Basic Software Choices??

I was a bible user and have AfterShot Pro with PSPx4, but I've become very impressed with CaptureOne. So if what you are interested in real quality Raw processing, then give CaptureOne a try. AfterShotPro is really fast and allows you to do most everything from within one reasonably priced package.

Before you spend a lot of money you really should try a couple and see what works for you. Some people are really into photo manipulation and love spending time in Photoshop or PSPX$, while others are more into straight photography.

A lot of people use the Adobe products, but there are others that do some things better. Most all have trials, so try a couple different raw processors and don’t forget the raw processor that came with your camera as it may do a better job than Lightroom.

Lightroom, DX0, CaptureOne, Acdee Pro 5, AfterShot Pro for raw processing
Idimager, Lightroom, Media Pro (Phaseone), Acdee for DAM if needed
PhotoShop, PaintshopPro, …. For photo editing

And really the list goes on with plugins for Photoshop and PaintShopPro as well as standalone add-ons.

There are a few solutions that may do everything you want to do, then allow you to call an external editor to process a TIFF further.