M9: Who's switching to LR?

[Jamie Roberts]

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Don't blame you when you find something that excels for you. I do hope, however, that someone with your knowledge and familiarity with C1 will eventually offer a comparison once LR 3 emerges in its final form. While I'm sticking with LR for its overall functionality and simplicity, it would be nice to know that the LR folks are working toward closing any gaps on color rendering, etc. compared to what I hear from you and others about C1. I'm also sticking with the M8.2, so hope any progress will apply to it, not just the M9.

 

Jeff

 

Hey Jeff--thanks for the kind words.

 

Anyway, two points quickly... I'll probably give LR 3 a try sometime over the Winter; I was really impressed with the last M9 profiles I saw for LR (and that means they could do something better for M8 users too, I have no doubt, though the sensor color response is patently not the same).

 

But my interest in LR has actually gone way down since I started messing seriously with C1 V5. It's just the best raw converter I've seen to date. And since I don't have an M9, all my comments are based on working M8, DMR, Canon and Nikon files.

 

Someday my M9 will come

 

If I get a chance I'll do a back to back with LR. The problem is that it takes a long time to really get the most out of any RAW converter. But with the progress I've seen from LR and C1 in the last week, these are exciting times for sure!

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[Jeff S]

Hey Jeff--thanks for the kind words.

 

Anyway, two points quickly... I'll probably give LR 3 a try sometime over the Winter; I was really impressed with the last M9 profiles I saw for LR (and that means they could do something better for M8 users too, I have no doubt, though the sensor color response is patently not the same).

 

But my interest in LR has actually gone way down since I started messing seriously with C1 V5. It's just the best raw converter I've seen to date. And since I don't have an M9, all my comments are based on working M8, DMR, Canon and Nikon files.

 

Someday my M9 will come

 

If I get a chance I'll do a back to back with LR. The problem is that it takes a long time to really get the most out of any RAW converter. But with the progress I've seen from LR and C1 in the last week, these are exciting times for sure!

 

Thanks, Jamie. Given your success with C1, I'm surprised you'd give LR another thought. But, since I often learn new things from your posts, any thoughts you have on LR down the road will be appreciated.

 

In the film days, I picked some tools, stayed disciplined with my processes, and was happy to concentrate on making photos. So, while these are indeed exciting times on many fronts, I'll be happy when things settle down a bit. Or, maybe with digital, that's impossible. Don't think I would have thrived in the early days when photographic pioneers paved their own way. I like to learn new things, but delighted if others are willing to learn and share.

 

Jeff

[archi4]

Jamie,

I have both C1 5 and LR3 beta running for my M8 files.

I have also made some profiles for LR3 that come very close to the C1 rendition especially skin tones and reds.

Yesterday I used a test shot to compare detail and found very little difference, with an extremely slight edge to C1 only visible at 100%. Would definitely not show in even an A2 print.

However, I find the sessions in C1 give me great flexibility, allowing me to to work with files from different folders on my hard disks simultaneously.

The print module in LR3 is excellent for my purposes and is definitely worth a try.

regards

maurice

[Shootist]

Never got C1. Tried it many times and still do for certain images but in the end I really don't see any difference.

 

That being said I don't use LR either. I have it and it is installed on my main photo editing computer but rarely open it.

 

I've been spending some time in New Orleans recently and though about using LR for viewing all the images I have taken over the last 3 weeks but in the end all I do is to put all those images into one folder, New Orleans, instead of the usual way I work, by date taken, so I can view all of them at the same time using Bridge/ACR/PS CS4.

 

Will I buy LR 3 when it comes out? More then likely yes, since it will be at the upgrade cost as I've bought LR 1 & 2 as upgrade. But will I use it on a regular basis? Probably not. Although if future cameras are not supported by PS CS4, which for me is my stopping point for PS (it does everythiing I need PS for), I'll probably continue to use LR as my main RAW coverter program.

[chris_tribble]

I've been using LR since v.1 - never could get on with C1. My feeling is that unless you have a huge investiment in a DAM using another system, it's worth getting used to working with it now as when V3 completes beta it's ability to deal with Leica DNG's - especially high ISO images is going to be remarkable. For me (as a PC user) the combination of asset management and RAW processing workflow is unbeatable.

 

I know that others will disagree - but Noah, you asked

[delander †]

We are all different, I've tried over this weekend to like the workflow and output of Lightroom 2.5. It is not working for me I'm afraid, the colour seems, to put it frankly, rubbish compared to Capture One (non-pro) even though I have a choice about 5 different M8 and M9 profiles.

 

When I open a file in C1 from the M8 or M9 I am 90% there straight away, with LR I need to do a lot of work to match the default 'look' of a C1 file.

 

And it is the 'look' of a C1 file that I like and am used to.

 

My thoughts now are whether I as a M8/9 user purchase the pro or normal version of C1 ver5.

