Photoshop Camera Raw vs. Lightroom 4

[Aviation.High.Guy]

I was wondering if anyone has used both PS Camera Raw and Lightroom 4 to process their images and has a preference for one over the other? I'm currently on PS CS5 for processing and thinking about trying Lightroom. Any thoughts on these- Pros/Cons?

Thanks

[RomNYC]

I am still on CS5 and LR3 and I usually import/open my RAW files in LR3 first. Leveling/cropping, white balance, exposure are all done in LR3 as well. Only then do I move to CS5 for the rest of my workflow. At one point, I wanted to do all my post-processing in LR (yes all of it, I'm lazy like that :tongue:) but quickly realized that PS is far superior for various reasons. I'm sticking to LR for the beginning of my workflow because that giant PS Camera Raw window is unappealing to me... LR offers me more comfort in that aspect.

[moose135]

Since I already had Photoshop, I didn't see the need to spend more money on LR. I use ACR to do most adjustments, then finish in PS.

[jerslice]

I live and die on LR. Hardly even touch PS anymore.

[Vinny Ohare]

Looks like Adobe is upgrading photoshop again. The new version can even fix blurry pics for the first time which is great for plane spotters.

[megatop412]

Looks like Adobe is upgrading photoshop again. The new version can even fix blurry pics for the first time which is great for plane spotters.

How on Earth could a computer program fix a blurry picture- I can't wait to see some examples. I always thought there was no rescuing those.

[moose135]

How on Earth could a computer program fix a blurry picture- I can't wait to see some examples. I always thought there was no rescuing those.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/06/adobe-debuts-photoshop-cc-with-raw-editing-as-a-filter-and-advanced-camera-shake-reduction/

Be aware that this is a tool with a very specific use, though; if you’re using a camera in a dark environment and you’re set for a long exposure, it’ll correct for any shakes created by your hand twitching a bit, or if you’re shooting without a tripod with a long zoom, but it has to be motion related. You won’t get a fix for missed focus or any other cause of blur.

An independent company also announced the release of a PS plug in to do the same. It has a free 14-day trial, no word on final cost if you choose to go with this plug in rather than wait for the PS release.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/photoshop-plugin-helps-clear-up-blurry-photos-188877
http://petapixel.com/2013/05/03/piccure-plugin-magically-reduces-camera-shake-beats-adobe-to-the-punch/

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Thanks guys.

[Vinny Ohare]

Here is the video I watched on it yesterday starting at the 6:46


http://youtu.be/5hC3T0bOaPI?t=6m56s

[Cary]

LR is an invaluable time-saver if you ever need to go back and change something to a photo. Also a great organizational tool. If you level/crop your photo in LR, then export out to PS to finish processing, but decide later on that you want a cooler WB (or some website says you have yellow tint :tongue:), you can just go back to LR and just tweak the WB...no need to level/crop your photo again - everything is stored as a non-destructive history state. Or, if you're uploading to A.net/JP, and they say the photo needs slight CCW rotation, you can go in and see the angle of your previous attempt, and just dial in a new number. I think once you start using and get the hang of it, you won't know how you survived without it :) I always export from LR to PS for some of the finishing touches, including sharpening and NR.

[jerslice]

LR is an invaluable time-saver if you ever need to go back and change something to a photo. Also a great organizational tool. If you level/crop your photo in LR, then export out to PS to finish processing, but decide later on that you want a cooler WB (or some website says you have yellow tint :tongue:), you can just go back to LR and just tweak the WB...no need to level/crop your photo again - everything is stored as a non-destructive history state. Or, if you're uploading to A.net/JP, and they say the photo needs slight CCW rotation, you can go in and see the angle of your previous attempt, and just dial in a new number. I think once you start using and get the hang of it, you won't know how you survived without it :) I always export from LR to PS for some of the finishing touches, including sharpening and NR.

What Cary said.

If I had to get rid of either photoshop or Lightroom, photoshop would be gone so fast it wouldn't know what hit it.

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Thanks again all. I'm gonna give Lightroom a shot now
after being a devout PS user for 18 years!

[gonzalu]

Lightroom is only missing a few things to make it the only tool... namely a real noise reduction interface to the likes of Imagenomic or Topaz... and a real AUTO-LEVELS/AUTO-COLOR/AUTO-CONTRAST like in Photoshop. Those are still very useful. Of course masking and layering are another stoy but I digress. I could probably get away with just lightroom for my avia editing if it had a decent denoise interface and auto-contrast.

[lijk604]

I feel the same as Cary & Jeremy. I rarely use PS anymore...and at $30/month for the new Cloud version, looks like I'm staying put.

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Lightroom is only missing a few things to make it the only tool... namely a real noise reduction interface to the likes of Imagenomic or Topaz... and a real AUTO-LEVELS/AUTO-COLOR/AUTO-CONTRAST like in Photoshop. Those are still very useful. Of course masking and layering are another stoy but I digress. I could probably get away with just lightroom for my avia editing if it had a decent denoise interface and auto-contrast.

Thanks Manny. I could never walk away from PS completely as it's part of how I make a living. It's just that I've been hearing a lot about Lightroom 4 lately and started wondering what I might be missing. I do use Topaz and to your point, it is a great tool for NR. Their artistic filters are a little gimmicky for my liking, but there's place for them I suppose.