[Outis]

I was going to buy Photoshop Elements, and I'm trying to decide whether or not to get Lightroom 6 along with it. What does 6 have that 5 doesn't? I'm having trouble finding a good answer. Apparently 6 can do panorama stitching and HDR, and...anything else? Also, does it have profiles for lenses that don't show up in Lightroom 5, like the Pentax 20-40 and the Rokinon 8mm? What are your thoughts?

[jatrax]

This might help: Compare Lightroom CC vs. versions 5 & 6 | Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC history

I've been on CC for quite a while now and have no intention of going back. But if you are stand alone on v5 and comparing it to v6 then HDR and facial recognition are the two biggest changes. Neither are a big deal for me. The HDR is OK and if you have no other HDR software then that is a nice bonus. The facial rec is cool but takes a lot of time. And I do not really shoot people so I've turned it off. If you do shoot people and think that would be worth the cost to you then I can say it does work, and astonishingly well IMHO.

More lens updates are always going to be in the more current versions, the question is do you really need them? If so, then you have your answer. But I am not convinced the lens profiles are all that necessary. No one used them on film, right?

[Outis]

Thanks! Are there any differences between the way the two versions interface with Photoshop?

[mee]

If you're on Windows, I find that AutoStitch does a better job than Adobe can at panoramas

For more serious work, something like autopano pro would be something at which to take a look.

---------- Post added 12-24-16 at 05:05 PM ----------

And there is also Affinity Photo as a serious Photoshop replacement. It does a few things PSE cannot, such as Stacks (Median for example to remove people from busy scenes) and basic Focus stacking as well as Apply Image and bunch of other features that are only available on the full Photoshop/PS CC.

I still like ACR for Raw development over what Affinity does so I wouldn't discard Lightroom at all. But rather use Affinity/PSE in conjunction with LR.

[ffking]

If you do decide to get an upgrade, make sure you don't pay for the full version - this isn't the link I used (can't find it) but it shows you, if you don't know, how to just get the upgrade, which isn't that clear.

How to Upgrade to Adobe Lightroom 6

[jatrax]

Are there any differences between the way the two versions interface with Photoshop?

Not that I remember. Photoshop and Lightroom seem pretty seamless. My wife has Lightroom and Elements and the interface, at least with the version she has, is not so clean.

Lightroom's "edit in:" menu allows you to very easily edit in a lot of programs such as Photoshop, NIK programs and Topaz programs. Others as well I suppose but those are what I use.

[Miguel]

LR CC benefits from ongoing improvements. The best feature to me is the Transform function which levels and straightens objects and architecture with a click. That alone is worthy of CC.

M

[Scorpio71GR]

I think being able to stitch photos right in Lightroom is a big bonus which 5 does not have. I am in the same boat,. Also all the new lens profiles come out for 6 not 5. You can upgrade from 5 to 6 for 80 dollars US.

[lithedreamer]

Lightroom's Panorama stitching has actually gotten quite good (I used it today after comparing it to a number of free and paid solutions). I like having the latest lens profiles, and with CC, dehaze is seriously worth the price of admission, in the Pacific Northwest, at least.

[Heie]

Still rocking v4.4

[Outis]

Really? I thought that you had to keep getting new versions of Lightroom because the old versions couldn't understand RAW files from new cameras. Does it really work for your K-1?

[Heie]

Really? I thought that you had to keep getting new versions of Lightroom because the old versions couldn't understand RAW files from new cameras. Does it really work for your K-1?

That's the beauty of Pentax's native .DNG ability. You don't have to wait for LR to keep up.

.DNG is Adobe's native raw format, so it's compatible in perpetuity

The same can't be said for lens profiles, but cameras and simply reading RAW files, to include full EXIF data displaying in LR? Never an issue. Same can't be said for any other camera maker, though...

-Heie

[Outis]

AWESOME. Thanks!

[Scorpio71GR]

Yes that is the great thing about DNG files, you use just any editing software out there. I upgraded from Lightroom 1 to version 5 so it was quite the upgrade for me. I do my stitching in Elements and that works for me and I have a copy of Photomatix Pro for HDR. I keep worrying that version 6 will be the last stand alone version of Lightroom.

[Rondec]

I wouldn't upgrade unless you really need updated lens/camera profiles or you really want stitching ability in Lightroom (it isn't that hard to just take images to elements to do it). I have a pretty fast computer, but Lightroom 6 feels quite a bit slower and freezes more often than version 5 ever did. I don't think Adobe knows how to write tight code any more (if they ever did).