Throwing in the Towel

[mangurian]

I am spending less money since I switched to PS/LR subscription. I want the latest and greatest tools, including AI masking, generative AI, super good selection/masking tools etc. I also like that it includes other free tools. I use Lightroom on my Pixel phone for RAW shooting and some editing. I also do a lot of video editing in PS. I found it quite powerful after I watched some Youtube videos on how to load and edit videos.

The PS/LR subscription also includes other apps - Photoshop Express, Adobe Fonts, Adobe Express, Character Animator, Fresco painting, and other goodies.

I found myself enslaved by annual upgrade costs to the tools I was using. Now PS/LR gives me (most) all I need with their frequent free upgrades.

p.s. OK. I lied. I do own Topaz Photo AI.......it's just too good to pass up. You can get (frequent) upgrades at $99 a year w/o discount. I guess you can do it every other year if you wish. I also got a sweet intro deal on Topaz Video AI when it first came out. After the one year of free upgrades, I have never found reason to renew for upgrades. My version does all I want (stabilization, upsizing, and slow motion) for my videos as is. I also have use some old software that I bought before I got PS/LR. I do not upgrade those.

I did upgrade Affinity Photo to version 2 back when that came out. It was an act of goodwill. I don't use it anymore, but for folks on a budget, Affinity Photo provides an excellent, complete editor at a super inexpensive price. I don't know how they do it. They must be a small team of very talented people. I just wanted to help them.

p.p.s. I don't care how Adobe use my images. They know you own the copyright, so they will not sell them as photographs for resale. A company with a $250 billion market cap, $20 billion revenue, and $5+ billion profit is not going to sell your photo as a photo. My bet is that the images are primary used in AI training. I am glad to help make better image editors.

 

[backtrack]

Five TV subscriptions on top of YouTube TV is easy. Apple TV, Amazon Video, Netflix, Peacock, ESPN+. I think I also have FloSports and PBS Documentaries. I may have forgotten some. That’s the problem with subscriptions. They all have something I want to watch and I can't watch them without a subscription. You find that complicated?

Not complicated, just a surprisingly large amount of subscriptions to be paying for every month for someone who, as you say, doesn't like subscriptions.

 

[BillyBobSenna]

I have changed my mind about subscriptions, and, after a long hiatus, have re-upped for Photoshop/LRC. I was still using CS6 and others. But I decided, my prejudices aside, by any reckoning, Photoshop at $119.88 a year is a bargain.

I have spent more than that every year of the last several years experimenting with retouching software that were second rate compared to Adobe’s offering.

I still don’t like subscriptions, but I realized it is now a way of life. I have a list of over 20 subscriptions – things I can’t get otherwise. You Tube TV and five other TV streaming services, Quicken, a monitoring service for a Generac generator, four monthly insurance payments, FLO Sports, Cloud storage services, and a smattering of other commitments. I decided what Adobe had pulled off wasn’t anything unusual.

I still don’t like autopay for anything. I trust Adobe less than I trust most others, such as Amazon Music or Apple TV or Public Storage. But they’ve got the goods.

You get what you pay for. I would certainly prefer free however that is not realistic. Everyone has a different value equation. For me, the Adobe Photo plan is the best value in photography.

For some reason, people think because it's not gear or something you can sell when you are done with it, the cost should be lower. Maybe it goes back to when a lot of people paid nothing and pirated software.

 

[hectorsm]

I have changed my mind about subscriptions, and, after a long hiatus, have re-upped for Photoshop/LRC. I was still using CS6 and others. But I decided, my prejudices aside, by any reckoning, Photoshop at $119.88 a year is a bargain.

I have spent more than that every year of the last several years experimenting with retouching software that were second rate compared to Adobe’s offering.

I still don’t like subscriptions, but I realized it is now a way of life. I have a list of over 20 subscriptions – things I can’t get otherwise. You Tube TV and five other TV streaming services, Quicken, a monitoring service for a Generac generator, four monthly insurance payments, FLO Sports, Cloud storage services, and a smattering of other commitments. I decided what Adobe had pulled off wasn’t anything unusual.

I still don’t like autopay for anything. I trust Adobe less than I trust most others, such as Amazon Music or Apple TV or Public Storage. But they’ve got the goods.

I too gave in to subscription also. I don't like it. but that's the only choice I have to get Lightroom. My biggest complaint in the past was that I only used raw editors casually, like maybe a few times a year for processing my vacation photos. That's a waste of money in my opinion. However, now that I'm retired, I'll be traveling more often, which means I can probably justify the cost a bit more. I don't do Photoshop or web pages, so it still feels like I'm wasting money there. Maybe I'll find a use for those two in the future.

I've tried other photo editors. Some are good but will be missing some features I needed. Sometimes it's all the way around, but overall, Lightroom seems to get closer to what I want than other software provides.

 

[Zeee]

I have changed my mind about subscriptions, and, after a long hiatus, have re-upped for Photoshop/LRC. I was still using CS6 and others. But I decided, my prejudices aside, by any reckoning, Photoshop at $119.88 a year is a bargain.

I have spent more than that every year of the last several years experimenting with retouching software that were second rate compared to Adobe’s offering.

I still don’t like subscriptions, but I realized it is now a way of life. I have a list of over 20 subscriptions – things I can’t get otherwise. You Tube TV and five other TV streaming services, Quicken, a monitoring service for a Generac generator, four monthly insurance payments, FLO Sports, Cloud storage services, and a smattering of other commitments. I decided what Adobe had pulled off wasn’t anything unusual.

I still don’t like autopay for anything. I trust Adobe less than I trust most others, such as Amazon Music or Apple TV or Public Storage. But they’ve got the goods.

I too gave in to subscription also. I don't like it. but that's the only choice I have to get Lightroom. My biggest complaint in the past was that I only used raw editors casually, like maybe a few times a year for processing my vacation photos. That's a waste of money in my opinion. However, now that I'm retired, I'll be traveling more often, which means I can probably justify the cost a bit more. I don't do Photoshop or web pages, so it still feels like I'm wasting money there. Maybe I'll find a use for those two in the future.

You should take advantage of Portfolio. Others who use for example DXO also get Affinity to finish files. You have access to PS that comes with if you ever need it. I have not sent a file to PS since LrC 11 but I use it for other things. With how powerful LrC has become I don't feel like I'm wasting money.

I've tried other photo editors. Some are good but will be missing some features I needed. Sometimes it's all the way around, but overall, Lightroom seems to get closer to what I want than other software provides.