After LR, how about ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate

I am disappointed with LR going subscription and looking around for a different photo processing program.
Does anyone have experience with this ACDsee program?
It seems pretty good and Black Friday has it on sale.
I have about 30K photos on LR, do not plan to bring them all over to a new program.
Shooting mainly RAW pic, but most of the 30K are jpg.
Shoot mainly wildlife, BIF and landscapes.
Using a Canon 7DMR2 and a Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L ii and a Canon EFS 18-200 mm
Any help or thoughts appreciated.
steve

Google is your friend, have a look at these: http://www.techradar.c​om …g-lightroom-and-photoshop
https://fstoppers.com …eases-photo-studio-193921

I used to0 use ACDsee about 8 years ago. It was good then but I have no recent experience of it. Download a trial and try it free.

What part of the subscription are you disappointed with?

digital paradise wrote in post #18503238
What part of the subscription are you disappointed with?

Probably the idea of paying $10 a month for the rest of your life. ☹️

WEll you could just keep using the version you have now. If it is still working for you, why change it? I only upgraded from Lr4 and PsCS5 last year because a new computer, and especially the new monitor wasn't compatible with those versions. Thanks to Adobe doing all the screen drawing using their own code, instead of using windows, the Win 10 high resolution scaling doesn't work, and everything is far too small on my 5K display. You can even get around new camera bodies, if you use the Adobe DNG converter.

Alan

eddieb1 wrote in post #18503290
Probably the idea of paying $10 a month for the rest of your life. ☹️

Yeah that does not sit well with people and is a good reason. I looked up my expenses since 2012 with Adobe and it worked out to about $80 a year with upgrades, etc. The plan offers a free website using Portfolio with your own domain. I cancelled my Zenfolio account that cost me $150 a year so it worked out well for me. I paid Adobe for the whole year. I don't need to be reminded each month

I decided to ask because there has been some incorrect information about the cloud out there. Just because it says Creative Cloud does not mean you have to use it. All my files are stored locally. I can sync to the cloud if I want to which at this point I plan to never do.

You don't edit in the cloud. The software downloads onto your system and it is no different than using LR6 or PS.

I was dead against it until I learned I did not have to use the cloud. There may be others on the fence about that. Not liking the idea of subcritptfion, $10 a month, worried about the future with Adobe (I'm not), etc are all personal and valid reasons.

BigAl007 wrote in post #18503294
WEll you could just keep using the version you have now. If it is still working for you, why change it? I only upgraded from Lr4 and PsCS5 last year because a new computer, and especially the new monitor wasn't compatible with those versions. Thanks to Adobe doing all the screen drawing using their own code, instead of using windows, the Win 10 high resolution scaling doesn't work, and everything is far too small on my 5K display. You can even get around new camera bodies, if you use the Adobe DNG converter.

Alan

I got tired of DNG conversions for my 5D4 and PS. I know I can get a file into it via LR. Everything is back like the good old days. Got some new features with LR7. I have dropped $100 going out with the boys on a Friday night.

digital paradise wrote in post #18503298
I was dead against it until I learned I did not have to use the cloud. There may be others on the fence about that. Not liking the idea of subcritptfion, $10 a month, worried about the future with Adobe (I'm not), etc are all personal and valid reasons.

I have found a couple of advantages with the syncing facilities that you get with what we must now call Lr Classic. If you have the Lr app on your phone or mobile device it will quite happily move images in both directions. So if I take a shot with the camera in my phone the Lr app will upload it to the Adobe server, and then shift it to my main machine, and it will put the images in the same folder structure as the main importer. It doesn't seem quite as quick on the transfer front as say Dropbox, but it's much better than the single watched folder option you get if you do go the dropbox route. At home using my wifi it seems to take a couple of minutes from taking the shot, to it being in Lr on my main machine.

I also use it a bit like I used to use Dropbox with images, for private viewing on my devices. But in this case I don't have to export any JPEG's, and keep them up to date using a publish server. They are just there when I want them, and I can potentially fix stuff with them on the fly.

