Alternatives to Photoshop

[davidtomlinson]

I have been using Photoshop since version 2. It is, of course, wonderful. For the last few years I have been using CS6, on either iMac or Macbook Pro. In both cases I use an old operating system - Mavericks. For the sake of security I should upgrade the operating system on my Macs, but if I do, then I am advised that Photoshop CS6 will not run on High Sierra (the latest system) and I would have to upgrade to CC. This would mean paying a monthly rental of around £10. Maybe I'm just a mean old sod, but after shelling out several hundred for CS6 I deeply resent paying Adobe a monthly fee for continuing to be able to do what I am able to do now. Further to that I do not wish to use The Cloud. I have Lightroom 5, but that will not do some of the things that I can do in Photoshop. So here is my question...has anyone worked on an alternative to Photoshop that will do all the basics, plus focus stacking and is available as a one-of purchase? Intuitively I suspect that the money-grabbing approach of Adobe must be spawning effective competition and I wonder if any readers have made a discovery?

[Charles Nicol]

you might like to look at sumopaint.com

you can use it free or paid for with extra features.

[John W]

Pixelmator is a highly regarded image processing application for Macs. The basic version is a one off payment of £28.99 and the Pro version is £54.99.

Personally I get by with the Apple Photos app but it doesn't have focus stacking.

[Pete Eeles]

I would have to upgrade to CC. This would mean paying a monthly rental of around £10. Further to that I do not wish to use The Cloud.

I had exactly the same predicament, David, but moved over to CC in the end, when all updates to both Photoshop and Lightroom are included in the £10 monthly fee. Like you, I had forked out a lot for Pixmantec Rawshooter which was acquired by Adobe and became Lightroom. Every now and again I'd have to fork out for an "upgrade" if it was a major release. So I figured that most apps are heading in this direction (such as Office365) so "bit the bullet".

Also, while these solutions are badged as "Cloud Creative" etc., you don't need to use the cloud for storage (I don't). I just download the updates whenever they're available and keep everything local.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

It seems to me that a lot of companies offer tempting cloud storage options primarily to make it more difficult for you to drop your subscription. If you have a couple of hundred gigs on someone's servers and the renewal date comes round, what are you going to do? Renew - or have to relocate all that stuff. I have 1TB with Office 365, which I expect to keep using because it is simply the best, and 1TB with Dropbox, which I've used since it was founded. Who needs more than 2TB?

Guy

[MikeOxon]

Over the years, I've accumulated quite a collection of imaging software. I now tend to use a mix of packages for different individual tasks.

I currently use Media Pro for cataloguing my photos, DxO Optics Pro for RAW conversion, CombineZP for stacking, and a mix of Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro for general editing, depending on what needs doing. For example, Paint Shop Pro is good when I want to apply the same corrections to a large number of different images.

it may sound a muddle but, in fact, it works pretty well for me. I do change individual packages from time to time. For example, I used AfterShot Pro for RAW conversion for a while, mainly because it is fast, but I tended to be disappointed with the results. It is still useful for side-by-side comparison of images, when trying to choose between different versions.

Mike

[IAC]

PaintShop Pro for me. It used to be really cheap, it's not as much so now, yet essentially cheaper then Photoshop. I have never really had a copy of Photoshop...so I am not hankering after anything anymore technical than I currently possess. I use pretty much all that Mike pointed out...a mixture of things from different places. Combine ZP is pretty good stacking software for example.

Iain.

[NickC]

GIMP is a excellent alternative to Photoshop. Being open source, it is free:

https://www.gimp.org

I use it and Paint Shop Pro under Windows, but it is also available for OS X and works with any recent version, so you should have no problems with running it under High Sierra. Worth a try given that it's free!

[davidtomlinson]

Many thanks for all your replies and advice. I posted the same question to two other forums and got more advice from those. I am now informed, slightly confused, but gratified that so many kind people take the trouble to give help. You may be interested to know that the respondents on the other forums recommended Pixelmator and Affinity Photo; these two got more recommendations than any other bought s'ware by a big margin. PaintShop Pro and Gimp (free) also have a fan base. So, I will read a bit more about these packages, then try a few trial versions. I'm not going to give any more money to Adobe, though; at least not yet. I'll report back. Thanks again.

David

[Catteraxe]

There is also an open source application called Darktable. Don’t know anything about it - details at http://darktable.org

[Jack Harrison]

Not an alternative to PhotoShop but I throw this in for information.

