Which Software???

[rellenbe]

Greetings,

OK, I'm new to this forum and forums in general as a contrbutor at least, but I am a firm believer in networking and learning through a collective experience. Here is my question. I am a serious photographer, but new to the world of options for a digital darkroom and digital workflow. Photoshop... I don't know if I need it. There are three or four specialty plugins I will will be purchasing and using. These will interface either with photoshop CS2 or with Corel (formerly Jasc) Paint Shop Pro X. I have the latter on order, as the reviews are excellent with most being 4.5 to 5 out of 5 stars. Almost exclusively, it rates better than Photoshop Elements 4.0. These plugins I mentioned are pro caliber, i.e. Auto FX Mystical Lighting, FX Tint, Tone and Color and FX Photographic Edges. One other I will purchase is Alienskin Exposure. All are rated excellent and get kudos for user friendly interface. On the DTP side of things, I like what I read about Serif Page Plus 11 which has PDF import /export functionality. I have never just been a trend follower and the reason I am putting this out to many of you who are in the profession is this. While there is no denying the range and results capability of the Adobe Creative Suite, inparticular, Photoshop, Illusrtator and InDesign, the one constant is how cumbersome, complex and hard to learn and master these profressional programs can be. With the advance in technology, serious competition and often times less complex alternatives are hitting the market at an unprecedented pace. As a Nikon shooter, I will also be using the new Capture NX photo editing S/W which is currently available in beta as they tweak the full release for delivery end of July. I am using it now and it is very capable. So for you who are diehard photoshop users and those of you who are not diehard Adobe and PS users , please give me some perspective. Remember, I am new to the digital desktop with no prior photoshop experience. Whatever I learn, I have to learn from nada. Living in Colorado, I want to have some time to devote to the great outdoors and actually shooting pictures, not just processing them. I guess my main objective is to use highly competent S/W that doesn't make me a slave to the process, relative to time. Is Paint Shop Pro X a comprehensive enough platform to achive excellent results and run my plugins through? Your input and thoughts are valued and will be digested until I regurgitate them into a cohesive plan.

Here's looking at you kid,
RTP

[BEBO]

Hello, RTP
I will take this opportunity,if you don't mind, to watch for answers to your questions. My new computer came with Corel - it has one week left and I'm not sure what to do. Do I purchase it? I purchased a Paint Shop program on sale at Office Depot and have loaded that, also. In addition the computer has the Microsoft photo editing program also - just guessing at what to do really - at this point, whatever I acheive is by trial and error.

What with the new camera (Nikon D50), lenses (Tamron 28-300), and everything else, $$ are now an issue. Each day I try to teach myself a lesson on Paint Shop but sometimes that is daunting. I am waiting to begin a class in the fall. but in the meantime........................

What I need to know from my new best friends is - do all of these programs integrate and if so which do I use to open a photo and in what order to I proceed? That would be a help.

Should I continue shooting in fine or switch ro RAW, since I am learning?

[rellenbe]

Bebo,

Thanks for the response. Are you using Paint Shop Pro X? It's the latest version since Corel bought out Jasc. If you hae a Nikon D50, check out the new Capture NX free Beta download at Nikonians.org. The permanent edition should be out in about 30 days. I'm very inpressed with it, but it won't support some of the specialty plugins I mentioned in my previous post, so I will use paint shop pro X in that regard and maybe go with photoshop later, but I am not sure I will need to. As a stand alone application though, Capture NX is going to awesome, especially for Nikon shooters because it is specifically designed to support NEF (Nikon camera raw).

Good luck!

RTP

[BEBO]

Hi, RTP

What I have Is Paint Shop Pro 9 - old version - so much for the bargain - but I will live with it and try to learn. I checked out the Nikonian.com as you suggested and will investigate their new program - thank you so much - I appreciate your helping hand.

Bebo

[BEBO]

Thank you xwarrior,

I am going to do that right away - anything to make life simpler - thanks again

Bebo

So much there is to catch And the years so short That there is scarce time to snatch Pen, palette, or aught And to seize some shape we can see That others may keep its moment of mystery