Marquinius Posted October 8, 2008 Share #1 Posted October 8, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been using CS2, Aperture 2 and Lightroom 1 and find that the combination of LR and CS works fine for me. Apart from the question if I should upgrade to CS3, I'm curious about what the experiences with LR2 are. My workflow starts with (after having copied all images to a separate hard disk) LR for fast selection and editing, but I always go to CS2 for toning, levels, etc. Somehow I feel I have more grip on the process. LR2 could mean an improvement, but is it worth the cost of yet another upgrade? Sometimes I have the feeling that I'm just being lured in another new gimmick and that in reality I just can do my thing as well in the older version. Any thoughts? Marco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 8, 2008 Posted October 8, 2008 Hi Marquinius, Take a look here LR2 or not?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Shootist Posted October 8, 2008 Share #2 Posted October 8, 2008 Well I wouldn't bother with CS3 as CS4 is just about to come out, 15th or 16th of October. you can upgrade FROM CS2 TO CS4 for the same cost. LR, that's up to you. What is better in LR2 is the newer version of ACR. It allows you to import custom camera profiles that you can make yourself, using the Adobe DNG Profile Editor, or get from someone else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neelin Posted October 9, 2008 Share #3 Posted October 9, 2008 For me, brushes! non-destructive (and post adjustable) exposure/brightness/contrast/saturation/clarity/sharpness/color ADD/ERASE, toggle color cast to show area affected (o), multiple or separate combinations of the above adjustments per "layer" (they don't refer to it as layers). So soften some wrinkles with one brush, sharpen/clarify lips & eyes with another brush, apply some selective vignetting or burning/dodging with another brush and each brush has flow/size/feathering. Add "automasking" for quick work contrasting areas (head/background)....read....quickly add non-existant bokeh via subtracting clarity/sharpness/contrast from the background and perhaps some minus saturation in the background to add some punch to the portrait. All really easy to use and adjust after the fact. I was really looking forward to the post crop vignetting, but I think thieir implementation is really cliche...you can't dynamically change the focus (locus?) point, so your stuck with portraits smack in the middle of the crop if you want to use this tool....BORING. But a large brush with minus exposure or brightness with a max. feather & moderate flow quickly does the trick. No WEB/SLIDESHOW module developments included (flashy pre-fab galleries), but the SDK kit is released so 3rd parties will be making them. Can't comment on the PRINT module because I use a RIP outboard program. Great increases in usability of LIBRARY Filtering once you get used to where they moved stuff around to! I'm cutting out 75% of CS3 work, because it's done non-destructively in lightroom & because it's database nature, it's managed so there's not the proliferation of loose files/versions common with (my) CS work. If you're a full-on image pro that's dealing in JOBS this would be less of a problem, because a wedding for example would be archived & taken off-line in one lump and all JOBS are dealt with more or less discreetly like this, so if you managed your presets and actions, etc. the actual image files would more or less take care of themselves. I learned something interesting yesterday that I'm sure will be most usefull at some time. A difference between quick develop and develop. When you SYNC a bunch of pictures in DEVELOP, they all, for example, go to a new colour temperature of 4700K. When you nudge them (a group of selected pictures) in quick develop, for example, they all go up the same amount from where they WERE. A subtle but potenially powerful difference, especially if you've already made some corrections to a couple of images. Major downers? -looking at a large thumbnail in quick develop, it would be great to be able to nudge all the tone controls with keyboard shortcuts...couple of taps more blacks, couple of taps of highlight recovery...would really speed things up. lots of stuff can't be done with keyboard shortcuts yet. (victoria brampton over at Lightroom Forums Portal has a PDF of keyboard shortcuts documented beyond anything on the web, even Adobe) -i must be really dumb, i really wanted multi-monitor support, but it just doesn't feel comfortable. In PS i set up all the controls/non-image stuff on my "crappy" secondary monitor, and work away on the image on my good monitor with 100% image only. with this implemenation, you've got to have some non-image stuff cluttering up your good monitor that you're correcting the image on. #1 Add-on- MAPI Mailer go get it google "mapi mailer lightroom". If you've used the lightroom export for email you know the shortcomings (generate the export files, load your mail program, add the jpgs, address it, mail it, jpgs sitting on your hard-drive). Basically with MAPI mailer you configure an export preset (I call mine Direct Mail 800x600) and your selection of photos gets converted (jpg/shrinking/sharpening, etc.), dropped into your default email program (you add the send to address, just like a normal email), and boom, it send it out....and discards the jpgs!!! no proliferation of processed files around your drive (yet your mailer program usually has a full copy of what it sent). #1 Tip....when your correcting a detail area with your brush, say sharpening the eyes, to move the screen over to see the lips, just touch your space bar & your brush will turn into a hand to drag the mouth into the field of view. Release the space bar & start correcting the mouth. Again, I'm real dumb, I couldn't find this in the documentation and cursed for quite a while having to hit the (K) key to de-activate the brush, move the image, and re-activate the brush by hitting (K) again. I'm using a cheap old WACOM Graphire 5x4 pen/tablet & pressure sensitivity works fine with the brushes...you can go from fine artists brush to industrial paint roller with the veins in your head as a visible pen pressure indicator Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted October 10, 2008 Share #4 Posted October 10, 2008 Marco, as Adobe merges Photoshop with Lightroom, it gets better & better. I would assume that once they write & test all the 64 bit modules for Windows, we should have one product. In the meantime, the software is much improved as is the feature set. For me, the software is the organizer & gateway to my images. The ease with which can create smaller, more focused libraries and build