Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: Newb Software Question

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    189

    Newb Software Question

    Folks, I have an ancient copy of Photoshop (CS2) that I have to run inside a virtualized XP machine on my Windows 7 computer to actually use. However, for my purposes (work-related not personal) it has served well and does more than what I actually need.

    I saw Bryan's news article about Lightroom and have to admit that I have no idea what that software does vs. PS. The Wikipedia article seems to suggest that it works in conjunction with PS but Adobe's site suggests it's a standalone application. Though I've never made a dime from photography, I did spend a large amount of time in a darkroom when I was younger so I have a basic grasp of the workflow required to develop film and make prints. For all those youngin's out there that's what we used to call a printer. It had wonderful-smelling chemicals like fixer and neat tools called enlargers.

    Can anyone enlighten me please?

  2. #2
    Administrator Sean Setters's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Savannah, GA
    Posts
    3,360
    Lightroom is best used as a batch editing and organizational program. You can make adjustments to an image and apply those same adjustments across a range of images. It's much like Canon's free Digital Photo Professional, except it's much more full-featured. I've used Lightroom from time to time, but DPP is what I use most often.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    189
    Thanks Sean. I can also batch process in PS. Are they the same sorts of things or different? Obviously my ancient copy of PS doesn't support my camera's raw files but DPP can create 16-bit TIFF files that have the full info. It's slow but I'm not a professional.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Planet Earth
    Posts
    3,110
    If I were you, I would be asking if I could import files from Lightroom in to CS2. Maybe you can but it seems that software companies (which Adobe is one) like to make software that creates new files that it's old cousins (likeCS2) can’t use.

    I have no idea if it will or will not, but I would ask the question.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    189
    Eh, not too worried about it but thanks. I don't see myself using Lightroom. I only work on one or two photos at a time - unless I'm working on thousands (work) in which case I write my own scripts in MATLAB. But I do appreciate the knowledge.

  6. #6
    Junior Member kingscurate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Manchester,UK
    Posts
    24
    If you try luminous landscape forum, they eulogize about doing everything in Lightroom. LR 4 will have Softproofing as well, so in their eyes no need at all to use PS.
    I aint a pro

  7. #7
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    12
    I have both Lightroom and Photoshop, and I use Lightroom for about 98% of my editing, sending an image to Photoshop only if I need to do exposure blending, pixel-level editing or certain effects like Gaussian Blur. For distortion correction, exposure tweaks, curves, color, cropping, [cloning, which I never do], and pretty much everything else, Lightroom gives the same results a whole lot faster. What it comes down to is that Lightroom has pretty much all the tools needed for photos without any of the other features that Photoshop needs to include for other types of users. The lens profile distortion and vignetting corrections alone are a good enough reason for me to use Lightroom as the first step in my workflow.

    Right now the Lightroom 4 Beta is free and I highly recommend giving it a try while that's still the case!

    P.S. Lightroom is a standalone application with decent, but not excellent, hooks into Photoshop. For example, you can select a group of images in Lightroom and have it open them as layers in a new Photoshop file, or use Photoshop's HDR tool to merge them. But for the most part, they work independently.
    Last edited by Positron; 02-15-2012 at 11:38 PM.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    778
    LR is basically Adobe Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw combined. Photoshop is a complement to Lightroom, but not necessarily a replacement. It's more of a replacement to Bridge only it doesn't have to load up a bunch of crap for all the other Adobe products that photographers don't want (Illustrator, Dreamweaver, ect). With LR3 going for $70 today, I'd buy a copy if you even thought about using it.
    Words get in the way of what I meant to say.

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    South West Ontario
    Posts
    466
    Have LR3 and PS 5.5 . Lightroom can do most of my image editing, the interface is a restylized version of Adobe Camera Raw. When it comes to printing, I prefer PS as my printer has a plug-in and the softproofing helps me to avoid out-of-gamut surprises. Overall, I use LR3 far more than DPP or PS5. It has extended capabilities compared to DPP, but I do use the 'Edit in PS' feature for perspective corrections (keystoning), better selection of sharpening methods for highly pushed images, and printing. DPP gets more usage at work where I tend to use a tethered camera a lot for macro shots before and after testing material samples. At the end of the day, if I could only keep one of the three at home it would be LR3. The library function and the developing interface make it more user-friendly than PS could ever be, though I would on occasion miss the larger feature set of PS.

    Given that you are scripting in Matlab, presumably using toolbox functions, you may find that the ability to create scripts in PS5.5 for automating repetitive processing tasks is to your liking. Don't suppose your workplace could use the upgrade for image processing before data analysis and would allow you use of the license for when you work at home? I know you work in a lab environment. If it is part of an educational institution be aware that there are academic discounts from Adobe for students, staff and faculty to purchase for personal usage.

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    South West Ontario
    Posts
    466
    Have LR3 and PS 5.5 . Lightroom can do most of my image editing, the interface is a restylized version of Adobe Camera Raw. When it comes to printing, I prefer PS as my printer has a plug-in and the softproofing helps me to avoid out-of-gamut surprises. Overall, I use LR3 far more than DPP or PS5. It has extended capabilities compared to DPP, but I do use the 'Edit in PS' feature for perspective corrections (keystoning), better selection of sharpening methods for highly pushed images, and printing. DPP gets more usage at work where I tend to use a tethered camera a lot for macro shots before and after testing material samples. At the end of the day, if I could only keep one of the three at home it would be LR3. The library function and the developing interface make it more user-friendly than PS could ever be, though I would on occasion miss the larger feature set of PS.

    Given that you are scripting in Matlab, presumably using toolbox functions, you may find that the ability to create scripts in PS5.5 for automating repetitive processing tasks is to your liking. Don't suppose your workplace could use the upgrade for image processing before data analysis and would allow you use of the license for when you work at home? I know you work in a lab environment. If it is part of an educational institution be aware that there are academic discounts from Adobe for students, staff and faculty to purchase for personal usage.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •