Originally posted by PaddyB Thanks for the feedback! After reading it and poking around on Adobe's website I think the latest version of Lightroom should suffice for my needs.
Lens issues such as vignetting and distortion don't bother me unless they are just glaring. On the photos I've taken so far, I haven't noticed anything too terrible. What I have noticed, however, is some pretty hefty CA at full size on some of my pics. I'm currently using the Sigma 17-70/2.8 with a cheap ($15 USD) Kenko UV filter. The lighting here in Taiwan is pretty awful as the sky is usually brutally bright and overcast when its not raining. I believe this is where most of the CA around object edges comes from. Is this something I can solve with PP in Lightroom?
I advise you to take off the filter. I gave up using filters as protection when I was still using slide film for the adverse effects they have on the image. This might cut down on CA's and definitely will cut down on flare. I find that with lenses that produce CA's they can be greatly reduced in camera by stopping down two stops or more. This of course brings up the problem below.
Quote: I plan on buying a decent B&W polarizer as well to add some punch to my landscape photos. Will that help?
I own some expensive polarizers, and they can certainly enhance colours a lot. Think out of the box a bit and use them after showers when the foliage is wet to cut down the reflections. This intensifies the colours wonderfully.
Quote: One other thing, until I get a faster lens I do have to go up into the upper ISO ranges at times. I do notice a fair amount of noise in a lot of these pictures. Does Lightroom have good NR capabilities?
Coming from a film background, I find the noise in my digital photographs nothing at all. You can add Noise Ninja as a plug in to Lightroom.
Quote: Thanks again for the advice.
You will find you can reduce the noise a lot by exposing generously. Look up ETTR or ETR as some call it. I use the "blinkies" to highlight bad exposures on playback. I don't use the instant replay. I don't have to check every image, just one from a subject / lighting group. I want one tiny specular highlight in the blinkies. The more generous the exposure without blowing out the highlights, the less the dark areas have to be boosted and the less the noise.