larger ones from others helps me to work smart & be more efficient. For casual use the new toolset allows you do experiment right off the bat, without worrying that you are making permanent changes to the original DNG. The real question is, is the time you invest learning this interface and the toolsets worth the money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share #5 Posted October 10, 2008 Perhaps I miscommunicated: my issue is not if I should use LR (as Ben states it is a gateway & organizer). I'm very happy with it and understand that LR adds to CS and vice versa. Perhaps that in the end it will merge, who knows. My issue is: I'm using LR1. Should I buy LR2? Does that really add anything? In LR1 I organize, choose and do first hand post processing. After that I switch to CS (via LR, working in a copy) and start more detailed work, like tone controle, sharpening, etc, ending - for presentation on this forum - with an action to add a frame. Printing goes via LR. So again: if I do most detailed work in CS anyway, will LR2 be of enough value iso LR1? Any thoughts are welcome. Marco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted October 10, 2008 Share #6 Posted October 10, 2008 Not sure what the exact differences are between LR1 & LR2 but there are quite a few. Not sure what the cost for the upgrade version is in your part of the world but here in the USA it was only $99.00 and I can and have spent $99 on much more frivolous items dealing with photography. If you can justify the upgrade cost I see no reason not to go to LR2 As for PS if you're using the original CS version then I would say YES go to CS4. The improvements from CS2 to CS3 IMHO are significant and with CS4 you get all of those and more. Looking at the Adobe site you can go straight from CS to CS4 for the same price as if you were using CS3. In the USA it is $199 and more then likely will be offered at a slightly lower cost from a reseller. Again I don't know what the cost will be in your part of the world. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierovitch Posted October 10, 2008 Share #7 Posted October 10, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) just got LR2 yesterday and have found it to be more productive than CS2 alone. the non destructive area adjustments are brilliant for fine tuning and spot removal simple to control. The local area correction has to be the killer feature providing amazing control and fine tuning of tonal values and sharpness. It would take a huge increase in layers to provide this in CS2. I am old school and used destructive manipulation with the occasional undo because that's how I learned since Xerox Grey FX - until last night. The before and after and snapshots can help you not get carried away and Photo-shopping to unreality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted October 10, 2008 I really appreciate both reactions on LR2. Btw: it is not the price, but slowly I'm getting fed up with all those gimmicks leading to yet another program that does almost the same. But if LR2 is really an improvement, $99 (it will be something like €199 as they don't know their rate conversion ) is not an issue. CS4: I'll go have a look. $199 is OK if it's really an improvement. Marco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted October 10, 2008 Share #9 Posted October 10, 2008 CS4: I'll go have a look. $199 is OK if it's really an improvement. Marco Marco CS4 will be a definite improvement over the original CS (0). I found CS3 to be a big improvement over CS2. Had PS 6 before CS2 and that was a welcome upgrade. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share #10 Posted October 11, 2008 OK, will go have a look. Thanks all info! Marco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted October 11, 2008 Share #11 Posted October 11, 2008 Marco, Be aware that there were some problems running LR2 on older computers because it was not designed to support SSE2 (Streaming [single Instruction, Multiple Data] Extension) instruction set 2 but not the older SSE (that is used by older computers). More info on Adobe Forum My pc is 6 years old and LR2's lack of support for SSE prevented me from creating virtual copies and caused LR2 to crash every time I chose Auto on the White Balance drop down menu in the Develop module. The good news is that both problems have been fixed in LR2.1 so make sure to download the free update. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share #12 Posted October 11, 2008 Pete, I'm running an Imac Intel core duo whatever with thingies Only PC I see is at work and I'm sure my partners don't like me fiddling with photo's during normal working hours. Marco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted October 11, 2008 Share #13 Posted October 11, 2008 Lightroom 2.1 is beta/release candidate software and not avaialble yet from the real adobe website, or through Update inside Lightroom 2. you have to go to Adobe Labs to get it and of course it does not come with any support from Adobe. Marco, Be aware that there were some problems running LR2 on older computers because it was not designed to support SSE2 (Streaming [single Instruction, Multiple Data] Extension) instruction set 2 but not the older SSE (that is used by older computers). More info on Adobe Forum My pc is 6 years old and LR2's lack of support for SSE prevented me from creating virtual copies and caused LR2 to crash every time I chose Auto on the White Balance drop down menu in the Develop module. The good news is that both problems have been fixed in LR2.1 so make sure to download the free update. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted October 11, 2008 Share #14 Posted October 11, 2008 Lightroom 2.1 is beta/release candidate software and not avaialble yet from the real adobe website, or through Update inside Lightroom 2. you have to go to Adobe Labs to get it and of course it does not come with any support from Adobe. From (ageing!) memory I think I got mine through the normal update process because I don't remember hunting for it, although I agree, Ed, that it was called a 'release candidate' whatever that means in real terms. I'm just happy to have it and it's made the world of difference for me. The bugs in Lr2 were so bad I was on the verge of rolling back to LR1.4.1 but Lr2.1 has 'saved the day'. Of course if you're using a recently manufactured computer that's running SSE2 Lr2 will probably work fine. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudiLorenz Posted October 31, 2008 Share #15 Posted October 31, 2008 LR 2 (with a free update to 2.1) lets you use M8 profiles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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