What Software

[dazk]

just about to get a DSLR probebly Nikon D3100

1) what software if any comes with the camera and what can be done with it

2) what are the best software options on the market and what can be done with them

[Tywais]

If shooting RAW then check here: RAW Conversion Software Reviews

Some of the top photographers on here seem to like Adobe Lightroom for RAW processing.

[BangkokImages]

1. Nikon packages their cameras with software which will let you view and manipulate your photos, but they don't put much effort into it. They know most people prefer other packages so they don't even try and compete.

2. As has been mentioned Adobe Lightroom is very popular and for good reason. It's easy enough for beginners to use with minimal training and there's a plethora of online tutorials available. I've made a few such as "Processing a Glamor Portrait" , "Noise Reduction in Lightroom", "Processing a Landscape", "Processing a Portrait", "Watermarking and Framing in Lightroom", and others in the tutorial section of my website.

3. Even though it's easy to use and there are free tutorials available, you can greatly acclerate your capability in any software by taking a well ran workshop. I've had students/clients who have been doing this on their own for years tell me they learned more in a few hours of instruction, and they understood it, than in years on their own. I recently wrote a short article titled "The Anatomy of a Photography Workshop" I'd recommend reading. It takes you step by step through how I personally run a workshop and what to expect and this holds pretty much true to any workshop you'd take anywhere.

4. What can they do.. with modern software you can draw a person that looks like a photograph.. without taking the photograph. There is very little if anything you can't do. Still, there is a learning curve involved and the more complex things you want to do make that curve more steep. I teach Lightroom because it straddles the price vs features vs image quality line better than anything else out there.

5. Consider using one of my free web based software applications. They're free for registering and surprisingly well done. There is an "Easy Express Application" which lets you select what you want done from a text based menu. If you select "black and white" then you get a black and white image. If you select "crop an image" then you get a cropped image. It's mostly complete and will allow you to do a lot with absolutely zero knowledge and no investment. Another us "Advanced Online Editor" which allows a more advanced feature set including layers and most anything you can do in more expensive packages and it's free to use as well. You can get your feet wet with these, but eventually you'll want a software package based on your own PC for the sake of speed and convenience if nothing else. I put these up so if you're visiting THailand and in an internet cafe without your normal software.. you can get a fair amount of work done.

6. When I first read your message I almost didn't respond because in two simple questions you asked a load of information and because your questions were simple it was hard to tell where you wanted to go wiht it.. or if you even knew what directions were available. Were you interested in RAW, jpegs, any previous experience, what type of PC, what software you have now, and so forth. So if any of these answers seem too basic please forgive my presumption. Many people are re-discovering photography after decades and decades as they come to settle or vacation inThailand and quickly become overwhelmed with the differences between film which they might be used to from the past, and digital. It doesn't need to be hard, a single day workshop can really open the doors to how to use your new camera and help you understand processing and where to go next. We can get a lot done in one day. And of course this forum or my site with it's own forum is a great source of information.

I wish you the best with your new D3100.

Steve

[dazk]

Many thanks Steve

Your answer was not to basic and i am returning to photography as you put it after 20 years

Edited May 14, 2012 by astral
No need to quote the entire post, just use the reply box at the bottom of the screen

[cdnvic]

I can throw my support behind lightroom as well. It takes some time to get used to so I would recommend buying a manual to familiarize yourself, but the time invested is well worth it.

[Genericnic]

As with the others, I highly recommend Lightroom. With the improvements they have added I probably only do 5% of my post processing in Photoshop now and that is only for cranky images or using filters that aren't compatible with Lightroom yet.

David