Lightroom was originally released under the name “Adobe Photoshop Lightroom”, due to the closely linked workflow created by using Photoshop and Lightroom together. Development began in 1999, just three years after the first version of GIMP was released, but it wasn’t finally seen by the public until 2006, and even that was only a beta version. Lightroom is one of the original photo editors designed from the ground up for handling non-destructive RAW photo workflows. There is another version of Lightroom known simply as Lightroom CC, but it’s newer and not nearly as popular as the original.įeeling a bit confused? You’re not alone – let me explain. Of course, I’m assuming that you want to know how GIMP compares to Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, which is the original incarnation of Lightroom. In this GIMP tutorial I show you how to open RAW images in GIMP along with a free RAW image processor like Darktable or RawTherapee.$9.99 per month, or $19.99 bundled with Photoshop Both RAW photo editing software are totally free and use automatically installed plugins that make the process of opening RAW images with GIMP super easy. That is the question many photographers are asking with the spate of new image processing programs vying to “kill Photoshop.” I show you the entire process – from downloading and installing the free RAW software, to opening the RAW image within GIMP, to having the image processed in the RAW editor, to finally exporting the final image out of GIMP.To Adobe or not to Adobe. I tested more than ten contenders as alternatives to Adobe’s image processing software, evaluating them ONLY for the specialized task of editing demanding nightscape images taken under the Milky Way, both for single still images and for time-lapses of the moving sky. I did not test these programs for other more “normal” types of images.Īlso, please keep in mind, I am a Mac user and tested only programs available for MacOS, though many are also available for Windows. I’ve indicated these.īut I did not test any Windows-only programs. So sorry, fans of Paintshop Pro (though see my note at the end), Photoline, Picture Window Pro, or Xara Photo & Graphic Designer. Even so, I think you will find there’s plenty to pick from! #Rawtherapee vs darktable pro# This review expands upon and updates mini-reviews I included in my Nightscapes and Time-Lapses eBook, shown at right. If you are hoping there’s a clear winner in the battle against Adobe, one program I can say does it all and for less cost and commitment, I didn’t find one. However, a number of contenders offer excellent features and might replace at least one member of Adobe’s image processing suite.įor example, only four of these programs can truly serve as a layer-based editing program replacing Photoshop. The others are better described as Adobe Lightroom competitors – programs that can catalog image libraries and develop raw image files, with some offering adjustment layers for correcting color, contrast, etc. Export that folder of raw images to “intermediate JPGs” for assembly into a movie.Įven so, not all these contenders are up to the task.Copy its settings to the hundreds of other raw files in the time-lapse set, then ….But as with Lightroom, layering of images – to stack, composite, and mask them – is beyond their ability.įor processing time-lapse sequences, however, we don’t need, nor can we use, the ability to layer and mask several images into one composite. Here are the image processing programs I looked at. Most have free trial copies available.Īdobe Camera Raw (ACR), Photoshop, Bridge, and Lightroom, the standards to measure others byĬost: $10 a month by subscription, includes ACR, Photoshop, Bridge, and LightroomĪdobe Camera Raw (ACR) is the raw development plug-in that comes with Photoshop and Adobe Bridge, Adobe’s image browsing application that accompanies Photoshop. Camera Raw is equivalent to the Develop module in Lightroom, Adobe’s cataloguing and raw processing software. Photoshop and Lightroom complement each other and are now available together, but only by monthly subscription through Adobe’s Creative Cloud service, at $10/month.Ĭamera Raw and Lightroom have identical processing functions and can produce identical results. Though $120 for a year is not far off the cost of purchasing many of these other programs and perhaps upgrading them annually, many photographers prefer to purchase their software and not subscribe to it. My question is, how well do they work? Are any serious contenders to replace Photoshop or Lightroom? Thus the popularity of these alternative programs.
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