Please recommend me a DNG software

[Pelu2010]

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I guess what you need is a workshop! 

Better to invest in something like that, that helps you going. 

Just thinking loud .... 

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, marchyman said:

I do not have photoshop installed on my machine.  I do have bridge installed.   When I installed bridge ACR came along for the ride.  Perhaps that's because I subscribe to CC even though I don't use Ps.  I don't know.  What I do know is that I can use ACR inside of Bridge.  I right click on image and select Open in Camera Raw...   when the menu option is available.  It is not always available.

And this page ==> https://prodesigntools.com/free-adobe-bridge-cc.html says Bridge 2022 is free.

ACR can be 'hosted' by Bridge or by Photoshop, with associated pros and cons...

https://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/camera-raw-in-bridge-vs-photoshop/

For me, there is no more economic PP solution than the Adobe Photography Plan, which includes both LR Classic and Photoshop for $9.99 per month. Biggest bang for the buck than any other key photo expense I incur.  One can use as much, or as little, as desired, with no obligation to use cloud storage. Seamless updates, not just new features, but Leica camera and lens profiles quickly included.

But there are many other fine PP solutions to satisfy all.

Jeff

Edited April 28, 2022 by Jeff S

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[Anbaric]

Capture One might be your best bet for a non-subscription package (though it's rather expensive as a one-off purchase and as mentioned above you only get updates until the next major release). I would also look at ON1 and DxO:

https://www.on1.com/products/photo-raw/

https://www.dxo.com/

Some useful comparisons and other alternatives here:

https://www.lifeafterphotoshop.com/

Affinity Photo is an excellent Photoshop alternative, but it's a dedicated image editor and although it can handle individual raw files it doesn't do Lightroom things like previewing and batch processing or image management. It would complement something like C1 or ON1 or DxO rather well, for when you need to do more advanced editing:

https://affinity.serif.com/photo/

In the Open Source/Free Software world, RawTherapee and Darktable are worth a look:

https://www.rawtherapee.com/

https://www.darktable.org/

 

[zeitz]

3 hours ago, marchyman said:

When I installed bridge ACR came along for the ride.  Perhaps that's because I subscribe to CC even though I don't use Ps.

I did not know ACR could be used as a plug-in.

Here is what I found in the Adobe Support Community.  Perhaps this "knowledge base" answer is out of date:

Adobe Bridge is not completely free. There are certain scenarios that require you to have a subscription to use specific features in Adobe Bridge.

For example; If you want to open a raw file in the Camera Raw plugin through Bridge to make edits on it, you'll get an error saying "Camera Raw editing is not enabled". It requires a qualifying product on the computer (like Photoshop) to access the Camera Raw Plugin. This means If you do not have a subscription for Photoshop, then you won't be able to use the Camera Raw plugin through Adobe Bridge. 

[Jeff S]

13 hours ago, zeitz said:

I did not know ACR could be used as a plug-in.

Here is what I found in the Adobe Support Community.  Perhaps this "knowledge base" answer is out of date:

Adobe Bridge is not completely free. There are certain scenarios that require you to have a subscription to use specific features in Adobe Bridge.

For example; If you want to open a raw file in the Camera Raw plugin through Bridge to make edits on it, you'll get an error saying "Camera Raw editing is not enabled". It requires a qualifying product on the computer (like Photoshop) to access the Camera Raw Plugin. This means If you do not have a subscription for Photoshop, then you won't be able to use the Camera Raw plugin through Adobe Bridge. 

See link, post #22 (assuming it’s not out of date).

Jeff