Pages: 1 ... 4 5 [6]   Go Down

Author Topic: What's still missing from LR4?  (Read 36191 times)

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3369
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #100 on: February 19, 2012, 01:45:19 pm »

the development time which would be better spent on other DAM features. Simply in the area of keywording, sets could be made bigger and the clever keyword suggestion idea could be expanded.
Couldn't agree more and I've sent feature requests for this to Adobe since v1.
Quote
I don't say that the DAM features shouldn't receive more attention - I am disappointed they don't - but Import's for the physical aspects of DAM, not for serious kewording.
There we'll have to differ;
I reckon there'll be a commonality in most imports that makes it the perfect time to apply generalised keywording (from a pre-defined set would be ideal). Then do additional individual image keywording in the library module, as at present.
I think Photo Mechanic's popularity amongst Pros suggests the efficacy of this approach.

All I'm suggesting is improvements to what's already possible, just making it easier=more efficient.
I also suspect that in software development terms using the same structure and code between Library and import would be feasible and efficient too, as well as being more intuitive for the users.

Logged

john beardsworth

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4755
    • My photography site
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #101 on: February 19, 2012, 02:20:45 pm »

Among other things PM's popularity (not all pros, but press guys certainly) is because it's very efficient at entering metadata with tools like code substitution, and is blazing fast thanks to GPU acceleration to read the embedded JPEGs. Its qualities are completely unrelated to making an Import dialog a place for serious keywording. As it is, you can already do generalised keywording there, and your duplicated keywording features would be useless as soon as you need to ingest more than one card from a single shoot. That's why it's better to keep Import focussed on its own role, and beef up Library's DAM features.
Logged

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3369
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #102 on: February 19, 2012, 04:27:39 pm »

Among other things PM's popularity (not all pros, but press guys certainly) is because it's very efficient at entering metadata with tools like code substitution, and is blazing fast thanks to GPU acceleration to read the embedded JPEGs.
Dare we ask why such a small operation as can incorporate efficiencies such as GPU utilisation when a big corporate like Adobe haven't done that with LR yet ? maybe best to leave that ;-)
Quote
Its qualities are completely unrelated to making an Import dialog a place for serious keywording.
No, it's all about workflow. The press guys use it because it's fast and efficient. Good metadata is vital for them and the speed of getting images out of the camera, metadata'd and sent through to the picture desk make the difference between a sale or not. That efficiency should be welcome for all photographers really.

"serious keywording" I'm guessing by your use of this phrase that it's one you've picked up from your connection with Adobe.
It seems sad that so often people try to get involved with discussion about Adobe products with their connections/parters/employees/consultants only to hit brick walls of 'why do you need that?', 'you don't need that', 'it's too difficult', 'it can't be done' (OK you've got to tread the party line, but...) often followed at the next version with 'wow look at this awesome new feature'
Quote
As it is, you can already do generalised keywording there, and your duplicated keywording features would be useless as soon as you need to ingest more than one card from a single shoot. That's why it's better to keep Import focussed on its own role, and beef up Library's DAM features.
Actually being able to easily use the same keywords as the previous import might be a significant time saver if importing multiple cards from the same shoot into LR.

The whole ask here is to improve the ease of improving that generalised keywording feature.
Logged

john beardsworth

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4755
    • My photography site
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #103 on: February 19, 2012, 05:31:04 pm »

Don't read anything into my use of "serious". It's simply a positive word I chose to describe your duplication of Library's keywording panels in the Import dialog and doing a lot more keywording in it than is currently possible. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered!
Logged

jjj

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4728
    • http://www.futtfuttfuttphotography.com
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #104 on: February 20, 2012, 09:01:03 pm »

The press guys use it because it's fast and efficient. Good metadata is vital for them and the speed of getting images out of the camera, metadata'd and sent through to the picture desk make the difference between a sale or not. That efficiency should be welcome for all photographers really.
I'd hazard a guess it's more to do with the fact that many years back PhotoMechanic was much faster than other offerings and LR + Br didn't even exist. And even after they did the initial versions were not as fast as PM. But times change and people rarely do.

