NOTE: This video was produced with Davinci Resolve 15.3.1 as a test drive since Adobe Premiere Pro was no longer an option! Let me know what you think. Well, it's official! Well, it's official! You guys asked for it so we did it! After using Adobe products for well over 20 years I've uninstalled all Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe CC) Software from our studio PCs. I figured if I was going to speak about Life After Adobe - Cutting The Adobe Cord, I needed to be in the same boat as others who have decided to go down the same path. As they say, if you're going to Talk The Talk you need to Walk The Walk and that's exactly what I'm doing. If you're interested in trying to cut the Adobe cord, in this video I show you how to get 60 Days of your current Adobe Creative Cloud subscription 100% FREE to see if it's really for you. Remember, this is a test! If I find that my client work is being hindered or the time it takes to accomplish the tasks greater than with Adobe software I will be forced to resign up for the Adobe CC Subscription. As we all know, time is money! On the other hand, if I can do all the tasks that I need to do and no longer have to rent or lease software with nothing to show for it once payment stops, then Adobe will not see me back. The jury's still out! Stay Tuned and please share the Life After Adobe - Cutting the Adobe Cord Playlist with friends, family, colleagues and of course your photo/video community: ua-cam.com/play/PLUrdf7hvHC2JExdtlPIVHtH1hFC4MKQqJ.html Thanks so much for your support and please continue to help our community by sending in software suggestions for Adobe Alternative! A current list with pricing and platform of current Adobe Alternatives can be found here: jcristina.com/life-after-adobe-alternatives Add your thoughts to the mix and as always if you enjoy the video please give it a BIG THUMBS UP, SUBSCRIBE and click the NOTIFICATION BUTTON! Visit my store: jcristina.com Subscribe to the Channel and Grab a copy of my eBook at jcristina.com/ebook
welcome to the club. the only downside is that now i dont have time for a cup of tea and trip to the supermarket while i wait for renders like i did with PP.
As an amateur photography enthusiast, retiree , on a budget , Adobe and their shady business practices rankle me. It’s not that I want “free” necessarily, I just want to be able to purchase the product and use it until I’m convinced it’s worth paying to upgrade instead of being held hostage and forced to pay increasing ransom in perpetuity. Kudos to you for going cold turkey. Hoping that you find exceptional non-adobe solutions for your business needs as well as affordable and workable solutions for people like myself. Will be following with great interest. Thanks for pursuing this!
Same with me. Even though I do need at least some Adobe programs for my professional work, I stopped on CS6 (for macOS) and re-bought a used license for Windows to become independent. I even switched to Windows to make sure that I can maintain a system where I can run the software till retirement (10 years ahead, should be possible with Windows, while it would be extremely hard with macOS, were I already lost my most-used version of Illustrator, CS3).
Like you, I'm retired and I just simply cannot justify a monthly subscription for my editing work on photos and occasional videos. Adobe is simply just too greedy, and even the one-time purchases are not upgradable! Well, I started using some free software, and now simply use them, combined with the camera manufacturer's software (Nikon and Olympus and Panasonic). They suffice and give me just what I needed.
@@c.augustin I use CS 3 on 10.13.6. CS 3 is the first version to run on the newer OS's. You have to download Java 6 I think to run it. ( OS X will alert you and it downloads from Apple )
Exactly. I was trying to get someone to see that Adobe software is essentially ransomware but that didn't go too well (they can afford it and appreciate the way all the programs interact with each other seamlessly-or so he says). And I can see the logic, though what he's not getting is that the longer he sticks with them, the stickier their software becomes. So when he starts to feel the bite of their usurous pricing model, he'll be so invested that switching will be EXTREMELY difficult, even if he wants to.
yup I did the same thing, and so happy after I did..... I love Affinity, I own all their products...... omg did you hear that - I OWN..... OWN ... that feels so great :)
Did it long ago. Thankfully on a Mac it was easy to do. Odd isn't it. Adobe started long ago on the Mac, and then Mac users were the first to kiss it goodbye. Must be the magic "Windows Touch".
I've been wanting to make the switch for a while now. I'm paying just about $50 per month, and I'd rather buy pizza and beer with that money. You're a brave man, and I'm going to be following you in your journey. Lead the way!
@Storm Jetson I actually bought that back when I was ready to make the switch last autumn. I did like how it did a lot of things, but I am so darned used to Photoshop that I found it hard to permanently make the switch. I mean, I COULD use it if I had no other option, but knowing that I have Ps just a click away, I slinked back to my safe zone. I am really waiting for a suitable replacement for Lightroom. I have played around with RawTherapee, but it's a bit of a learning curve, just because I'm so used to my workflow in Lr. I'm also looking at maybe trying Luminar as my Lr replacement. I still don't know what I'd replace Premiere Pro with. Is Davinci Resolve free or do you have to have previously purchased a qualifying hardware product?
I cut the cord back when the Cloud versions came out. The idea of a perpetual fee just didn't sit well with me, no matter how small it was [at the start] Still have CS6 Photoshop, it does almost everything I need. Only thing I miss - support for newer Nikon NEF cameras. Hardly a showstopper.
@@home-space I agree. Buy it outright. If just about any software company sets their prices real high and advertise some monthly payment thing I move on right then. They're not providing a useful monthly service so they DO NOT deserve a monthly payment of any form. All of the smaller versions should have a lower set price so that people still have the option to purchase the package most suitable for them. I'm new here from the audio world. A company called Avid has the same annoying business tactics as Adobe. I immediately went to their leading competitor at that time and never gave the "Industry Standard" software a chance. I don't care if the layout on the screen ain't as smooth, especially when most competitors will make their's more customizable... Years later I see an ocean of their old customers in the forums of Cockos REAPER (Digital Audio Workstation) looking for help on the learning curve after recently switching. Super helpful online community... I knew I had made the right decision right from the start of my journey... It's really upsetting to now be here in the video software world and seeing that the leader here is just as shitty as the leader in audio. If we could buy outright and not need to update but every 5 years or so would be much more appreciated in my opinion. Should only have to pay a small fee for extensions.
Congrats on cutting the cord! I did it months ago and haven't missed Adobe at all! I especially don't miss the monthly payments!!! BTW, this Resolve video looked great.
I remember having CC for a year from 2016 to 2017. Was it worth the price? Nope. It was a nightmare just trying to cancel my subscription. Had to wait until the end of the year to get rid of it. They even had the nerve to bombard me with free months just to extend my subscription. Thank you for putting out this video. It has been a great not thinking about them anymore.
Thanks, Lau. I thought it would only be fair. If I speak about it I should actually do it and see if it possible or simply a pipe dream. Appreciate you hang out with my on my journey!
Hi. I'm a newbie in the digital art world,.more of a dabbler and new to your channel. I Love the candor, the honesty, the humor and the rant moments. Thanks for all the useful info. and thanks for the great videos. Exceptional job with Davinci Resolve.
That is a bold move and I understand your anger and frustration with Adobe. I can tell you that this first video produced with Davinci looks and sounds great. I hope you don't find that you have to return to Adobe, I could not be happier since I cut the cord with them. As a side note, it is so refreshing to watch a channel where the content is well thought out, presented in a concise and objective manner, and well produced. Thank you for the work you put in here.
Carl, thank you so much for your positive feedback and encouragement. So glad your enjoying the channel content and my presentation. It means a lot. We just hit 18K subscribers today and I feel blessed that so many people feel compelled to join me in my journey. Love the community of wonderful people this channel has attracted. 👍 thanks again.
I dropped Adobe Lightroom about a year ago. I went with On1 Photo RAW and haven't looked back. I love that it is completely non destructive so you can always go back and start over or change your mind when processing and it uses layers so you can get quite creative with your photos if you want to. It does require a bit of horsepower on your PC to run it though. It might not be for everyone.
Frank any issues with reading your raw files? 2018.5 can't read my eos rp, and can't find anywhere were 2019.5 does either. I do have to say, that having to pay for an upgrade just for the raw processor kinda bumbs me out.
@@KaReEdCa I have the latest version, but I also have 2018.5 on my laptop. They both see my Nikon Z6 files with no problem. I would check with them and see if they intend to update 18.5 any further. I know they have done that in past versions.
Exactly. I use Resolve for video production and still leaning toward Cubase from being a Pro Tools user, for audio...but I still have a Pro Tools perpetual license and I'm not giving that up.
Same! I love Affinity's products and in fact just a few weeks ago uninstalled the last Adobe app as I've realized I haven't opened Illustrator in months. All my old Adobe files are accessible and usable, and while I rarely have to work on multi-page print projects I just bought Affinity Publisher to support the company. It's come in handy for rapidly searching online free stock libraries.
Now watch Adobe buying Serif and killing its products (Affinity Photo & Designer). I've learned my lesson, that's why I'm sticking with open source apps (Gimp, Blender, Inkscape etc..)
I used to love Adobe. But the first bad taste I got was when they bought Freehand and killed it. They then decided to force-feed CC to their customers. They have taken everything I despised about Quark and took it to a whole new level. The sooner I can give them the heave-ho the better.
DanTuber • Gotta disagree. Remember, it was years ago and at the time Freehand wasn’t any cheaper and did many things that Illustrator didn’t do until years later. (e.g. it allowed multiple pages of varying sizes on the pasteboard; perspective grids; better gradient control...) Freehand was a beast! 😎 Now, PageMaker was the first layout program but surpassed by Quark XPress. I wasn’t too disappointed when that one died. InDesign totally sucked when it first came out. It wasn’t until probably v3 that it became usable. And Adobe had spent a lot of effort getting the back-end vendor support in place. Either way, I’m ready to leave Adobe as soon as solid alternatives are available. (So far, I’m impressed with Affinity just with their v1 releases. I hope they do well.) Cheers.
FreeHand is still on my Mac (using Parallels) and it is more productive than Illustrator. Adobe brought a few FH features into AI but it isn't the same as they added their cumbersome spin on them. I thought they would make Illustrator better by combining FreeHand. I was wrong.
Missed Photoshop and Lightroom to start with but after using and becoming more familiar with Affinity Photo and Luminar 3 I would not go back and glad I also cut the cord and deleted all.
@@jcristina The thing I missed the most when testing Luminar is the organization system of Lightroom and the tags. I will have to do it another way, maybe with a folder structure. If you collect reference pictures, tagging is awesome. How do you do that?
@@LukePighetti Yup, I have been trying Luminar for a few days now but it's still far behind. Incredibly slow on Windows, crashed 3+ time, ... But I can make some nice edits, it's just hardly usable.
It's called Adobe greed they make millions and they want to make more, they don't care about no one. They figure people use the program so much they can't do without it...I am using ON1 and love it
The video that had to be made. I left Adobe a long time ago because I saw the price creep and the taking control of my work. It's just like Google and other big-tech companies -- they actually chase their customers away because they lose the trust of said customers. Competition will be the benefit of us. Cheers!
When Adobe started with the whole "Creative Cloud" thing, and thereby stated "We want to have our hand in everything you do with this program," THIS was the point to say "Goodbye." Just think about this.....what other aspect of your life will you allow anyone to say "Hey....I am going to have my hand in everything you do with this?" Anything at all? As soon as Adobe wanted to be "in your business" it was time to leave. I left Windows after 20 years and switched to Mac. Well, I was considering Premiere for my video editing (I used Sony Vegas but there was no Mac version), but they went to the creative cloud thing, so they were immediately disregarded. I have Final Cut Pro X and love it. No "Creative Meddling" to put up with.
I so agree, I had used Adobe since Illustrator 88 and Photoshop 1.x, and moved over to Affinity about 18 months ago. Started using DaVinci about 3 years ago, and got rid of all Adobe a few months ago. I am more productive and saving a few hundred a month now!
yea what ever corporate assholes theyve hired since CC happened has really gone down the shitter, with that said they obviously have a financial risk dept to monitor how this ridiculousness goes down over the past and upcoming years. like he said, Adobe is much broader than just their software, and alot of their income comes from big vfx, print and graphics studios who will pay for licenses regardless because photoshop especially is industry standard, familiar and will always used. Exactly like the Frankenstein glitchy as fuck program that is Autodesk Maya, but because its been around so long, become so familiar, and has a solid foundation for proprietary plugins and software to be built on it, it will remain the standard to corporate studios, regardless of what individuals use. now that ive written this down, its kind of the same battle as trying to phase out petro based automobiles for electric ones. theres a gigantic money hungry framework around oil and petro that cant be budged.
Great video! I called Adobe Customer Support last week to cancel the 'Auto-Renewal' on my son's subscription (yeah, I paying for two subscriptions...separate story). C/S gave me the run around about the auto-renewal and at first said they could NOT shut it off (yeah right). We'll after a little back and forth they offered me 3 FREE Months to leave the auto-renewal left ON. I said NO to that and they finally disabled the auto-renewal. Man....they just try to get you coming and going. Very frustrating....keep up the great work. Love the coloring in your video...you must be using a nice camera...looks great!
Yeah this is scary. Even more so since you actually have a running business to take this deep plunge for us. Thank you! I recently cancelled my Premiere/video package and looking into DaVinci Resolve. I also want to hear your thoughts on your Lightroom replacement experience very much.
Fredrick Iyeh I haven’t exported many photos recently. I think there had been an update since I used it last that has fixed some issues as far as what some others have told me.
I've been using open source software since 1994 & realy don't think I'm missing out on the commercial apps. Thanks for sharing your story - and the resources you list on your site will help many others (I hope!) make the transition away from Adobe's stronghold.
I purchased Elements 2019, but maybe that's different than the higher end full version of PS. Elements does what I need...editing photos for artwork...I also have Affinity as a backup...its a really nice program, but lacks some of the PS filters I really need.
Affinity Photo is a fraction of the price and a "re-write" of Adobe Photoshop. They just released Affinity Publisher. I own all products and their customer support is wonderful. You can even order a quality book to get started. No subscription price with bloatware.
@@Dave102693 I'm assuming creative cloud? They don't have a cloud option, but I would suggest using OneDrive's Premium Cloud option. I bought it years ago and I enjoy OneDrive for saving/restoring files. Here's Affinity's link: affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/
I will not do any business with Adobe after they blocked all my Creative Suite Software that was bought and paid for. I owned this expensive just under $1,000 CS3 software plus upgrades and add-ons for many years. When they discontinued the server my software was registered on I couldn't use it. The asshole in India was of no help so I voted with my feet. Absolutely horrible company with unfair business practices. As someone else commented, "fuck them." I will not even use their free online pdf viewer. There are plenty of other viewers these days. Using iObit's Uninstaller and CC Cleaner I have nothing Adobe on my PC and never will. I consider it a mental health benefit!
I joined you!! Thnx for the inspiration! I went "cold turkey" on Adobe (against your advise;-) and I guess this video just tipped me over the edge, where I have been standing for a while. I cancelled my subscription, cleaned my Mac from every Adobe SW, deleted the whole Lr library and all the backups + contacted Adobe to delete my account. I took the step with no going back, and you know what...it feels good! I bought the Affinity Photo after watching an another video of you, and already had the DXO Photolab & NIK SW. I don't think I will regret as I regard Adobe to be lagging behind now. Their pricing is just too optimistic, relative to the price/value you get from other SW.
First of all, let me say Bravo 👏🏻 Secondly, I don’t know for you but you’re client shouldn’t be paying you because you edited their pictures in Lightroom or Photoshop, or their video in Premiere Pro and After Effects. They should be paying you for the final result, the artistic realisation, for your skills. If client are able to see which tools was used to deliver the final product, that maybe because something was wrong! No difference between this video and the previous one ☝️, so good job done in DaVinci Resolve 15 here. For sure in the beginning it’s going to take you some time to adjust but you may find in the process you’ll become more creative as you have to find new ways or workarounds. Anyway good job and welcome 🙏 in the club of those free from Adobe!
@@jcristina This is the main problem. I'm in the "graphics" and "graphics design agency" business (or however you will call it), and there everything depends on Adobe products (mainly InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, with the one or other product thrown into the mix). But I was able to "educate" my clients (mostly graphic designers in agencies) to send me compatible formats (CS6) and PDFs, so that I can work around this. Gladly I can work this way, but other people I know personally have a very hard time to stay on CS6 and not go CC. Most agencies don't care and went CC, so your assessment is spot on.
DaVinci is definitely a good editing software, it has a lot to it, though it's confusing at first. I recommend all the affinity products for graphic design work, they're pretty good from what I can tell.
Hats off to you J. Cristina!! ... and here I thought I was the only person having a major problem with Adobe. I've been looking for an alternative for the past 3 months.
My small regional video studio in Australia had 5 licenses. Then they jacked the price up, almost tripling the price from my team deal. I decided to drop the team deal, and only have 1 subscription. I had no need for all of their software, just Prem, AE, Photoshop and Audition. So, the other 4 computers now have Davinci Resolve, Affinity Photo, Apple Motion, and Logic Audio, and just one computer has the Adobe Suite.....but only for another 10 months. After that, we dump them completely. We only kept the subscription going so we could finish off work, and export on-going jobs out and import them into our new software. I've always hated subscriptions, especially those that bundle software I DON'T use and charge me for it. Cutting the cord from Adobe has been a bit of a challenge, but because we're doing it over a 12 month period, we have time to learn the new software, while having access to Adobe software in case we need it. But for the last 3 months, we've been editing every new project using the new software we bought. A must more cost effective solution, especially for us smaller operators.
No, thank you! I appreciate all your hard work on content creation. I just pulled the plug on Adobe CC today after years of feeding them cash and then feeling as though they just don't give a shit about me as a customer. I got myself Affinity across the board now after careful selection and review. I just needed the kick in the pants to stop renting my software annaully. Since I am an Affinity newbie and haven't been able to figure it out, but can you tell me how to allocate PMS (Pantone) specific colors in an Affinity project? That part was much easier in PS. However, overall I am really liking Affinity so much more than Adobe, if I am being honest. It has some great bells and whistles that I really love (too many to mention actually). Thanks again for all the hard work on this playlist. I HAVE CUT THE ADOBE CORD!
I created the thumbnail for this video using Affinity Designer instead of Photoshop. Simple and cant tell the difference. I'll get into this more in a later video, Mark! Thanks so much for your positivity!
I left Adobe years ago and didn't look back. Paintstorm for painting and the Affinity for photos and Affinity designer for other illustrations. Why would anyone pay monthly for a program is beyond me. You should own it.
I used Adobe Photoshop for doing my digital drawings. Ever since I came across Procreate on iOS, I’ve hardly looked back and only paid One price of about $6.00... And the beautiful part of it is that with every upgrade that Procreate has came with, the app has significantly gotten better..
I'm going with Krita - Gimp - Inkscape and Blender. And yes, you can edit video in high (movie) quality - create 3D - and animations with Blender, how 'bout that! How about you?
@@jcristina I recently switched to Krita (having used Photoshop since 1992) and found it to be an excellent experience. I also switched to Blender (having used LightWave since 1989) and haven't had a single issue with delivering exceptional results for my clients. I'd recommend Natron for compositing work. It's almost identical to Nuke in its use. It may not be as easy as After Effects, but its every bit as powerful, especially when paired with Blender. I haven't switched to Inkscape, but Blender has native Bezier curve support and can import/export SVG files, so I've been using it for most vector work. The only thing I haven't been able to give us is Vegas. Its free-form timeline is just so fast to work with that I feel like I'm moving through tar when I use any other editor.
I've been using Gimp for decades. It is a very powerful tool now. Open Source alternatives are great. Also, FYI, always consider donating to their development pages as that helps keep the server download services running and a small staff to make sure that the most recent version is working and good.
i walked away from adobe a long time ago, i have krita, gimp, resolve, blender and many more. there is life away from adobe. is like the blue or red pill, you hve to take it and start all over.
