Beware Photoshop Rip-off and other scams

ianp5a

ianp5a

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Computer Active magazine, this week, warns that Photoshop is "Rip-off software that you must 'never' use! Get the best free alternatives that are just as good, and avoid overpriced rubbish." and goes on to list offending programs.
http://getcomputeractive.co.uk

For Photoshop it gives reasons "why you shouldn't buy it" and recommends, "for manipulating, correcting and improving your images, to use Flikr, which has the added benefit of backing up your photos online." as well as suggesting Paint.Net and Gimp.

To be fair the actual article was not sensational, and made the point that Photoshop is not the best choice for everyone. Which is right, although many people on TP still have Photoshop for the wrong reasons like "because it's the "industry standard", or because pros use it, and not look for more appropriate alternatives.

But other headlines on the cover of the same issue of Computer Active! include: Windows 7 update destroys PCs. And "Have con men stolen your data?"
 
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£8 a month for lightroom and photoshop. Hardly a rip off. Especially when you consider you'll always have the latest versions and service packs. And in this day and age, you can learn everything about both by watching youtube videos, even free Adobe training videos.
 
andythilo said:
£8 a month for lightroom and photoshop. Hardly a rip off. Especially when you consider you'll always have the latest versions and service packs. And in this day and age, you can learn everything about both by watching youtube videos, even free Adobe training videos.
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If you don't want Lightroom, and need any of the pro features, then it's is way overpriced compared to the alternatives.
 
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Right. Ideally you'd choose an alternative. But some people think or are told they need them. Or want to be like a pro.
 
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I've looked for alternatives, even bought a couple, but they don't deliver yet, although there are good RAW alternatives. On1 might be getting closer for regular photo applications when they deliver On1Raw later in the year but they are too dependent on presets for my taste.
 
ianp5a said:
If you don't want Lightroom, and need any of the pro features, then it's is way overpriced compared to the alternatives.
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I suspect far more people want Lightroom and don't need Photoshop.
 
Merluza said:
I've looked for alternatives, even bought a couple, but they don't deliver yet, although there are good RAW alternatives. On1 might be getting closer for regular photo applications when they deliver On1Raw later in the year but they are too dependent on presets for my taste.
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Yes. But different people have different needs. Yet it seems some people think that Photoshop it the best solution for everyone. Or have been told that.
For me, for example, Photoshop doesn't deliver either.
 
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Merluza said:
On1 might be getting closer for regular photo applications when they deliver On1Raw later in the year but they are too dependent on presets for my taste.
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On1 are trying hard to make the transition from just being about the effects to actually offering a complete RAW-to-Print service, and the new coaching service is a good way to get more people onboard and create a bigger brand. I like much of what their software does, but it will never work for existing LR users until they can import your LR catalogue to sit within their RAW editor.

As for presets, there's an option to add each filter individually, with basic adjustments as a starting point, although sometimes it's easier to use a preset and just tweak specific aspects to give the desired result. I notice that I've spent twice as much on On1 software (bought 8 and 10) than I have on LR (still using version 5.7 - may be soon time for an upgrade) but I've not bought PS at all.
 
Thank goodness for Computer Active magazine then. The Private Eye of the computer world.
 
I still use Serif Photo Plus X2 which cost me about £12.00 many years ago now, Neat Image for noise reduction and Easy HDR Pro all of which I've had for quite a few years plus DPP (free with my camera) and Easy Thumbnails (free)

Although most are several years old now they still do everything I need.

I've tried PhotoShop in the past but still prefer the stand alone programs I have.
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And how much did the magazine cost you to read advice and make a decision you could have done for free by looking on the Internet and thinking it through yourself?

Some people enjoy magazines, I enjoy using photoshop. It's up to individuals what they spend their money on.

For £8 per month LR and PS is ridiculous value in my opinion, the leading, most intuitive and most supported (both with updates and training) software means it is not worth me learning some new clunky but free alternative.
 
Craig_85 said:
And how much did the magazine cost you to read advice and make a decision you could have done for free by looking on the Internet and thinking it through yourself?

Some people enjoy magazines, I enjoy using photoshop. It's up to individuals what they spend their money on.

For £8 per month LR and PS is ridiculous value in my opinion, the leading, most intuitive and most supported (both with updates and training) software means it is not worth me learning some new clunky but free alternative.
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I didn't buy it. And was amused by the sensationalist tone of the cover. Which I thought I'd share, especially as it referred to Photoshop as Rip-off software. Clearly some here couldn't handle that well.

Yes I'm sure you have good reasons to choose Photoshop. As long as you don't think your reasons apply to everyone.
 
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To say that PS is a rip off is just sensationalism. It is,along with LR and Capture One Pro, probably the default software for anyone serious about their photography. It may not be suited for everyone but if people cant be bothered to do a bit of research and find out what alternatives there are and just blindly follow what they are told then that's their problem.

If you don't want PS or LR then don't buy it. I've gone from Canons own through some of the free ones to CO Pro to Elements then to LR and elements, only changing as my requirements changed. Just gone to PS CC as I needed some of the extra features that PS CC has. And it's very hard to argue that, with the ability to pick up older software for a song, that PS or Elements isn't the way to go, beacause even in its older forms it's still way better than the other options that I tried.
 
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Gaz J said:
To say that PS is a rip off is just sensationalism. It is,along with LR and Capture One Pro, probably the default software for anyone serious about their photography. It may not be suited for everyone but if people cant be bothered to do a bit of research and find out what alternatives there are and just blindly follow what they are told then that's their problem.
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Yes. But I'm sure people will continue to take advice blindly.

Gaz J said:
And it's very hard to argue that, with the ability to pick up older software for a song, thAt PS or Elements isn't the way to go, beacause even in its older forms it's still way better than the other options that I tried.
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Some still find that it fails in important things.
 
It's a fair point that for most people photoshop is overkill.
I've used it for about ten years and still keep discovering new things CS5 can do.
 
ianp5a said:
Yes. But I'm sure people will continue to take advice blindly.

Some still find that it fails in important things.
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Im sure it does but for most it fulfils the majority of their requirements. Also you never know when you want to do something that the others cannot do. I never thought I would need to use smart objects and median filters for example but I've now started another aspect of my photography where these are useful, perhaps not the only way of doing it but less labour intensive, and hence the upgrade.
 
andythilo said:
£8 a month for lightroom and photoshop. Hardly a rip off. Especially when you consider you'll always have the latest versions and service packs. And in this day and age, you can learn everything about both by watching youtube videos, even free Adobe training videos.
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And bugs.....
 
Well each to their own. Comes down to what your requirements are, what you can afford and what you're actually capable of using. To be fair to Adobe, you can try anything for 30days so it's not like you're buying blind.

I personally think £8 a month for LR/PS is a bargain.
 
The main thing that irritates me about Photoshop is that I can't buy an upgrade, and I don't want to pay rent for it.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Because freeware never had 'undocumented features'. ;)
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Freeware is free. Adobe charge you to test their product for them, and it's bugs not "undocumented features". Even Adobt don't think crashing, photomerge not working etc a feature., although they might as well be....
 
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