Canon's new Cr3 file format is not able to be processed in any of the top editing software. Lightroom Classic doesn't support it, nor DX0, or Luminar/Skylum. Lightroom CC subscription will but I don't want to use a subscription program...I don't want to use Canon DPP to convert as it doesn't provide the level of adjustments I'm used to using.
Any thoughts on a work around until the companies come up with support for CR3 files?
The latest versions of DxO PhotoLab support CR3 files from the EOS R, EOS RP, Rebel SL3/250D, EOS M50, Powershot G7X Mark III, and Powershot G5X Mark II.
Support for CR3 files from the 90D, M6 Mark II, and M200 will be included in updates scheduled to be released by DxO Labs in December, 2019.
The latest versions of Adobe products that use ACR (LR, PS, etc.) support CR3 files.
Luminar/Skylum has been promising their customers for over a year that they are working on supporting CR3 files, though they still do not at this time.
On1 Photo Raw 2020 supports CR3 files. Capture One Pro (latest version) supports CR3 files except the recently released 90D, M6 Mark II, and M200 (which will presumably be added soon).
It's unrealistic to expect older versions of software that released before the CR3 format was even a thing to support it. Get your software up to date and you'll be able to process files from the newest cameras.
As to DPP 4 not providing the level of adjustments you are used to, I find that DPP 4 gives finer control than most other raw conversion software. It provides more detailed Canon lens profiles than most other applications. It also uses demosaicing algorithms written by Canon, instead of algorithms reverse engineered by third parties such as Adobe and DxO.
For what it's worth, here are tracking issues for popular open source raw converters:
I heavily recommend Canon DPP, because most other software don't have the lens support. For example, the Canon 24-240mm lens is not widely supported, except by Canon DPP.
Also, Canon DPP is the only software that has support for digital lens optimizer, which is an important and major feature that is able to correct lens imperfections. By not using Canon DPP, you may actually get worse results doing RAW post-processing than you would get by using JPGs directly from the camera!
However, if you still want to use other software, convert the files to the DNG format using Adobe DNG Converter. It's free.
I recently bought a Canon 6D Mark II and had to upgrade to Lightroom CC 2015.12 / 6.12.
The Mark II still works with CR2, but any previous versions of Lr won't recognise these, so I am afraid, your hope for further upgrades ends with Lightroom CC 2015.12 / 6.12 for that was the last upgrade you can get without having to buy a new license. As Adobe puts it "Using the DNG converter is the fastest way to deliver backward compatibility to all customers [...] It’s untenable to keep updating previous versions of the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in and support new cameras/raw formats in a timely fashion."
