (2 Viewers)

[The gaffer]

I am new to DSLR and have recently bought the 40D and still getting to grips with it but discovering at the same time what a great camera it is. My question is would there be any benefit in buying Photoshop Elements instead of using the Canon software provided with the camera?

My reason for asking is I do not find Canon's software easy to use and I don't find it is very user friendly. I am shooting in RAW.

Persevere or change?

 

[JMomOhio]

I'm interested to hear replies to this. I just got a Canon EOS 40D 2 days ago and am curious about zoom lenses as well. Did you purchase a zoom lens? So far I just have the basic one that came with the camera. I'd like to get a 75-300mm soon!

Mine was recommended to me by a local professional photographer! I hope it turns out to be a great camera!

 

[The gaffer]

I got the 17 - 85 mm lens with the camera but have since bought Canon 100 - 400 telephoto and have taken some shots today which I am over the moon with, absolutely great!!!

Here is a link to some I posted this evening:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1146007&highlight=durham#post1146007


Regards

Brian

 

[JMomOhio]

Those are fantastic!! You have such colorful birds where you live!! Dang!! I can't wait to get my new lenses. I got scammed on the ones I was suppose to get from the place I purchased the camera online. All I can say is FOTOCONNECTION...............BAD NEWS!!!

 

[ikw101]

The current version of Adobe Photoshop is based upon 18 years of ongoing development. It's become the industry standard for the plain and simple reason that it's very good. Whilst Photoshop Elements lacks some of the more advanced professional features of the full version of Photoshop it's more than sufficent for non-commercial users. If you're preparing images for commercial printing pay the extra for the full version. If not, Elements is by far the best option and the good news is that a free trial can be downloaded from Adobe

 

[Malcolm Stewart]

...Photoshop Elements instead of using the Canon software provided with the camera?

My reason for asking is I do not find Canon's software easy to use and I don't find it is very user friendly. I am shooting in RAW.

Persevere or change?

I use Breeze Systems Downloader Pro and Breezebrowser. (Both downloadable for a free trial period. I find them both easy to use.) I also use Photoshop 6 for tweaking my images prior to printing. I've used Elements in the past but moved to PS6 so as to have the option of Curves when necessary. This used to be left out of early versions of Elements - I've no idea whether it's now included, but I do find it useful. With the extended DR of the 40D, Curves may not be as necessary as with earlier bodies.

HTH

 

[Keith Reeder]

Hi Brian,

I'm with you about Canon's DPP: it's a capable RAW converter, but I don't like it. It doesn't have highlight recovery either, which I regard as an essential.

But it does do a good job of converting RAW files.

Elements isn't really dedicated to that task, and I wouldn't use it with RAWs myself (I'm not even sure it can save RAW to jpeg).

Personally I'm happier keeping RAW conversion and subsequent "cosmetic" editing separate.

Elements is good for the latter, though I far prefer Paint Shop Pro myself, as it comes with some functions I won't be without (not least the "Focus" sharpening tool, which is better - IMHO - than any other sharpening tool readily available, including those in Photoshop CS3).

So my - ahem! - "workflow" is:

• RAW to jpeg plus adjustments to exposure, shadows/highlights, colo(u)r boost, and very light anti-AA sharpening in Raw Therapee;
• cropping, resizing, Curves/Levels (though I could do these in Raw Therapee) and any other tweaking in Paint Shop Pro.

I use the same camera and lens as you - the 40D + 100-400mm (hey, ah'm from Soo' Sheels an' aal!) - and I'm very happy with results...

I should mention that Raw Therapee is free - and, honest to God, as good as it gets - and Paint Shop Pro gives you much more for the money than Elements.

 

[alan carr]

With Keith on both Raw Therapee and Paint Shop Pro. I normally convert to tiff from RT, then add the EXIF back to the tiff using EXIFtoolGUI (the current version of RT only adds EXIF to jpegs).

A pic taken with the Sigma 10-20 using RT and PSP for conversion
http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/262191832_qdbCL-L.jpg

 

[RAH]

I also agree with Keith. Why would you buy Elements when you can get Paint Shop Pro for about the same price? Only advantage I can see to Elements is that, yes, there are many more books in stores specifically catering to Elements users. But there are plenty on online sites that have info for Paint Shop Pro users, and also some books available, and I think the latest version comes with tutorials. Plus, a lot of the features in full-blown Photoshop look much the same in Paint Shop Pro, so you can often follow tool info for Photoshop itself (and of course, the concepts are the same).

