Photography Processing Editing Software

 I've been testing several photography software programs as alternatives to or additions to Lightroom and Photoshop.  I don't do enough editing to make it worthwhile to pay for a monthly subscription.  I have access to old versions of these programs but with all the new cameras and improvements, I'm looking for something that works well, is relatively fast, incorporates the latest in technology (I'm thinking AI), and is reasonably priced.  I did a Google search and came up with Capture One (I have the limited Nikon version), Serif Affinity 2.0, DxO Photo Lab, ACDSee, GIMP (which uses Darktable), Darktable, Raw Therapee, Nikon NX Studio, and Pixlr.  I did check on one subscription-based product which had a 30 day free trial - Cyberlink Photodirector 365 (they do have a free version stripped down version) - I won't know what that has until my full version trial period is over.  To subscribe to the full program, it's $4.59/mo.  There are two other programs that I've checked in the past that didn't work well with my old computer and that have also been updated - haven't checked them yet (Skylum Luminar NEO and On1 Photo Raw).

My verdict after comparing those referenced above - Lightroom and Photoshop are still the best at many things.  Lightroom was the easiest to use and fastest when exporting files.  Of the free choices, Darktable was the best.  Raw Therapee probably has the most variables but would take a long time to figure it all out, it's very complex

When I compared images saved (exported), Lightrooms had the best quality and detail.  Darktable was very close, though.

Update:  Downloaded and tried ON1 Photo Raw - Was happy enough with it so bought it.  These Memorial Day 2023 photos were processed with both Lightroom and ON1 - each program does certain things better.  I love ON1's Sky replacement feature (it's so easy and fast to use) plus all its preset options.  Still learning the program so will have a more complete review in a future post.  The best part perhaps was that it was on sale for $49.99, which included today's update to ON1 Photo Raw 2023.5.

Here are all of the photos I shot from Memorial Day:  Memorial Day 2023 Photos

Plus a few of those:

The women's all around winnder at the Muscle Beach competition

The youngest competitor at 16, who placed 2nd in her division.