[interested_observer]

OK, I am looking for some new post processing software. I would like something similar to one stop shopping.

Bibble - I have it (4 and 5) there are some problems, and although I like most of the aspects of it alot, I feel its time to move on.

Lightroom - I like aspects of it, however - I hate the cataloging system. Do not move my images, leave them just where there are. I want to use a couple of plug-ins and all I get is errors - nothing about how to correct the errors. I just removed LR3 (with extreme prejudice) from my system. Also, for stitching - why would LR3 force you to use the full blown set of Photoshop. If I had full blown Photoshop, why would I be using LR?

Elements 6 - I know it is old, but other than not processing my PFS files (camera raw update will not take). I am just about to rip this off my system (again with extreme prejudice).

DXO - I would try their system, however in the past their trial essentially rootkits your system (I have read). I will not touch it.

Silkypix - Not really impressed.

What I want -

• Load images - put them in dated directories
• Let me navigate and indicate where the images reside for processing
• Provide standard post processing capabilities with RAW
• Resize, convert to JPG, TIFF, etc
• Provide lens correction
• Provide stitching
• Provide stacking
• If stitching, stacking are plug-ins provide a simple foolproof installation capability

[ftpaddict]

I think you're being too picky. I use Lightroom for most of my edits and I organize my own pictures. Then I just tell it to add my pictures without moving, copying or modifying them in any way; work on them to my heart's content; then remove them from the catalogue after exporting everything.

Stitching.. if you mean for panoramas and such, hugin does the best job I've ever seen.

[Miguel]

Lightroom doesn't move your images anywhere. You can have it reference the folder system that you have them stored in. And you can access that folder and the images contained within from within Lightroom or from either File Explorer or the Finder.

Lightroom easily meets your list of requirements except for the stitching capability. But you can drop out of LR for stitching and then come back in with the newly stitched image. Using Elements or Photoshop it is an automated process.

Unlike Bibble or Silkypix there is ample online support from multiple sources.

M

[Miguel]

> If I had full blown Photoshop, why would I be using LR?

Because LR is process oriented and Photoshop is task oriented.
Because LR is non-destructive.
Because LR is quicker for processing thousands of images per shoot.
Because LR is cheaper.
Because LR is a DAM system; Bridge is a file browser.

Photoshop has its place and role indeed. But LR meets most photographers needs most of the time. The combination of LR and PSE should work for most non-commercial shooters.

M

[interested_observer]

I am trying not to be too picky, and I am not trying to turn this in to a "how do you do this" either.

On LR3 - all I can go by is what it is telling me - that even when I drag in an image, it flips to the catalog mode and says "copy photos to a new location and add to catalog". So, I will believe it. I wanted to use two specific specialized plug-ins (a stitching capability and a stacking capability), but LR does not cooperate either.

Miguel - I do understand all of that, however for all the apparent wonderful capabilities, it will not let me use them with out getting an image in to it, and with out a catalog - that is apparently not going to happen - based on how LR is acting. Therefore, I will just remove it for the 4th time today.

I have been pawing through software systems over the last year, not looking for perfection, just looking for something that is a usable foundation. So far not having much luck.

[Miguel]

You are making incorrect judgements about Lightroom based on an incomplete understanding of the tool's working terms and operations. That's fine and good, but you are denying yourself the opportunity to use the best tool out there for what you need.

Lightroom works on metadata and parametrics. Changes to an image are made to a database about the image and not to the image itself. A Lightroom catalog is not a collection of PEF or jpeg files, but rather a table of changes it makes to a database about each file. So your image is not being sucked into the catalog or any part of Lightroom.

Lightroom is managing about 70,000 of my images. Yet my single Lightroom catalog is only about 1Gig. None of my actual image files has been touched over the three years of using the tool; all the relevant post-processing is stored in both the catalog and separate .xml sidecar files that I keep within the same folders as my images. All my images are stored in a separate hard drive. Each folder name is dated which help my archiving, but it's irrelevant to Lightroom. So images taken today are stored in a folder titled "20101114".

It takes most mortals a couple of weeks to figure out Lightroom and it's process-oriented way. But once one does, the whole approach comes together fairly quickly.

M