In process to turn my back on Adobe (I'm video production only). I liked using their software but stopped at CS6 since the whole renting business was fishy to me right away. My first thought on that was: what if I don't have internet? I can't do work then? No, thanks! And since using Black Magic Cameras (best deal on the market right now price/value) which come with a free copy of DaVinci Resolve Pro (about 300$ worth) I just stopped using Premiere as of late. Note: Black Magic Design gives you a FREE update from lets say Resolve 14 to Resolve 16. Try ask Adobe about that, upgrading from CS 5.5 to CS6 = ca 500$. I guess I will keep the Adobe environment just for convenience but actually working with it ... maybe as a backup IF Resolve does not start or something. Great respect to you for, as we say in Germany, "jumping into the cold water". Best wishes, curious to see how it goes but I bet you will come out fine and have a good laugh at Adobe in the end. :D
Just to let you know, I test drove the previous version (none BETA) of Black Magic's DaVinci Resolve 15.3.1 for this entire video. DaVinci to replace Adobe Premiere Pro / DaVinci Fairlight to replace Adobe Audition and DaVinci's Fusion to replace Adobe After Effects. I think it came out pretty close to my previous video which was done in the Adobe ecosystem. Still much to learn of course. But for a first attempt...
@@jcristina Came out great I say. At the very least no big differences to recognize. Sound is good, colors look good and editing is just editing, depends on the person doing the job. ;)
Wow, am I glad your video popped up here! I was wondering when the backlash would finally start to come! I quit all Adobe creative programs once my hard copy stopped working because I refused to rent from them. Like you, as an industry professional, I’d been using Photoshop and Illustrator since back in the mid 90s or so (I think my first version of Photoshop was 4), and was very loyal to all of their products. It was difficult to say goodbye, but thankfully Affinity Designer took care of my vector illustration needs with their fantastic program, and Clip Studio Paint I use for anything pixely. It’s been working fine and dandy, and clients have had no problem at all dealing with the files! :). There is no reason anyone needs to have their work held hostage by these slimy creeps, except for I suppose the megabux huge Hollywood studios such as Disney, who I’m sure get massive discounts anyway for putting the software on every machine in the entire company. This has always been my theory about why they started renting their stuff out. To eliminate the indies, and smaller individual creative people who had to resort to cracks to have any access to Adobe products at all. Adobe’s development studios must be very cushy with all the money they make selling endless copies to corporations. Hope it’s been worth it to them to lose so many individual spectacularly talented creative people in favor of the legions of industry hack-it-outs.
I'm an illustrator and ditched Adobe for Clip Studio Paint years ago when they went subscription much cheaper and much better and I was using Photoshop from Version 3
Same here! For my vector needs, I went with Affinity Designer and have never looked back. Both programs are solid, come with regular updates, and no need to be at their mercy for anything. :)
I tested it and was not convinced. Everything is far slower, and the editor component can't hold a candle to ACR and Photoshop (I don't use Lightroom). Tried to edit one raw photo and had the editor frozen after doing some testing (and with some weird display effects, perhaps because I'm on a hires monitor with 150% scaling, and this seems to be an issue). But I'll keep an eye on it, they might get over some of the problems.
@@c.augustin I got such a good deal that if it turns out to be a bomb I won't be broke! I did notice some lag but I believe it may because I'm using the on board graphics card. I'm going to get a better gpu.
@@photography.by.James.Wood.Jr. Ah yes, I'm also on the internal GPU (Intel Core i7 8th Gen., quite capable after all I've heard, but Adobe Photoshop CC in its latest incarnations has trouble with it already). Would be interesting to hear if it works out with a better GPU; no option for me, because I only use a small barebone (it has all I need, and 32 GB RAM are enough for what I do on a day-by-day basis).
Already cut the cord on Adobe products and Microsoft products such as Word, Excel, etc. LibreOffice is a fine substitute. Affinity Photo is my photo editing software of choice.It feels like the first girlfriend breakup in high school -- very liberating!
Ew LibreOffice.. go for the WPS Office Suite, this is of course of you havent tried it before, it has the look and feel of good ol' Microsoft Office Suite, and it just looks way better than LibreOffice.. unless you're a psycho for FOSS then yes, LibreOffice is like the god of all of them for you.
I've been moving away from Adobe for the past few years and have found that I don't miss it at all. In fact, I feel more creative and more original than ever. I was a happy beta tester for the Affinity software and really enjoyed it.
Love what you had to say here; I did give you a “big” thumbs up. 😁👍 I strongly feel that Adobe has been taking advantage of their customers ever since they moved to subscriptions, and that crap with Lightroom after you canceled... that is OUTRAGEOUS. That seriously pissed me off; can’t imagine your reaction in that moment. 🤬 For myself, I’ve refused to “upgrade” to CC and am still using CS 5.5. The decision point for me will actually be the next macOS release, which will no longer run 32-bit apps (when/if I upgrade to that). Not 100% sure how I’ll handle future software/tech requirements, but for now my thinking is to run an older copy of macOS on a partitioned drive. I’m sure there will be plenty others doing something similar to hang on to their 32-bit software. Anyway going forward, if I ever decide to use CC (probably not) or a competitor, that’ll be my fallback.
I am adobe free, recently I got Affinity Photo for “fixing” things and Luminar 3 for the adjustments, both programs do what I need and still cheaper (a lot) than PS and LR.
I cut the cord with Premiere Pro and went to FCPX. It runs faster and cleaner with 4K on my iMacs. The performance advantage alone was worth climbing the rather shallow new software learning curve. My only regret is that I didn't do it years earlier.
I strongly suggest you to get into Affinity (Photo and Designer) straight away. I am talking by personal experience, having been like you, a 20 years and more Adobe professional user. Affinity has the mildest learning curve (almost nothing to really learn apart from specific tools exclusive to the software of course) for people like us, trust me. I know you need to be quick, in order for you to get back to your daily work confidently and better than before. I have done the transition in a couple of weeks (because I was also working in the meantime) and it's been pretty much painless. So regarding Photoshop and Illustrator replacements just go for the Affinity software. Regarding Premiere Pro: don't even think about it twice and get the free version of Da Vinci Resolve (or buy the Studio version, is not expensive). You'll get two pieces of software in one go. That means you'll get the editing part, the colour grading part (which is by far one of the best on the market) and even the compositing, thanks to Fusion embedded into the software. I hope this helps! ;-)
I am with you 100%. By the way, your review of Lightroom replacements was extremely helpful. Straightforward. To the point . Great info. Went with on1. Thanks, CW
I'm fairly new to digital art (granted, I got Corel Draw Suite 5 or 6 in 1996 as a gift, but never stuck with it). But looking at videos like yours and many others, it feels that most people use Adobe simply because they have been the standard. It seems that it's more about what you know how to use, as they're all competent programs. The dangerous thing Adobe is doing now is they are trying to put themselves in a place where they can get more people accustomed to their software, and can later jack up the prices once you're too used to using their stuff. That $10/month entry for Photoshop sounds better than dropping a few hundred on something else at once. People fall for it with car loans, cell phone plans, and so on. You pay less up front, but it costs so much more in the end. I've dabbled a lot in Adobe's stuff over the years (piracy, of course). But as someone who has been a legit software buyer for years, this subscription path make it feel not worth bothering, especially when I'm just a hobbyist, and am not used to anything yet. As someone into the painting/drawing, I can look into Clip Studio Paint Pro, Krita, and what not, and from what I can tell, those programs workflow better for art anyway. Photo manipulation is another story I'm sure. One thing to look out for, for many of those aspiring getting into digital art of any form is Humble Bundle. I picked up Corel bundle back in the fall for $25 that included Painter 2019, Paint Shop Pro Ultimate, some brushes, among other things. And they currently have a Rebelle bundle up with bonuses too (ends March 17). It's a cheap barrier of entry (if the right software comes along), and some of the money goes to charity, so that's awesome too. The great thing about getting that Corel bundle is that it qualified me for an upgrade to 2020 a week ago for $119 CAD. So basically, I paid $145 for the full version of Painter 2020.
Storm Jetson you can block their ips, but if you dont know them, you can use a firewall like tinywall that just assumes BLOCK EVERYTHING until you specify to allow certain programs through. Ive found it mandatory if you're going to *cough* acquire adobe products.
Just buy Affinity photo, designer and publisher.... youll get updates for life, for life.... and you own your product and get updates free for life....lol And they put their products on special on holidays which takes 30% to 40% off all their products across the board.
@Storm Jetson if on Windows modify the hosts file....to block Adobe servers. However you need to know all the servers, and know exactly where they are...
You guys should launch a class action lawsuit for access to your work. They are holding YOUR work hostage in their platform. I've been working without Adobe for almost a decade now,
That's what happens when you use proprietary SAAS. You don't actually own your files. They aren't holding his work hostage because literally, they own it, not him.
@@Dave102693 But in WHAT Format? Back when I still had to use Photoshop, I had a script that would save every layer as a PNG with alpha channel. I doubt that still works.
Coral After Shot Pro and combine that with Corel Paint Shop Pro..Most underrated Software in Photography...You can download them free for 30 days to try them out...
I learned on JASC Paint Shop Pro back before I had money. They had a 30 day trial; I would reset my computer's clock to keep using the software after expiry. In my defense they didn't lose a customer, I had $0.
I applaud you for this video. I’m right behind you. My last payment is this month (July) I’ve already downloaded Affinity Photo and Affinity designer. I’m cutting the Adobe cord this month. After nearly 10 years. It makes me sick how much I’ve paid in subscriptions.
Happy to have found your vlog. You point out many thoughts I've had on my mind. That yearly increase really is taking the piss as we say in Australia and with the dollar conversion my sub is now at $79.20. As only a part time photographer in a professional capacity and just a dabbler in the other programs for learning the cost is not justified. Thanks for opening up the idea of looking for alternatives.
I’m probably the opposite of most people here. I used Adobe software at work since the 90’s but couldn’t personally justify CC until recently. All the alternatives here are really good especially Affinity, but I needed to run some After effects plugins for some personal work ... I decided to get CC for a year but I’m hoping that plugin developers will support DaVinci resolve/Fusion much more in future. I’d then drop Adobe in a heartbeat.
I did what you did with adobe I am disabled and I just do photography as a hobby I could not afford there monthly plans anymore. I found a program called Affinity Photo and its a one off payment for life. I think I paid about £50 in uk, for life and have found it very easy to use and it suite me can do most things adobe could do. I hope it all goes well for you, a man after my own heart not affraid to speak out against a big company. Well done look forward to see how you get on.
Well, thank you for being here, Bob. You are the great folks that I've started down this journey for. I hope this list jcristina.com/life-after-adobe-alternatives and video have helped a few people out.
