which software

[alphaomega]

Larryk (and others) should be aware that Sony's Image Data Converter and Adobe's Elements do not have the ability to correct Cromatic Aberration. This is not a problem if the only requirement is to produce 6x4 or 7x5 prints. You do not need the A350 for that though. If professional results are required and usage is made of lenses such as the CZ 16-80 then a program that can remove CA is definitely required. I submit to Alamy and invariably I have to remove CA in Adobe RAW. I have always thought that Sony cannot be taken seriously until they provide an IDC that includes CA removal. I was completely baffled when I learnt that IDC version 3 released at the same time as the A900 did not include CA removal. In fact I am still shaking my head in despair at that omission. That is the main reason I use Adobe RAW instead of IDC to convert my A700/A350 RAW images. I also use Panasonic LX2/3 pocket cameras. Fortunately Silkypix is supplied free for these and is quite efficient in removing CA.

So if Larryk has a need for large professional files he requires a program that can remove CA. Probably Lightroom might be a good choice here as he could develop a complete workflow just using one program rather than having to pass from a RAW converter to a photo manipulation program. Elements uses a cut down version of Adobe RAW, which is fine if there is not a requirement for CA removal. I have never been able to understand why Adobe do not include CA removal in the RAW converter version they supply for Elements. Presumably to force serious users to buy Lightroom and/or Photoshop full version.

[alphaomega]

Sonolta wrote

200,000+ frames and I have only removed CA on about three of them....purchase lenses that do not demonstrate much CA and you won't need to correct for it. BTW, I regularly produce high quality 24 inch prints, and at times I push things to 30 inches without the need for any CA or PF correction. FWIW...I have sent close to 2000 images to publishers the past few years and on not one of them did I need to remove any CA.
Maybe certain lens makers should not be taken seriously if they can not get CA under control.

Actually the "worst" lens I have that produces CA around sharp edges at the extremes of some images is actually the CZ 16-80. Maybe my copy is defective but I seem to recollect that DK referred to this issue in some of his entries on this site and when reviewing this lens.
A 24 inch print is pretty large but still only 24 inches. Unfortunately Alamy (and presumably other photo agencies) inspect at 100% (and that is where CA is noticeable - if present). As the width of a 50 Mb file at 100% is more like 60 inches along the longest side at 300 ppi, I need to remove it when present and so does other intending suppliers to the likes of Alamy.
I would agree that for most people CA does not enter into the equation and that is probably why Adobe has not included it in Elements. The fact that all "professional" image conversion and editing software include CA removal tells its own story - there is a demand for such a function and it is - regrettably - needed for some of us. It is unlikely that larryk will need it if he is just a "beginner".

[Dr. Harout]

And do you use Retouch Pro now? Does it have anything superior to ACR/LR?

[alphaomega]

Reference Sonolta's recent contributions today, I must admit I am genuinely amazed at his ability to "fire off" a volley of information and Web site links on all matters photographic containing genuinely useful information. I have Elements 2, 3 and 5 and bought Scott kelby's The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers some time ago. I was impressed by his ability to show that you could virtually do all the things in Elements that a photographer would want from Photoshop proper if you knew how to go about it - EXCEPT no mention of CA removal.

In fact I wonder how Sonolta finds time to run all his businesses and also provide the rest of us with information and images.

I actually own a copy of Richard Lynch's The Adobe Photoshoop Layers Book. My confession is that I have not as yet made a proper study of its contents. As I am mostly a fair weather photographer and do a lot of initial editing in ACR There is so little left to do in PS that using layers seems "overkill".

When I use my beloved Panasonic LX2/3 P&S wonders I need to remove CA in almost every picture to achieve Alamy QA requirements and that is using Leica lenses.

[peterottaway]

Many of the recent posts are indeed highly relevant for the mid to high end photo enthusiast, BUT for everyone of them there are many what I will describe as photo hobbyists. They may have an A 200 or even a A 350 bought with one of the kit offerings, have to compete with other family members over the computer and have an A4 printer.

If they have been lucky then a local store was offering a good price on a Epson 1410 when a larger than expected tax refund came in. An Epson 2880 is a minor miracle.

For such photographers Photoshop Elements or Bibble when complimented by freeware/shareware plug-ins and scripts is what they need. And as has been pointed out, when you learn them well, it is amazing what you can do.

[David Kilpatrick]

Elements has another benefit - compared to full Photoshop, it's easy on HD space and memory use for laptops, and does not eat up a full Photoshop activation. We only have one Photoshop (Creative Suit CS3) as it's all we can afford and justify - it provides one activation for my Mac, one for our son's Mac, legitimately. But I have a spare machine and Shirley and I both have laptops. PS Elements provides a good solution for keeping a near-Photoshop app on these, and we also bought Lightroom for a similar reason - it runs better on a slightly ageing iBook.

I have Capture One Pro, but one problem - the latest build only runs under Mac OSX Leopard and Intel processors, but my only machine with Leopard is a G5 machine not Intel, and my Intel machine is so heavily loaded with important stuff I really don't want to do a new system upgrade. Elements has usually been very backwards compatible, so Adobe has my money for Elements for the last three releases.

David

[larryk]

Thanks for all your replys, going with elements 7. Kids are giving me elements and a book on it for Christmas.
Thanks to all.

Larry

[Chris Malcolm]

I have not used PTLens in years, but some here may use it alot. I don't know how well it will work for you, but what I can tell you is that it will run in PS Elements straight up, and the author does offer a free trial download.

http://epaperpress.com/ptlens/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-Sonolta

Just in case anyone is like me, rather short of cash, and preferring to spend it on lenses than programs, it's quite possible to do almost all of what can be done in Photoshop, and some of it a bit better than Photoshop manages, for very little money.

I've played with a number of trial versions of recommended RAW converters for my A350 and while most of them offered much more comprehensive editing facilities than Sony's IDC, none of them were quite as good as IDC at getting the ultimate resolution and best colour detail. So I saved money and use IDC for my RAW conversions, except in those rare awkward cases of sunsets and deep shadows where for some very clever reason Picasa's automatic RAW conversion sometimes does a distinctly better job than I can manage to coax out of IDC.

I then shift to other editors using a high res jpeg file. Some will instinctively recoil in horror mumbling "the losses! the losses!", but in the very large jpegs, sometimes 20Mbytes, that IDC can produce from the A350's RAW input, I am totally unable to find even the slightest suspicion of loss in the nastiest test cases. Losses I can't find with the most dedicated pixel peeping don't bother me.

Because I do a lot of wide angle architectural shots I use PTLens a lot to correct lens geometry aberrations and perspective which it does extremely well. I use it as a stand-alone program rather than a plug-in, because I prefer to avoid Photoshop and Elements because of the price, and the fact that for some elementary things I do a lot they don't use the best methods, e.g. they use bicubic interpolation for resizing. Only sometimes (e.g. extreme of zoom and wide aperture), or production of a best quality exhibition print, do I use PTLens for correcting chromatic aberration, and it does so well.

For snapshot noise reduction I find Sony's IDC good enough. For more critical work I use NeatImage, whose free trial version works well on high-res jpeg input and output. For more complex editing than IDC offers I'll use Irfanview for simple stuff and Gimp for complex, both free. If I'm only using ex-camera jpegs I'll often use nothing more complex than Picasa, which does its simple adjustments very well.

So the only money I've had to spend on software so far is the approx tenner that PTLens costs, very very good value for money!