Archiving/Post-Processing Apps

Shawn

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Yet another n00b photography thread from me, but I promise this might be the last.

What apps do you guys use to store and archive your photos and for a little bit of post-processing work?

Up until now I used to use Photoshop but I want something more for photography, and the version of Photoshop I have for Mac (CS) doesn't support my camera's RAW format.

I tried Aperture from Apple and I couldn't really figure out much about the features and tools. How is Adobe Lightroom?
 
I have a D40x... I already updated my version of Photoshop CS3 to support my RAW format, but the version of the plugin for Photoshop CS is old and doesn't support it.

What do I mean by archiving? I mean archiving... like what iPhoto does.
 
For postprocessing i reall haven't found a match for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. And what does iPhoto do?
 
iPhoto can import, organize, edit, print and share digital photos. It is often compared to Google's Picasa and Adobe's Photoshop Album.

It's a consumer level app, I just mentioned it as an example of a photo archiving tool.
 
^ Yes, that's fine if all you wanna do is organize them into folders. But what about sorting them under different categories and searching/editing EXIF data? That would be very rudimentary... plus I find Windows to be painfully slow at previewing and thumbnailing big pics.

Plus I want a program that combines both archival abilities and some editing tools.
 
With the latest CS3 it should be supported. But I just had a look at the Adobe site and saw this...

*The file encryption found in some Nikon raw formats has caused some users to question the level of cooperation between Nikon and Adobe in providing solutions for raw processing. Get more information about Nikon's and Adobe's joint commitment to our common customer needs.

Seems to be a kink with the Nikons.

Anyway, yeah I just use folders and finder to preview images. I take so many shots that I constantly have to keep burning off DVDs and couldnt possibly keep them all in iPhoto. If I did it would be ridiculously slow and also slow down other stuff like iWeb (I had to stop putting movies in the movies folder because iWeb wouldn't run due to the media browser trying to preview all the movies).

I don' have the very latest iPhoto that came with the latest OSX, but it looks handy, being able to tag images and search that way.

Don't take this the wrong way, but for a lot of people Photoshop (and possibly Lightroom and Aperture) is major overkill. If you can get by with the editing functions in iPhoto then I say stick with that, because then you have it all in one and your workflow is streamlined. If you want a more powerful editing software I cant help you cos Ive only used Photoshop and that doesnt seem to be working for you.
 
^ Yes, that's fine if all you wanna do is organize them into folders. But what about sorting them under different categories and searching/editing EXIF data? That would be very rudimentary... plus I find Windows to be painfully slow at previewing and thumbnailing big pics.

Picasa?
 
^ Thanks for the input guys. I just went ahead and downloaded Adobe Lightroom for a trial on OS X.

It's actually pretty neat and the interface seems a lot simpler than Aperture - as I said I couldn't even figure out Aperture. It has good archival and RAW abilities. Looks like a winner.

 
If you have Photoshop, you'll also already have a program installed called Bridge. Give it a try as it sounds like what you're after as well. It can alter the EXIF data and do tags etc very easily.

I still haven't tried Lightroom yet, but my Dad rates it very highly.
 
Yeah, I've not used Lightroom, but I can't see what it offers that Bridge and Camera RAW can't do.

Anyone care to enlighten me?
 
I have a D40x... I already updated my version of Photoshop CS3 to support my RAW format, but the version of the plugin for Photoshop CS is old and doesn't support it.

Really? I have CS3 version 10.0 and it supports Nikon RAW files just fine. If anyone here could tell what the file name for it is, I can upload it on Phyrefile for you.
 
I have a D40x... I already updated my version of Photoshop CS3 to support my RAW format, but the version of the plugin for Photoshop CS is old and doesn't support it.

Wat? Go download the latest version of the Adobe Camera Raw plugin, it's free.
 
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Nothing, it just combines them into a single, more afforable package (than Photoshop CS3) with a pretty interface.

Yeah, I've not used Lightroom, but I can't see what it offers that Bridge and Camera RAW can't do.

Anyone care to enlighten me?
 
Thing is, guys, on my Mac I only have Photoshop CS (not CS2/3), and the last Camera Raw plugin available for CS doesn't support my format. I dunno, that's the impression Adobe's site gave me.

I'd never tried Bridge or had a clue what it was, but this Lightroom app works quite well so I'm gonna stick with it.

Thanks for the help guys.

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Really? I have CS3 version 10.0 and it supports Nikon RAW files just fine. If anyone here could tell what the file name for it is, I can upload it on Phyrefile for you.

Wat? Go download the latest version of the Adobe Camera Raw plugin, it's free.
 
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