Lightroom 5 (All discussions)

sevencrossing

Anyone tried LR5 beta yet ??
looks like it has has reduced the need for CS5 or CS 6

or are you still on LR3?

John

I haven't tried it yet but it looks like it has added value to offer.
The new healing brush looks a lot like the content aware fill of Photoshop.
It's definately a feature that I can see myself using.
(In order to remove people, cars,... from landscape shots or to remove stray hairs on a model after a studio shoot to name but two examples.)
The perspective correction is not new. It could already be done with the lens correction menu.
However, now that it's automatic (and potentially more accurate then doing it manually) it might have a significant impact on the time required to edit the image. I think that this feature will most likely be useful for architectural and interiour photography.

The radial filter migt have it's uses but it's not something I see myself using a lot.
In the example it's used to keep a flower in focus and make the background out of focus. This is something I do in camera. But it might have it's uses...

Gareth

Healing brush and off centre vignettes are something I have wished it had for a long time. This could save me a lot of time.

What is the upgrade price?

Replace CS6? Certainly not for me. It still doesn't have layers, and I doubt it ever will unless photoshop brings out something crazy new.

John

I don't think that Lightroom will ever replace Photoshop.
Photoshop is a tool that allows you to actually "build" your images using layers, advanced masks, compositions,...
Lightroom on the other hand has always been the digital equivallent of a darkroom. It allows for a limited set of alterations that are required to balance the photo and get an optimal result.
So, Adobe will always have a market segment for Photoshop (fashion magazines to name but one) als long as it retains this viewpoint.

What we will notice is that you will need to use photoshop less often. This is a good thing as we like to limit our editing to non-destructive actions as much as possible.

When looking at the feature set of LR5 I find even less reason to use Photoshop in my workflow. It looks like it will be sufficient for 95% of my work.
The main reason I would still go to Photoshop is to stitch panoramas or possibly for some HDR work.

Vipmediastar

I have plenty of architecture photos since I shoot weekly in Chicago. I was considering a tilt/shift lens. With this improved feature I think I'll pass on the lens. Possible the lens would be better but this is a good alternative.

obajoba

If they could add the ability to stitch photos then I would be set since I use HDR Efex Pro2 for my occasional HDR's. A real healing brush and off center vignette/filters is absolutely appreciated. I will definitely have to install and try this out.

sevencrossing

If they could add the ability to stitch photos .....

They have to leave something for LR6, but stitching really needs layers, so I will be keeping CS5

obajoba

They have to leave something for LR6, but stitching really needs layers, so I will be keeping CS5

Yes, I suppose they do You get stitching and layers in Elements 11 as well, right? I currently don't own any Adobe products other than LR4 so I don't know for sure the capabilities of each. It also appears that they may be venturing into the time-lapse realm by providing a richer set of "slideshow" features.

Definitely worth trying out the beta version in the freetime I *don't* have...

Golf007sd

Anaxagoras

I'm an amateur, not a professional. I've been using Apple Aperture for many years now, and have always loved it

I 'guesstimate' well over 10,000 of my images in Aperture have been edited. Presumably I'd need to re-edit every single one of them them if I switched to LR5?

That's a lot of work! LR5 will need to be pretty, damned compelling to make me switch!

Incidentally, a search on 'Aperture 4' suggests a release date of, ahem, April 2012! And since, in recent years, Apple seems to have had a true dedication to gimmick over substance...

Think carefully those of you deciding for the first time!

Golf007sd

I have both. I find the flexibility of LR to be more advantages than Aperture. Try downloading the trial version and play with it and see if you like it. One feature I really like is the file manager. It lets you organize your files in folder and directories as you wish vs Aperture that puts all the images in one big Library. Should the Library ever get damaged...well then there goes all your images.

cholson

golf: to clarify... aperture does keep the images in a central "package", but they can easily be accessed if you right click on the aperture library and "show package contents". then, navigate the directory like a normal finder window. folders/projects are still there in aperture, they are just more symbolic organization

lightroom has always been tempting, but for me, the workflow of aperture just makes more sense. i've tried to make the switch a couple of times, but find the aperture experience a better fit with how i work. we'll see if that changes for this next release of lightroom 5 and aperture 4

NOTE: i do like the new healing brush in LR 5 beta... excited to see what both apps having coming next!

Ade

Aperture can do it either way. Files can be organized in regular file folders ("referenced") similar to LR, or they can be consolidated into the Aperture library.

@Anaxagoras: you can leave the existing 10k images for Aperture to manage, and use LR (or some other program) for new work from now onwards.

Golf007sd

@cholson: Thank you for pointing out my oversight...you are quite correct in being able to have access to the files in that manner.

Cheers

Golf007sd

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Public Beta Overview

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Public Beta -- Download Link.

TaoTeJared

Looks like a good upgrade - I just hope it doesn't break any add-ons. I'm just finally getting all my saved presets from the previous LR moved over. (not a priority at all but wish it did it automatically with the upgrade.)

JJ_SO

I have both. I find the flexibility of LR to be more advantages than Aperture. Try downloading the trial version and play with it and see if you like it. One feature I really like is the file manager. It lets you organize your files in folder and directories as you wish vs Aperture that puts all the images in one big Library. Should the Library ever get damaged...well then there goes all your images.

No, that's far away from reality! The library is nothing than a top folder (a package) which shows his content in several other apps such as Graphic Converter or PhotoLine and is all time accessible. Also, there's a trick to make the folder structure of the library - which I find a clever one - visible in the finder. That point is irrelevant. But what is really concerning to me is that Apple doesn't seem to have anymore interest in a once very sophisticated way of developing, editing and managing RAW files.

To me the interface is still way better than LR or anything else on the market. But hat's because I know and use it for a long time. In different libs I store about 30.000 pictures.

It's right, there's no way of transferring all edits, all metadata, all Aperture data (such as faces, still a feature no other DAM has) lossless to another DAM. But now I have the situation of a camera which is not supported by Aperture and probably it will take time until the lazy bones of Apple do something about it. In such a gap people start to look for alternatives. I had Capture One pro for quite a while, with version 7 it's better usable as asset management system. I hope with version 8 they reach a nice level of usability. It's an interesting moment of transition for me. Sometimes miss the elegance of file handling Aperture has. But the edit functions of C1 are pretty cool. If Apple prefers not to carry on with it, I have a solution for newer cameras and keep Aperture till it's end of life. Only a complete change of OS to Windows would be difficult but not impossible.

Adobe with it's way to copy Apple's features in an often lousy manner is no way for me. Smart folders in Aperture compared collections on the Adobe side - yuck!

sevencrossing

Hey, let's not turn thread this into an Aperture vs LR

Once you have spent a few years liking, learning and getting used to Aperture
you are unlikely to want to change to LR , and vice versa

I have never used Aperture; every one tell me, like most apple products, the interface is easier to use
As far as I can tell, LR has features that are missing Aperture but if you do not need those features, there does not seem any point in changing

BabaGanoush

aperture does keep the images in a central "package", but they can easily be accessed if you right click on the aperture library and "show package contents". then, navigate the directory like a normal finder window. folders/projects are still there in aperture, they are just more symbolic organization

Same file structure as in iPhoto? Inside the iPhoto Library package there's a folder called Originals, which contains the original picture files, arranged chronologically. Before importing my photos into LR to work on the NEF files, I normally read the JPEG versions into iPhoto for a quick look so I can grade them and mark the ones I have no further interest in. At the same time, this creates a backup archive for the original JPEGs, which becomes my photo archive of "last resort."

John

I've given LR5 beta a quick try.
It's still the same good old LR4 with a few nice new features.
The new lens correction features are cool.
There's also the option to automatically align the image horizontally.
Very useful for architecture and ocean shots.

The new healing tool is useful but it's not a content aware fill so photoshop still has it's uses.

bland

Alan Hess just put on his blog some screen shots of the LR5 full view function, pretty sweet!

spraynpray

I like that LR takes features from PS (and as John says content aware would just about do it for me) but what a pity the GUI of PS isn't as clean and straightforward as LR.

[Deleted User]

The new lenscorrections does not work in a lot of my test cases, but the LR 4.4. function is still there. The new spot healing and cloning is working great in a lot of cases, make the corrections before cropping to see what is happening. The radial filter is a nice addition.

Working now since the announcement with it, all the functions of LR 4.4 are working the same. Some nice additions, RAW convertor 8.1, not updated yet in PS CS6, so if you edit, open the RAW in PS with LR rendering, same as you should do in PS CS5.

You can use it till june 30th. When you import new photo's, use your LR 4, put them in your usual place and copy them direct to a test map. As you know you can make a second copy during import, you can find this in the - File Handling - tab.

Then start LR 5 and add this testmap to your LR 5 catalog, the next time you can synchronize the folder, and throw it away after june 30th, if you don't buy LR 5 and still have your photo's in LR 4.

Gareth

Out now, so who's buying?

I will buy it for the advanced healing brush and the movable vignette (both should have been implemented ages ago) if the upgrade from 4 is not too costly.

Gab

The radial filter is great for brightening faces too (with invert mask).

spraynpray

Having had a go with the LR5 beta and because I have LR4 I am thinking of skipping LR5 - I wonder if that means I wouldn't be able to upgrade from LR4 to LR6? Probably.