Best Photography
Platform: PC/Mac Disc. Consider Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to get the latest updates, and ensure that the software works with raw files from the newest cameras.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Like several other one-star reviewers I could not find the serial number to install the software, even after over an hour of browsing the Adobe www site and going in circles that always led to having me look on the box or the DVD sleeve."
"There are four new features that are intended to convince version 5 users to upgrade: -Better performance. -Facial recognition. -Panorama merge. -HDR merge. I suspect what people care most about are Panorama and HDR. Here's the good news about these features: The output file for both the HDR and Panorama merge is Adobe DNG (RAW) so you can continue to modify the photo as a RAW film in Lightroom. Every program I've used for HDR and Panorama can only output a JPEG or TIFF even when they can accept a RAW files as an input (and of course, it's a major pain to have to convert your RAW files to TIFF or JPEG for programs that cannot accept RAW). Despite the lack of controls for HDR and Panoramic merge, there's a huge plus to having these features built into Lightroom and having the output file kept in RAW. But if you want the ability to control the process than the upgrade may not be worth it for you at this time (especially if you want that surreal look to your HDR images)."
"I was on the verge of purchasing the Lightroom 6 standalone product when I discovered the following: Adobe is in the process of moving its products to a subscription-only based business model."
Make polished movies with this powerful video editing suite featuring the Ultimate Effects Collection with professional-grade filters and effects from NewBlueFX, ProDAD, and Boris. Add effects to selected areas in your video with Mask Creator and over 2,000 customizable effects including 14 premium effect collections and layering options with Track Transparency.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was very surprised and concerned when I hadn't used the app in months, and suddenly, in Windows, I started experiencing a popup page advertising "Black Friday deals"."
"Oh and if you say no to that when u buy it, they ask you again a million times - when you install and again everytime you start it (with default box checked - just to make sure they can further you to having to uncheck it again) - because hey maybe u slip up and then they got you. 6) When you start any of those installed programs they suck up your hard disk space but are useless.. first they ask for serial numbers and you can buy it for ONLY USD 199 (sonicfire for example). 8) Then when you made it through all this - you notice that half the features in the program don't perform as advertised because you first have to buy them - so you thought you bought that PRO version which should have everything. 9) Then in the program the wonderful bait and then glorious switch continues... they list for FX effect.. some brand names, means nothing no idea what it does.. u get few simple things and then u need to buy the rest and real deal for effects. There's Triple Scoop Music - unfortunately it's all watermarked with every effect some lovely lady saying the brand.. then they have tons of Muserk Sound Effects great, except sorry same thing every single file is watermarked, some dude saying Muserk.. totally useless. So you payed a ton of money for ultimate version to fill up your hard drive with watermarked sound effects... great. - and then lucky you there's a very few that are not watermarked - but that stuff is - sorry - personal-use-only - so forget uploading to youtube and earning ad revenue.. if u end up making an amazing and wonderful video..with tons of clicks.. then you're screwwwedd again because it's just personal use only and all your work is lost - because you don't really have the license for those sound effects."
"There were all these extra programs not related to X10 video edition installed that I never asked for. I'm trying to convert from Mac to Windows for all my video edition and this...ha...this is a joke. I had read the previous negative reviews and just thought, "huh well I guess they just didn't pay attention while they were installing." I did, I read everything that came with the software and during the install process I tried to be as careful as possible, but still got TONS of shovelware and malware."
"I'm sure this software would have been a viable alternative to Adobe's subscription model but alas, for me and my cameras, it's almost useless. Just for reference the software seems to work with video files recorded with my Canon EOS DSLR but it does NOT work with iphone or Olympus TG-5 .mov files so I'd verify it works with your camera before you purchase, because Corel's customer support is useless at best, and probably liars at worst."