 

Jeff

[Shootist]

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We are all different, I've tried over this weekend to like the workflow and output of Lightroom 2.5. It is not working for me I'm afraid, the colour seems, to put it frankly, rubbish compared to Capture One (non-pro) even though I have a choice about 5 different M8 and M9 profiles.

 

When I open a file in C1 from the M8 or M9 I am 90% there straight away, with LR I need to do a lot of work to match the default 'look' of a C1 file.

 

And it is the 'look' of a C1 file that I like and am used to.

 

My thoughts now are whether I as a M8/9 user purchase the pro or normal version of C1 ver5.

 

Jeff

 

 

That's just it, you are use to C1. For me I came to the M8 and C1 from a Nikon D200 and Nikon's own Nikon Capture NEF converter and Nik's/Nikon's Capture NX converter with Bridge/ACR/PS as a backup. When I got the M8 I liked the colors more from ACR then from C1, more true to life as "I" saw/remembered them. Maybe not perfect but better then what I got from C1. Then there is/was the interface of C1 3.x and then 4.x that just didn't make it for me. To top that off C1 V4 didn't allow placement of temp files in it's own directory/folder and created folders and files in every image folder I looked in. To go one better then that PO never really offered a upgrade path from the light version to the pro version. Sure they did but at a cost of almost what you'd pay if you didn't have the light version and IMHO it has always been overpriced (I think $500 for the pro version back when the M8 came out. Way to much for just a RAW image converter. It ain't that good).

 

Now from what I read PO is not offering ANY upgrade path to the new V5 of C1 for Leica users. They want us to pay full price for either the Light or Pro version with no concideration that we, Leica M8/M8.2 and D-L4 users, did actually pay for the light version of C1 with the purchase price of the cameras. They actually stated that since they gave the software to Leica it does not qualify for any upgrade pricing and that they lost sales because if this. For me I would of never heard of C1, let alone bought it, if it hadn't come with the M8's I've had. So they didn't lose the sale to me but now they have as I might of purchased the new version if they offered a upgrade path.

 

This all boils down to PO with C1 can go stuff it.

 

I am glad you like it. But it's not for me. I will still keep the V4.x on one PC (why, I'm not sure as I never really use it).

[delander †]

After a couple of months working with LR, getting Scott Kelby's book and watching Adobe videos I've decided to go back to Cap1.

 

There are some interesting tools in LR but I just prefer the basic conversion done by Cap1 and (I know that no one will agree with me) I prefer the simple workflow of Cap1.

 

I have given LR a good 2 month try, even to the extent that I removed Cap1 so I had to use LR.

 

Jeff

[jaapv]

I never liked LR, still don't, so C1 (5.0 pro) for me.

[Jerry_R]

Hi!

I did not read whole thread, but let me share my expeirences.

 

I checked several RAW developers. None was perfect. Each was better than others in some part, worse in another. I decided to LR because it is the easiest, most intuitive and quick (presets) RAW developer I found.

 

Eg. instead of looking for best noise removing soft - I chose to make better pictures on lower ISOs. Instead of best sharpening algorithms - I decided to buy good body and lens, etc.

 

LR - for me - is MUCH MORE than RAW developer. It is huge and quick in access database of my photos. I have most of things automated. Profiles for import based on ISO. Profiles for export baseed on destination.

 

I can only ADVISE you, who want to learn LR - watch MOVIES!

The quickest way!!! Very nice, not expensive. Really worth!

[ho_co]

Possibly of interest: Michael Reichmann's notes on A Workflow Combining Capture One and Lightroom.

[Jamie Roberts]

Possibly of interest: Michael Reichmann's notes on A Workflow Combining Capture One and Lightroom.

 

 

Unless you're into Digital Asset Management, in which case there are many alternatives to Lightroom, I see absolutely no benefit in using Capture 1 v5 --> Lightroom as opposed to going to Photoshop or some other method for printing.

 

C1v5 has a lot more image processing options than v4 did.

[ho_co]

Jamie--

That's the humor of it.

 

Reichmann is a big proponent of Lightroom. But then people pointed out to him that Capture One makes noticeably better RAW conversions from some cameras than does Lightroom.

 

So the article says, "Well, I still like Lightroom, but for best results you might prefer to start with Capture One."

 

Duh.

[B&W]

I never liked LR, still don't, so C1 (5.0 pro) for me.

 

+1:)

[noah_addis]

I tried to like LR, I really did. But I just don't get along well with it. I don't like the color in the raw conversions as much, and I really don't like the metadata/captioning/keywording.

 

I'm sticking with C1 Pro and I guess I'll shell out for the V5 update.

 

The asset management part of LR is actually too automated for my taste. I like to handle most of that stuff manually. Photomechanic is great for renaming files, moving them around and also has built in FTP and built in capability to send directly to PhotoShelter, which I use for my documentary work and Zenfolio, which I use for weddings.