RAW editor?

[GeorgeStorm]

Hey,
As above basically, I've been using UFRaw the last couple of weeks, and it's been fine, since I don't really know what I'm doing
However it's now giving me lots of memory corrupted errors all over the place, making it unusable, so I thought I'd ask what other people use, since I may make the switch.

Thanks

[kalniel]

RawTherapee is great for free.

I switched to Lightroom (not free) after a while, but only once I was doing enough to justify it.

[GeorgeStorm]

I've read that RAWTherapee doesn't copy over EXIF data to GIMP though? And it's something I quite like having when I upload stuff to flickr etc.

Yeah I was using photoshop, but am looking for something free and legal now.

[kalniel]

If EXIF is vital then you can probably use a third party program to inject it or copy from the JPG. If that's too much hassle then I recommend buying Lightroom - it's far cheaper than Photoshop and is better set up for batch processing. I still use the GIMP for layer work.

[GeorgeStorm]

Just tried lightroom, quite the package, very nice to use, even for someone like me who doesn't really know what they're doing
First attempt at editing something in it.

Original:
http://imgur.com/yBMWU

Edit:

You better not come any closer... by George.Yoda, on Flickr

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Lightroom is really worth the investment IMHO,due to ease of use and time saved.

If you are looking for image editing software,Corel PSP is quite easy to use and has a good amount of features for the price:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PaintShop-Pr.../dp/B005HU4PDG

[Bobster]

Lightroom is ok for processing large quantities of RAW files (i personally hate it with a vengeance), but if you want to go legal, Photoshop Elements has the ACR and many of the features that Photoshop has..

[afront]

I tried Lightroom but Photoshop is simply my No.1 for it. Works fast, fine and gives me more than enough functions. Drop bazillion RAW files, choose what you need, adjust and then edit or export it. You can downlaod the trial version an ddecide for yourself.

[Stringent]

Another plug for Lightroom. Its good for some adjustments if you messed up taking the shot. Photoshop is a good 'finishing' product to iron out some blemishes, or even with content aware remove stuff you don't want in there. But see which package works best for you.

[GeorgeStorm]

Been using lightroom more, and I really like it, does pretty much everything I want, while also being nice to use, and a great way of managing all my photos, whereas the worst thing about photoshop I found was having to open loads of photos one at a time or whatever.

Latest edited shot:

Seeding Dandelion 2 by George.Yoda, on Flickr

[Stringent]

Nice work.

[MasterFlash]

I've recently moved from LR2 to LR4 and am loving it

[Ark]

Another vote for Lightroom.

[kushtibari]

I use Lightroom 4 for about 90% of what I do. Like it a lot.

[Rebel]

Lightroom is a great program and suitable for most people's purposes and the best bit is if its a bit high for your budget there are still a few copies of Lightroom 3 available for sale at very attractive prices.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE Photoshop but the price is just soo high it makes it very difficult to justify buying.

One tip for anyone that is a student buy it on the educational deal, when you leave full time education you are supposed to upgrade it to a full retail version but if you time it right you upgrade to the latestversion at the same time and end up with a fully legitimate copy of Photoshop at a vastly reduced cost.

[rhossydd]

Most(all?) cameras that shoot raw are provided with their own free raw conversion software, so playing with that is the best starting point. However it's also true that most of it isn't as good as the market leader Lightroom.
LR4 needs powerful hardware to make it work smoothly though. It's photo cataloguing is also very good and worth engaging with too. Plus lots of great plug-ins and free bits add almost everything you could want.