If you are considering buying the FULL version of LightRoom3 I was just sent a 15% off code to buy it, just enter 'Lightroom3' coupon code in the shopping cart to get the 15% off, minus the quotes of course ;)
Nice, thx. But is it really any better then using photoshop and bridge? I don't see the difference between organizing in bridge and then importing into photoshop. Seems like a big trade-off to combine the two in an exchange for loss of many features.
I'm saying, what can it do that photoshop and bridge cant?
Its actually what it doesn't do. It doesn't do a thing to your image itself. It records all your edits as a series of instructions. So all the edits are absolutely 100% non-destructive. I like it because I can do everything in one place. I can tag and organize as well as edit. The other thing I like is that it was built with photographers in mind. Its not an image editing tool its a photo management/editing tool.
That's not to say that Photoshop doesn't have its place. Lightroom doesn't do layers so there are some edits it just can't do but for 95% of my editing its the only tool I need.
Faster for non-destructive editing than PSHop/Bridge
Laid out & designed with the volume RAW photographer in mind.
Integrated web galleries that can create your galleries & watermark direct from RAW files.
Same goes for proof sheets etc.
Catalogs!
Image sharpening and noise reduction in real-time.
Realtime post-crop vignetting*
Lens correction tools*
Cheaper!!
Multi CPU support when exporting images - since I upgraded to a Quadcore 64-Bit CPU (and Win7 64bit) nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing Lightroom write 4 JPGs at a time - its FAST!!!
* I know these two are in PS, but being able to run them direct from your develop module saves opening a pluging filter based system - miles faster.
I think the best way to decide how much better it is than PS for bulk processing is to use it on a big project such as a wedding or photoshoot of some sort. I can assure you it will take you less than half the time to process it (once you get upto speed on using it).