Iv'e just gone Adobe FREE - I was on the Photography plan using Lightroom & Photoshop I'm on a late 2012 IMac - 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 I spent lots of time downloading and testing software (LOTS & LOTS of alternative software testing) and I can tell everyone that MY way to go was Luminar 3 and Affinity Photo I have used Affinity Photo for the past 3 or 4 years and can say that its a great Photoshop alternative - plus some great free tutorials online, but couldn't find a good DAM (Digital Asetts Management) piece of software that could compare with Lightroom. Well I think that Luminar 3 is MY answer (don't get me wrong, there are a lot a things that can be improved) but the basics are there and work pretty well.
I cut the cord on Adobe as well and bought the entire Affinity suite. Bye bye Adobe raise your prices all you want because I don't need you anymore. Next I will be picking up Davinci...
I've been using Affinity Photo for over a year now, once you find how your workflow translates there is no difference and no going back! I've also starting using Affinity Designer and Publisher too. I think for the majority of people the Affinity Suite is enough. As for editing i started using Davinci Resolve around two years ago but even longer than than for coloring. There is a lot of really good software out there that is definitely worth looking at instead of Adobe. I've been very interested in this series, keep up the good work.
Your decision makes a lot of sense to me. I'm an amateur/semi(?) professional photographer and have used PSE for several years but have avoided the cloud because I just do not feel comfortable with all my photos floating arounbd in space, so to speak. ALso, I do not feel it appropriate to pay the $10, $20, or $30 per month for every year when I could purchase a copy of PSE for $50 to $80 one time and use the program for three or four years before needing(?) or wanting to upgrade. Many, many times I have looked at other programs/applications for photo processing but have never made the switch due to trepidation related to the learning curve of those programs. I admit I am not extremely motivated when I have PSE on my computer, with which I've become quite comfortable, to learn the others. However, your comments in this vlog have encouraged me to look more intently at alternatives and to start giving the alternates a good try. Thank you for posting this, your advice is very logical and appropriate.
I know this isn't going to reach everyone, but I was glad to see this video. I was an Adobe user prior to CC, prior to subscription. Not only have I left Adobe, but I now run Linux on all my systems, I keep Windows around on a couple for gaming. Many of the alternatives I use are on JCristina's list, and are 100% Free and Open Source. It's not just free of cost, but free as in freedom. Proprietary software uses licenses that give it control over your computer and you, it does not respect your freedom or privacy in any way. If your interested in using free and open alternatives to Adobe, all of my videos were made using FOSS software on Linux, and I too have a video about ditching Adobe.
Thank you very much for this series. It is very clarifying. There's one thing I want to tell you. As you know, a new software is not learned in two days, so before you get to the "Mea culpa", make sure you test well, because sometimes with a new workflow, at first you can come to wrong conclusions if you do not make a deep dive. Thanks again and sorry for the mistakes .
When I cancelled last month, I was told my account remained valid until July 17. Much different to what you got. I couldnt see the value for a casual user. I have swapped to Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo.
I miss the days of being able to just buy your software and getting a box. And by that I mean that if they think I'm dumping all my boxes with previous versions, they're delusional.
this is the first video ive seen from your channel and thats a intresting situation. first let me congratulate you on your balls just to go cold turkey as you said .. befor i make any suggestion or comments im gonna check out your other videos about that topic to bring myself up to speed on your current situation but for sure i can already tell im about to enjoy them :) ... now im gonna take some time until im through with all of them gonna write again when im done there
I'm relatively new to the whole Adobe thing and use it as a hobbyist rather than for a business. I was on the photography plan a few years ago paying about £10 per month until I found out I could get the entire Adobe suite through my work. So I cancelled the old plan, but even now about 18 months later I'm still getting "please come back to us" emails regularly. I don't think I will though. Even if I can no longer use the work one, I don't think I'll go back to using Adobe software in future. There are plenty of free or cheap alternatives out there which may not have as many features or are as easy to use, but for my purposes, make more sense than paying for a subscription service.
I cancelled like 3 days ago. Their software is good but I couldn't justify paying that rent to use 3 or 4 apps. It's just way too expensive. I'm very happy with Affinity Photo for raster and Affinity Designer for vector. Their InDesign alternative - Publisher - while still in beta is already very promising. They actually listen to their customers and implement what we need and not what they think we need. It costs a very small fraction of CC and the software is yours forever. For web design, the very excellent Figma is free if you don't need collaboration features. And Visual Studio Code by Microsoft is the best code editor around, also free. Adobe has become too greedy and they seem to react to what other companies are doing instead of innovating. There ARE alternatives and they're pretty good.
This is all really interesting but I just upgraded to CC from CS3 after using that for 10 years, so I'm at a point where I'm like a kid in a candy shop with all the bells and whistles learning all the things it can do now and suddenly everyone's jumping ship leaving Adobe and I'm just kind of looking around like "...wut...." It's sad they've turned out this way, but for now I'm keeping my toy. Will be looking forward to what you discover in this series since I'm actually in a great place to jump to something new if there's anything better out there. I'm only paying for Photoshop right now, so $10/mo isn't breaking our finances.
I noticed the price increase when helping one of my clients who needed adobe indesign and was shocked by the increase. I have Adobe master collection cs6 which i use regularly and glad ive downloaded a copy after hearing your report about the removal of earlier versions. Good luck on your search. Im using imovie to edit my channels videos which works fine for my use case.
Well done. I gave up on them a couple of years ago and their behaviour has only got worse ever since. You rightly cite the most inappropriate actions they took recently. Good luck on your journey...
NOTE: This video was produced with Davinci Resolve 15.3.1 as a test drive since Adobe Premiere Pro was no longer an option! Let me know what you think.
Well, it's official! Well, it's official! You guys asked for it so we did it!
After using Adobe products for well over 20 years I've uninstalled all Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe CC) Software from our studio PCs.
I figured if I was going to speak about Life After Adobe - Cutting The Adobe Cord, I needed to be in the same boat as others who have decided to go down the same path. As they say, if you're going to Talk The Talk you need to Walk The Walk and that's exactly what I'm doing.
If you're interested in trying to cut the Adobe cord, in this video I show you how to get 60 Days of your current Adobe Creative Cloud subscription 100% FREE to see if it's really for you.
Remember, this is a test! If I find that my client work is being hindered or the time it takes to accomplish the tasks greater than with Adobe software I will be forced to resign up for the Adobe CC Subscription. As we all know, time is money!
On the other hand, if I can do all the tasks that I need to do and no longer have to rent or lease software with nothing to show for it once payment stops, then Adobe will not see me back.
The jury's still out! Stay Tuned and please share the Life After Adobe - Cutting the Adobe Cord Playlist with friends, family, colleagues and of course your photo/video community: ua-cam.com/play/PLUrdf7hvHC2JExdtlPIVHtH1hFC4MKQqJ.html
Thanks so much for your support and please continue to help our community by sending in software suggestions for Adobe Alternative!
A current list with pricing and platform of current Adobe Alternatives can be found here:
jcristina.com/life-after-adobe-alternatives
Add your thoughts to the mix and as always if you enjoy the video please give it a BIG THUMBS UP, SUBSCRIBE and click the NOTIFICATION BUTTON!
Visit my store: jcristina.com
Subscribe to the Channel and Grab a copy of my eBook at jcristina.com/ebook
welcome to the club. the only downside is that now i dont have time for a cup of tea and trip to the supermarket while i wait for renders like i did with PP.
I did not know about the change Pro/Davinci until I read the comment, damn.......
Looks like I deleted video was not removed completely. Check now.
ROFL!
Can't tell a difference in quality between this and your Adobe produced videos. I think that is the point, charge on!
As an amateur photography enthusiast, retiree , on a budget , Adobe and their shady business practices rankle me. It’s not that I want “free” necessarily, I just want to be able to purchase the product and use it until I’m convinced it’s worth paying to upgrade instead of being held hostage and forced to pay increasing ransom in perpetuity. Kudos to you for going cold turkey. Hoping that you find exceptional non-adobe solutions for your business needs as well as affordable and workable solutions for people like myself. Will be following with great interest. Thanks for pursuing this!
You are like so so many other pros and non-pros alike!
I’m in the same situation D D ....
Same with me. Even though I do need at least some Adobe programs for my professional work, I stopped on CS6 (for macOS) and re-bought a used license for Windows to become independent. I even switched to Windows to make sure that I can maintain a system where I can run the software till retirement (10 years ahead, should be possible with Windows, while it would be extremely hard with macOS, were I already lost my most-used version of Illustrator, CS3).
Like you, I'm retired and I just simply cannot justify a monthly subscription for my editing work on photos and occasional videos. Adobe is simply just too greedy, and even the one-time purchases are not upgradable! Well, I started using some free software, and now simply use them, combined with the camera manufacturer's software (Nikon and Olympus and Panasonic). They suffice and give me just what I needed.
@@c.augustin I use CS 3 on 10.13.6. CS 3 is the first version to run on the newer OS's. You have to download Java 6 I think to run it. ( OS X will alert you and it downloads from Apple )
This is the time for AFFINITY to shine. Affinity Photo for Photoshop and Affinity Designer for Illustrator.
Waiting for Affinity video
Don't forget Publisher! StudioLink is so darn nice for efficient workflow. :)
And for After Effects?
@Richard Peterson and i hope affinity will acquire the adobe muse lol. Adobe abandon muse by the way.
if affinity supports adobe files, adobe is DONE
The more people make themselves dependable on Adobe, the more will they charge. I quit using Adobe software since they started renting it.
#truth
Andy, what are you using instead?
Exactly. I was trying to get someone to see that Adobe software is essentially ransomware but that didn't go too well (they can afford it and appreciate the way all the programs interact with each other seamlessly-or so he says). And I can see the logic, though what he's not getting is that the longer he sticks with them, the stickier their software becomes. So when he starts to feel the bite of their usurous pricing model, he'll be so invested that switching will be EXTREMELY difficult, even if he wants to.
yup I did the same thing, and so happy after I did..... I love Affinity, I own all their products...... omg did you hear that - I OWN..... OWN ... that feels so great :)
Man, breaking up with Adobe sounds very similar to breaking up with a abusive spouse
🤣🤣🤣
Did it long ago. Thankfully on a Mac it was easy to do.