I remember doing some research into why people used or didn't use certain programmes [like PM, Br etc] and the responses I got back would have been relevant 3 or 4 years previously, but bore little resemblance to the current software. One of the main reasons PM was faster was simply because it did less. I used to use PM myself, but eventually found myself using Br + LR instead as overall they were faster.
Logged
Tradition is the Backbone of the Spinele

matthewturley

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 35
    • matthewturley.com
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #105 on: February 29, 2012, 04:25:04 am »

Loving the new develop module :)

A few things I was hoping to see in LR4:

1.) synchronize collections (i.e. similar to syncing metadata). For users with 'serious' collection-based organizing strategies, this would be very helpful. Currently no way to 'share' all/part of one image's assigned collections with another.

2.) tethered support for MF cameras (Hasselblad H3D/H4D)

3.) +1 for relative develop adjustments mentioned earlier on this thread. Been hoping to see this for a long while...

4.) 'text template editor' available for captioning/watermarking in image export & PDF export (i.e. place the filename in a watermark). Currently only available as 3rd party plugin.

5.) book module is great...but half-baked. Hoping the full versions has custom page sizes, and PDF export settings - including the ability to export spreads as spreads.  Also, better caption editing (see #2)

6.) LOVE LOVE LOVE the new curve editor w/color channels, although the composite of all curves needs to be visible from the default view (like in PS where the RGB curves are visible 'behind' the main tone curve.  Also, need the option for a full curve reset (all channels).

hjulenissen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2051
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #106 on: February 29, 2012, 04:52:47 am »

One thing I'd really like to see... Color balance against a variety of skintones? That would make my life so much easier, to give me a starting point when doing portraits! I'm actually surprised I haven't seen utilities that provide that - am I missing something ?

Best,

Stephane
Click on a flat/neutral patch of skin using the WB dropper (in "skin" mode). Adjust WB to some "mean skin tone" as a starting-point for further manual WB. When there are no obvious white patches in the image, or if those patches are clipped, or if the color temperature of the face is very different from the background.

This is such an obviously useful feature that I guess that its abscence is an indicator that it is hard to make such a thing.

-h
Logged

walter.sk

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1433
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #107 on: May 14, 2012, 06:33:08 pm »

Two things I would like to see in LR4:

1) Ability to choose 3 external editors.  I have one set for CS6, and one for Topaz Fusion, which allows me access to my Topaz filters. (NIK, fortunately, installs itself as available as Edit In, but Topaz doesn't.)  I also like to print from Qimage, and by choosing Qimage as an external editor I can send a softproofed version of a file to Qimage.  However, I have to go into LR4 Preferences and change to 2nd external editor choice to do this.

2)  When softproofing in CS5 or CS6, I frequently use the Color Balance adjustment layer, which gives me precise and repeatable adjustments in numeric form.  The closest I can come to this when softproofing in LR4 is to use individual color curves (R, G, or B), which can produce the same effect.  However, I wish their was a numerical readout along with this.  (If I missed it, I'd appreciate being directed to it.)
Logged

Schewe

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6229
    • http:www.schewephoto.com
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #108 on: May 15, 2012, 12:00:57 am »

1) Ability to choose 3 external editors.  I have one set for CS6, and one for Topaz Fusion, which allows me access to my Topaz filters. (NIK, fortunately, installs itself as available as Edit In, but Topaz doesn't.)  I also like to print from Qimage, and by choosing Qimage as an external editor I can send a softproofed version of a file to Qimage.  However, I have to go into LR4 Preferences and change to 2nd external editor choice to do this.

You need to learn how to make a custom Edit In preset and add it to the drop down Edit In menu. Go to Preferences, External Editing and click on Choose and go to the app you want to show up as an option. In the Preset drop down menu scroll down to Save Current Settings as New Preset. Once saved your additional external will show as an option in the main Photo>Edit In menu...

