Adobe monthly fee

[HarryD]

Hi to all

I use Photoshop CS5 and Camera raw for all my non astro pics and some astro pics.

I don't like to be left behind software wise so was considering taking up Adobe's Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC for $12.99 a month.

I am sure some of you have done this and I would be interested in your thoughts.

Sky is clear tonight :)

Cheers Greg

[baileys2611]

Hi Greg,

I use GIMPShop - it's open source and works similar to photoshop.

[multiweb]

TBH CS5 is more than adequate for post processing. No need to go to CC. In the long run CC will cost you even if you don't use it that much.

[OICURMT]

Beware site that advertise GIMPShop. There's a history there and it's not pretty.

The original GIMPShop.com domain was a site that linked the original site, but injected ads and malware.

It's been such a problem that I don't even know which site is the correct one anymore.

If you have a good link, then I'd suggest you list it here.

OIC!

[glend]

I have been using Photoshop CC for a couple of years and have no complaints. Its nice to get automatic updates. You get Lightroom and Camera RAW coverage as well, but i don't use them very often.i switched from an old standalone version of Photoshop.
However, when i signed up it was $9.90 a month and it is getting more expensive. If you think of it as 3-4 coffee (equivalent), then its not bad.

[RickS]

I have been playing with Affinity Photo. My knowledge of Photoshop is limited but so far it has been capable of doing all the PS things I need. It is inexpensive ($63 AUD for Windows) and you can get a trial version to test before stumping up the money.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/

Disclaimer: I don't use it for AP. I have PixInsight for that ;)

[gregbradley]

I have been doing the subscription Photoshop cc for a few years now. Occassionally they add some nice functionality like merging images and aligning images plus panorama stitching that's not bad.

They have put their prices up twice though and are on the edge of what I am willing to pay.

PS6 does everything you really need for astro. A lot of the more recent changes to PS are for other types of users than what we would use for astro like designers etc.

Also they kind of messed up the interface so its more like an annoying Windows 10 experience where there are way too many windows open that resize when you try to move them etc. More clicks for the same work.

Greg.

[Merlin66]

Harry,
Have a good look at the latest PaintShopPro. It has 99% of all the PS features and runs plugins etc.

[skysurfer]

Photoshop CS is not too expensive anymore.

It costs me about EUR 144 a year, which is A$200 and I use it for both astro and non-astro purposes. Most astrophotos can even be image stacked with it and if not, I use DSS.

GIMP has the disadvantage that it is only 8 bits, so lots of information in RAWs is lost.

[Merlin66]

Hmmmm
$200 per year v's a one off hit of $90 for PaintShopPro.....

[Atmos]

I've still got CS4 and love it... on the rare occasion that I do use it :lol:

[sil]

I won't touch subscription based models unless i absolutely must. CC is not even worth me looking into , there are free alternatives to everything I needed it for or one-off purchsed software that will always work. I've seen so many subscription softwares vanish without ever actually releasing any updates and taking people data with them (like cloud storage). For astrophotography I have bought most of the products but rely on pixinsight for most of my work along with PIPP and AutoStakkert (both free but i'm happy to donate to though). Older photoshops have everything i need for regular photography, CC offers zero to interest me and we have corporate licences at work too where i can use it if need. I don't buy cameras every season so dont need new ACR and adobe have yet to add features that I havent been using in free software already for years. Highly overrated products.

[bojan]

No need to pay for Photoshop....

If you own Canon camera, you already have everything needed (DPP) for tweaking curves.
Stacking is done by freeware (DSS).

[marc4darkskies]

I've been a PS user for many years and transitioned to the $12.99 / month CC subscription from CS6 18 months ago. IMO $12.99 per month is a pittance for what you get and is equivalent to 2 x large coffees per month!!! I haven't looked back!

So, for some chump change, you get PS, Camera Raw, Bridge and Lightroom plus any upgrades for any of those apps. Some of the updates are major, some are minor. EG: One of the recent ones allows you to preserve roundness when using the minimum filter - a boon if, for example, you have an action that reduces the size of stars using a minimum filter as I do.

Yes, once you're subscribed you basically have to stay subscribed if you want to open .psd files saved using CC - a small price to pay for always having up to date s/w.

Marcus

[baileys2611]

Yep, fair call, that website has a sordid history. I confess...I use it in Linux...and install it using the apt-get install gimpshop command. The lazy way out :P

I hear that gimpshop.com is working again but I generally use sourceforge (https://sourceforge.net/projects/gimpshop.mirror/)

[Andy01]

As a professional photographer I use Ps daily, so it was a no brainer to accept the subscription model.
Like some above - I originally held off as long as I could, but eventually knuckled under as camera raw wouldn't support my ageing Nikon d700 files any longer.
I upgraded to PSCC2017 & a new D750 and boy oh boy what a difference!
PS 2017 is blitzkrieg fast, and comes with a whole host of useful improvements incl. dynamic crop, face aware liquify (wow!), content aware perspective fill etc. and Lightroom, bridge, camera raw all included and it's rock solid stable as well.
Gonna have to upgrade the Macpro next, it's a fully pimped out 2008 model and it's slowing down so the cycle continues.... :rolleyes:

[Merlin66]

Andy,
As you are a professional photographer I can see the benefits PS brings to your work, but none of the options you mention would be of any use to the amateur AP hack.......