You can put a few images in synced collections, but not smart collections, and it produces smart previews, and uses those in the app etc. As well as the apps for your mobile devices though you can also access them through an Adobe website, and do all the normal processing you would do with a smart preview, i.e. pretty much everything. You can also upload images this way too, including RAWs, as long as the computer you are using has a card reader. This will actually result in the RAW file ending up on your system. Not really a lot of use for large numbers of images, but handy if you are away and shoot a couple of shots with friends say, and you want them done ASAP. When I tried it out it was useful, and handy where you had an essentially under powered computer with no editing software. The website looked just like the new LrCC interface.

There is no way that I would ever go over to the new fully cloud service, just uploading the approx 1 TB of files over my rather limited broadband service would prevent that. Let alone adding more files as I go. The last airshow weekend I was at I filled 50 GB of cards each day! So online storage of RAW files is not really on. Anyway I get unlimited free storage of RAW files with my Amazon Prime account, which again would be useful backup, if I could actually upload the images.

Alan

I was over the moon with the subscription, just bought a new camera, wasn't supported on my old version, couldn't afford the new one, bang, subscription! If you intend updating your gear regularly, then subscription is the way to go surely, works out cheaper...

BigAl007 wrote in post #18503361
I have found a couple of advantages with the syncing facilities that you get with what we must now call Lr Classic. If you have the Lr app on your phone or mobile device it will quite happily move images in both directions. So if I take a shot with the camera in my phone the Lr app will upload it to the Adobe server, and then shift it to my main machine, and it will put the images in the same folder structure as the main importer. It doesn't seem quite as quick on the transfer front as say Dropbox, but it's much better than the single watched folder option you get if you do go the dropbox route. At home using my wifi it seems to take a couple of minutes from taking the shot, to it being in Lr on my main machine.

I also use it a bit like I used to use Dropbox with images, for private viewing on my devices. But in this case I don't have to export any JPEG's, and keep them up to date using a publish server. They are just there when I want them, and I can potentially fix stuff with them on the fly.

You can put a few images in synced collections, but not smart collections, and it produces smart previews, and uses those in the app etc. As well as the apps for your mobile devices though you can also access them through an Adobe website, and do all the normal processing you would do with a smart preview, i.e. pretty much everything. You can also upload images this way too, including RAWs, as long as the computer you are using has a card reader. This will actually result in the RAW file ending up on your system. Not really a lot of use for large numbers of images, but handy if you are away and shoot a couple of shots with friends say, and you want them done ASAP. When I tried it out it was useful, and handy where you had an essentially under powered computer with no editing software. The website looked just like the new LrCC interface.

There is no way that I would ever go over to the new fully cloud service, just uploading the approx 1 TB of files over my rather limited broadband service would prevent that. Let alone adding more files as I go. The last airshow weekend I was at I filled 50 GB of cards each day! So online storage of RAW files is not really on. Anyway I get unlimited free storage of RAW files with my Amazon Prime account, which again would be useful backup, if I could actually upload the images.

Alan

I'm not quite ready for the cloud just but I have been reading interring things about. I'm going start calling Classic LR7 from now. Wearing out my keyboard.

Thank you for the links to check on. I also saw a response as to why I do not like the monthly subscription, If I use the monthly subscription for a time, like a year or so, and then quit the plan I an reverted to a LR program that has deleted the Development module and other features, a really scaled down version that appears to be useless to me!
I did like the input that says just stay with the current LR version (LR5) and see what plays out in the next year or so!
I plan as of now to just wait and see what the next 6 months or so bring out for several programs.
Not sure I really understand some of the comments on using the cloud or not using the cloud, seems as though you still have a subscription program, not really a good plan for me.

steve5823 wrote in post #18503483
Thank you for the links to check on. I also saw a response as to why I do not like the monthly subscription, If I use the monthly subscription for a time, like a year or so, and then quit the plan I an reverted to a LR program that has deleted the Development module and other features, a really scaled down version that appears to be useless to me!
I did like the input that says just stay with the current LR version (LR5) and see what plays out in the next year or so!
I plan as of now to just wait and see what the next 6 months or so bring out for several programs.
Not sure I really understand some of the comments on using the cloud or not using the cloud, seems as though you still have a subscription program, not really a good plan for me.