 

[paul goode]

I'm quite happy with DPP and PSE 5. Probably because I'm bone idle and can't be bothered to get my head round different packages.
Works well for me though

 

[Keith Reeder]

Works well for me though

That's all that matters, really.

I'm sure that if I really buckled down to it, I could throw myself into Bridge/ACR/CS3 and improve on the look of my pictures, working on the assumption that CS3 must allow me to do things that I can't do in PSP that my pictures would benefit from.

But frankly, I'm so comfortable with RT and PSP - and satisfied with results - that I don't have any real incentive to step outside of my "comfort zone".

Indeed, I suspect I can get a lot more out of the software I use now.

 

[JMomOhio]

But frankly, I'm so comfortable with RT and PSP - and satisfied with results - that I don't have any real incentive to step outside of my "comfort zone".

Indeed, I suspect I can get a lot more out of the software I use now.

FWIW, I do photo restoration, and slides to dvd conversions and use Photoshop CS2. I work with VERY old pics and I think this is the best program for any kind of photo editing. Last week I went from a crappy old Fuji digital (at least 5 years old) and am now using a Canon EOS D40. Since I really don't have a full grasp on the operation of the new camera, Photoshop is a real lifesaver!

 

[shakyhands]

I love my CS2 too. ACR + CS2 is what I use. Works for me though I have been thinking of moving up to CS3.

 

[clschmalz]

Agree that Photoshop Elements is more than adequate for most photographers. Maybe it's just me though, but PSE has a pretty steep learning curve. Alternates like ACDsee are much more intuitive and easier to use out of the box. I have both and am struggling to transition from ACDsee to PSE6.

I also keep an old copy of VuePrint (http://www.hamrick.com/) on my computers and on a couple of flash drives. It's strictly a photo viewing program, but it's small, handy, and fast.

I also like Canon's Photostitch for panoramas. It's reliable and very simple to use.

 

[Carless]

I'm surprised that no-one has recommended The Gimp. Is there a reason for this?

While the Gimp has its limitations (don't even THINK of using it for jigsaws - I use a jigsaw texture that I ... obtained), as free software it seems excellent "value".

 

[RAH]

I think we would all agree that Photoshop is a really good program, but hey, it costs $600, whereas Elements and Paint Shop Pro cost about $70. I find it surprising to hear folks recommending it to someone who right now is using the canned software that came with his camera. OF COURSE, you really like Photoshop (for that price, I should hope so), but is it worth it for this user? I don't think so. In fact, I don't even think it's worth it for most users, unless you have bucks to burn.

 

[ChickaD]

I think we would all agree that Photoshop is a really good program, but hey, it costs $600, whereas Elements and Paint Shop Pro cost about $70. I find it surprising to hear folks recommending it to someone who right now is using the canned software that came with his camera. OF COURSE, you really like Photoshop (for that price, I should hope so), but is it worth it for this user? I don't think so. In fact, I don't even think it's worth it for most users, unless you have bucks to burn.

:hi: I have just started using PSE 6 without any other software other than very basic HP that came with my first P&S camera. I consider my photography as a hobby that went into overdrive. :-O I can say for myself, I know that Elements will be all I need.

 

[Clive Watson]

I'm finding this a very interesting thread, as I was thinking of starting a Paint Shop Pro vs Photoshop thread. I've used Paint Shop Pro and I'm fine with it, but I was under the impression that virtually everyone out there used Photoshop! I've heard Photoshop described as far superior to Paint Shop Pro, an opinion which does not seem to be borne out by this thread so far. There are clearly more Paint Shop Pro users than I realised.

 

[baillieswells]

I'm finding this a very interesting thread, as I was thinking of starting a Paint Shop Pro vs Photoshop thread. I've used Paint Shop Pro and I'm fine with it, but I was under the impression that virtually everyone out there used Photoshop! I've heard Photoshop described as far superior to Paint Shop Pro, an opinion which does not seem to be borne out by this thread so far. There are clearly more Paint Shop Pro users than I realised.

I use CS3 elements, which in my opinion is the best. However it is difficult to master, and contains far more facilities than most of us need. It is also very expensive unless one can obtain a student or educational discount. I originally started with Photoshop 6 and have moved upwards.

 

[Carless]

The Gimp is free, and can do a whole lot of stuff.

http://www.gimp.org/