Photo editing software and/or graphics tablets

[coffeejo]

Thinking about treating myself to a graphics tablet and some decent software that will work with photos shot in RAW.

I've got Lightroom 5 and Elements 11 on a free trial and I like them so far but I'm also pondering Corel PaintShop Pro X5 as an alternative to getting both. Just wondering if anyone's got any thoughts / alternative suggestions? I've been using The Gimp for several years but can't get my head around the more advanced stuff.

As for graphics tablets - I've no idea where to start. Wacom's Bamboo tablets come up everywhere but I've read a load of negative reviews. Don't know anyone who has got one so my experience is pretty limited.

 

[vernon]

I've not had any problems with my Bamboo tablet. It does what it says on the box.

You might want to explore Serif Software's Photoplus. It's used extensively in schools as a much cheaper alternative to Photoshop. Though you'll have to explore whether or not it accepts plugins. There's a free version available at http://www.freeserifsoftware.com. I don't have a PC at home so I can't investigate whether or not there's a RAW file format option.

There's also a version of GIMP that has a Photoshop style user interface - have you tried it?

 

[coffeejo]

Thanks vernon. Will check out all that out.

 

[aces_up1504]

Photoshop Cs2 can be downloaded for free via its website now. Might be worth a look.