Help Me Cut Through the Hype

[scottkinfw]

I currently use LR and a little Photoshop CC yearly plan. I"m seeing a lot about Macphun/Skylum and now Luminar 2018. I realize that the companies are coming out with the latest greatest product upgrades and a few of my friends are defecting.

The question is what do my CR friends use? Which product might be an all around winner? Do you use a main program and one of the others as a plug in? Which product is best for a given solution? Finally, how steep is learning curves?

I'confused and therefore not changing unless your real life experiences can convince me.

Thank you very much.

Scott

 

[jprusa]

I kinda like Alien skin exposure X2 better than luminar while Luminar is nice, I don't like the way you open files. That is going to change later. I really don't see a lot about this software but I like it!

 

[neuroanatomist]

I use DxO PhotoLab for RAW conversions. For editing, I bought the last standalone PS (CS6), and it does what I need it to do (with some help from Nik).

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It depends on what functions you use. I would not change just because friends are changing, Lightroom and Photoshop are far more powerful pieces of software.

Try the demo versions of competing software to see if it does what you need. No one uses all the capabilities of Photoshop, and I suspect that many only make use of 50% of the Lightroom features. That's entirely normal.

Although some competing software is promising database capability, don't buy a promise, make sure its working, unless you don't mind sidecar files for every edited photo.

Also check to see if you are going to need to pay yearly for a new version in order to keep getting updates. Developers need to eat, so they need income or will go out of business.

 

[R1-7D]

I still use Lightroom, which is now Lightroom Classic CC. It's been good, but Adobe's RAW conversion could certainly be better.

I start with my initial adjustments in Lightroom, and then usually finish the photo off in Luminar. Luminar, in my opinion, is fantastic. I'm going back and re-editing all my old photos using it. I love it, and the 2018 version looks to be even better.

If I need to do something more complicated after Lightroom and Luminar edits I will switch to Photoshop. There's still no real replacement for that program.

 

[AlanF]

I use DxO PhotoLab for RAW conversions. For editing, I bought the last standalone PS (CS6), and it does what I need it to do (with some help from Nik).

+1, but I must update DxO OPtics Pro 11 to the new Photolab quickly. Not only does DxO have the best noise reduction I have come across, it delivers more detail in RAW conversion than does DPP.

 

[krisbell]

As with all such questions - the answer is invariably "it depends on the user".

There is no question that Photoshop is the most powerful software solution, but unless you are an advanced user doing all sorts of clever processing/masking etc then an easier to use solution such as LR, Luminar etc is probably the best option.

 

[YuengLinger]

Take advantage of free trials!

 

[weixing]

Hi,

Take advantage of free trials!

Yes... take advantage of the trials.
Anyway, I'm also looking for a replacement for Lightroom. I don't use photoshop and not sure what Adobe future plan for Lightroom classic CC, so I decide to look at alternative.

Currently, I try ON1 photo RAW and ACDSee Professional 2018... will try a few more before decide...

Have a nice day.