Lightroom3...Worth the Upgrade?

[pAthdoc]

I'm currently using LR2 for PP. I'm pretty happy with it, but I was wondering if I should upgrade to LR3? What changes/additions have been made, and is it worth the upgrade price?

[Nicole]

In my opinion, totally absolutely. Have you tried out the demo version of LR3? Since you're familiar with LR2 you'll be familiar enough with it that figuring out what's changed shouldn't be difficult.

I think that the import dialog works better. There is tethered shooting (which does work really well). The noise reduction is much better than in LR2. If your camera shoots video, LR3 doesn't ignore it like LR2 does (which meant I was lucky if I remembered to download the videos). And I'm a huge fan of the publish folders. That makes my life so much easier just because it's much easier to keep track of what you export where. It takes advantage of the export settings, but instead of you having to make folders to say, remind yourself that you exported 10 different shots for your computer wallpaper, now they all sit in a spot in LR. The publish folders also work with some websites, like Flickr, so if you're a Flickr user, they're a total godsend.

[kirbinster]

In a word ---- "YES"

[Stormy]

Just another question on LR3 from a complete newbie (please excuse my ignorance if this is meant to go in another thread).

I currently don't have any proper photo editing software. I make do with what came with my Canon software but sometimes there are some things it just can't do which LR seems to achieve for others. There are a few different software choices in the Adobe range - why would you choose LR over the others (e.g. Photoshop CS5 or Elements)?

I notice they are offering 30% of LR3 when purchases with CS5....is it worthwhile having both or a bit of an overkill? I'm not a pro - just starting out really.

[tamcry]

I agree with everything that Nicole said. It is a fantastic tool and using it in conjunction with CS5 makes using the two the best processing tools on the matket. Thats only my thoughts but it is a great program. Well worth the money.

[pAthdoc]

Thanks for those responses. I think that I'll go ahead and go for the upgrade. I've been using the Topaz bundle plugins for CS3, and although they do work wonders for noise reduction and removing jpg artifacts, it's a bit of overkill for most of the PP I do (not to mention that it takes forever to save). I guess I just needed a little bit of a nudge. Thanks all!