I plan to get either ACR7 (CS6) or LR4. I’ll end up with either ACR7/CS6 or LR4/CS4. Based on the above comments and what I know about ACR and LR, it appears that for my situation there isn’t a significant advantage for one versus the other.
CS6 is $60 more, but that amount is pretty insignificant. Since I’m accustomed to using ACR, I’ll probably just upgrade to CS6.
Thanks for the helpful comments.
If you (almost) never print a photo and restrict your viewing to your computer monitor, I very much doubt that any upgrade of your software will allow you to produce a perceptible improvement in image quality. Glad to hear other opinions.
I must disagree, you will see a definite improvement in the ability to open shadows, without affecting lighter tones, to give just one example, even if all you do is look at stuff on a montior, as anyone who has done any PP using the new and old versions of ACR/LR has seen. The new ACR/LR engine is totally superior to the old.
I should have been clearer. While I rarely do my own printing, I occasionally have prints made by photo labs, but I do all the image prep work. Also, I’m still in the Stone Age. My photos are from film scans. I do most of my image processing with ACR, but still use PS, too.
AFairley, the improvement in the ability to open shadows, without affecting lighter tones, is one of the main reasons I'm considering an upgrade.