Underexposed backgrounds often show noise (equivalent of grain).

Imagenomic noiseware is quite superb for smoothing. Its use can produce an almost “artistic” effect, not quite a true photo, but rather pleasing. Of course I aim to get the exposure correct in the first place (I routinely bracket) but the dynamic range of small sensor cameras can’t always cope. Here’s an example from two days ago – pause for reflection!
(In the original raw image, the far shore was horribly underexposed).


Photobucket wouldn't allow. so instead, thumbnail.

Lochindorb in The Highlands.

Jack

[davidtomlinson]

Jack,
Thanks, I'll look at Ingenomic Noiseware. I have used Neat Image as a noise reduction program for around 10 years and it's very good. If you overdo it the image turns "glassy", which is what you're referring to as an asset for certain pics, though it's not desirable for images with detail, such as birds & butterflies. I suspect that the "glassiness" would be a result of over-correction with any noise reduction software. I used to use noise reduction on many of my images when I was using 1.6 cropping cameras (especially Canon 7D), but I have now switched completely to a full frame sensor body, so I find noise is only a problem with indoor shots without flash (churches, art galleries, etc). With the 5D MkIV I can shoot butterflies using AUTO ISO and allow the ISO to get up to 2500 without any bothersome noise, as long as I make sure the histogram is OK. I'll never go back to croppers.
David

[Jack Harrison]

It’s the old argument: large DSLRs that cost a fortune and weight a ton versus bridge cameras.
Moreover, for the arthritic elderly like me, the weight of these DSLRs plus lenses are an impossible burden.
If I dropped my bridge camera or left of roof of the car (not happened yet) I would be annoyed.
If the same happened with a full frame set up, I would be in tears!

I met a chap the other day with £7k’s worth of kit. That mega-expensive set up (and I understand that some might pay as much as £10k) was totally inflexible: tripod aiming at the hoped-for spot. He took one photo in four hours!
Meanwhile with my cheap and cheerful Lumix, I was able to follow the action.

Thumbnail.

Jack

[MikeOxon]

......... I have used Neat Image as a noise reduction program for around 10 years and it's very good. ..............

I could have added Neat Image to my own list of packages, mentioned in a previous post, above. I used to find it pretty nearly essential on small-sensor cameras but, interestingly, I rarely feel the need for it on images from my Olympus Micro4/3 cameras. Perhaps this sensor size represents a 'sweet spot' between the small-sensor 'Bridge' cameras and full frame, especially for those of us who use telephoto lenses quite a lot.

Returning to photo-editing packages, my wife uses Affinity Photo on her MacBookPro and likes it. It was initially developed for the Mac so, if that is your platform, it should certainly be on your list. I haven't got around to trying it yet because I'm already juggling quite a few packages

Mike

[davidtomlinson]

Mike,
Thank you. After spending some time reading around on the web, I've decided to try the trial version of Affinity Photo. I just need a couple of days of relatively uninterrupted time to upgrade the OS on my Mac, then download and learn the basics of Affinity Photo. I'll follow your wife's example and try it on my MacBook first, leaving my iMac unchanged...belt and braces.
As for Jack's comment, I regularly go out photographing birds with £7k's worth of kit, and I do manage to get the odd respectable pic. Each to his own, eh?
David

[Medard]

Alternatives to Photoshop
For Nikon shooters a FREE browser and software, View NX-i and Capture NX-D is available from Nikons website, just downloaded an update this morning, it does take a little effort to master but offers an alternative to Lightroom.
Full adjustments for Nikon RAW,TIFF,and JPEG files, I have done adjustments on JPEGs for friends who are Canon, Olmpus, shooters.
https://www.europe-nikon.com/en_GB
Go to Services and support and follow the instructions.
A 500 f4G does come in handy when they spook easily, Hairy Dragonfly,Ham Wall, RSPB,Somerset.
http://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/

[davidtomlinson]

If you read my first post on this thread, you'll see why I started it. So, after reading your advice, I lined up a couple of alternative programs (Affinity Photo & Pixelmator), but didn't buy them yet. Then I upgraded my OS to High Sierra and, surprise, surprise, Photoshop CS6 still works perfectly. So, I don't need to change (yet), but thanks for your suggestions. And don't believe everything you read in chatrooms and photoforums. There's no substitute for hands-on trials.

[sonomoha]

No easy replacement for Ps once you are used to it.
At the moment, I mainly use Rawtherapee + Gimp and they fit the purpose for editing.
Cheers