Use DPP which came with your camera until you can save up for/score a free copy of LR. I use DPP unless a scene has challenging dynamic range, then it's LR to the rescue.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I know people that swear-by Digital Photo Professional (DPP), but I think LR4 is much more full-featured and capable - it's kinda fun too! [ if processing is your idea of fun :-) ]
90% of the time I only use DPP, and I only shoot RAW. If there is a need for more photo-mangling, then I save it as a 16-bit TIFF and run that through something else.
My Smugmug
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
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Matthew SavilleRegistered Users, Retired ModPosts: 3,352Major grins
edited April 20, 2013
Lightroom 4 (and soon Lightroom 5) are the best well-rounded programs if you need to do everything from simple general editing to advanced landscape processing, and definitely high-volume processing such as for weddings.
Learning Lightroom can be daunting and people often complain about how it doesn't do as good of a job as the proprietary programs such as DPP, but the bottom line is that Lightroom is the most versatile and by far the fastest for high-volume editing.
(I write for a website called SLR Lounge and we have a full array of Lightroom tutorials on our Youtube channel, as well as a complete Lightroom / Bridge Preset System that allows us to edit photos extremely fast with incredible quality... I have used almost every program under the sun, from Lightroom to DPP to Capture, Aperture, etc. etc..)
Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)/Photoshop appear to use the same RAW conversion engine.
Photoshop has a far more extensive capability after the RAW conversion, plus Photoshop comes with Adobe Bridge, which I use to batch automate RAW conversion. (Bridge is rather a subset of Lightroom functionality.)
Lightroom, I believe, started life as Adobe Bridge plus a Digital Asset Management (DAM) frontend. It has become something much more, but it's still subordinate to Photoshop in post-RAW capability. Still, it is all that many folks use.
For freeware, I use RawTherapee on machines for which I don't want to license commercial products. While Adobe uses a single RAW conversion engine, RawTherapee gives you access to no less than 6 demosaicing technologies. (2 of those are significant for Bayer design imaging chips, like those used in Canon and Nikon cameras.)
RawTherapee, as of version 4.0.10, may even include the world's best noise reduction algorithms. My own testing shows remarkable control over sensor pattern noise, as well as random sensor noise.
RawTherapee has been compiled for Windows, Mac and Linux architecture computers (but it works best on 64 bit machines).
RawTherapee is a 100 percent 32 bit processing pipeline, which does make for long processing times, but which produces the very best smoothness for skies and clear skin. I have a thread set up for RawTherapee:
Lightroom 4 (and soon Lightroom 5) are the best well-rounded programs if you need to do everything from simple general editing to advanced landscape processing, and definitely high-volume processing such as for weddings.
Learning Lightroom can be daunting and people often complain about how it doesn't do as good of a job as the proprietary programs such as DPP, but the bottom line is that Lightroom is the most versatile and by far the fastest for high-volume editing.
(I write for a website called SLR Lounge and we have a full array of Lightroom tutorials on our Youtube channel, as well as a complete Lightroom / Bridge Preset System that allows us to edit photos extremely fast with incredible quality... I have used almost every program under the sun, from Lightroom to DPP to Capture, Aperture, etc. etc..)
=Matt=
So to confirm, Lightroom 4 does process RAW files from the Canon 5D3? I just tried with my current Light 3 and it didn't process the RAW files. I tried DPP, however, it wasn't IMO user friendly. When is Lightroom 5 scheduled to come out?
LR 4 works with the 5D3. The images in my comparison above were shot with my 5D3. If you find LR more user friendly than DPP that's great, just use LR 4 and don't look back. I've been spoiled by DPP's simplicity and I'm quick with it, so LR seems not very user friendly to me. My loss.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
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Matthew SavilleRegistered Users, Retired ModPosts: 3,352Major grins
So to confirm, Lightroom 4 does process RAW files from the Canon 5D3? I just tried with my current Light 3 and it didn't process the RAW files. I tried DPP, however, it wasn't IMO user friendly. When is Lightroom 5 scheduled to come out?
If you have LR3 then don't bother getting LR4 at this point, just download the beta of Lightroom 5 and then buy it when it comes out.
I have done pretty extensive testing of LR5 beta and it seems to be pretty stable thus far on most machines. I've actually never had it crash or lag once on my main work PC!
The Lightroom 5 Beta will not expire until after the official release, so basically you have as much time as you need!