Odd isn't it. Adobe started long ago on the Mac, and then Mac users were the first to kiss it goodbye. Must be the magic "Windows Touch".
#FACTS
Thank you for being our champion against Adobe fanatical control. Look forward to future video’s.
You flatter me. I’m just some guy trying to help out creatives.
I've been wanting to make the switch for a while now. I'm paying just about $50 per month, and I'd rather buy pizza and beer with that money. You're a brave man, and I'm going to be following you in your journey. Lead the way!
Thanks Charles. As long as the way does not end up in Adobe backyard. :) Never know.. We will see!
Still freely plugging away on CS6 till I find better options. Resolve is starting to get my attention.
@Storm Jetson I actually bought that back when I was ready to make the switch last autumn. I did like how it did a lot of things, but I am so darned used to Photoshop that I found it hard to permanently make the switch. I mean, I COULD use it if I had no other option, but knowing that I have Ps just a click away, I slinked back to my safe zone.
I am really waiting for a suitable replacement for Lightroom. I have played around with RawTherapee, but it's a bit of a learning curve, just because I'm so used to my workflow in Lr. I'm also looking at maybe trying Luminar as my Lr replacement.
I still don't know what I'd replace Premiere Pro with. Is Davinci Resolve free or do you have to have previously purchased a qualifying hardware product?
You've been denying yourself pizza and beer!? Sorry but the pull of Adobe pales before a nice pilsner or a hoppy IPA and pizza!
@@screenPhiles Nur Schwarzbier oder Doppelbock fur mich, bitte. :)
I cut the cord back when the Cloud versions came out.
The idea of a perpetual fee just didn't sit well with me, no matter how small it was [at the start]
Still have CS6 Photoshop, it does almost everything I need. Only thing I miss - support for newer Nikon NEF cameras. Hardly a showstopper.
same here, stopped on CS5. No need for other fluff... plus I'll keep my $n9.99 per month.
Exactly.
Same. My only concern is when they stop working on newer versions of Windows. I always prefer to buy out right than rent on a monthly basis.
@@home-space I agree. Buy it outright. If just about any software company sets their prices real high and advertise some monthly payment thing I move on right then. They're not providing a useful monthly service so they DO NOT deserve a monthly payment of any form. All of the smaller versions should have a lower set price so that people still have the option to purchase the package most suitable for them.
I'm new here from the audio world. A company called Avid has the same annoying business tactics as Adobe. I immediately went to their leading competitor at that time and never gave the "Industry Standard" software a chance. I don't care if the layout on the screen ain't as smooth, especially when most competitors will make their's more customizable... Years later I see an ocean of their old customers in the forums of Cockos REAPER (Digital Audio Workstation) looking for help on the learning curve after recently switching.
Super helpful online community... I knew I had made the right decision right from the start of my journey... It's really upsetting to now be here in the video software world and seeing that the leader here is just as shitty as the leader in audio. If we could buy outright and not need to update but every 5 years or so would be much more appreciated in my opinion. Should only have to pay a small fee for extensions.
Same. I refuse to join Adobe's greed induced subscription model. I will use LR6 until it stops working and then ditch Adobe entirely.
All I have to say is. F**K ADOBE! Seriously though. Good luck testing. I look forward to your experiences.
Thank you for the positive feedback!
I totally agree! 👍🏼
I use Davinci Resolve, Capture one and Power Director. I cut the cord with Adobe when they got rid of perpetual licenses. I don't miss it one bit.
Adobe must be Destroyed. Thank you for doing your part.
Congrats on cutting the cord! I did it months ago and haven't missed Adobe at all! I especially don't miss the monthly payments!!! BTW, this Resolve video looked great.
Thanks so much for that man. DaVinci was not very much of a learning curve to be honest. Different of course using Nodes and what not but all doable.
I remember having CC for a year from 2016 to 2017. Was it worth the price? Nope. It was a nightmare just trying to cancel my subscription. Had to wait until the end of the year to get rid of it. They even had the nerve to bombard me with free months just to extend my subscription.
Thank you for putting out this video. It has been a great not thinking about them anymore.
You’re a brave man, Joe! My hat's off to you.
(I lost my hat years ago).
And I'm really looking forward to hearing about your experience!
Thanks, Lau. I thought it would only be fair. If I speak about it I should actually do it and see if it possible or simply a pipe dream. Appreciate you hang out with my on my journey!
Beat me to it :-) Have a thumbs up.
Joseph, you are a serious BAD-A$$ for going all-in like this!!
We stand in awe of your commitment and resolve!
You’re to kind. Now let’s see it I can pull it off. 🤞 will Be year a bunch of software over the next few weeks.
Hi. I'm a newbie in the digital art world,.more of a dabbler and new to your channel.
I Love the candor, the honesty, the humor and the rant moments. Thanks for all the useful info. and thanks for the great videos. Exceptional job with Davinci Resolve.
That is a bold move and I understand your anger and frustration with Adobe. I can tell you that this first video produced with Davinci looks and sounds great. I hope you don't find that you have to return to Adobe, I could not be happier since I cut the cord with them. As a side note, it is so refreshing to watch a channel where the content is well thought out, presented in a concise and objective manner, and well produced. Thank you for the work you put in here.
Carl, thank you so much for your positive feedback and encouragement. So glad your enjoying the channel content and my presentation. It means a lot. We just hit 18K subscribers today and I feel blessed that so many people feel compelled to join me in my journey. Love the community of wonderful people this channel has attracted. 👍 thanks again.
I dropped Adobe Lightroom about a year ago.
I went with On1 Photo RAW and haven't looked back. I love that it is completely non destructive so you can always go back and start over or change your mind when processing and it uses layers so you can get quite creative with your photos if you want to.
It does require a bit of horsepower on your PC to run it though. It might not be for everyone.
Great first hand info.
Frank any issues with reading your raw files? 2018.5 can't read my eos rp, and can't find anywhere were 2019.5 does either.
I do have to say, that having to pay for an upgrade just for the raw processor kinda bumbs me out.
@@KaReEdCa I have the latest version, but I also have 2018.5 on my laptop. They both see my Nikon Z6 files with no problem. I would check with them and see if they intend to update 18.5 any further. I know they have done that in past versions.
@@frabo1000 thanks. Maybe I'll have to switched to the older CR3 file types and see what happens.
I just switched last week to On1, love it so much. It has all the tools in one place.
Stopped using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator about 18 months ago. Been using Affinity Photo and Designer.......never looked back......
Exactly. I use Resolve for video production and still leaning toward Cubase from being a Pro Tools user, for audio...but I still have a Pro Tools perpetual license and I'm not giving that up.
Same! I love Affinity's products and in fact just a few weeks ago uninstalled the last Adobe app as I've realized I haven't opened Illustrator in months. All my old Adobe files are accessible and usable, and while I rarely have to work on multi-page print projects I just bought Affinity Publisher to support the company. It's come in handy for rapidly searching online free stock libraries.
I'm considering Affinity as my main player as well..
Now watch Adobe buying Serif and killing its products (Affinity Photo & Designer). I've learned my lesson, that's why I'm sticking with open source apps (Gimp, Blender, Inkscape etc..)
Do the Affinity applications handle Illustrator & Photoshop files?
I used to love Adobe. But the first bad taste I got was when they bought Freehand and killed it. They then decided to force-feed CC to their customers. They have taken everything I despised about Quark and took it to a whole new level.
The sooner I can give them the heave-ho the better.
agree.. cutting freehand was the last straw.. 20 years later.. :D
Freehand was a poor man's illustrator. Same with Pagemaker.
DanTuber • Gotta disagree. Remember, it was years ago and at the time Freehand wasn’t any cheaper and did many things that Illustrator didn’t do until years later. (e.g. it allowed multiple pages of varying sizes on the pasteboard; perspective grids; better gradient control...) Freehand was a beast! 😎
Now, PageMaker was the first layout program but surpassed by Quark XPress. I wasn’t too disappointed when that one died. InDesign totally sucked when it first came out. It wasn’t until probably v3 that it became usable. And Adobe had spent a lot of effort getting the back-end vendor support in place.
Either way, I’m ready to leave Adobe as soon as solid alternatives are available. (So far, I’m impressed with Affinity just with their v1 releases. I hope they do well.)
Cheers.
@@gunhedd5375 Freaking loved Freehand. Used it since Freehand 3. Super disappointed when I had start using Illustrator full time. FREE FREEHAND!
FreeHand is still on my Mac (using Parallels) and it is more productive than Illustrator. Adobe brought a few FH features into AI but it isn't the same as they added their cumbersome spin on them. I thought they would make Illustrator better by combining FreeHand. I was wrong.
I cut the cord a couple of years ago. I now use Davinci Resolve, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer and Capture One Pro. I do not miss Adobe at all.
Missed Photoshop and Lightroom to start with but after using and becoming more familiar with Affinity Photo and Luminar 3 I would not go back and glad I also cut the cord and deleted all.
Luminar 3 is awesome but is lacking a bit. I will get into it more in-depth in a future vlog. Thanks so much for adding your thoughts, Tim.
@@jcristina The thing I missed the most when testing Luminar is the organization system of Lightroom and the tags. I will have to do it another way, maybe with a folder structure. If you collect reference pictures, tagging is awesome. How do you do that?
Lightroom is the hardest one to replace. FCPX + Affinity Photo + Affinity Designer + Lightroom for me.
@@LukePighetti Yup, I have been trying Luminar for a few days now but it's still far behind. Incredibly slow on Windows, crashed 3+ time, ... But I can make some nice edits, it's just hardly usable.
It's called Adobe greed they make millions and they want to make more, they don't care about no one. They figure people use the program so much they can't do without it...I am using ON1 and love it
Affinity works for me - hate Adobe business plan - you're at their mercy and they don't seem to have any!
same here😀
and if you don't comply you will be assimilated.
I HATE Adobe.
The video that had to be made. I left Adobe a long time ago because I saw the price creep and the taking control of my work. It's just like Google and other big-tech companies -- they actually chase their customers away because they lose the trust of said customers. Competition will be the benefit of us. Cheers!
When Adobe started with the whole "Creative Cloud" thing, and thereby stated "We want to have our hand in everything you do with this program," THIS was the point to say "Goodbye." Just think about this.....what other aspect of your life will you allow anyone to say "Hey....I am going to have my hand in everything you do with this?" Anything at all? As soon as Adobe wanted to be "in your business" it was time to leave.
I left Windows after 20 years and switched to Mac. Well, I was considering Premiere for my video editing (I used Sony Vegas but there was no Mac version), but they went to the creative cloud thing, so they were immediately disregarded. I have Final Cut Pro X and love it. No "Creative Meddling" to put up with.
I so agree, I had used Adobe since Illustrator 88 and Photoshop 1.x, and moved over to Affinity about 18 months ago. Started using DaVinci about 3 years ago, and got rid of all Adobe a few months ago. I am more productive and saving a few hundred a month now!
I've bought into the entire Affinity and Skylum collections. All bought and "owned". Early days but very promising products.
Perhaps if enough professionals ditch Adobe products then Adobe will stop taking them for granted.
Apple also takes their professional users for granted too ! Many recording Studios are switching from Mac OS to PC based recording software.
It is inevitable!
Also, do the development costs justify the prices on the Adobe products? Why did Photoshop cost an arm and a leg for so many years
yea what ever corporate assholes theyve hired since CC happened has really gone down the shitter, with that said they obviously have a financial risk dept to monitor how this ridiculousness goes down over the past and upcoming years. like he said, Adobe is much broader than just their software, and alot of their income comes from big vfx, print and graphics studios who will pay for licenses regardless because photoshop especially is industry standard, familiar and will always used. Exactly like the Frankenstein glitchy as fuck program that is Autodesk Maya, but because its been around so long, become so familiar, and has a solid foundation for proprietary plugins and software to be built on it, it will remain the standard to corporate studios, regardless of what individuals use.
now that ive written this down, its kind of the same battle as trying to phase out petro based automobiles for electric ones. theres a gigantic money hungry framework around oil and petro that cant be budged.
you mean like how piraters took Advantage of adobe products? you morons asked for this to happen
Great video! I called Adobe Customer Support last week to cancel the 'Auto-Renewal' on my son's subscription (yeah, I paying for two subscriptions...separate story). C/S gave me the run around about the auto-renewal and at first said they could NOT shut it off (yeah right). We'll after a little back and forth they offered me 3 FREE Months to leave the auto-renewal left ON. I said NO to that and they finally disabled the auto-renewal. Man....they just try to get you coming and going. Very frustrating....keep up the great work. Love the coloring in your video...you must be using a nice camera...looks great!
Nice one Cristina, massive thumbs up mate, and good luck.
We'll see how it goes.. The fun is in the journey. Not sure where it will end but we will see!
Yeah this is scary. Even more so since you actually have a running business to take this deep plunge for us. Thank you! I recently cancelled my Premiere/video package and looking into DaVinci Resolve. I also want to hear your thoughts on your Lightroom replacement experience very much.
Sam Pho try darkroom. I have it and it’s pretty good.
Fredrick Iyeh I haven’t exported many photos recently. I think there had been an update since I used it last that has fixed some issues as far as what some others have told me.
Well! Yup me too........also pulled the plug today.......For now Affinity and Resolve........well done fella and thanks for your honesty.
"me too" --- The I've cut the Adobe cord ... Me Too ... Thank you so much for adding to the discussion, Kevin!!!
I've been using open source software since 1994 & realy don't think I'm missing out on the commercial apps. Thanks for sharing your story - and the resources you list on your site will help many others (I hope!) make the transition away from Adobe's stronghold.
It's the old story. In the beginning we're one of the insiders."You use Photoshop, Cool"'
In the end, being an insider means being inside a jail.
I dropped them as soon as they announced no more purchasing and rental only a few years ago. Haven’t looked bAck
I still use Premier Pro version from before the subscription time)))
I purchased Elements 2019, but maybe that's different than the higher end full version of PS. Elements does what I need...editing photos for artwork...I also have Affinity as a backup...its a really nice program, but lacks some of the PS filters I really need.
Affinity Photo is a fraction of the price and a "re-write" of Adobe Photoshop. They just released Affinity Publisher. I own all products and their customer support is wonderful. You can even order a quality book to get started. No subscription price with bloatware.
I've switched to Affinity Photo for my storyboarding with no transition issues.
What are their 1 to 1 equivalents to the CC?
@@Dave102693 I'm assuming creative cloud? They don't have a cloud option, but I would suggest using OneDrive's Premium Cloud option. I bought it years ago and I enjoy OneDrive for saving/restoring files. Here's Affinity's link: affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/
I will not do any business with Adobe after they blocked all my Creative Suite Software that was bought and paid for. I owned this expensive just under $1,000 CS3 software plus upgrades and add-ons for many years. When they discontinued the server my software was registered on I couldn't use it. The asshole in India was of no help so I voted with my feet. Absolutely horrible company with unfair business practices. As someone else commented, "fuck them." I will not even use their free online pdf viewer. There are plenty of other viewers these days. Using iObit's Uninstaller and CC Cleaner I have nothing Adobe on my PC and never will. I consider it a mental health benefit!
Horrible how they can block software which was paid in full $1000 or more.
That's essentially stealing.
...while a pirated copy of CS3 will continue to work just fine. Nothing like screwing your paying customers and encouraging piracy!
Try Sumatra PDF if you want an amazing PDF reader. It reads virtually any format you throw at it.
I joined you!! Thnx for the inspiration!
I went "cold turkey" on Adobe (against your advise;-) and I guess this video just tipped me over the edge, where I have been standing for a while.
I cancelled my subscription, cleaned my Mac from every Adobe SW, deleted the whole Lr library and all the backups + contacted Adobe to delete my account. I took the step with no going back, and you know what...it feels good!
I bought the Affinity Photo after watching an another video of you, and already had the DXO Photolab & NIK SW.
I don't think I will regret as I regard Adobe to be lagging behind now. Their pricing is just too optimistic, relative to the price/value you get from other SW.
Please keep us up to date with you progress. I’m so glad you found inspiration from my videos. Means a lot to me.
This has nothing to do with the video but... you have the cleanest, sharpest video I've ever seen come out of a Canon 80D
I'm impressed.
I'm glad I landed here, let me use your research in findings for new replacement tools. Thank you sir.
First of all, let me say Bravo 👏🏻
Secondly, I don’t know for you but you’re client shouldn’t be paying you because you edited their pictures in Lightroom or Photoshop, or their video in Premiere Pro and After Effects. They should be paying you for the final result, the artistic realisation, for your skills.
If client are able to see which tools was used to deliver the final product, that maybe because something was wrong!
No difference between this video and the previous one ☝️, so good job done in DaVinci Resolve 15 here. For sure in the beginning it’s going to take you some time to adjust but you may find in the process you’ll become more creative as you have to find new ways or workarounds.
Anyway good job and welcome 🙏 in the club of those free from Adobe!
Thanks so much. The issue over the decades has also been cross studio / client compatibility as Adobe is simply the industry standard.
@@jcristina This is the main problem. I'm in the "graphics" and "graphics design agency" business (or however you will call it), and there everything depends on Adobe products (mainly InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, with the one or other product thrown into the mix). But I was able to "educate" my clients (mostly graphic designers in agencies) to send me compatible formats (CS6) and PDFs, so that I can work around this. Gladly I can work this way, but other people I know personally have a very hard time to stay on CS6 and not go CC. Most agencies don't care and went CC, so your assessment is spot on.
DaVinci is definitely a good editing software, it has a lot to it, though it's confusing at first.
I recommend all the affinity products for graphic design work, they're pretty good from what I can tell.
110% agree.
Hats off to you J. Cristina!! ... and here I thought I was the only person having a major problem with Adobe. I've been looking for an alternative for the past 3 months.
❤️
RIght on bro. Good luck. Thanks for making this video. You are going to help many people to know if it's right for them to pull the plug. Good stuff.
My small regional video studio in Australia had 5 licenses. Then they jacked the price up, almost tripling the price from my team deal. I decided to drop the team deal, and only have 1 subscription. I had no need for all of their software, just Prem, AE, Photoshop and Audition. So, the other 4 computers now have Davinci Resolve, Affinity Photo, Apple Motion, and Logic Audio, and just one computer has the Adobe Suite.....but only for another 10 months. After that, we dump them completely. We only kept the subscription going so we could finish off work, and export on-going jobs out and import them into our new software. I've always hated subscriptions, especially those that bundle software I DON'T use and charge me for it. Cutting the cord from Adobe has been a bit of a challenge, but because we're doing it over a 12 month period, we have time to learn the new software, while having access to Adobe software in case we need it. But for the last 3 months, we've been editing every new project using the new software we bought. A must more cost effective solution, especially for us smaller operators.
No, thank you! I appreciate all your hard work on content creation. I just pulled the plug on Adobe CC today after years of feeding them cash and then feeling as though they just don't give a shit about me as a customer. I got myself Affinity across the board now after careful selection and review. I just needed the kick in the pants to stop renting my software annaully. Since I am an Affinity newbie and haven't been able to figure it out, but can you tell me how to allocate PMS (Pantone) specific colors in an Affinity project? That part was much easier in PS. However, overall I am really liking Affinity so much more than Adobe, if I am being honest. It has some great bells and whistles that I really love (too many to mention actually). Thanks again for all the hard work on this playlist. I HAVE CUT THE ADOBE CORD!
C1 and FCPX both better than LR and PP. I'll move to Affinity for PS and AI. Keep up the good work Joe 🔥
I created the thumbnail for this video using Affinity Designer instead of Photoshop. Simple and cant tell the difference. I'll get into this more in a later video, Mark! Thanks so much for your positivity!
@@jcristina hah! You're already on the right track.
I left Adobe years ago and didn't look back. Paintstorm for painting and the Affinity for photos and Affinity designer for other illustrations. Why would anyone pay monthly for a program is beyond me. You should own it.
I used Adobe Photoshop for doing my digital drawings. Ever since I came across Procreate on iOS, I’ve hardly looked back and only paid One price of about $6.00... And the beautiful part of it is that with every upgrade that Procreate has came with, the app has significantly gotten better..
ME TOO my friend. I use ProCreate for my art on my iPad Pro also!
this video is gold. classic shenanigans from a fortune 500 company.
Thank you for the positive feedback, Gregory.
I'm going with Krita - Gimp - Inkscape and Blender.
And yes, you can edit video in high (movie) quality - create 3D - and animations with Blender, how 'bout that!
How about you?
I like it. I will Be testing it out.
@@jcristina I recently switched to Krita (having used Photoshop since 1992) and found it to be an excellent experience. I also switched to Blender (having used LightWave since 1989) and haven't had a single issue with delivering exceptional results for my clients. I'd recommend Natron for compositing work. It's almost identical to Nuke in its use. It may not be as easy as After Effects, but its every bit as powerful, especially when paired with Blender. I haven't switched to Inkscape, but Blender has native Bezier curve support and can import/export SVG files, so I've been using it for most vector work. The only thing I haven't been able to give us is Vegas. Its free-form timeline is just so fast to work with that I feel like I'm moving through tar when I use any other editor.
I've been using Gimp for decades. It is a very powerful tool now. Open Source alternatives are great. Also, FYI, always consider donating to their development pages as that helps keep the server download services running and a small staff to make sure that the most recent version is working and good.
Blender is too powerful. If Blender is the beacon for open source capability, nopen source will be crushed.
i walked away from adobe a long time ago, i have krita, gimp, resolve, blender and many more. there is life away from adobe. is like the blue or red pill, you hve to take it and start all over.
In process to turn my back on Adobe (I'm video production only). I liked using their software but stopped at CS6 since the whole renting business was fishy to me right away. My first thought on that was: what if I don't have internet? I can't do work then? No, thanks!
And since using Black Magic Cameras (best deal on the market right now price/value) which come with a free copy of DaVinci Resolve Pro (about 300$ worth) I just stopped using Premiere as of late.
Note: Black Magic Design gives you a FREE update from lets say Resolve 14 to Resolve 16. Try ask Adobe about that, upgrading from CS 5.5 to CS6 = ca 500$.
I guess I will keep the Adobe environment just for convenience but actually working with it ... maybe as a backup IF Resolve does not start or something.
Great respect to you for, as we say in Germany, "jumping into the cold water".
Best wishes, curious to see how it goes but I bet you will come out fine and have a good laugh at Adobe in the end. :D
Just to let you know, I test drove the previous version (none BETA) of Black Magic's DaVinci Resolve 15.3.1 for this entire video. DaVinci to replace Adobe Premiere Pro / DaVinci Fairlight to replace Adobe Audition and DaVinci's Fusion to replace Adobe After Effects. I think it came out pretty close to my previous video which was done in the Adobe ecosystem. Still much to learn of course. But for a first attempt...
@@jcristina Came out great I say. At the very least no big differences to recognize. Sound is good, colors look good and editing is just editing, depends on the person doing the job. ;)
Thanks so much... Pretty straight forward regardless of software.
Very impressed with Affinity. Bought all three of them after watching your other video. TY!
likewise.
Wow, am I glad your video popped up here! I was wondering when the backlash would finally start to come! I quit all Adobe creative programs once my hard copy stopped working because I refused to rent from them. Like you, as an industry professional, I’d been using Photoshop and Illustrator since back in the mid 90s or so (I think my first version of Photoshop was 4), and was very loyal to all of their products. It was difficult to say goodbye, but thankfully Affinity Designer took care of my vector illustration needs with their fantastic program, and Clip Studio Paint I use for anything pixely. It’s been working fine and dandy, and clients have had no problem at all dealing with the files! :).
There is no reason anyone needs to have their work held hostage by these slimy creeps, except for I suppose the megabux huge Hollywood studios such as Disney, who I’m sure get massive discounts anyway for putting the software on every machine in the entire company. This has always been my theory about why they started renting their stuff out. To eliminate the indies, and smaller individual creative people who had to resort to cracks to have any access to Adobe products at all. Adobe’s development studios must be very cushy with all the money they make selling endless copies to corporations. Hope it’s been worth it to them to lose so many individual spectacularly talented creative people in favor of the legions of industry hack-it-outs.
I'm an illustrator and ditched Adobe for Clip Studio Paint years ago when they went subscription much cheaper and much better and I was using Photoshop from Version 3
Smart.
Same here! For my vector needs, I went with Affinity Designer and have never looked back. Both programs are solid, come with regular updates, and no need to be at their mercy for anything. :)
Dumped Adobe for Acdsee Ultimate 2019. They gave me a sweet deal. Works great!
I tested it and was not convinced. Everything is far slower, and the editor component can't hold a candle to ACR and Photoshop (I don't use Lightroom). Tried to edit one raw photo and had the editor frozen after doing some testing (and with some weird display effects, perhaps because I'm on a hires monitor with 150% scaling, and this seems to be an issue). But I'll keep an eye on it, they might get over some of the problems.
@@c.augustin I got such a good deal that if it turns out to be a bomb I won't be broke! I did notice some lag but I believe it may because I'm using the on board graphics card. I'm going to get a better gpu.
@@photography.by.James.Wood.Jr. Ah yes, I'm also on the internal GPU (Intel Core i7 8th Gen., quite capable after all I've heard, but Adobe Photoshop CC in its latest incarnations has trouble with it already). Would be interesting to hear if it works out with a better GPU; no option for me, because I only use a small barebone (it has all I need, and 32 GB RAM are enough for what I do on a day-by-day basis).
Already cut the cord on Adobe products and Microsoft products such as Word, Excel, etc. LibreOffice is a fine substitute. Affinity Photo is my photo editing software of choice.It feels like the first girlfriend breakup in high school -- very liberating!
Ew LibreOffice.. go for the WPS Office Suite, this is of course of you havent tried it before, it has the look and feel of good ol' Microsoft Office Suite, and it just looks way better than LibreOffice.. unless you're a psycho for FOSS then yes, LibreOffice is like the god of all of them for you.
I've been moving away from Adobe for the past few years and have found that I don't miss it at all. In fact, I feel more creative and more original than ever. I was a happy beta tester for the Affinity software and really enjoyed it.
Love what you had to say here; I did give you a “big” thumbs up. 😁👍
I strongly feel that Adobe has been taking advantage of their customers ever since they moved to subscriptions, and that crap with Lightroom after you canceled... that is OUTRAGEOUS. That seriously pissed me off; can’t imagine your reaction in that moment. 🤬
For myself, I’ve refused to “upgrade” to CC and am still using CS 5.5. The decision point for me will actually be the next macOS release, which will no longer run 32-bit apps (when/if I upgrade to that). Not 100% sure how I’ll handle future software/tech requirements, but for now my thinking is to run an older copy of macOS on a partitioned drive. I’m sure there will be plenty others doing something similar to hang on to their 32-bit software. Anyway going forward, if I ever decide to use CC (probably not) or a competitor, that’ll be my fallback.
Yep. Time and the OS will force your hand.
I am adobe free, recently I got Affinity Photo for “fixing” things and Luminar 3 for the adjustments, both programs do what I need and still cheaper (a lot) than PS and LR.
Great selections!
Not so good association football team selections
@@di3g04 Don’t tell me you like River
I cut the cord with Premiere Pro and went to FCPX. It runs faster and cleaner with 4K on my iMacs. The performance advantage alone was worth climbing the rather shallow new software learning curve. My only regret is that I didn't do it years earlier.
I strongly suggest you to get into Affinity (Photo and Designer) straight away. I am talking by personal experience, having been like you, a 20 years and more Adobe professional user.
Affinity has the mildest learning curve (almost nothing to really learn apart from specific tools exclusive to the software of course) for people like us, trust me. I know you need to be quick, in order for you to get back to your daily work confidently and better than before.
I have done the transition in a couple of weeks (because I was also working in the meantime) and it's been pretty much painless.
So regarding Photoshop and Illustrator replacements just go for the Affinity software.
Regarding Premiere Pro: don't even think about it twice and get the free version of Da Vinci Resolve (or buy the Studio version, is not expensive). You'll get two pieces of software in one go.
That means you'll get the editing part, the colour grading part (which is by far one of the best on the market) and even the compositing, thanks to Fusion embedded into the software.
I hope this helps! ;-)
I am with you 100%. By the way, your review of Lightroom replacements was extremely helpful. Straightforward. To the point . Great info. Went with on1. Thanks, CW
You're very welcome!
I'm fairly new to digital art (granted, I got Corel Draw Suite 5 or 6 in 1996 as a gift, but never stuck with it). But looking at videos like yours and many others, it feels that most people use Adobe simply because they have been the standard. It seems that it's more about what you know how to use, as they're all competent programs. The dangerous thing Adobe is doing now is they are trying to put themselves in a place where they can get more people accustomed to their software, and can later jack up the prices once you're too used to using their stuff. That $10/month entry for Photoshop sounds better than dropping a few hundred on something else at once. People fall for it with car loans, cell phone plans, and so on. You pay less up front, but it costs so much more in the end.
I've dabbled a lot in Adobe's stuff over the years (piracy, of course). But as someone who has been a legit software buyer for years, this subscription path make it feel not worth bothering, especially when I'm just a hobbyist, and am not used to anything yet. As someone into the painting/drawing, I can look into Clip Studio Paint Pro, Krita, and what not, and from what I can tell, those programs workflow better for art anyway. Photo manipulation is another story I'm sure.
One thing to look out for, for many of those aspiring getting into digital art of any form is Humble Bundle. I picked up Corel bundle back in the fall for $25 that included Painter 2019, Paint Shop Pro Ultimate, some brushes, among other things. And they currently have a Rebelle bundle up with bonuses too (ends March 17). It's a cheap barrier of entry (if the right software comes along), and some of the money goes to charity, so that's awesome too. The great thing about getting that Corel bundle is that it qualified me for an upgrade to 2020 a week ago for $119 CAD. So basically, I paid $145 for the full version of Painter 2020.
Great tip!
Pirates don't have to deal with drm and expiring software. Just sayin'.
Storm Jetson you can block their ips, but if you dont know them, you can use a firewall like tinywall that just assumes BLOCK EVERYTHING until you specify to allow certain programs through. Ive found it mandatory if you're going to *cough* acquire adobe products.
I don't use CC products. CS6 was the last version I bought from Adobe.
Just buy Affinity photo, designer and publisher.... youll get updates for life, for life.... and you own your product and get updates free for life....lol
And they put their products on special on holidays which takes 30% to 40% off all their products across the board.
m0nkrus is a nice man.
