Contemplating LR as Upgrade from PSE8

TangoJuliet

I've heard a lot of good things about LR3 and have only ever used PSE (first PSE5 then PSE8). Will my PSE Organizer integrate with LR3 if I were to purchase it? Or would I have issues? I consider myself a Pro-Am level photographer and don't have a need for CS, so PSE has worked fairly well for me, but LR is so tempting.

Art Scott

I know notrhing about PSE....but I will tell you this....for me LR has been a life / time saver.......I was only going into PS for sharpening (using unsharp mask) and to use Genuine fractals for uprezing...now that GF is also a LR plug in I only go to PS for sharpening with unsharp mask and I do not mind that part of the work flow because sharpening is the last thing I do before saving that final jpg............it was how it had to be done to get great looking uprezed images out of GF in the years past when I 1st started using them.........

TangoJuliet

I'm not sure I even know what you mean by up-rezzing. My main worry is that my Organizer won't be accesible from LR. Of course all my images are in folders in "My Photos" on the desktop, but that kind of reduces all my tags to a wasted effort .

pmbpro

I LOVE Lightroom 3.0! I only use Photoshop now because of pre-made "batch" actions I had before (batch re-sizing, watermarking, sharpening styles, photo frames, etc. all in one go) and I still find those convenient to use sometimes.

I highly recommend downloading and trying out the Lightroom trial first before purchasing; test out the features, and especially the specific concerns you have (tagging, cataloguing, orgainizing, etc.) to see if it works for you. Check out video tutorials online as well, at Adobe.tv and other places.

Oh, and "Uprezzing" is a term used to describe the technique of enlarging photo images while still maintaining good quality for prints, etc. Genuine Fractals is one application most commonly mentioned, but Photoshop can do it too.

TangoJuliet

Thanks Paula. Yes, I may just have to try the trial version to see if it's compatible with my PSE Organizer. I've never had or used any Plug-Ins or Pre-Sets, but I'd like to for Portraits, even though I haven't done many.

MomaZunk

I have been looking at going from PSE to LR as well. My understanding is:
1. The PSE organizer will convert to the LR orgainzer. Once you convert your catalog to LR, I am not sure you can switch back, so download the trial first before making a firm commitment. There are also some posts in the adobe forums that give some additional pointers on making the transition.
2. The LR organizer will not recognize video or pdf's like PSE, so organizing documents and videos will have to be separate (bummer for me, I use PSE to organize/tag everything)
3. The LR organizer is not as easy to handle searches. I think you have to type in the info you want versus just clicking the check boxes like in PSE.

These are really different types of programs:
LR saves the modifications for the initial image, and then can output a jpeg, vs saving different versions of files like PSE. LR will take up less space.
I think LR is better for managing RAW file workflow, and doing things in batch.

LR still has issues with handling GPS metadata based on some of the forums.
LR does have templates for entering in boiler plate metadata such as contact info that PSE does not.
I currently use a free program (Geosetter) to apply my metadata templates and add location data to my photos prior to importing into PSE. I also use Geosetter to merge my Garmin GPS data with my photos.
With LR, I believe I will still have to use Geosetter to manage the location data like I want.

I am on the fence here as well. I just updated from PSE7 to PSE9, and I am happy with the upgrade, but I am still eying the LR 3 more for simplified RAW work flow, and perhaps storage space savings. The catalog syncing with Smugmug would also be nice.

Cheers,

TangoJuliet

More good feedback. Thanks Moma.

jrogers

I have PSE7 (and have been thinking about PSE9), but about a month ago I downloaded a trial of LR. There are some things I liked about, but I feel like I have greater control of modifying pictures in PSE.

But...to answer you original question, LR imported my PSE database fine, and otherwise left the PSE database alone, so it still works with PSE7.

I would download the trial version and play around with it...you may need to go onto adobe's website and watch some tutorial videos to get up to speed quickly (I had to, anyway)

Elaine

Years ago, I used PSE 3 and then 5. Then I just used the PSE 5 catalog and started using CS3 for editing. Then I started using LR2, took some on-line video tutorials for LR, and used CS3 occasionally. Now I use LR3 and sometimes open CS3.
I love LR. For me, it has been SO much better/easier/faster to use than PSE, once I learned how. I watched these free tutorials by Michael Tapes for LR1, but then I also used lynda.com to take more tutorials for LR2. When Scott Kelby came to town, I went to his one-day workshop on LR and that was very helpful.
I would definitely suggest playing with the free trial of LR, but I would also suggest looking into taking some on-line tutorials to really learn about all aspects of the program. It will save a lot of frustration and get you up and running a lot faster.
I really don't think you would regret making the switch.

TangoJuliet

I downloaded the trial version of LR3 last week, but haven't really had an opportunity to really play with it though. Maybe this week off from work I'll get my chance. It appeared to import my PSE Organiser just fine. I will watch some video tutorials to help me figure it out.