Dally wrote:
I have never used Photoediting software other than that from a disk that came with a camera. Are Photoshop / others much better than that sort of thing. I have never shot in RAW because the editing software that came with the camera does not seem to deal with it.
I therefore have a couple of questions:
1. Is it easy to use Photoshop et al if dealing with both RAW and JPEG files?
2. Is Adobe Photoshop the best and if so which version is suitable for an amateur? There seems to be all sorts of variants. How much should you be paying - again I have seen a wide range of pricing.
Any guidance would be gratefully received.
Photoshop is the industry standard in image editing (RAW, JPEG or any other bitmap format). Whilst there are some packages which come close (such as the Freeware "Gimp") - nothing equals or betters it.
Photoshop is NOT easy to use. It is expressly designed for professionals and it takes years to master fully. I've used it professionally for the best part of a decade and I'm still learning little things. Throw into the mix Adobe's annual upgrades and it's a full time job staying abreast of the technology.
A far better solution for the amateur is Adobe Photoshop Elements. In essence it's 80% of the Photoshop engine with a vastly simplified interface.