I upgraded to CS5 today, $50 off the normal price which is cool.
I'm still debating about LR3. I know I dont NEED it, but it would be nice. I havent seen anything yet that makes me think I have to have it.
Sure. The camera RAW tools are identical in function. What Lightroom gives me is workflow. I handles my import, keywording, sorting/rating, organization and printing in addition to RAW conversion; all in one application.
If you've got a system in place that works for you, there's not a bunch of benefit. If not, or if RAW processing scares you, then I whole-heartedly recommend it.
My system works so far but as I get more and more files it might break down, time will tell
that the leap, JUMP, JUMP NOW !
If you buy it online and are waiting for shipping you can download the 30 day trial from Adobe and enter your authorization code when your delivery gets there. It's a full version so there's nothing to lose and it can save you a few bucks vs. paying for faster shipping. Just in case anyone wasn't aware....
Adobe is good like that. When I picked up CS4 last year, my stupid dvd drive had issues reading the disc. I didn't want to return the program as I got it at like half price. The Adobe customer service rep suggested I download the full thing and enter my product's code. Worked great.
I can see where the organization provided by LightRoom could be very useful. I don't have zillions of images to catalog (yet), but I can see how over time working with the system would yield an organized library, instead of a mishmash of images and assorted folders which would be very tedious to sort out at that point.