Help with proccesing software please

[LeeWilky]

Hi all

I currently have Photoshop elements 6 as it came with my laptop and now that i have started deep space imaging it has become aparent that PSE cant handle it so i need to upgrade.

Ive just looked at the price for PS cs6 and nearly choked on my heart shaped cookie that my soppy girlfriend made me a batch of for valentines day!

You can not be serious at the price!

Needless to say i cannot afford over £600 so are there any alternatives out there for a much lower or even free price tag as i simply cannot afford anything near the discusting price Adobe want for the full version of PS.

Thanks for any help.

[JB80]

GIMP is free http://www.gimp.org/ and it does most things PS will do although unless they have upgraded it I think it only takes 8 bit images, not a huge problem though.

[jarlaxle2k5]

As free software i have tried Gimp and RawTherapee.

Many people here use also Pixinsight that cost less than PS cs6.

I hope this helps

[RikM]

You can sometimes find older versions on Amazon for less but still about £150. Beware of imitations / pirated copies though. Anything from CS2 on will be fine.

Pixinsight will do everything you want, if you can get your head round it.

I have heard Paintshop Pro mentioned as an alternative but I've not used it myself.

If you really want to watch the pennies, GIMP is free http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ and has most of the functionality you will need. I have had a little play with this in the past and it was quite okay, just not quite as slick as PS.

Edit: Note to self...work on typing speed!

[red dwalf]

check out the adobe photoshop website out, version 1 and 2 of photoshop cs are now free downloads, i only use version 3 as it has all that is needed for processing and have not seen much difference between 2 and 3.

have a go it`s free.

gimp is free but only works on 8 bit image processing, photoshop does the 16 bit processing

[Alien 13]

+1 for GImp I believe the latest version now suppoerts 16 bit.

Alan

[LeeWilky]

thats great thanks guys i knew there would be an alternative out there for people not willing to spend 900 US Dollars!

Ill download Gimp and look into the PS CS 1 and 2.

I wonder what google is gonna come up with whe i type in Gimp.....  Should be fun lol!

[RikM]

check out the adobe photoshop website out, version 1 and 2 of photoshop cs are now free downloads, i only use version 3 as it has all that is needed for processing and have not seen much difference between 2 and 3.

have a go it`s free.

gimp is free but only works on 8 bit image processing, photoshop does the 16 bit processing

Note on the Adobe Community forum:

On behalf of Adobe Systems Incorporated ...

You have heard wrong! Adobe is absolutely not providing free copies of CS2!

What is true is that Adobe is terminating the activation servers for CS2 and that for existing licensed users of CS2 who need to reinstall their software, copies of CS2 that don't require activation but do require valid serial numbers are available. (Special serial numbers are provided on the page for each product download.) See <http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1114930>.

You are only legally entitled to download and install with that serial number if you have a valid license to the product!

[LeeWilky]

Note on the Adobe Community forum:

Does that mean im being naughty downloading this then? (Edit: link removed)

[Sandancer10]

Hi, the best processing software that I have found is Caelum Observatory, here is the link caelumobservatory.com.  They also do software for specific objects, but to be honest I think the full version and working through your images seems to be the most cost effective - about £90.00 including import duty from the States. It works with PS, but as Red Dwarf said you can download PS CS2 for free.

Also, I found Astronomy Tools very good for processing, here is the link http://www.prodigitalsoftware.com/Astronomy_Tools_For_Full_Version.html

You download this and it is added to 'actions' in PS. You then run an action and it works really well. I spent a lot of time trying to get rid of gradients, noise, star bloat etc and this corrects all of these and more. $21.95 for 34 actions is a really worthwhile spend.

Good luck  

[LeeWilky]

Hi, the best processing software that I have found is Caelum Observatory, here is the link caelumobservatory.com.  They also do software for specific objects, but to be honest I think the full version and working through your images seems to be the most cost effective - about £90.00 including import duty from the States. It works with PS, but as Red Dwarf said you can download PS CS2 for free.

Also, I found Astronomy Tools very good for processing, here is the link http://www.prodigitalsoftware.com/Astronomy_Tools_For_Full_Version.html

You download this and it is added to 'actions' in PS. You then run an action and it works really well. I spent a lot of time trying to get rid of gradients, noise, star bloat etc and this corrects all of these and more. $21.95 for 34 actions is a really worthwhile spend.

Good luck  

Thats great mate thankyou   Getting more towards my budget now not the 900 US Dollars Adobe want lol!

