which lightroom?

[olskool]

i am new here. i have been a film photographer since Moby dick was a minnow. i switched to digital about 20 years ago, but i have never in my life used a program to enhance my images. i want one now, they have several and i have no clue really. i am of course an amateur photographer and fair with computers so i just need the easiest one to use. what would that be? any help is welcomed.

 

[griffljg]

Most camera manufacturers have their own raw file converters / editors. I suggest playing around with whatever your camera’s free raw file converter is first to get a feel to what is possible.

 

[PacNWMike]

Faststone Image Viewer Free, easy and does enough for most users. It'll give you an idea of what you want before spending any $$

 

[olskool]

i have a Nikon Z fc i really am ignorant LOL, know mothing about raw file converters / editors. what do i do and where do i start? i have saw some good stuff from lightroom but there are a couple of different ones.

 

[olskool]

Faststone Image Viewer Free, easy and does enough for most users. It'll give you an idea of what you want before spending any $$

i just download it? then i can use it? i should mention i shoot mostly B&W

 

[Acraftman]

I have been a LR user for awhile and was pissed when they went to pay monthly but life is short and it is probably one of the most feature packed and plugin (third party accessories ) ready programs around plus there are a lot of YouTubers who put a video out every time adobe farts so so you will always be able to find an answer to any questions . I shot jpg for many years but after getting over the jitters of processing I really get a good deal of enjoyment out of it. If you are really into B&W nikeffects is a great plugin.

 

[PacNWMike]

i just download it? then i can use it?

Yes

 

[BruceRH]

I have been a LR user for awhile and was pissed when they went to pay monthly but life is short and it is probably one of the most feature packed and plugin (third party accessories ) ready programs around plus there are a lot of YouTubers who put a video out every time adobe farts so so you will always be able to find an answer to any questions . I shot jpg for many years but after getting over the jitters of processing I really get a good deal of enjoyment out of it. If you are really into B&W nikeffects is a great plugin.

After trying others, LR is the easiest for me to use and the constant updates are great, easily the best $9.95/month I spend. Plus you can use it on an iPad or phone.

 

[Bill in Texas]

I have been a LR user for awhile and was pissed when they went to pay monthly but life is short and it is probably one of the most feature packed and plugin (third party accessories ) ready programs around plus there are a lot of YouTubers who put a video out every time adobe farts so so you will always be able to find an answer to any questions . I shot jpg for many years but after getting over the jitters of processing I really get a good deal of enjoyment out of it. If you are really into B&W nikeffects is a great plugin.

I'm with Dan. I use Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. Photography package is $10 a month. I've been using them both long enough that I have my own purchased copies and still have an old computer with them on it. I've used the others but Adobe does what I need to do.

 

[IanE]

Affinity Photo is also worth considering; I've used it for a while now and there is not much it can't do that the others do.

 

[wee-pics]

Try PhotoScape X. It's freeware but you can upgrade for some 40 $ and get the clone stamp and repair stamp.
It's extremely easy to use and you get good results (so good that photos I processed with it made it to front page).
I just didn't tell anyone as there are too many people who think if you don't use Photoshop, Efex and all the rest you can't be taken seriously. I've worked with Lightroom for a long time but haven't used it for at least a dozen years. PhotoScape X is much easier and faster and user-friendlier to get the same results than with Lightroom

 

[olskool]

Try PhotoScape X. It's freeware but you can upgrade for some 40 $ and get the clone stamp and repair stamp.
It's extremely easy to use and you get good results (so good that photos I processed with it made it to front page).
I just didn't tell anyone as there are too many people who think if you don't use Photoshop, Efex and all the rest you can't be taken seriously. I've worked with Lightroom for a long time but haven't used it for at least a dozen years. PhotoScape X is much easier and faster and user-friendlier to get the same results than with Lightroom

thank you! i will look into it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,