Joe
Well-Known Member
I just picked up a MacBook Pro with Retina and am trying to figure out which photo editor would be best for me. What I basically need is something that allows me to adjust levels and lighting, brightness and contrast, color, straighten and crop, resize and sharpen. I typically don't go artsy (HDR, vignetting, RAW processing), but I would like to have the capability for it. Until now I've always had Windows PCs, and for years I've been happy with Ulead (now Corel) PhotoImpact, but there doesn't seem to be a version available for Mac.
iPhoto seems okay for managing photos and making adjustments, but it doesn't give me the amount of control PhotoImpact did. Aperture looks to be a step up from that, but still doesn't look like it'll do everything I want it to (at least the way I want it to).
Other options I've been considering are Adobe Lightroom ($150) and Photoshop Elements ($70). Photoshop CS6 at $700 is out of the question. From what I've read, Adobe is working on updates for CS6 and Lightroom to support the Retina display, without plans for Elements in the immediate future, which is steering me towards Lightroom.
I've also come across Gimp and GimpShop, which are free, but I figured I'd see if anyone here has used them before I install. Lastly, I could always use BootCamp or Parallels to run Windows and install PhotoImpact there.
On another topic and probably deserving of its own thread, I'm looking into trying lens filters for the first time... mainly ND (neutral density) to be able to use slower shutter speeds during the day (for prop and motion blur) without having to use a tiny aperture (and deal with diffraction as a result), but I'm also wondering if anybody here uses UV or polarizing filters and has any recommendations.
iPhoto seems okay for managing photos and making adjustments, but it doesn't give me the amount of control PhotoImpact did. Aperture looks to be a step up from that, but still doesn't look like it'll do everything I want it to (at least the way I want it to).
Other options I've been considering are Adobe Lightroom ($150) and Photoshop Elements ($70). Photoshop CS6 at $700 is out of the question. From what I've read, Adobe is working on updates for CS6 and Lightroom to support the Retina display, without plans for Elements in the immediate future, which is steering me towards Lightroom.
I've also come across Gimp and GimpShop, which are free, but I figured I'd see if anyone here has used them before I install. Lastly, I could always use BootCamp or Parallels to run Windows and install PhotoImpact there.
On another topic and probably deserving of its own thread, I'm looking into trying lens filters for the first time... mainly ND (neutral density) to be able to use slower shutter speeds during the day (for prop and motion blur) without having to use a tiny aperture (and deal with diffraction as a result), but I'm also wondering if anybody here uses UV or polarizing filters and has any recommendations.