[RikM]

Does that mean im being naughty downloading this then?  (link removed)

I honestly don't know.

The post on the Adobe forum was posted on 7th Jan 2013, the link on techspot is dated 10th Jan 2013. Maybe they changed their stance on the legality of CS2 downloads?

I will look into it because we don't allow links to illegal downloads on SGL, so if it is illegal, the links / posts in this thread will have to be removed.

[LeeWilky]

I honestly don't know.

The post on the Adobe forum was posted on 7th Jan 2013, the link on techspot is dated 10th Jan 2013. Maybe they changed their stance on the legality of CS2 downloads?

I will look into it because we don't allow links to illegal downloads on SGL, so if it is illegal, the links / posts in this thread will have to be removed.

No problem mate it certainly looks legit but you never know in this day and age.

Ive downloaded it and registered it using the code on the site i downloaded it from and so far it all seems pretty legit.

I have an Adobe account too so no doubt i will find out soon if its wrong.

[Cornelius Varley]

A quick search on Google suggests that the download link and activation key are supposed to be for registered users of CS2 only but have been made available online by various other sources. http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/01/07/download.intended.only.for.existing.license.holders/

[Cornelius Varley]

No problem mate it certainly looks legit but you never know in this day and age.

Ive downloaded it and registered it using the code on the site i downloaded it from and so far it all seems pretty legit.

I have an Adobe account too so no doubt i will find out soon if its wrong.

You maybe OK if you are an existing registered Adobe user.

[LeeWilky]

You maybe OK if you are an existing registered Adobe user.

Well it all seems legit.  Ive installed and registered it using my Adobe account and no problems yet.

[RikM]

As far as we can tell, Adobe haven't changed their stance on this software. The released versions of CS2, downloaded directly from Adobe, were intended for use by existing customers who had already purchased valid licenses to use the software, consequently I have removed the link in your previous post.

I would just take this opportunity to remind everyone of the appropriate section from our Code of Conduct:

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[LeeWilky]

How strange.

Ive installed it and registered it with my Adobe account and it was even updated by Adobe once i registered.

Perhaps because i have had an Adobe account for years i dont know?

[Psychobilly]

There's still a few weeks left of the Adobe CC for Photographers plan where you get Photoshop CC , Lightroom5 and 20 GB of cloud storages for £8.79/month plus vat...

https://creative.adobe.com/plans/offer/photoshop+lightroom?store_code=gb&locale=en

That's a two machine "commercial"  licence  which you can move between machines...

Peter...

[red dwalf]

i certainly didn`t go out to illegally download any copy's of photoshop, last summer there was a thread somewhere, can`t remember which forum but it said photoshop cs1 and 2 no longer supported by adobe, free link to the download page on adobe, download and a access codes were given by adobe on there website, a 16 digit numbers,  without any questions about licenses or any questions relating to previously bought copys, i had no problems, i thought it was to encourage people to upgrade to later versions, but as cs2 has most everything needed to process images there really is no need, i do now have a proper copy of cs3 

[frugal]

I think that this is one of those strange grey areas. Adobe do not want you pirating their software, however they would much rather you used a pirated version of their software than a legitimate version of someone elses. Putting up an old version for people who had originally purchased CS2, but then arranging it so that almost anyone qualifies as a legitimate user does seem like a good way for Adobe to have their cake and eat it at the same time.

I have a legit copy of CS4, but I will be pulling the trigger on a PixInsight licence in 10 days when my free trial has run out.

[Langy]

Don't think they would like you to use a pirated copy rather than a competitors though.

Their market has always been for the business user with throwing in versions like Elements free with printers. I've used all the CS versions, usually the full package where the last couple of years tended to use the video editing and a little PS.

They have now changed how their licencing works in that you can no longer just buy a copy on disc like before, it has to be activated online and you pay for the licence for how long you want it. This way they can keep on top of the licencing and charge more in the long run for it. I'm sure there will be cracked copies of that too floating about. Microsoft has been doing this for years on the corporate side of things where you pay so much a year and entitled to use any version of windows along with any office.

With the ever free software appearing today, even the likes of Microsoft have made a lot free. You can download and use all sorts of their programming software along with a lot of others. They still just charge the business sector as they usually need those little extra bits that will not work in the free versions.

I think all the big companies are now having to put out free versions of their software for the non commercial user, allowing us home users free but limited software which is not quite enough for a business. Plus a business can't afford to be found to have unlincenced software.