If you stop with the subscription then yes you do lose the ability to use the Develop module, along with the Map module for geotagging. You lose none of the output options though, and all of the library sorting and management functionality still works. You can even still import new images and do all the usual keywording etc. Actually you can even do some basic edits, as the Quick Edit tools in the Library module keep working. So you still have access to WB, Exposure, Highlights/Shadows, and Whites/Blacks adjustments, as well as the ability to apply a single preset. You can even keep the program updated too.

So if you stop taking new photos, you don't actually lose very much at all, and you can still use Lr to manage all of the existing photos, and any occasional new images you would like to add. The other option would be to use Lr as your image management system, and then use another program as your actual RAW converter. I know you could do that with DXO which will run as an Lr plugin. They are giving away a free licence for DXO 11, the current soon to be replaced version until the end of the month. So you could use Lr for the management functions and do the editing in DXO all for free.

Alan

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #18503366
I was over the moon with the subscription, just bought a new camera, wasn't supported on my old version, couldn't afford the new one, bang, subscription! If you intend updating your gear regularly, then subscription is the way to go surely, works out cheaper...

Not sure if I would necessarily agree with it working out cheaper - cheaper than what? I've had Affinity Photo and Lightroom for two years including all the updates for the latest cameras. Cost me £130 total. That's nearly half the cost had I went for a subscription. Looking around at similar replacements to Lightroom and there are a number that are at a similar price and would probably only need to be replaced (if constantly upgrading your camera) at worse, every other year, probably more like three. The costs of subscription soon add up.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with people going down the subscription route but I do believe that the whole Adobe promotional machine along with the awe and reputation people have for the software has made people use it and maybe for the wrong reasons. Yes it's cheaper, but only if you're comparing it with the costs of Photoshop + Lightroom when they were stand alone and lets face it Photoshop was ridiculously over priced so now people think they are now getting a bargain.

Photoshop going into the cloud was one of the best things to happen for photographers as now there is a growing wealth of alternatives. With Lightroom dining the same, I think that too will do the same good.

I"m in the same boat. I can hopefully squeeze some time (1-2 years?) out of LR6, but at some point I'll have to switch. I don't get paid for my photos, so there's no way I'm paying $10/month! Adobe can pound sand with their gauging. LR being the slowest piece of junk on my near-new PC is also an issue.

So far my list is:

ACDsee photo studio - $100
AfterShot Pro 3 - $80
Raw Therapee -$0

and:
Affinity - new app soon?
Macphun Luminar - will get DAM in 2018?

Raw therapee I've tried before and it's slow, hard to use and i had trouble getting images to look good in it (user error). Likely candidates are ACDsee or Aftershot pro. If anyone has any experience I'd love to hear it! Trials are only 2 weeks so I need to get them when I know I'll have time to test some. I will keep an eye on the two others too.

From what I can tell both ACDsee and Aftershot also allow editing on a network drive, which LR does not. That plus a lower price would be great for my wife to also edit on the server via her laptop.

There are only two categories. People who shoot for their living who buy what they need to do the job and hobbyists. Obviously pros are conscience of costs but when I had a side business I wrote a lot off.

There is no inexpensive hobby or toy that I know of. You just don't buy a snowmobile. There is the trailer, outfits, helmets, boots, etc. I could buy fish for $5 a pound but it probably costs $200 a pound to get it myself.

I purchased PS 2005. LR in 2012 and since that year with upgrades it averaged out to about $80 a year. I say I won't but I buy a new camera when it comes out but I always do. Did I really need a 7D2 and the 100-400 II or an upgrade from my 5D3 to a 5D4? Below is from my 3rd outing with my 7D and 300L F4 IS in 2009.

I have blown $100 with the guys on a Friday night. My wife and I went for diner last week. $80. Each to his or her own but I don't find $120 a year much at all to have all the latest updates, etc for my most important hobby. I pay my myself first - then the the bills.