I am a linux user, well I have Apple laptops because they are solid and well made, but the rest of my computer life is Linux. This comes from years of programming. It does mean that I would much rather edit photos on Linux, or at least software that works in Linux and OSX. That criteria rules out Adobe product, they don’t work on Linux.

So with no Lightroom available I tried out a number of opensoure editing tools.  I didn’t find any of them that great to use. I eventually downloaded Corel Aftershot Pro 3 to give the free trial a go. Its pretty good, does everything I need and the interface is nice, it didn’t take very long for me to get used to it. My only gripe is that the filing system for photographs seems a bit strange. The way photos are added to albums results a slightly messy filing system. I think this could easily be changed, it is something they should really look at. Another big plus is that it works on Linux, OSX and Windows, and can make use of hardware acceleration in GPUs. So its quick.

On the video side of things I ended up picking Lightworks. This is a super powerful piece of software, and can do far more than I currently need. The software feels old, and by that I mean that the interface seems to have been designed before some of the normative GUI designs became established. So it can seem a bit arcane. I actually do like it however, the design makes you focus on what you are doing and avoid being distracted by other things. Again this software works on Linux, OSX, and Windows. I have education version which is a bit cheaper than the pro version, that said the free version is really good and does a lot.