Processor: Intel or AMD processor with 64-bit support RAM: 2GB of RAM (4GB recommended) Hard Disk: 2GB of available hard-disk space. Organize, perfect, and share - Lightroom combines all your digital photography essentials in one fast, intuitive application.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is my go-to program for importing / editing / storing photos both from my Canon DSLR and my family's smartphones. Looking at updates to the *previous* Lightroom 5, there were bug fixes of course, but Lightroom also gained the following functions: - Lightroom 5.2: added Feather control for the Clone/Heal brush, added Smoothness adjustment slider for Color Noise Reduction. However, this flies in the face of real world examples from the small (Angry Birds supplying many new levels for the initial 99 cent purchase) to the quite large (Microsoft giving all Windows 7 and Windows 8 users a free copy of Windows 10)."
"Lone wolf that exists outside the Creative Cloud subscription scheme."
"Well, Adobe is generally recognized as the leader here, and this is a very good product, but even though this is touted as a "workflow" product integrated with RAW edit/processing, I don't like their forced workflow--it does not seem to allow me to fit it to my manner of working, which I find annoying."
"Now that I've delved more into the editing capabilities, I'm very happy with my final image outputs and am really pleased with how well LR fixes both spots and various detractors, such as a piece of fishing line stuck on a wood duck's green head."
"That particular tool is not in this version."
"I need a serial number, which I don't have, because I was not given the option to register product with Adobe. January 12, 2016: I'm updating this review because the problem has been resolved. I have to give credit to the Adobe customer support person (Jeff T.) for reaching out to me and walking me through the troubleshooting process."
"Most video and photo editing software is going to cover the basic functions you need to clean up and publish, especially if you work to get it right in the camera first. I have a decent laptop purchased for graphics and video editing, and Lr is the only one that runs quickly and smoothly for me."
Best Home & Hobbies
Consider Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to get the latest updates, and ensure that the software works with raw files from the newest cameras.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Like several other one-star reviewers I could not find the serial number to install the software, even after over an hour of browsing the Adobe www site and going in circles that always led to having me look on the box or the DVD sleeve."
"There are four new features that are intended to convince version 5 users to upgrade: -Better performance. -Facial recognition. -Panorama merge. -HDR merge. I suspect what people care most about are Panorama and HDR. Here's the good news about these features: The output file for both the HDR and Panorama merge is Adobe DNG (RAW) so you can continue to modify the photo as a RAW film in Lightroom. Every program I've used for HDR and Panorama can only output a JPEG or TIFF even when they can accept a RAW files as an input (and of course, it's a major pain to have to convert your RAW files to TIFF or JPEG for programs that cannot accept RAW). Despite the lack of controls for HDR and Panoramic merge, there's a huge plus to having these features built into Lightroom and having the output file kept in RAW. But if you want the ability to control the process than the upgrade may not be worth it for you at this time (especially if you want that surreal look to your HDR images)."
"I was on the verge of purchasing the Lightroom 6 standalone product when I discovered the following: Adobe is in the process of moving its products to a subscription-only based business model."
Best CAD
Consider Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to get the latest updates, and ensure that the software works with raw files from the newest cameras.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There are four new features that are intended to convince version 5 users to upgrade: -Better performance. -Facial recognition. -Panorama merge. -HDR merge. I suspect what people care most about are Panorama and HDR. Here's the good news about these features: The output file for both the HDR and Panorama merge is Adobe DNG (RAW) so you can continue to modify the photo as a RAW film in Lightroom. Every program I've used for HDR and Panorama can only output a JPEG or TIFF even when they can accept a RAW files as an input (and of course, it's a major pain to have to convert your RAW files to TIFF or JPEG for programs that cannot accept RAW). Despite the lack of controls for HDR and Panoramic merge, there's a huge plus to having these features built into Lightroom and having the output file kept in RAW. But if you want the ability to control the process than the upgrade may not be worth it for you at this time (especially if you want that surreal look to your HDR images)."
"Like several other one-star reviewers I could not find the serial number to install the software, even after over an hour of browsing the Adobe www site and going in circles that always led to having me look on the box or the DVD sleeve."
"I was on the verge of purchasing the Lightroom 6 standalone product when I discovered the following: Adobe is in the process of moving its products to a subscription-only based business model."