@Storm Jetson if on Windows modify the hosts file....to block Adobe servers. However you need to know all the servers, and know exactly where they are...
You guys should launch a class action lawsuit for access to your work. They are holding YOUR work hostage in their platform. I've been working without Adobe for almost a decade now,
You’re the smart one. 😉
That's why everything I make is stored on 3rd party and local storage
That's what happens when you use proprietary SAAS. You don't actually own your files. They aren't holding his work hostage because literally, they own it, not him.
@@Dave102693 But in WHAT Format? Back when I still had to use Photoshop, I had a script that would save every layer as a PNG with alpha channel. I doubt that still works.
@@WyzrdCat Pending a Lawsuit. Or better yet, a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT!
Coral After Shot Pro and combine that with Corel Paint Shop Pro..Most underrated Software in Photography...You can download them free for 30 days to try them out...
I learned on JASC Paint Shop Pro back before I had money. They had a 30 day trial; I would reset my computer's clock to keep using the software after expiry. In my defense they didn't lose a customer, I had $0.
I applaud you for this video. I’m right behind you. My last payment is this month (July) I’ve already downloaded Affinity Photo and Affinity designer. I’m cutting the Adobe cord this month. After nearly 10 years. It makes me sick how much I’ve paid in subscriptions.
Happy to have found your vlog. You point out many thoughts I've had on my mind. That yearly increase really is taking the piss as we say in Australia and with the dollar conversion my sub is now at $79.20. As only a part time photographer in a professional capacity and just a dabbler in the other programs for learning the cost is not justified. Thanks for opening up the idea of looking for alternatives.
Great job! I’ve a few months left on my photography plan but after that it’s OVER!!
Congrats!
I’m probably the opposite of most people here. I used Adobe software at work since the 90’s but couldn’t personally justify CC until recently. All the alternatives here are really good especially Affinity, but I needed to run some After effects plugins for some personal work ... I decided to get CC for a year but I’m hoping that plugin developers will support DaVinci resolve/Fusion much more in future. I’d then drop Adobe in a heartbeat.
I like Luminar 3, Aurora HDR, Portrait Pro Studio, and Piccure +.
Great lineup
I did what you did with adobe I am disabled and I just do photography as a hobby I could not afford there monthly plans anymore. I found a program called Affinity Photo and its a one off payment for life. I think I paid about £50 in uk, for life and have found it very easy to use and it suite me can do most things adobe could do. I hope it all goes well for you, a man after my own heart not affraid to speak out against a big company. Well done look forward to see how you get on.
Well, thank you for being here, Bob. You are the great folks that I've started down this journey for. I hope this list jcristina.com/life-after-adobe-alternatives and video have helped a few people out.
I remember Adobe 4. That's when I started. I also remember Macromedia, but that's a different story. Congrats on liberating yourself.
Thank you.
Right on J. I deleted my Adobe account. I'm all in on the Affinity trio.
Iv'e just gone Adobe FREE -
I was on the Photography plan using Lightroom & Photoshop
I'm on a late 2012 IMac - 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7
I spent lots of time downloading and testing software (LOTS & LOTS of alternative software testing) and I can tell everyone that MY way to go was Luminar 3 and Affinity Photo
I have used Affinity Photo for the past 3 or 4 years and can say that its a great Photoshop alternative - plus some great free tutorials online, but couldn't find a good DAM (Digital Asetts Management) piece of software that could compare with Lightroom. Well I think that Luminar 3 is MY answer (don't get me wrong, there are a lot a things that can be improved) but the basics are there and work pretty well.
Great software but as you said, they need to work on some PRO stuff which would really move it ahead!
I cut the cord on Adobe as well and bought the entire Affinity suite. Bye bye Adobe raise your prices all you want because I don't need you anymore. Next I will be picking up Davinci...
Affinity is VERY good.
Excellent software.
Been a photographer for 35 years. But i left at CS6! I'll never go back. Luck to you on the hunt. Keep us up.
Will so for sure.
I've been using Affinity Photo for over a year now, once you find how your workflow translates there is no difference and no going back! I've also starting using Affinity Designer and Publisher too. I think for the majority of people the Affinity Suite is enough. As for editing i started using Davinci Resolve around two years ago but even longer than than for coloring. There is a lot of really good software out there that is definitely worth looking at instead of Adobe. I've been very interested in this series, keep up the good work.
Absolutely. Lightroom is always the issue with DAM and exporting batch photo exporting with watermarks etc.
I'm by default Adobe-free because I got fed up with the spyware that Windows has become and gone Linux.
@Raigou Windows 10 collects usage data, and it's pretty difficult to turn all of it off permanently.
then stop going to porn sites
Capture One Pro and Affinity Photo and never looked back. I don't do video but I have been toying with the idea of exploring Resolve 16
I think its just pure greedy on the behalf of Adobe. I knew the subscription would go up, and will continue to go up all the time
Your decision makes a lot of sense to me. I'm an amateur/semi(?) professional photographer and have used PSE for several years but have avoided the cloud because I just do not feel comfortable with all my photos floating arounbd in space, so to speak. ALso, I do not feel it appropriate to pay the $10, $20, or $30 per month for every year when I could purchase a copy of PSE for $50 to $80 one time and use the program for three or four years before needing(?) or wanting to upgrade. Many, many times I have looked at other programs/applications for photo processing but have never made the switch due to trepidation related to the learning curve of those programs. I admit I am not extremely motivated when I have PSE on my computer, with which I've become quite comfortable, to learn the others. However, your comments in this vlog have encouraged me to look more intently at alternatives and to start giving the alternates a good try. Thank you for posting this, your advice is very logical and appropriate.
I know this isn't going to reach everyone, but I was glad to see this video. I was an Adobe user prior to CC, prior to subscription. Not only have I left Adobe, but I now run Linux on all my systems, I keep Windows around on a couple for gaming. Many of the alternatives I use are on JCristina's list, and are 100% Free and Open Source. It's not just free of cost, but free as in freedom. Proprietary software uses licenses that give it control over your computer and you, it does not respect your freedom or privacy in any way. If your interested in using free and open alternatives to Adobe, all of my videos were made using FOSS software on Linux, and I too have a video about ditching Adobe.
Glad to promote you. 👍 Thanks so much for contributing as always.
@@jcristina thank you! If you ever need anything Linux/Open-Source related feel free to contact me.
I'm very interested in cutting the cord also. Thanks for doing this!
I've been using Davinci Resolve for a while now, I love it. It's a lot of fun to use once you get the hang of it.
#true
Davinci Resolve is miles ahead of Premmier , you not missing much honestly
I've never been a "Professional" adobe user, but I cut that cord years ago, and haven't ever looked back or felt any regret at all!!
Thank you very much for this series. It is very clarifying. There's one thing I want to tell you. As you know, a new software is not learned in two days, so before you get to the "Mea culpa", make sure you test well, because sometimes with a new workflow, at first you can come to wrong conclusions if you do not make a deep dive. Thanks again and sorry for the mistakes .
You’re wonderful. No mistakes and great advise of course.
Dropped Adobe faster than a bad habit. 😂
:)
1st time i've seen in years the words fast & adobe in the same sentence.
When I cancelled last month, I was told my account remained valid until July 17. Much different to what you got. I couldnt see the value for a casual user. I have swapped to Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo.
I haven't heard of Affinity until now. Thanks. :-)
I miss the days of being able to just buy your software and getting a box. And by that I mean that if they think I'm dumping all my boxes with previous versions, they're delusional.
Me too
I threw out CS2, 3 and 4. Not worth keeping as you'd need a very old mac with old system OS. CS 5 to 6 still work good on Elcapitan.
this is the first video ive seen from your channel and thats a intresting situation. first let me congratulate you on your balls just to go cold turkey as you said .. befor i make any suggestion or comments im gonna check out your other videos about that topic to bring myself up to speed on your current situation but for sure i can already tell im about to enjoy them :) ... now im gonna take some time until im through with all of them gonna write again when im done there
I'm relatively new to the whole Adobe thing and use it as a hobbyist rather than for a business. I was on the photography plan a few years ago paying about £10 per month until I found out I could get the entire Adobe suite through my work. So I cancelled the old plan, but even now about 18 months later I'm still getting "please come back to us" emails regularly. I don't think I will though. Even if I can no longer use the work one, I don't think I'll go back to using Adobe software in future. There are plenty of free or cheap alternatives out there which may not have as many features or are as easy to use, but for my purposes, make more sense than paying for a subscription service.
I cancelled like 3 days ago. Their software is good but I couldn't justify paying that rent to use 3 or 4 apps. It's just way too expensive. I'm very happy with Affinity Photo for raster and Affinity Designer for vector. Their InDesign alternative - Publisher - while still in beta is already very promising. They actually listen to their customers and implement what we need and not what they think we need. It costs a very small fraction of CC and the software is yours forever. For web design, the very excellent Figma is free if you don't need collaboration features. And Visual Studio Code by Microsoft is the best code editor around, also free. Adobe has become too greedy and they seem to react to what other companies are doing instead of innovating. There ARE alternatives and they're pretty good.
Awesome suggestions Frederico!
This is all really interesting but I just upgraded to CC from CS3 after using that for 10 years, so I'm at a point where I'm like a kid in a candy shop with all the bells and whistles learning all the things it can do now and suddenly everyone's jumping ship leaving Adobe and I'm just kind of looking around like "...wut...." It's sad they've turned out this way, but for now I'm keeping my toy. Will be looking forward to what you discover in this series since I'm actually in a great place to jump to something new if there's anything better out there. I'm only paying for Photoshop right now, so $10/mo isn't breaking our finances.
Adobe is so finished nobody even bothers using the pirated versions now
Ouch.
Hehe. True
I noticed the price increase when helping one of my clients who needed adobe indesign and was shocked by the increase. I have Adobe master collection cs6 which i use regularly and glad ive downloaded a copy after hearing your report about the removal of earlier versions.
Good luck on your search. Im using imovie to edit my channels videos which works fine for my use case.
Awesome. Glad you found some use with this video. Appreciate adding to the discussion.
Well done. I gave up on them a couple of years ago and their behaviour has only got worse ever since. You rightly cite the most inappropriate actions they took recently. Good luck on your journey...