What and where do I search? Non-subscription version of PhotoShop for Mac

[spncity]

Want to be able to use without any wifi required and don't use it enough to justify a subscription. A fairly recently version will likely last me for years.

Any suggestions from those that know? Any idea of the going rate/cost?

 

[cathy63]

Photoshop CS6 is the last full version that does not require a Creative Cloud subscription. I don't know how much it goes for now if you can even find it, but when Adobe sold it, the price was $699.

If you don't need the full Photoshop feature set, you should check and see if Photoshop Elements or Lightroom v6 would meet your needs. Either of those would be much cheaper.

 

[DatumPoint5]

Acquire and install a BitTorrent client.... Then do a search for CS6.....

https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-torrent-client

 

[COcheesehead]

The older versions may not support newer cameras.

 

[big-papa]

Take a look at gimp: https://www.gimp.org/

 

[rodi]

Acquire and install a BitTorrent client.... Then do a search for CS6.....

https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-torrent-client

There are risks and legal issues associated with this solution. Just saying....

 

[Walt34]

If you don't need the full Photoshop feature set, you should check and see if Photoshop Elements or Lightroom v6 would meet your needs. Either of those would be much cheaper.

I don't know if this still works but I never paid full price for Photoshop. Start by buying Elements or Lightroom 6 and make sure to register either or both. Yes, you will get offers to get the subscription and/or buy PS6 for full price. But eventually they would offer PS6 for the upgrade price and that's when I bought it, I suppose they figured "half a loaf was better than none".

I have no idea if this still works but that's what worked for me.

 

[stepford]

The older versions may not support newer cameras.

This only matters if you want to use Photoshop's RAW converter. I'm perfectly happy using the free Canon RAW converter then exporting the TIFFs to my older standalone Photoshop. The Canon software gets updated regularly to work with the newer cameras. I believe the other major manufacturers do the same.

 

[folivier]

A couple to look at: ON1, Luminar, Picktorial

 

[Luvdogs]

This won't help but I need to tell the story!

Back around December 2007 my DD in middle school wanted Photoshop--the expensive version, not elements. I said no way.

Well I was heading to NYC on vacation and heading to Canal St for my purses. No flames please!! (I don't do that anymore)

At the place they were selling all of the bootleg movies (got a movie that wasn't even in the movies yet??) some guy was selling the full version of Photoshop--for $30.

Bought it having no idea if it was blank or not. And funny, the instructions said something like, "if it ain't working, " blah blah blah.

I gave it to her for Christmas and warned her it may be blank, not work, etc.

Well it worked great!!

 

[spncity]

Thanks all - keep the ideas coming!

I have an old version of Creative Suite - on a laptop I no longer use. I should see if I can dust it off and revive it. Need to look it up what version. Maybe 3 ?? I wonder if I could take it off and put it on a newish Macbook Air...

I agree that $699 would buy more than what I need, as is a subscription. Will check on Elements and the other suggestion.

Downloaded GIMP today and it could probably work for my needs - either way, I need to watch some tutorials. There are some free programs that will import RAW into GIMP.

I'd like to dabble in some art and photos to upload and get a gift item produced here and there - like a coffee mug, or a framed print or an art canvas.

So - feel free to suggest any websites for such arts & crafts products. I have looked at Society6. Heard of Red Bubble but haven't looked at it.

 

[COcheesehead]

This only matters if you want to use Photoshop's RAW converter. I'm perfectly happy using the free Canon RAW converter then exporting the TIFFs to my older standalone Photoshop. The Canon software gets updated regularly to work with the newer cameras. I believe the other major manufacturers do the same.

Then that will work fine.

 

[Walt34]

Some additional thoughts:

One of the huge advantages of Photoshop, and to a lesser degree Elements since the interfaces are identical, is the huge amount of aftermarket support for them since Photoshop is an industry standard. Look on Amazon for books on Photoshop or Elements compared to other software - the difference is huge. Lots of web sites offer free tutorials and of course youtube has gobs of videos on them.

Lots of people, including some professional photographers, find that Lightroom and/or Elements meet their needs just fine.

I haven't looked for a while but Photoshop, Elements, and Lightroom were all free for a 30-day trial. I'd suggest doing one at a time as the learning curves can be steep depending on what you want to do.

 

[OldShooter]

There are endless discussions on the photo sites about non-subscription replacements for PS and Lightroom. I have not followed them in detail because I have not yet been forced to abandon my non-subscription copy of LR. In general, I think most of the alternatives are fairly mature for RAW processing, photo editing, etc. Most have been playing catch-up in the area of photo libraries, management, etc. This is sometimes referred to as Digital Asset Management (DAM).

If you go here: https://www.43rumors.com/ and scroll down a little bit you will find links and a discount code for Luminar 3 which, IIRC, was originally developed for the Mac. There is also a link for Capture One Pro, which is a bigger, more mature package. Both of those are probably worth a look. Search "Lightroom Replacement" and "Photoshop Replacement" if you want to get buried in forum posts to read.

As mentioned, PS Elements is still available without subscription. Depending on your PS needs you might find that Elements is entirely adequate.

 

[spncity]

I signed up for a Photoshop class (five evening classes) at the community college. This means I will have a student email. Does PS Elements give student discounts?

 

[Katsmeow]

I use Photoshop Elements and find it is enough for me.

 

[boog]

I have been evaluating my choices for a non-subscription alternative as well. I am looking to soon replace my 2008 Mac Pro desktop with a new iMac. I currently have Lightroom 6 and Photoshop CS 5.1 on the Mac Pro running under OSX 10.11.6 El Capitan which is the last OS upgrade for the old hardware. The new iMac comes with 10.14 which is problematic with the old Photoshop software. When 10.15 is released later this year, CS 5.1 will not run on it. The easiest path is to pay the $10 per month subscription, but that annoys me. I am leaning towards Affinity Photo as a Photoshop alternative, based on my research. There is the expectation of the same company releasing a Lightroom alternative soon as well. You might want to look at Affinity Photo - https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/desktop/
There are other alternatives worth considering as well - lots of discussions on photography forums.