Editing software questions

[gerardo2068]

I think you should get Lightroom first. Since you are planning to stick with the hobby you most likely will be using both down the road. Personally I think both software complement each other. I think even though CS5 has a organizing feature, I find it limited compare to Lightroom. Also Lightroom was meant to be a library organizer for all your photos. Lightroom it's very well suited for basic editing and many times is more than enough. CS5 it's more advance editing. In the long run I think you need both software but I think it's more logical to start with Lightroom. Start getting all your photos organized in Lightroom catalog and learn the editing in Lightroom. As your acquired more knowledge then you can spend the extra cash on CS5. Since you have a trip coming up soon, the learning curve of Lightroom it's easier to learn. IMO.

 

[KmH]

LR is almost 1/2 the price of CS5. I'd hate to buy LR and wish I had the extra power of CS5.

When you buy CS5 you get the same edit rendering engine Lightroom 3 uses - ACR 6. I mentioned earlier that ACR was developed for Photoshop 7, long before Adobe came up with Lightroom.

What you don't get by buying CS5 is Lightroom's primary reason for existing, it's image database management function. Lightroom does have some workflow advantages over a Bridge/Camera Raw workflow, but those advantages mostly apply to photographers that routinely produce A LOT of images.

Adobe designed Lightroom as a compliment to Photoshop, not as a replacement for Photoshop.

 

[Canuk]

Kieth - I do understand what your saying and do agree with it. I don't at this time produce tons of images, so the extra organization and database function may be a nice option, but one that I can live with out. If that changes I can always add LR later.
Thanks again.

 

[KmH]

No problemo Cnauk

:lmao:

 

[bratkinson]

I am basically a cheapskate. I don't want to pay for a zillion features I'll probably never use, whether it's software or fancy cameras. To that end, I only upgrade/replace software when I absolutely have to. One such time was migrating to Windows XP a couple of years ago. I looked long and hard at the current version of CS and decided it was way too expensive for this amateur. So, I went on ebay and found a genuine copy of 2-3 version back from current Photoshop and paid $65 or so for it. I got all the features I wanted and it still works as good today on my computer as it did then. Oh yea, I'm still using XP...why upgrade that?

 

[KmH]

So you're using Photoshop 4 or 5?

CS, which came after Photoshop 7, is Photoshop 8.
CS2 is Photoshop 9, CS3 is Photoshop 10, CS4 is Photoshop 11, CS5 is Photoshop 12.

 

[Canuk]

I tried to find an older version of photoshop awhile ago w/ out any luck. My thoughts were is I could find CS3 or CS4 I would just upgrade to the newer one when I could.
As for upgrading from windows XP, Windows 7 is a much better OS but my Mac has both beat, lol

 

[HeatherClemons]

Adobe designed Lightroom as a compliment to Photoshop, not as a replacement for Photoshop.

YES YES YES. Photoshop is the absolutely the first program you need - and that's how they intended it! You're right, it's double the price of Lighroom and every bit is worth it.

However, if you don't really need the bells and whistles of CS5, you can always go with the newest version Elements for all the basics until you can easily afford a Photoshop/Lightroom bundle. It would have everything you need for your basic stuff, and shouldn't be underestimated. Elements would be a way better option in my opinion than Aperture or Gimp.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Heather~
Save the Artist - a creative community

 

[gerardo2068]

Many photographer can get by with just Lightroom and with the upgrades I've seen in Lightroom 4 Beta, there going to be even less round trips to photoshop. Depends on your photography needs Lightroom can be a replacement to photoshop.

 

[MReid]

If you have a large volume of photos Lightroom is worth every penny just for the time it will give back to you.


If you are a casual shooter Photoshop Elements will be all you ever need.
Unless you know why you need full Photoshop, you don't need it.

 

[KmH]

CS5 is needed to get a fully featured Raw converter - ACR (Camera Raw) and 16-bit depth edits. The version of ACR (Camera Raw) in Elements is heavily de-featured and Elements is prety much limited to only 8-bit depth edits.

Photographers that only use Lightroom never produce finished images, because Lightroom can't edit pixels. Sharpening requires at least 2 steps in Photoshop beyond what Lightroom (even Lightroom 4) can do.

 

[gerardo2068]

Photographers that only use Lightroom never produce finished images, because Lightroom can't edit pixels. Sharpening requires at least 2 steps in Photoshop beyond what Lightroom (even Lightroom 4) can do.

Ok. If you say so