I really like using both Lightroom 1.1 and CS3 programs toghether.
I like the Lightroom interface better than the CR interface. I find CR interface annoying because you must cycle in and out of Camera Raw to Bridge. Going from Library to Develop in Lightroom is seamless. I also find the History invaluable as you can go back and forth in the various History states. You can make Snapshots and Virtual Copies in Lightroom, so you can preserve several states and conceptualizations. History does not disappea until you want it to. Using presets is also seamless and you can preview the effects in the Navigator in a second. You can adjust individual tones using a new TAP features in Lightroom 1.1. It refines the tweaking of colors and tones by allowing you to make adjustments right on the photo or on the curve.
Other than these differences, the feature set in Camera Raw is the same as in Lightroom. There are those who like the Bridge browsing better than Lightroom’s. Lightroom is not perfect. I find it annoying to have to remember to import files into Lightroom, whereas they are always available in Bridge. It is also somewhat awkward to have to export photos in Photoshop, although there is a direct link. If you want to do HDR merge and/or merging panoramas, it is easier to do these directly from Bridge. These are the only two areas where I use Bridge rather than Lightroom. Changes in Lightroom are either automatically or manually reflected in Camera Raw, depending upon your preference settings. All changes in Camera Raw are reflected in Lightroom. Thus it is easy to go back and forth between the programs.
Having said all this, I use Photoshop for the refinements: Noise reduction w/ Noise Ninja; refined curves work; sharpening; layer masking; and on and on. If I had to choose only one, it would be Photoshop (no question). You can do everything in Photoshop. Camera RAW adds ease of use and is available in CS2. BUT…If you can afford Lightroom alongside CS3, it is clearly icing on the cake. A powerful combo w/ CS3.
Hope this helps.
Ina
wrote in message
Ina,
I have a question for you. As you use both CS3 and Lightroom, would you recommend me buying Lightroom as I already have CS3? I only use CS3 to make corrections to digital photographs (.jpg, RAW and .Tif). Does lightroom offer significant advantages over CS3 with these files formats, or is CS3 good enough alone. Your advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Rob