Don't know why you never tried to make your own presets...Lightroom has a saved preset for just about everything...
Logged

walter.sk

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1433
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #109 on: May 15, 2012, 12:33:17 pm »

Go to Preferences, External Editing and click on Choose and go to the app you want to show up as an option. In the Preset drop down menu scroll down to Save Current Settings as New Preset. Once saved your additional external will show as an option in the main Photo>Edit In menu...
Don't know why you never tried to make your own presets...Lightroom has a saved preset for just about everything...
The main and only reason was because I didn't know how.  Now, thanks to your reply, I do.  Muchas Gracias!
Logged

Phil Indeblanc

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2017
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #110 on: May 15, 2012, 03:19:18 pm »

1. An overlay function like every medium format capture software has, so that magazine layouts can be placed over images during a shoot using tethered capture.

Whats the point? You can't even see PDF's let alone InDesign files


All I was hoping to see is a Tab along in Library mode to have an Explorer or Folders show what you ACTUALLY HAVE in them.
That way we are not blind to what exisits vs whats in the library, and still able to launch that file in the chosen app, as we can Edit out in Photoshop etc...Export into an app maybe?

Otherwise, all I can ask for is to help ACameraRaw GUI work more like the Develop window so we can rely on a separate proper DAM/Library manager to manage our image content. This way we can see PDF, InDesign, Illus, PNG, etc.
Logged
If you buy a camera, you're a photographer...

john beardsworth

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4755
    • My photography site
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #111 on: May 15, 2012, 03:35:59 pm »

Feel free to rant, and I agree with you about LR registering all types of file, but you still haven't answered my question about whether that AnyFile plugin for LR meets your needs.

The point of the overlay is to provide a similar ability to C1, which I don't think can see InDesign layouts either. In any case, a page or cover template is often put together before the InDesign layout. LR's lack of the overlay was a deal breaker for some shooters and I was delighted it was added in LR4.
Logged

Phil Indeblanc

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2017
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #112 on: May 15, 2012, 04:04:12 pm »

Thanks John for asking,

I tried it and it didn't work on the PDF's as I thought it would. Most didn't show up, and the steps involved to reimport are OK at best, if the PDF's would show

I would have a catalog open, then go to the plugin and have it Choose folders to import and it found 2 out of 10+...Perhaps it didn't do subfolders, and it defaulted to use Filter values and other files didn't show(no biggy).

So I went to the actual folder, and asked to import that, and found 10 or so more.
It was able to make a preview thumbnail (perhaps using Explorer) for 1 of the files out of the bunch. The rest were showing a spread layout(line halving the page(which showed promise), but just blank page with AF on all of them.

Oddly now, I have Explorer showing AF on my thumbnails!! rather odd
I see how it snapshoots a jpeg of the file and makes a new file/thumbnail.

ACDSee uses GhostScript. I see ALL PDF's without the hassle of import or any extra steps and such, PLUS can flip through the pages within a PDF!!  And ACDSee is not even an Adobe product. :-\

I say replace the IMPORT button of the GUI Library to BROWSE...that way we get a browser to see WHAT in Files name we are importing!
« Last Edit: May 15, 2012, 04:51:45 pm by Phil Indeblanc »
Logged
If you buy a camera, you're a photographer...

johnkiv

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 52
    • JohnKishIV photography
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #113 on: May 17, 2012, 01:09:24 pm »

Include the old fill light slider with the tone panel. For flesh tones, it usually worked for me as it was titled.   I have been using the tone curves, or substituting the darks slider in curves, which seems very similar, but not quite the same.

Phil Indeblanc

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2017
Re: What's still missing from LR4?
« Reply #114 on: May 18, 2012, 12:06:38 pm »

When you edit to PS using LR settings, It would be logical to give the "Option to Render in PSD format. When in PS, you are likely going to do a few things, and usually layers is huge and slow for a TIF format.
I rather save it in PSD, which I do, but then left with an "extra" LR rendered TIF file, which is the same as the RAW(with recipe). Makes for better house keeping.

There are time you want to use the healing brush or some tool without layers in PS, so having the option to "Use as Default" when making the selection would be handy.

Unless there is a better way of working, I think this makes good sense.
Logged
If you buy a camera, you're a photographer...
Pages: 1 ... 4 5 [6]   Go Up