The main advantage of Lightroom is ???

[Graham_of_Rainham]

I'm getting a new PC on Wednesday and will be seriously considering new ways of working.

I've done a lot of reading on this forum (and others ) but I'm yet to find that one feature of lightroom that puts it above all the others.

SO:

What is it's main advantage

Thank you

[Autumn]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

You don't have to save each adjustment under a different name.

You always still have the original unadjusted image.

Batch adjustments can be made with 2 clicks.

All adjustments are made on the one interface, you don't keep having to go to Image Adust etc.

90% of my work can be done in LR but I still use CS3 for frames and selections.

Just a few Pros that spring to mind. It is very easy (once you know how).

A Happy New Year to you Graham.

[Patrick]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

You don't have to save each adjustment under a different name.

You always still have the original unadjusted image.

Batch adjustments can be made with 2 clicks.

All adjustments are made on the one interface, you don't keep having to go to Image Adust etc.

90% of my work can be done in LR but I still use CS3 for frames and selections.

Just a few Pros that spring to mind. It is very easy (once you know how).

A Happy New Year to you Graham.

In Black 7 White Photography this month they compared, Lightroom (Mac & Win), Capture One (Mac & Win), Bibble (Mac & Win), DXO optics (Mac & Win), Aperture (Mac only), & Adcsee (Win only). Its rather a brief comparison missing out on features in all the programs, anyway Lightroom was rated top just above Aperture.

DXO has lens correction features as does Lightroom 3 with the range of cameras and lens profiles expanding all the time. Lightroom will accept plug-ins I don't know about the others. Capture one has limited lens correction support.

Patrick

[ash]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

Agree with all of that and what Audrey said, ill condense into 2 words 'workflow simplicity'
Ash.

[Ian]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

If you have been brought up on the Photoshop style of working, where you load an image and then work on it and then save it again, then Lightroom (and other similar programs like Aperture, for the Mac) is radically different. Because it is so different it can take a while to get one's head around it but its several big plusses soon shine brightly.

In no obvious order of merit:

1. Speed - you can find and apply edits to one or several (even hundreds) of images very quickly and the changes are rendered on-screen very fast. You can work on a single image and then apply some or all the changes you made to any number of other images in an instant. It's batch processing without the hassle and it's so intuitive.

2. Non-destructive editing. No changes are ever made to the original file, be it a JPEG, TIF, or RAW file. In fact a new file with all the edits rendered is only produced when you choose to export. There is no chance of damaging your precious original and you end up with much less clutter because you don't save out multiple versions of your edits unnecessarily.

3. Intuitive user interface. The very customisable layout of the user interface is inspiring and Lightroom brings together digital asset management and editing. You can find the images you need quickly and edit them all in one application.

4. Good quality RAW processing. This used to be a weakness if Lightroom, but Adobe Camera RAW, upon which it is based, has improved greatly, especially in Lightroom 3, and it's now a top notch RAW processor.

You can download a 30 day trial version - best have a go and see for yourself. Do expect a learning curve; if you get stuck, let us know and we'll hopefully be able to help!

Ian

[Brian Jackson]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

Aperture has full plug in support from the big names (Nik, etc). Aperture and LR seem to be very similar. I use Aperture and am very happy with it. Unless I need to do something extreme, I never get into PS anymore.

[Stephen]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

Hi Graham, have you come to any conclusion, especially with all the positive comments about LR here. As you may know I'm an ardent fan of the program and have used it since V1. I have also tried Aperture, as a Mac user, but it didn't seem to offer me any real advantages over LR, even though it has the Faces and Places feature, which I'm sure Adobe could do but maybe consider a bit of a gimmick. Personally I don't think there is another piece of Raw Conversion software thats as good. For my own part it's speed of use and batch conversion facility is key, and in V3 the new tools to adjust lens geometry are worth the money. DxO is slightly better in this respect however, but is let down somewhat by its ease and speed of use, not to mention its DAM functions.

At the end of the day, apart from maybe using PS I feel you need to commit to a single raw conversion program, get used to it and adapt to its workflow, do not try and make it adapt to your way of working. As Ian has said it may take a while to get used to LR, but suddenly it will click into place and you will wonder how you ever managed without it

[Graham_of_Rainham]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

I was holding out for several responses to get a feel for the balance of opinion

I have a lot of respect for the opinions of all the people who have replied and with Black & White Photography Magazine reports.

As Ian points out there is the 30 day trial.

The other reason I have held off going over to a new way of working is that I still use a 9 year old laptop with PSE4 and the vast majority of my RAW files go through Olympus Studio2 with only minor adjustments.

Having received today a new Dell PC with windows 7, I'm into a whole new way of working anyway so it seems very logical to switch to LR3 and learn a new workflow. Having said that I've installed Olympus Viewer as a fallback in case I need to do something quickly (familiarity breads commitment )

I sincerely appreciate all the time and effort you guys have taken to convince me that it is the way to go.

Thanks

[ash]

Re: The main advantage of Lightroom is

Good for you Graham, this was exactly my attitude when I got the mac, sometimes it can be a bit scary switching programs and operating systems, I think sometimes we can get stuck in our way's without exploring what the new programs can do.
Depending on how much time you put into it, I rekon you will be hooked on lr3 in less than 10 days giving an hour a day. I still don't no everything about it but will help wherever I can.
Ash.