Lightroom vs Lightzone, ethics first?
Lightroom vs Lightzone?
Just wanted to provide an update on what’s developing and it’s a technology battle. Recently i have actually started listening to the masters and taking their advice, one of the most important commandments
“don’t let technology dictate”
After thinking about this I started using my camera in whatever mode I wanted and stopped caring so much about shooting manually etc. This has already helped me with composition, so i spend time on the creativity and not buttons or settings.
This then led me to an important aspect of my photography.
Editing choice
I have been struggling with technology for some time now, the program has been crashing and not working inconsistently for some time now. Sure i have been on the forums asking for support and had partial success, then yesterday I could not even edit one photograph.
There comes a point when you are simply tired of problems, despite the great facilities and end product of the software. Because I am in the IT industry I understand more than anyone that software is only good when it’s working and if you spend more time trying to fix, you are either doing something wrong or you have to give me up.
The dilemma
Well you see the problem is i have been an open source fanatic for some time (this means free software – as in freedom) so i do not use windows, apple or such products. I run my laptop on a free and open source software (Linux – it’s the stuff that powers Google and all websites etc), i do this for one reason – ethics. Open source software does not have to be free, you could charge for support sort of thing. The problem is the software i use Lightzone is really good and simple to use the support is run by volunteers and you work around their knowledge levels and time available. Now this is usually fine but I also know the benefit of paid software (whether its for the software or support). I actually believe i would be willing to pay for Lightzone support, but there is no option and therefore this puts me in an awkward place.
My experience through work is to provide the best possible service and sometimes a forum is not the answer, you need direct one on one support or someone to take over. I have some experience using Linux but I am not an expert.
So my decision now is do i move across to Lightroom because
- so many professionals recommend it
- it has support
- there are many courses and training materials available
- you can buy presets to enhance your workflow
But to me this means an ethical change too, as I would have to use Windows, but surely this is normal so why are you fretting? Well Windows has advantages but drawbacks, the amount of viruses around is incredible (have i mentioned i work in IT) so this means me running extra software that will affect the performance of the machine. Also vulnerabilities are found so often either in Windows or software you install (Adobe products like flash) that you need to ensure it’s kept up to date with patches.
Although Linux has vulnerabilities and viruses they are so few due to how the system works.
Anyway so getting back on track, do I swap or stay? I have installed a trial version of Lightroom and will see what it is like.