Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

What do you people use for editing the Leica Q/Q2/Q3 DNG images? Lightroom, Capture One, DxO, etc.? Which one do you recommend?

I'm just a hobby photographer, so nothing professional for my editing, but I need at least basic editing, camera profiles, and at least masking. I'm trying also to avoid subscriptions, but I'm willing to join one if it has a good price and its worth it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

x

I've been using Photoshop for the last twenty years - but if you want to keep it simple (adjustable presets and plenty of tutorials on the site) and still be able to do extensive editing occasionally,  ON1 is a nice "prosumer" level editing software.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, jaapv said:

I've been using Photoshop for the last twenty years - but if you want to keep it simple (adjustable presets and plenty of tutorials on the site) and still be able to do extensive editing occasionally,  ON1 is a nice "prosumer" level editing software.

Yeah! Adobe. I'm a designer and toy maker, and I have been working with Adobe nearly all my life. Never more. For different reasons, all from abusive treatment to the political situation of the world. It doesn't matter. The thing is, Adobe doesn't work for me, but it is interesting to see if the majority of the people uses it here. Maybe I just need to accept that there is no better editing software out there.

PS: Maybe I can use Affinity Photo as an alternative to photoshop...

Link to post
Share on other sites

I moved to Capture One about 12 years ago, shortly after Adobe went subscription based. The embedded raw file cataloguing of C1 suits my workflow and the output quality / colour is consistent across camera brands.

I also use Darktable for the odd edit. I originally purchased the C1 perpetual license and have only upgraded (twice) when I needed new camera support. I'm due an upgrade (from v16.2.6.7)  for the white balance bug for Q3 files which was addressed in a later version, but I can live with it for now.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Lightroom "Classic" (LRC) and Photoshop (PS).  I am just used to them (using PS for over 25 years and LR/LRC since its first release) and see no reason to change.  Was at first not thrilled with the subscription idea when it was introduced but given the cost of upgrades over the years and the pretty incredible tools Adobe has added, especially recently (masking!) it has been worth it. I have spent a lot of time learning how to use PS and LRC and am reluctant to invest more time learning another program.  There has been a recent price increase (for new subscribers and I suspect eventually for us long term folks) but put in perspective with the time, effort and financial resources I have expended on photography even the higher cost would not stop me from using it.  

Link to post
Share on other sites

Take a look at PhotoLine (www.pl32.com). In many aspects it rivals PhotoShop. Attractive price and no subscriptions. Many PS-plugins can be used as plugins in PhotoLine. I use the Topaz Photo AI plugin. I also have Affinity Photo but I prefer PhotoLine.

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, JMPerona said:

PS: Maybe I can use Affinity Photo as an alternative to photoshop...

Absolutely yes! I switched to AP some years ago (I didn't find the transition particularly difficult), and I'm very satisified with it's performance (and price/performance too, btw...).

If you are a toy maker, take a peek at what Felix Hernandez does with his toys and AP...

https://www.instagram.com/hernandez_dreamphography/
(also take a peek at his Youtube channel (Hernandez Dreamphography)

Have fun!

Dem

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello JM, if you shoot Jpeg then I would suggest you explore DXO’s NIK Collection 7, you buy it with a very reasonableonetime payment and it’s a suite of modules from colour, black and white plus a raft of others including Analogue Efex where you can create double exposure images and the like. Not only that, they respond to queries super fast. I recently got another iMac and was having difficulty with setting up Nik. A couple of emails later it was sorted. I start my workflow with Mac Photos, sorting through, deleting and cropping as required then into Silver Efex (as a mono shooter) and take it from there…✌️

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Lightroom Classic. For years I resisted the subscription requirement and made do with Lightroom 4. Eventually I had to switch over…and it is great. 
I’ve been using Lightroom for many years  

Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

 I tried Lightroom again a couple of weeks ago and AGAIN found that for me it offered nothing useful over Apple Photos.  It may be better for more extensive professional use - faster/more customizable(?) - but for anything I have ever needed done to a pic, Photos works fine and is free with the operating system.  I only have experience with Apple OS, no experience with Windows OS photo programs but I assume whatever photo program comes with Windows would be comparable.

I suspect it really depends on what you need out of a program.  You can free-trial LR for a period to see if you like it/if it's worth a monthly subscription.  To me it is not (I really dislike the subscription concept) but obviously for many, it is.  Heck, nowadays automobiles have subscription services to keep all the "features" running!  🤬

I'm sure that most/all of the "aftermarket" photo programs have a free trial.  Download/check them out for yourself!  Just because someone else likes a particular program doesn't mean you will!!!;)

Edited by Mikep996
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

I use Capture One. I love the tools. I think once you get used to a work method it's tough to adjust.

I have used Photoshop for a project recently and hated it. I ended my Lightroom/Photoshop subscription a month ago.

Link to post
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Mikep996 said:

 It may be better for more extensive professional use

And amateur use.

(Not getting at you, Mike - just using your comment to vent a pet peeve).

There is a common assumption, by both some amateurs and some professionals, that amateurs work to lower standards than professionals. It doesn't take much experience of photography to come across uninspiring work by pros and superbly innovative and well-crafted work by amateurs. Some pros will do as little post processing work as they can get away with; some amateurs will spend all the time they have to get the image as good as it can possibly be. And the opposite also applies.

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I work with Lightroom from Version 1 on and tried Capture 1 for 2 years but came back to Lightroom Classic aka LrC.
I pay 142 CHF per year for the Photo Bundle (including Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and Photoshop for Mac, iOS, iPadOS (and Windows) when yearly anticipated payment and that is a bit more than yearly updates by other brands. Updates come every now and then in general about every 2-4 weeks for Lightroom otr Photoshop.
What i find unnecessary is the bulky Creative Cloud app as i have no need for it, i can do updates and search for new apps by my self.

LrC was initially a Photo (and Video) cataloging software with limited editing option, now the editing options are in most cases sufficient and i barely use Photoshop.
There are many plugins for LrC making editing faster, i use the AI classification plugin from Excire to find photos by photo content as i have about 80K Photos and Videos in the big Catalog. So you will get not only a photo editing software, but also a cataloging software to manage your photos.

Chris
 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...