Best photo editing software for beginner

murphthesmurf

Hi all, I recently got me a Canon EOS 100D with 2 lenses 18-55mm and 55-150mm lens. Got it 2nd hand at a good price, hardly used.
I'm a complete beginner, having only used phones and basic film cameras.
I'm wondering what the best software is for me for processing my RAW files and any touching up etc. I've been reading a few reviews online, but they contradict each other a lot. One site will say X software is great and very intuitive, the next will say its like rocket science and Einstein himself couldn't work it !!
I've read that Dx0 Optics 8 is excellent for RAW files, but is very difficult to use.
The Adobe CC package at 12.29 a month is great, but the RAW's aren't as good. Some say easy to use others say hard.

I'm pretty technical minded. I'm looking to get the best pic quality possible for my hard earned money. I don't want to buy something that will frustrate the hell out of me and not get used or drive me to drink.
HELP

xshayx

I'd go with Lightroom in the Adobe CC offering. Easy, intuitive, plenty of tutorials around and the monthly payment is nicer than an upfront one!

murphthesmurf

It is very tempting, do you have it yourself?
Is it true it can be installed on 2 pc's? I've looked on the Adobe site and it's all very glamorous and fancy looking, but short on what you actually get. It mentions apps for phones or tablets, but I couldn't figure out whether they are all included or not ?
Thanks

xshayx

murphthesmurf wrote: »

It is very tempting, do you have it yourself?
Is it true it can be installed on 2 pc's? I've looked on the Adobe site and it's all very glamorous and fancy looking, but short on what you actually get. It mentions apps for phones or tablets, but I couldn't figure out whether they are all included or not ?
Thanks

I've been using Lightroom for five years, but only started using CC last week so I haven't got around to the multiple device use yet. Using Photoshop too now (to a lesser extend, more just cause its there), had been years since I had a license for Photoshop, so for the monthly price its great if you are processing regularly.

CabanSail

I would learn to use Photoshop as it does just about everything you need to do. Yes it can be a PITA to learn but once you have you can do all your editing in the one place.

almorris

Best advice is get everything right in camera first. Then there 's very little to do in any software.

CabanSail

almorris wrote: »

Best advice is get everything right in camera first. Then there 's very little to do in any software.

I used to think that myself as I practiced that when shooting transparencies.

The problem is that with digital the dynamic range is limited and there are so many other camera problems that I have moved right away from it. I now realise that images will need to be processed and aim to capture the best data I can in camera. That is the ne "get it right in camera" for me. Shoot for the workflow and keep the whole process in mind.

TheQuietFella

murphthesmurf wrote: »

It is very tempting, do you have it yourself?
Is it true it can be installed on 2 pc's? I've looked on the Adobe site and it's all very glamorous and fancy looking, but short on what you actually get. It mentions apps for phones or tablets, but I couldn't figure out whether they are all included or not ?
Thanks

Did you get CD's with your purchase. These should have Canon editing software for you to begin with at least!

Silva360

almorris wrote: »

Best advice is get everything right in camera first. Then there 's very little to do in any software.

Get as much right in camera as possible would be better that the best advice. You can't possibly get it right if you shoot RAW.

Photoshop is a steep learning curve. I think Lightroom would probably be more intuitive if you're starting out (or an old copy of Aperture if you're a Mac user, but this is coming to an end).

Where did you read that the RAWs in CS are not very good? That's the first time i've ever read something like this.

murphthesmurf

Thanks for replies. Yes I got the cd's with the camera. Haven't installed them though yet. Don't like to install anything if it's not essential. You end up with all kinds of useless software on your computer running in background in no time.
I have a good bit to learn with camera, but using RAW I'm definitely going to need some sort of software. I thought I'd try a free software and installed something called Gimp and UFraw. But it was very unfriendly to use. Not a good place to start at all.
Think I will go with the Adobe CC package.
Another quick question, who do you all use to get your pics printed?

murphthesmurf

Silva360 wrote: »

Get as much right in camera as possible would be better that the best advice. You can't possibly get it right if you shoot RAW.

Photoshop is a steep learning curve. I think Lightroom would probably be more intuitive if you're starting out (or an old copy of Aperture if you're a Mac user, but this is coming to an end).

Where did you read that the RAWs in CS are not very good? That's the first time i've ever read something like this.

Not that they're not good. The review said they are very good, but not up to dxoptics pro which they reckon was superior

TheQuietFella

murphthesmurf wrote: »

Thanks for replies. Yes I got the cd's with the camera. Haven't installed them though yet. Don't like to install anything if it's not essential. You end up with all kinds of useless software on your computer running in background in no time.
I have a good bit to learn with camera, but using RAW I'm definitely going to need some sort of software. I thought I'd try a free software and installed something called Gimp and UFraw. But it was very unfriendly to use. Not a good place to start at all.
Think I will go with the Adobe CC package.
Another quick question, who do you all use to get your pics printed?

You don't want to install anything that's not essential but you're asking here about what software to process a photographic image! Where are you going to put the software, on the back of a stamp?

Ireland is still rearing them!!!!

murphthesmurf

TheQuietFella wrote: »

You don't want to install anything that's not essential but you're asking here about what software to process a photographic image! Where are you going to put the software, on the back of a stamp?

Ireland is still rearing them!!!!

Wtf are you on? I NEED the software I'm asking about. I don't need useless crap running in the background and serving no purpose.

Fluffy88

I use darktable, an open source RAW image editor. It's currently not released on Windows, but there are other alternatives such as rawtherapee, LightZone, UFRaw, Bibble and others.

I've never used Lightroom myself, so can't speak for it, but, apart from Microsoft Paint, I've never used a photo editing software that was intuitive. That includes, Photoshop, Gimp and RAW editors.
In my opinion, photo editing, is just quite complex and therefore you don't just pick up a new tool and know how to work it. It takes a bit of time learning what you can do and learning the interface of the tool.

Rainbowsend

I am using Lightroom and have for about 4 years, it has really come on in that time, and I found it really easy to learn, I dont spend long processing images, you can put together actions for even quicker editing. But would definitely recommend Lightroom.

peckerhead

+1 for Lightroom. Nondestructive = licence to mess around and learn.
And it does get easier; I have an old standalone copy of Lr3 and I feel I'm still just beginning to harness its potential.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2833623/8-reasons-why-lightroom-should-be-your-go-to-photo-app.html

Saruman

murphthesmurf wrote: »

Wtf are you on? I NEED the software I'm asking about. I don't need useless crap running in the background and serving no purpose.

I think what he is saying is that Canon provide the software you are looking for. Digital Photo Professional, though forget the CD, just download the latest version off the web as chances are, it's newer than CD.

It's the equivalent of lightroom rather than photoshop.
It will have your camera and lens profiles built in so you should get good results.

If you have the money to plunge right in to paid software then go for it. Otherwise, DPP is a good choice. You don't need to install everything that comes in the cd.