Posted by Jim Bullard on October 16, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Yes, you do appear to have a lot to learn. The good news (if you have already purchased PSP) is that it will do many of the same things that Photoshop will do for a lot less money, including RAW conversion. So it can be an excellent learning tool when you are beginning. OTOH the interface is very different which will make for problems shifting to Photoshop later on and if you do become a "serious" photographer, you will probably want Photoshop eventually. There are some other good programs out there and I know at least one photographer who uses only Lightroom (so far) so, as they say in the ads, your mileage may vary. Meantime PSP isn't a bad start. It is surprisingly powerful for the money.
Hi Hendrik, Yes, I use Paint Shop Pro Photo x2 Ultimate. Have still a lot to learn with the program, but I do like it a lot. I thought I was ready for Photo Shop, so I received it as a birthday present. From day one, I have not been able to comprehend what to do with it and have problems with it downloaded to my comp. Maybe it is to far over my head for a beginner. But I am not going to stop trying. PSP has been my friend and I have had help from some of my postings on NPN from members that use PSP also.
Everyone seems to have a program that they like best. Hope you find one you like also and you will be amazed at what the difference it will make with your photography.
Hi, I too have both Paint Shop Pro X2 Ultimate and Photoshop CS4 Extended. Most of us will never master all the features and capabilities of either program. Having said that, I believe it is generally accepted that Photoshop is the industry standard for professionals and advanced amateurs (I am neither) and that Paint Shop is more user friendly and is aimed at non professionals. Based on your post, I suggest you should shift to Photoshop as your primary editor only when you determine that you have reached a point where you want to use features and capabilities that are beyond Paint Shop. To be honest, I don't know of any features and capabilities that are missing from Paint Shop. The interfaces and approaches are different in some cases but so far, I have found no functionality in Photoshop that is not in Paint Shop.
Thank you for the encouraging words from the posters
For me the bottom line is that I don`t even try to sell photo`s why would I want to purchase a program for US$1000.00 if I`m not going to make BIG BUCKS?
Firstly the sad fact is that we in South Arica pay at least double and sometimes even up to 3X what folks in the USA pay when wew purchase from a shop. I can obviously download it but it is still more than 6X the price of Paint Shop Pro 2X Ultimate and the "broadband internet"in South Africa is worse than most probably the slowest internet in the States.
I`m sitting in the middle of nowhere in Dark Africa and it takes more than 2 hours to download 140 MB!!!!
Anyway I`ve decided to go with PSP X2 U which is most probably, for my purposes, just as good as Photoshop CS4 or whatever.
What I might do is to buy a few Photoshop and/or Lightroom books to study the principles and then just find out how PSP does it.
Jim wrote "The good news (if you have already purchased PSP) is that it will do many of the same things that Photoshop will do for a lot less money, including RAW conversion."
The bad news is that if you use PSP to convert RAW files, you'll be wasting almost all the advantages of shooting RAW. PSP uses the same algorithm now as five or six years ago, and it's primitive and obsolete. (Here's visual proof.) Now, I use PSPX for image editing after conversion. I've been using it for ten or twelve years, and I don't anticipate using CS4 or sequelae because a new lens is IMO a better use of the money.
But please don't let Corel's laziness re conversion algorithms mess up your photos. Use ViewNX or DPP or another up-to-date proprietary (free) conversion tool, and then use PSP for what it can do very well.
Discussion
7 repliesBTW the ONLY "enhancement" I`ve ever done was "cropping" ;-)
Everyone seems to have a program that they like best. Hope you find one you like also and you will be amazed at what the difference it will make with your photography.
Carlette Bragg
For me the bottom line is that I don`t even try to sell photo`s why would I want to purchase a program for US$1000.00 if I`m not going to make BIG BUCKS?
Firstly the sad fact is that we in South Arica pay at least double and sometimes even up to 3X what folks in the USA pay when wew purchase from a shop. I can obviously download it but it is still more than 6X the price of Paint Shop Pro 2X Ultimate and the "broadband internet"in South Africa is worse than most probably the slowest internet in the States.
I`m sitting in the middle of nowhere in Dark Africa and it takes more than 2 hours to download 140 MB!!!!
Anyway I`ve decided to go with PSP X2 U which is most probably, for my purposes, just as good as Photoshop CS4 or whatever.
What I might do is to buy a few Photoshop and/or Lightroom books to study the principles and then just find out how PSP does it.
The bad news is that if you use PSP to convert RAW files, you'll be wasting almost all the advantages of shooting RAW. PSP uses the same algorithm now as five or six years ago, and it's primitive and obsolete. (Here's visual proof.) Now, I use PSPX for image editing after conversion. I've been using it for ten or twelve years, and I don't anticipate using CS4 or sequelae because a new lens is IMO a better use of the money.
But please don't let Corel's laziness re conversion algorithms mess up your photos. Use ViewNX or DPP or another up-to-date proprietary (free) conversion tool, and then use PSP for what it can do very well.
This is the most supportive forum I`ve ever taken part in !!!!
Thank you!!