Suggest me a Lightroom alternative

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nx4737

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I'm done, Lightroom is just too sluggish for my laptop, it never used to be, but it's getting unusable...

What are we all using as an alternative?
 
nx4737 said:
I'm done, Lightroom is just too sluggish for my laptop, it never used to be, but it's getting unusable...

What are we all using as an alternative?
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Not that I can necessarily suggest an alternative, but it would be useful to know whether you are on a Mac or Windows, as that might affect the suggestions.

It's also worthwhile confirming that it's Lightroom and not Lightroom Classic, and whether the catalogue tools are important, because the options with cataloging tools are different to those without.

Additionally, as a computer that runs LR slowly is also one that is likely to run the alternatives slowly, so it would be helpful to share the specs of your computer,

My preference to Lightroom classic (I've never used LR) is Capture One, but it's an expensive option, and although it runs more smoothly than LR on my machine (an M1 Mac with 1Tb storage and 32mb RAM) it isn't, overall,any faster. I also run DXO PhotoLab (just for noise reduction), which could be an alternative to either of the above, but it doesn't have a catalogue, which could rule it out for many people. On the occasions I've processed an entire photograph with it, I haven't found it any faster than LR or C1

On my old laptop (Macbook pro, from 2012, but I'm not sure of the spec) I have Open Source Darktable and RawTherapee installed. Both of these run fine on the laptop and Darktable has a catalogue. Both are excellent programs, but require a fair amount of learning, and if you are on a Mac, I've found that when an update comes out there is sometimes a delay with the Mac updates.

I don't know anything about other alternatives

I gave some links for Darktable (and others) resources in a post a few days ago:

 
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myotis said:
Additionally, as a computer that runs LR slowly is also one that is likely to run the alternatives slowly, so it would be helpful to share the specs of your computer,
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Hmm, I've downloaded a trial of On1 Raw, Afinity 2 and also Darktable and Rawtherapee, all seem to run a lot smoother than Lightroom.

On1 seems the nicer of the paid options, similar setup to Lightroom but a lot less processor heave on the laptop.

Of the free options, I'm sure they are both good programs when you get your head around them, but neither can be described as intuitive, my initial response to both was "what..."
 
nx4737 said:
Hmm, I've downloaded a trial of On1 Raw, Afinity 2 and also Darktable and Rawtherapee, all seem to run a lot smoother than Lightroom.

On1 seems the nicer of the paid options, similar setup to Lightroom but a lot less processor heave on the laptop.

Of the free options, I'm sure they are both good programs when you get your head around them, but neither can be described as intuitive, my initial response to both was "what..."
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I have Affinity Photo 2, but it's not an alternative to LR as it doesn't have any file management or cataloguing tools, and the raw processing is considered a notch below the alternatives even if it's better than it was., So I don't think of it as an alternative to Lightroom because it's a pixel editor and more an alternative for Photoshop.

I expected Darktable and Rawtherapee to run better than Lightroom, as I explained, but I did warn you there was a bit of a learning curve, which is why I posted the video links. They aren't as difficult as they first appear, but you can't just blindly go into them and start throwing sliders around in the way you can with the commercial options.

I have no experience of ON1, but I think a few people on here use it.
 
I use On1 PR as well as LR - it's clearly intended as a replacement and it can work very well. I have edited quite large numbers of pictures of events like parties and 'friends weddings' (i.e. not the official tog) in PR and the results have been very pleasing, colour manipulation management especially can be easier than LR. Every other year I do a paid update with On1, as well as the annual LR subscription.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I use On1 PR as well as LR - it's clearly intended as a replacement and it can work very well. I have edited quite large numbers of pictures of events like parties and 'friends weddings' (i.e. not the official tog) in PR and the results have been very pleasing, colour manipulation management especially can be easier than LR. Every other year I do a paid update with On1, as well as the annual LR subscription.
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Useful for the OP that you have direct experience of both.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I hope so..

The thing is that they are different, each with their own strengths etc.
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Yes,

I've used C1, LR and DXO off and on since LR was released, along with occasional forays into Darktable, RawTherapee (as well Photoshop/Bridge/ACR and Affinity Photo).

For different reasons, all of them could qualify as the "best" option, even though my preference is solidly with Capture One (+Photoshop)
 
I switched to DxO PL8. I would recommend. You can have a free trial of it.
 
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I use Photoworks most of the time, because I didn't want to get any subscription and got perpetual license instead. I'm quite happy with it so far, but my editing isn't exactly sophisticated, i.e. I don't use layers or make complicated photo montages. They have a free trial as well if you want to give it a go https://photo-works.net/

edit: typos!
 
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DumfriesDik said:
I switched to DxO PL8. I would recommend. You can have a free trial of it.
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That says nothing about why you'd recommend it. You can get free trials of most things (!). I found it seriously lacking in how its tone control sliders work, and in its capacity for highlight recovery. You may be more expert with it than me, but tell us about it ...

