Lightroom Alternatives

I purchased the Adobe creative cloud plan but got tired of paying the monthly $9.95 fee when there are some months I am not even using it. I primarily use Lightroom just for some light post processing of my photos and don't use Photoshop, so I don't need a heavy graphics solution. I am a Windows user.

I never really liked the organization features of Lightroom and have switched to FastStone for organizing photos, so I am ok there. I just need some basic post processing of my photos.

I did try Lightzone but find it clunky. RawTherapee doesn't recognize my OneDrive where all my pictures are, so it is out.

I am willing to pay for a solution, but would prefer a one time payment for photo software instead of a subscription. (I do pay for lots of other business software by subscription, but don't need that here.)

Any ideas? I have been looking at PhotoDirector as a possibility. Anyone have experience with that one.

Are you excluding the Lightroom perpetual version?

The free Adobe Photoshop PSCS2 should allow you to do anything you need.

ebusinesstutor wrote in post #18403733
switched to FastStone for organizing photos, so I am ok there. I just need some basic post processing of my photos.

Dig deeper into Faststone ... it may actually do all you need.
Download the PDF manual and see all the features it actually has.

http://www.faststoneso​ft.net/DN/FSIV_Tutoria​l.pdf

Heya,

You can get a previous Lightroom version if you liked it, that is not monthly. LR3 or LR4 for example? Not pennies, but still, you buy once. I'm still using CS5 (Photoshop) because I got it for $30 with a student email address and I'll use it until it no longer works in windows (I still run Win 7 and will continue to do that until I cannot or have a very good reason not to).

Very best,

For browsing, copying from cards to file system, renaming files, filling out IPTC and other fields including keywords, it is very hard to beat Photo Mechanic. You can use PM to then invoke your raw converter or editor of choice.

ebusinesstutor wrote in post #18403733
I purchased the Adobe creative cloud plan but got tired of paying the monthly $9.95 fee when there are some months I am not even using it. I primarily use Lightroom just for some light post processing of my photos and don't use Photoshop, so I don't need a heavy graphics solution. I am a Windows user.

I never really liked the organization features of Lightroom and have switched to FastStone for organizing photos, so I am ok there. I just need some basic post processing of my photos.

I did try Lightzone but find it clunky. RawTherapee doesn't recognize my OneDrive where all my pictures are, so it is out.

I am willing to pay for a solution, but would prefer a one time payment for photo software instead of a subscription. (I do pay for lots of other business software by subscription, but don't need that here.)

Any ideas? I have been looking at PhotoDirector as a possibility. Anyone have experience with that one.

I have been holding out about subscribing to CC. However I did buy Lightroom 5 and Lightroom 6. There is still an option to purchase Lightroom, not rent it.
Having Photoshop CS 4 Extended, if I had the option to buy that as well, I would look into it. I like to purchase my homes, cars, photo gear, computers and software......that's just me.

In Canada does Canon provide DPP free with cameras?

Wilt wrote in post #18404036
In Canada does Canon provide DPP free with cameras?

Yes

You can download DPP for Windows from the Canon support sites even if Canon did not put it in the box in CA.


https://www.usa.canon.​com …QH8HIC0L88RB0AM​D0F1Q42K25

MalVeauX wrote in post #18403901
Heya,

You can get a previous Lightroom version if you liked it, that is not monthly. LR3 or LR4 for example? Not pennies, but still, you buy once. I'm still using CS5 (Photoshop) because I got it for $30 with a student email address and I'll use it until it no longer works in windows (I still run Win 7 and will continue to do that until I cannot or have a very good reason not to).

Very best,

You can buy LR6, too. No need to rent it.

Capture One: is likely the best, but it costs the most.

Aftershot:
I used to love "Bibble RAW", it was bought by Corel and turned into "AfterShot"
Corel have seen fit to upgrade many aspects and downgrade some others,. I'd probably still be using it anyway, but it refuses to run stable on my current particular workstation. I think it does not like my giant Adpatec RAID array. Might be worth a look. It was fast and user friendly. It does not bog down with large files.

If your a Canon shooter, there is always DPP, which is free.

I have not warmed up to either DXO or Raw Therapee, but they are both worth checking out.

Lightroom has multiple modules: Library, Develop, Map, Website, Print. Does any other app totally match that range of features? Personally all I would want is a replacement for Library, Develop, and Print.

MCAsan wrote in post #18404480
Lightroom has multiple modules: Library, Develop, Map, Website, Print. Does any other app totally match that range of features? Personally all I would want is a replacement for Library, Develop, and Print.

No I don't think anyone else covers the full range of output options that you get with Lr. What I really like is the fact that you don't have to keep lots of different versions of the image file saved locally. I find that for around 98% of my images I don't need to convert to an RGB format for additional processing, so only the one file. Even when I do need to edit pixels I still only need to have the one master PSD file on my machine, which cuts down drastically on complexity of storage.

I would add Map to the list of modules that I use regularly. Since I have a health condition that affects my short term memory, I like to also geotag my images, so I know where they were taken. I do this manually in the Map module at the moment. I really should get one of those tracking apps for my phone, and have Lr add the data from that.

Did you know it is possible to set Lr up so that it only loads the modules you want? So if you never use the Map, Book, Web, or Slideshow modules you don't need to load them. Apparently this can give a little performance boost on computers that are a little marginal in performance.

Alan

MacPhun has a new(ish) program called Luminar that is very close to being on par with Lightroom's editing features. Since it has come out I have been doing some very light RAW processing in Lightroom and the heavier lifting in Luminar. Then I'll sometimes finish things up in another MacPhun or Nik software.

On a different note about the entire post processing package....

Every once in a while I go on the hunt for a combo of softwares to replace the Adobe suite. I'm one of the "lucky" ones who has the original full Creative Cloud grandfathered at $49 a month, but that's still a chunk as I was quite satisfied with the Adobe products before they went to the subscription model. Very little has been added to justify the extra money I've put into it thus far.... in the 4 years since it came out I've spent $2,400 on this subscription. Just doing that math now, and it is absolutely one of those times where ignorance was bliss.

MacPhun claims to have a cataloging system in the works. Although I love their softwares, I don't know if I can give up everything I've put into Lightroom. Final Cut Pro is absolutely a fine Premier replacement. There are lots of vector solutions out there that can handle my Illustrator load. BUT.... Photoshop. Photoshop is pretty special. Is Affinity Pro ready to fill that spot?

I wish Aperture wasn't killed. And I wish more was around to keep Adobe competitive.