Best Illustration
CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO, The #1 Comic & Manga Software Worldwide, is the most efficient and advanced all-in-one solution for drawing, laying out, illustrating and publishing manga and comics. Designed specifically for illustrating manga and comic art, specialized features provide a complete solution all in one program. Frame-by-frame animation - features include adjustable timeline, onion skinning display and light table for creating seamless transitions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I found that drawing in paint tool sai is still far smoother than doing so in this program, and coloring, and shading, and etc. I still haven't figured out how to zoom in on the model but you can click and drag to move or rotate parts of the "doll" to get a pose you need. Well their website has you covered with a literal BUTTLOAD of individual and brush sets taht you can easily install into the program."
"Update 1 month later : I keep finding more and more reasons to love this program, its half the price of SAI but arguably stronger engine, there's so much power packed in this application, even if you don't use it, it's very easy to get into and fiddle with to learn the controls. If you are on the fence on finding an application for your digital drawing needs, this is a tough one to pass up on, I think most people who digital paint shy away from this thinking its only for manga, the brush engine and customization available in this application will more than cover your doodly needs!.I've only scratched the surface of what it has to offer from what I read and see on online tutorials, yet offers so much with the standard tools available from the get go."
"The learning curve is easy and if you get stuck there are many tutorials."
"No more awkward lines! Still easy to use, Has extra features that Sai tool did not have, and plethora of resources made by other users that adds expandability of the tool! If you are looking for a good paint tool that doesn't break your bank or cause awkward sensation while drawing, Clip studio paint is worth a try."
Best Home Design
![Sweet Home 3D [Download]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81mqySxP8uL._SS600_.png)
Sweet Home 3D is aimed at people who wants to design their interior quickly, whether they are moving or they just want to redesign their existing home. View the changes in the plan simultaneously in a 3D view, in which you can navigate either from an aerial view point, or from a virtual visitor view point. PC Minimum System Requirements: PC Recommended System Requirements: Processor: Intel Core RAM: 1 GB Hard Disk: 280 MB Video Card: Any Supported OS: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP. Customize colors and texture of furniture, walls, floors and ceilings.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I say it is freeware because you can go to their home website and download the exact same program and furniture collections for free, but you have to download each and install the program and import the collections. By buying it through Amazon, you get the program and all available furniture collections packaged into one installation program and you provide the developers with a little cash for their efforts. If you can't find an item of furniture or a door or window you need, you can install the free Sketchup Make program, search the Sketchup 3D Warehouse and import any 3D model, or draw your own in Sketchup (steep learning curve, but worth it)."
"This software is not only VERY affordable but easy to use for ALL."
"Before purchasing this though, I played with a few free download program from various vendors ranging in price from $60-$200. I would not expect to use program to turn plans directly over to a builder, but it will save you thousands in architectural fees by laying out your own floor-plan first."
"This includes what we normally think of as furniture (tables, chairs, beds), and also doors, windows, staircases, appliances, cabinets, fixtures, tools and so on.). After a few hours of trial-and-error practice, I was able to produce respectable concept drawings (to show to a contractor) for a home addition, and for separate woodworking workshop and garden tractor garage buildings. The program author lives in Europe, so an American user may notice a few quirks."
Best Animation & 3D
Anime Studio Pro 11 is perfect for professionals looking for a more efficient alternative to traditional animation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"You'll also save yourself a lot of time in learning because this one is by far, one of the easiest programs for me to understand and use. You will still have to spend some time learning how to work it, but I highly doubt you'll need to enroll yourself in a college class to understand it."
"Great Software, but have trouble running it on Win 10..."
"I only bought the Debut version because it was cheaper and I wanted to learn Anime Studio's original selling point it's bone feature. I recommend this version over the Debut version of Anime Studio 11 because you will find more tutorials for the bone feature and a webinar for the frame by frame feature."
"The included Tutorial and User Manuals (pdf format) are good and can be accessed in Anime Studio from the help menu."
"Excellent software with great tutorials on their youtube channel."
