What software have you bought?

[sb photos]

Some time back I licensed Photo Mechanic 5, it made all the difference to how I worked. I thought it's interface appeared a bit clunky, but it did literally all I wanted, and was fast . I upgraded to version 6 after a while, waiting first for initial bugs to be fixed. I never went for the plus version.

 

Have used various early versions of Photoshop, I remember hanging onto Photoshop CS4 for some time. Currently subscribing to the Adobe Photography Plan.

 

Recently, I first trialed DxO PureRaw 2 before licensing it.

[Allan Bell]

On 21/08/2022 at 17:06, Marianne said:

On my iPhone I use Picture This - not for processing images but it's great for keywording and identifying plants. You take a photo of an unfamiliar plant and it tells you what it is, gives you the Latin name & other info. I use the free version, which lets you save plants to your library for future reference. The paid version give you more info. It also can tell you what's wrong with a plant that isn't thriving. Handy. 

 

I tried loading the free version onto my phone (Android).   When it had downloaded it said 7 days free trial then after that money would be deducted from my account on a monthly basis?

 

Immediately uninstalled the app.

 

Allan

[spacecadet]

32 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I tried loading the free version onto my phone (Android).   When it had downloaded it said 7 days free trial then after that money would be deducted from my account on a monthly basis?

 

Immediately uninstalled the app.

 

Allan

Try PlantNet. It's free, full stop. No paid version.

https://plantnet.org/en/

For the cheapskates (thanks John, taken as a compliment, I prefer to spend it on drink) you don't need to use up data, you can take a photograph and do the identification at home later on the Wifi. There's even a PC version.

Edited August 23, 2022 by spacecadet

[Phil Robinson]

I've always used the freebie Nikon ViewNX2 for captioning and keywording. It's straightforward and simple to use, especially for bulk editing.
I have just downloaded a free 30 day trial of PhotoMechanic and it looks really complicated by comparison. 

[Reimar]

Phil, try the newer NX Studio from Nikon.  Also free, has the special sauce magic Nikon RAW converter, NIK control points, and works well.

I have not bought any software for years.  The excellent Nikon software above is free.  My ongoing subscription to the updated Adobe Photoshop 2022 is free because I sell images as stock at Adobe.

[Phil Robinson]

1 hour ago, Reimar said:

Phil, try the newer NX Studio from Nikon.  Also free, has the special sauce magic Nikon RAW converter, NIK control points, and works well.

I have not bought any software for years.  The excellent Nikon software above is free.  My ongoing subscription to the updated Adobe Photoshop 2022 is free because I sell images as stock at Adobe.

Thanks, I'll have a look.

I did try a previous updated version but it put all the metadata in a separate file that kept getting lost when moving images. I'll see if this one works better.

 

I also go cheap on software - I use I slightly outdated Photoshop Elements (£80?) and everything else I use is free.

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Phil Robinson

[John Mitchell]

4 hours ago, Phil Robinson said:

I've always used the freebie Nikon ViewNX2 for captioning and keywording. It's straightforward and simple to use, especially for bulk editing.
I have just downloaded a free 30 day trial of PhotoMechanic and it looks really complicated by comparison. 

 

I have an ancient version of PhotoMechanic that dates back to at least Windows XP days (possibly earlier, can't recall) . PM worked fine with Windows 7. However, it took me awhile to get it up and running on Windows 10, but somehow I got the most useful tools functioning. I use it only for keywording and moving images around. PM is one program that I would consider upgrading to the latest version, but only if I absolutely have to. What I really need these days is some free motivation software. 🥱

 

 

 

 

[Jay D]

After finally giving up the ghost on LR standalone i now pay monthly for the full Adobe package even though it pains me i have to say i'm pretty happy with it, although only truly using LR classic. 

[Harry Harrison]

1 hour ago, John Mitchell said:

What I really need these days is some free motivation software.

I know, it's a joke, but to my amazement such things actually exist!

 

http://www.real-memory-improvement.com/motivational-software.html

 

"You put in whatever motivational affirmations or comments you want, and specify at what interval they should be repeated, and they will appear in the corner of your screen every 5 minutes (or however often you choose)."

 

Obviously I'd try it, but I just can't be bothered.

[Marianne]

11 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I tried loading the free version onto my phone (Android).   When it had downloaded it said 7 days free trial then after that money would be deducted from my account on a monthly basis?

 

Immediately uninstalled the app.

 

Allan

 

Actually - it's merely the startup screen that's kind of tricky - I've had the free version for >2 years. Don't hit "continue" on the bottom - instead hit "Cancel" on the top right and then you're in the app for free. Should have added a warning/caveat about that but I've used it a lot lately so it's second nature (pun intended). 

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Marianne

[Marianne]

Rather than starting a new thread:

 

What apps do you recommend for the iPad?  I just bought my first one and am waiting for it to update and sync with my iCloud accounts. I also sprang for the Apple pencil since I've been doing more digital art and it seemed like a logical step. Thoughts/suggestions? 

[John Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

I know, it's a joke, but to my amazement such things actually exist!

 

http://www.real-memory-improvement.com/motivational-software.html

 

"You put in whatever motivational affirmations or comments you want, and specify at what interval they should be repeated, and they will appear in the corner of your screen every 5 minutes (or however often you choose)."

