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Asking for a DNG developer.


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I have now a Leica D Lux 109 together several roll film Leica cameras and lenses.

Now I´m very interested in the new Leica CL to use my Leica M and R lenses unused for a long time.

I have no experience in DNG picture taking because until now I only take JPG pictures with the D Lux.

When I can get the CL (in a few months I hope), I will like to learn how to process the DNG pictures.

So my question is: What RAW developer is the easier to use for an unexperienced digital photographer like me?

The camera has an in camera Raw Processor function, but the rear screen is too small to make a good job.

Now I have installed in my computer the Apple Photos program and the Photoshop Elements 11.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

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Raw workflows are no more complicated than JPG ones and in many ways easier.

Photoshop Elements is fine for a beginner; it shares its algoritms with the full Photoshop and Lightroom, but offers a user-friendly interface. Lightroom is slightly more upmarket, but a bit of a hassle to obtain standalone,  ON1 is a good beginner's program, but with more than sufficient potential to grow to expert level- it might even be first choice, as it offers a phletora of presets and has very good tutorials.

I would avoid Photos; it is nowhere near Aperture, and a very dominant app in your computer.

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There is the new kid on the block, Affinty from Serif. It has got good write ups as a RAW engine in the Photography press. For those like me, whose brain has never clicked with Lightroom, there is Capture One. Sadly even with the latest version 11, they have added complication but failed to add, what I regard as an essential tool for digital photographers, a de-haze tool. C1 does have a good library system for organising your RAW files.

 

I think that PS Elements is a better program than often realised. Its built in RAW converter ACR (Adobe Camera RAW), is regularly updated and is the same RAW engine that Lightroom uses. It takes a bit of learning for batch processing but is capable of a very good job. The latest version of ACR 10.0 - Oct 18th, does not yet offer named support for the CL but the Leica TL2 profile should be near enough. For PS Elements on Mac, you should be able to use Adobe Bridge as an image organisation tool but not quite sure how you acquire this as a stand alone, as it is normally bundled free with Adobe CC subscription. 

 

Wilson

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Try Lunimar 2018. Seems to be value for money and quite easy to use. Unlike Lightroom it can be used on a PC or Mac.

 

Lightroom was always available on PC and Mac. Lightroom is a great cataloging tool as well and has probably the greatest amount of tutorials available. It is also quite simple to use. Its subscription model may be a disadvantage to some.

 

Love that there are alternatives to Lightroom, though. For me, Luminar is a useful Lightroom/Photoshop add-on.

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Try Lunimar 2018. Seems to be value for money and quite easy to use. Unlike Lightroom it can be used on a PC or Mac.Luminar 2018

Luminar 2018, as of this writing, does not properly recognize Monochrom files.  This was a problem that had been fixed in past versions of the program but has appeared again in the 2018 version.

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Note that Luminar 2018 works well with Photos on a Mac which can be used for cataloguing. It will also come free with its own DMS later this year. 

 

Do note that Adobe has discontinued the standalone licensing model for Lightroom and now it is only available as a cloud subscription.

Edited by rramesh
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Do note that Adobe has discontinued the standalone licensing model for Lightroom and now it is only available as a cloud subscription.

Not quite. Still available until year end, but development/ upgrades frozen after that.

 

https://laurashoe.com/2017/10/19/where-to-buy-the-perpetual-version-lightroom-6/

 

LR Classic (via subscription) will retain the same basic format and controls (with updates like de-haze that haven't been available in the standalone perpetual license versions).

 

Jeff

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Not quite. Still available until year end, but development/ upgrades frozen after that.

 

https://laurashoe.com/2017/10/19/where-to-buy-the-perpetual-version-lightroom-6/

 

LR Classic (via subscription) will retain the same basic format and controls (with updates like de-haze that haven't been available in the standalone perpetual license versions).

 

Jeff

 

So you want to pay $142 for a product that will be only be supported for the next 2 weeks? Don't get it.

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So you want to pay $142 for a product that will be only be supported for the next 2 weeks? Don't get it.

Where does it say that I want to buy anything?

 

Just correcting your misstatement.

 

And I'm sure there are many who will retain their LR6 version for some time to come. The cost to upgrade from an earlier LR version was, as I recall, $79.

 

Jeff

Edited by Jeff S
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according to Adobe in a video released last month along with the upgrades, they stated that LR standalone development will not end and that future updates will still be released.

 

regardless, a LR subscription is no more expensive than the perpetual license. And LR is very simple to use...my kids have been using LR since they were in their early teens. Ive tried most of the options discussed here...and still prefer LR. Im on a perpetual license...but frankly with the new cloud features, LR subscription is going to finally pull me in despite the fact that Ive fought it for years now.

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I like and own Luminar 2018, but use it at the moment only as an add-on: DAM module (cataloging, culling) is yet to be implemented and raw converter does not apply lens correction, which may be just fine with M-lenses, but is not so good with TL lenses (e.g. 18mm).

I like that Luminar allows activation on 5 devices, while Lightroom allows only 2 devices.

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according to Adobe in a video released last month along with the upgrades, they stated that LR standalone development will not end and that future updates will still be released.

 

I suspect that this referenced LR Classic, which is the subscription based version of the traditional format. Standalone (perpetual license) users who make that switch will continue to experience upgrades as they've been accustomed. Adobe has been clear about ending upgrades for the standalone (perpetual license) version at year end.

 

Jeff

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