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.