PhotoLab 5 separates itself from Lightroom through DxO's fantastic RAW processing tools and optical corrections. Starting with PhotoLab, DxO PhotoLab 5 is DxO's alternative to Lightroom.

This is the first of three straight sections covering DxO software solutions. Free trial: Yes, 30 days and no credit card required. Subscriptions cost $24/month or $179/year with all available updates if you're subscribed. It may take you a while to learn how to take full advantage of Capture One, but once you do, it'll be hard to imagine using anything else for most of your photo editing needs.įor some tasks, you still need another app or two in your workflowīuying options: Lifetime license is $299 with free updates until the next major release comes out. It's also a popular choice for many pros, so there are educational resources aplenty.Ĭapture One may not be a full replacement for every feature offered by Lightroom and Photoshop, but Capture One offers much of the best of both while delivering fantastic image processing technology and editing tools. That said, Capture One has stepped up its educational content over the last few years, and there are many fantastic tutorials available directly through the app to help new users learn all about the software and its capabilities. If you're a more advanced photographer looking to get the most out of your RAW image files and edit color with even better fidelity, then Capture One 22 is well worth checking out.Ĭapture One 22 is a bit more sophisticated and thus a bit harder to learn than Adobe Lightroom. Just because Adobe Lightroom is the most popular organizational and editing app doesn't mean that it's the best at everything. Free trial: Yes, 7 days and requires billing information.

Lightroom, while faster than ever, can still feel a bit sluggishīuying options: Subscription only with plans starting at $9.99 per month. Useful amount of cloud storage costs extra Reasons to avoid Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Photoshop has excellent non-destructive editing and layers Lightroom offers easy editing and powerful organization Good RAW processing with a lot of camera and lens support Reasons to use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

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