I’ve gone from various applications and got hooked on Apple Aperture together with Nikons NX suite as the had the smoothest workflow and the amazing U-point.
Aperture died and Nikon lost U-point when Nik was bought by Google.
Bought C1 v10 instead and it was a disaster back then. Got really burned by their ignorant support and unstable software.
Move to PL and Nikon again as they now licensed the alU-point from DxO. For DAM I went with PhotoSupreme server.
For pixel work and as a PS replacement I went for Affinity. But I never ever do raw work in it as I rather pull my hair than go through their workflow. Haha
PL have such amazing smooth workflow and the quality of the output supersedes any other software in regards to the time spent on each photo.
Nikons NX studio still surpasses PL when it come to white point control, deep neutral blacks and color aberrations when using Nikons own products. But who else would be able to control Nikons weakness than Nikon themselves.
If you have a tight and single manufacturer camera and lens setup the cheapest and best software might be their own. In a mixed environment and with the wish to do pixel work they are not the right solution.
There are many options with different license models and more or less AI involved. I don’t want to replace my sky or edit out a car from my photos. I’m not a fan not user or a lot of custom or connected color settings and gradings either.
I don’t have that need in relation to what I do and how to capture my photos.
Affinity suite solves a lot for me as it’s decent priced and with the complementary apps for layout and bezier design I like their options.
But not for raw development.