 

Obviously I'd try it, but I just can't be bothered.

 

Well I'll be darned. There really is an app for everything these days.

 

Actually, I have a feeling that I'm also on strike (not that it will make any difference).

 

But I digress... 🙊

 

 

 

[Sally]

LR, occasionally PS for the things LR can’t do as well or at all eg composites.

Topaz Sharpen and DeNoise (both great).

Photomechanic for busy news days.

Luminar AI and Neo occasionally - much easier to do overlays of texture and replace skies in the former than PS and the latter for getting rid of telephone lines etc though I haven’t explored it much yet. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Sally

[Jill Morgan]

6 hours ago, Marianne said:

Rather than starting a new thread:

 

What apps do you recommend for the iPad?  I just bought my first one and am waiting for it to update and sync with my iCloud accounts. I also sprang for the Apple pencil since I've been doing more digital art and it seemed like a logical step. Thoughts/suggestions? 

 

Procreate is a pretty good piece of software.  The Photoshop for iPad is a pretty sad version but if you have the photoshop subscription, it's included.  Adobe Fresco is quite good as well for digital art.  I tend to stick with my Desktop photoshop with my Huion tablet attached and work on it on the tablet.  Still the best option for digital art in my opinion.  I use "sample all layers" quite a bit and none of the iPad apps offer this so far.

 

Jill

[Betty LaRue]

18 hours ago, Sally said:

LR, occasionally PS for the things LR can’t do as well or at all eg composites.

Topaz Sharpen and DeNoise (both great).

Photomechanic for busy news days.

Luminar AI and Neo occasionally - much easier to do overlays of texture and replace skies in the former than PS and the latter for getting rid of telephone lines etc though I haven’t explored it much yet. 

Can you load your own textures into Luminar?

[Sally]

6 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Can you load your own textures into Luminar?

Yes I believe so, just as you can use your own skies, which is what I do.

[Betty LaRue]

14 hours ago, Sally said:

Yes I believe so, just as you can use your own skies, which is what I do.

Thanks!

[Rick Lewis]

On 21/08/2022 at 04:24, geogphotos said:

Just wondering what is the best/most recent software contributors have bought or obtained to use for stock photography?

 

For me the only purchase of the last  year or so has been DXO PureRAW2. That was because I was taking lots of interior pics in churches - something that I am having a break from - but will get back to. The software produces amazing noise reduction at high ISO, and means that images that I worried were borderline/had to be extensively cropped for QC can now pass with ease.

 

What software is new and what do you use it for?

 

Just a general interest discussion for those willing to engage.

 

I also purchased DXO PureRAW2 but use DXO PhotoLab 5 more often.  Even though it is supposed to use the same technology I have found "Deep Prime" in PhotoLab to give me better overall results, especially as it pertains to image sharpening.  I can adjust down for my Olympus images and up a little for my Fuji images.  I love it.

[Marianne]

On 23/08/2022 at 22:49, Jill Morgan said:

 

Procreate is a pretty good piece of software.  The Photoshop for iPad is a pretty sad version but if you have the photoshop subscription, it's included.  Adobe Fresco is quite good as well for digital art.  I tend to stick with my Desktop photoshop with my Huion tablet attached and work on it on the tablet.  Still the best option for digital art in my opinion.  I use "sample all layers" quite a bit and none of the iPad apps offer this so far.

 

Jill

I tried out Fresco both with a shape I photographed in Capture & I made a silly video that made me smile. It was a very simple illustration with blending modes for the layers & was accepted as stock right away as a png with transparency.  I’ll see if it’s accepted here as a jpeg (trickier to upload from the iPad) so I can share it. 
 

I freaked that the 24 inch Huion tablet would be too big returned it before even opening the box & got a regular pen tablet instead. Wish I’d taken your advice & gotten the smaller Huion instead. Nice to see what you’re drawing right on the tablet. 
 

had breakfast out with friends at a restaurant w a lovely garden so I’ll be playing with those captured shapes in Fresco. With th CC subscription it can all save to my libraries so I can polish things up in PS ON MY COMPUTER if needed. Sorry big caps still getting used to iPad my first forum entry with it  You should feel honored😎

[Allan Bell]

14 hours ago, Marianne said:

I tried out Fresco both with a shape I photographed in Capture & I made a silly video that made me smile. It was a very simple illustration with blending modes for the layers & was accepted as stock right away as a png with transparency.  I’ll see if it’s accepted here as a jpeg (trickier to upload from the iPad) so I can share it. 
 

I freaked that the 24 inch Huion tablet would be too big returned it before even opening the box & got a regular pen tablet instead. Wish I’d taken your advice & gotten the smaller Huion instead. Nice to see what you’re drawing right on the tablet. 
 

had breakfast out with friends at a restaurant w a lovely garden so I’ll be playing with those captured shapes in Fresco. With th CC subscription it can all save to my libraries so I can polish things up in PS ON MY COMPUTER if needed. Sorry big caps still getting used to iPad my first forum entry with it  You should feel honored😎

 

We are honoured your majesty.

 

Allan

 

[Nodvandigtid]

Update on the Topaz software that some of you flagged earlier in the thread.

Topaz Labs combines Denoise AI, Sharpen AI and Gigapixel AI into one program, Topaz Photo AI: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 

(as an aside there is an interesting drone video above this story on the site)