Lightroom for newbs

[Bevan.Burns]

Hey all, I've just been experimenting CS3. Just got a new computer, installed some new software, and I'm trying things out. So far I'm finding that I prefer working in Bridge. There seem to have been some great updates versus CS2, and I'm wondering what I'm gaining by working in Lightroom instead? I assume they both use the same RAW converter, so image quality is the same right? What am I missing here? Thanks.

Bevan

[DarkPenguin]

You might try ordering the LL tutorial on lightroom.  It is pretty cheap and should answer a lot of questions about what it is for and using it.

[madronemedia]

I second purchasing the LL Lightroom Tutorial by Michael and Jeff. Best $15 I've spent on digital photography in a while.

[johnwolf]

Bevan,

Stick with CS3 and Bidge if you like it. LR won't give you much more, although it is better at processing large volumes of images. And the workflow is well-reflected in the interface design.

The RAW engine is the same, so image quality should match.

I'm thinking of abandoning LR myself. I favor Bridge's file handling, and to me it feels better integrated with PS.

John

[macgyver]

Bevan,

Stick with CS3 and Bidge if you like it. LR won't give you much more, although it is better at processing large volumes of images. And the workflow is well-reflected in the interface design.

The RAW engine is the same, so image quality should match.

I'm thinking of abandoning LR myself. I favor Bridge's file handling, and to me it feels better integrated with PS.

John
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I'll second all of that. I could never get onboard with the whole database system.

[tomrock]

Bridge is better at handling an individual folder of images. LR is better at managing a collection of images is many folders.

The raw conversion engine is the same.

[madmanchan]

Bevan, the main difference is the workflow, and the methods for organizing and finding your images. If you ever only work with a single folder of images at a time, then as stated above Bridge will likely fit the bill. But if you ever need to work with sets of images that span multiple folders, LR is the tool of choice. For instance, I recently had a project which involved 12 images from Northern California that I wanted to put together in a calendar. All my images from North Cal span multiple years and are located in different folders, on different drives. No problem. First, in LR I typed "Northern California" in the Find box to quickly bring up all my North Cal images. (All my images have location keywords.) Next, I picked the 12 images I wanted and created a new collection in LR called "Calendar 2007" containing these 12 images. Then whenever I need to revisit this project, I just click on "Calendar 2007" in LR's list of collections and the 12 images come up right away ... even though they're all stored in different places.

Keywording and printing are also more convenient in LR, I feel.

[Bevan.Burns]

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! Seems like I'll probably mainly use Bridge for what I'm doing now, but I'm sure Lightroom will come in handy down the road.