If you have LR3 then don't bother getting LR4 at this point, just download the beta of Lightroom 5 and then buy it when it comes out.
I have done pretty extensive testing of LR5 beta and it seems to be pretty stable thus far on most machines. I've actually never had it crash or lag once on my main work PC!
The Lightroom 5 Beta will not expire until after the official release, so basically you have as much time as you need!
Lightroom 4 (and soon Lightroom 5) are the best well-rounded programs if you need to do everything from simple general editing to advanced landscape processing, and definitely high-volume processing such as for weddings.
Learning Lightroom can be daunting and people often complain about how it doesn't do as good of a job as the proprietary programs such as DPP, but the bottom line is that Lightroom is the most versatile and by far the fastest for high-volume editing.
(I write for a website called SLR Lounge and we have a full array of Lightroom tutorials on our Youtube channel, as well as a complete Lightroom / Bridge Preset System that allows us to edit photos extremely fast with incredible quality... I have used almost every program under the sun, from Lightroom to DPP to Capture, Aperture, etc. etc..)
=Matt=
Matt,
Now that Lightroom 5 is out, can I upgrade my current version of Lightroom 3 or do I have to order the full version of Lightroom 5?
I realize this thread is a little old, and you may have already upgraded, but just wanted to mention that there IS a way to edit 5D3 RAW files in LR3. Just get the free DNG converter from the Adobe site. Sure, it adds an extra step, but it does avoid the need to upgrade. But the upgrade is worth it, especially from LR3.
Comments
www.zblackwood.com
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
http://jmphotocraft.com/lrdr/seeingthelightroom.htm
However most of my pics are not this extreme for DR, and DPP is fine then.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Learning Lightroom can be daunting and people often complain about how it doesn't do as good of a job as the proprietary programs such as DPP, but the bottom line is that Lightroom is the most versatile and by far the fastest for high-volume editing.
(I write for a website called SLR Lounge and we have a full array of Lightroom tutorials on our Youtube channel, as well as a complete Lightroom / Bridge Preset System that allows us to edit photos extremely fast with incredible quality... I have used almost every program under the sun, from Lightroom to DPP to Capture, Aperture, etc. etc..)
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Photoshop has a far more extensive capability after the RAW conversion, plus Photoshop comes with Adobe Bridge, which I use to batch automate RAW conversion. (Bridge is rather a subset of Lightroom functionality.)
Lightroom, I believe, started life as Adobe Bridge plus a Digital Asset Management (DAM) frontend. It has become something much more, but it's still subordinate to Photoshop in post-RAW capability. Still, it is all that many folks use.
For freeware, I use RawTherapee on machines for which I don't want to license commercial products. While Adobe uses a single RAW conversion engine, RawTherapee gives you access to no less than 6 demosaicing technologies. (2 of those are significant for Bayer design imaging chips, like those used in Canon and Nikon cameras.)
RawTherapee, as of version 4.0.10, may even include the world's best noise reduction algorithms. My own testing shows remarkable control over sensor pattern noise, as well as random sensor noise.
RawTherapee has been compiled for Windows, Mac and Linux architecture computers (but it works best on 64 bit machines).
RawTherapee is a 100 percent 32 bit processing pipeline, which does make for long processing times, but which produces the very best smoothness for skies and clear skin. I have a thread set up for RawTherapee:
[thread=232782]RawTherapee 4.0.10 discussion thread[/thread]
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
So to confirm, Lightroom 4 does process RAW files from the Canon 5D3? I just tried with my current Light 3 and it didn't process the RAW files. I tried DPP, however, it wasn't IMO user friendly. When is Lightroom 5 scheduled to come out?
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
If you have LR3 then don't bother getting LR4 at this point, just download the beta of Lightroom 5 and then buy it when it comes out.
I have done pretty extensive testing of LR5 beta and it seems to be pretty stable thus far on most machines. I've actually never had it crash or lag once on my main work PC!
The Lightroom 5 Beta will not expire until after the official release, so basically you have as much time as you need!
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Thanks Matt!
Matt,
Now that Lightroom 5 is out, can I upgrade my current version of Lightroom 3 or do I have to order the full version of Lightroom 5?
Thanks,
Chris
I was able to select "Upgrade" all the way back to original Lightroom 1, and at the same upgrade cost for all.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums