Picture software

[jthutcheson]

Hello all.

I am a newbie to digital photography, just pointing that out first.
I have been researching digital cameras for several months, and have chosen the Panasonic DMC-FZ7 as my first. I think that it will give me the "growing room" that I need to become a good amateur photographer, and later upgrade to a dSLR or at least a more powerful fixed-lens.

Now, onto my question. I can tell that the real magic of digital photography is the ability to tweak pictures to make them stand out. I would like advice on which software would give me a good interface to grow with the camera.

Is the included software (ArcSoft PhotoImpressions) going to give me that freedom, or would I be better off getting something like Photoshop Elements?

Also, the reviews I have read and pictures I've seen show quite a bit of noise. Would noise reduction software help with this problem, at least to make it worth the purchase?

Thanks for reading the long post, and thank you ahead of time for your replies.

[Bullitt]

Hi JT,

There seems to be so many software programs out there that it's hard to pick one that suits your needs and I suppose that's how you should pick one. I use the Picture Project that came with my Nikon camera and if it doesn't produce what I'm looking for in it's small program, I transfer the jpeg over to my HP Image Zone that came with my photoprinter as it has more options and I get some pretty good results. I know one thing for sure, make a copy of your 1st image and work with it because the more images you save and redo and save again, the more the quality is lost... I would also like to get one good program but not sure either what to buy without having to sacrifice an arm or a leg, don't mind a finger as long as it's not the shutterbutton finger...:eek:

[JLV]

Try what you have. If you want more, you might consider Photoshop or Photoshop Eliments. Photoshop is expensive, and the learning curve is long, but what it does is great.

[mhutchinson]

I agree with the prior post with trying what you have and seeing if you are happy with it. I had tried ArcSoft's package and found that Picassa (free software from Google) was pretty good and held a slight edge as well. It would be another one you could play around with without spending any more money.

Also I had use Adobe PhotoShop for quite some time and found that I ended up liking Microsoft's Digital Image Suite 2006 much better for most of my editing. It seemed more intuitive than the Adobe software had been and the album features are pretty good as well.

You can get both software packages in trial formats from the vendor's sites...although Adobe will lock you out of a lot of the functions in it's free/trail package (makes it tougher to judge). The only way to find out what works best for you is to try any that you may be interested in.

Mike

[jthutcheson]

Thank you all for the posts. I have not (as of yet) gotten the camera/software in my hands. I have used Picassa for a while (I love Google, those guys could rule the world and i'd be happy:D ), and I like its features. Their effects are good. I am leery of Microsoft (*cough* Windows *cough*), but I guess an OS is a lot different from Imaging software, isn't it? I will have to take those trials and see what I can do! Thanks for your posts, and anyone else who would like to throw in an opinion, I would greatly appreciate it!

[patrickt]

"Now, onto my question. I can tell that the real magic of digital photography is the ability to tweak pictures to make them stand out."

When I first started being serious I thought post-processing was very important. Then one day I realized I was spending a lot of time in front of the computer instead of behind the lens. Taking photos is what I really enjoy. I went back and read the manual for my camera and really learned what it could do. My goal was to produce the best shots I could from the camera. My post-processing work dropped significantly and my pictures were better.

I now shoot raw format so every photo has to be at least converted but I am spending far less time on post-processing than I did when I started.

FWIW, I use Picture Window Pro for what JPEG editing I do. They have a full-function 30-day trial.