Currently, it's Capture One for me - a version or two behind, bought when briefly on offer (autumn a couple of years ago). Powerful, quick, & one sweet operator.

Generally, the advances in software (& tech in general) are increasingly far in excess of my needs. Ai masking can be fun, but I hardly need it.

Such are just tools - but they may enable degrees of fiction beyond what has been dreamed of before ... and do we want to go there? (Not necessarily).

I think it's personal, what you bond with - its functionality & its interface. And nothing's forever. We're mortal, dammit, & to shop relentlessly is a disease!

But try things out. Put a bit of muscle into it. Journey on your own learning path.
 
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I am sorry that I cannot compare with Lightroom but have you looked at Faststone? I used it with ON1 but it had editing capabilities (that were just shown to me) that were excellent and it is great for uploading, culling, rating etc) and it is free.
Good luck

john
 
droj said:
That says nothing about why you'd recommend it. You can get free trials of most things (!). I found it seriously lacking in how its tone control sliders work, and in its capacity for highlight recovery. You may be more expert with it than me, but tell us about it ...
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Sorry for the late reply, so late that a new version of PL is out, of which I know nothing.

BUT PL8 works well for me, well at least I thought it did as I don't have a problem with the tone control sliders, but maybe that is due to my lack of experience of other products. The denoising tool is excellent when required, the Smart Lighting and ClearView Plus are a nice easy way to 'enhance' a photo. The cataloguing leaves a lot to be desired and for that I use digikam.

Check out Andy Hutchinson for a more detailed review.
 
Dael_Pix said:
Just watched this for Luminar Neo, 75% off, plus an extra 10% with his code. It's tempting.
Luminar Neo - Evan Ranft
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I personally wouldn't say Luminar is an alternative to LR, I've used it albeit some time ago, and didn't consider it in the same league as LR.
 
I started with Lightroom but stopped when it went subscription and spent some time with Capture One but then they removed the express versions and I was concerned with the way they were pushing the subscription they may discontinue the standalone version.

I tried a few different editors and settled on DxO Photolab which I find is quite straightforward to use and I could quickly get the results I want. The noise reduction works well and they support new camera models for quite some time after the release, I'm on version 7 and it's still getting new model support. My main frustration with the software is that it counts up all images in a folder every single time so if you have a folder with a lot of images it can be slow to get to the point you can start editing.

I'd echo the recommendation to download trials and try out software to see what suits you.
 
Well, I redownloaded Luminar Neo trial again. The more I use it the more I like it.
I might have to say goodbye to Adobe.
 
A possible free program you could try, as an alternative to Lightroom, is DigiKam. Although this is a big program, so may still run slowly aswell. Just a thought, maybe stating the obvious, have tried running any progams to clean the computer?
 
After trying loads I ended up sticking with Capture One, got the perpetual license version.
Subscription is a deal breaker for meas I can go months without using the software.
What also drew me to Capture One was of all the packages I really like the results of the auto edit function so that often is all I use for a lot of my photos, saves a lot of time.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
I started with Lightroom but stopped when it went subscription and spent some time with Capture One but then they removed the express versions and I was concerned with the way they were pushing the subscription they may discontinue the standalone version.

I tried a few different editors and settled on DxO Photolab which I find is quite straightforward to use and I could quickly get the results I want. The noise reduction works well and they support new camera models for quite some time after the release, I'm on version 7 and it's still getting new model support. My main frustration with the software is that it counts up all images in a folder every single time so if you have a folder with a lot of images it can be slow to get to the point you can start editing.

I'd echo the recommendation to download trials and try out software to see what suits you.
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I have been trying to use On1 RAW since I bought it a few months ago but just don't get on with it. I downloaded the trial version of DXO Photolab 9 yesterday and it was instantly easier to use and I'm very pleased with the results on the 4 or 5 photos I tried.

£219.99 is hefty but I might have to just suck it up and buy it at the end of the trial.

I've not used Lightroom in years, so might need to trial that too just to be sure.
 
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mikeyb said:
I have been trying to use On1 RAW since I bought it a few months ago but just don't get on with it. I downloaded the trial version of DXO Photolab 9 yesterday and it was instantly easier to use and I'm very pleased with the results on the 4 or 5 photos I tried.

£219.99 is hefty but I might have to just suck it up and buy it at the end of the trial.

I've not used Lightroom in years, so might need to trial that too just to be sure.
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If you can wait a bit they usually discount for Black Friday, I bought Photolab 7 Elite edition for £160 on the 24th November. As well as being cheaper I thought even if I end up mostly using it for noise reduction it's not too harsh a cost since it's a one off at least until they stop supporting new camera models.
 
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