Lightroom vs. Bridge

Curtis Cunningham · #1 10-10-2007, 01:14 AM

As I'm just barely getting my feet wet with ACR, would it be better for me to stick with learning how Bridge integrates with it rather than purchasing Lightroom which I've heard lots about?

I'm reading Bruce Fraser's Camera Raw for CS2, and as far as I've got into the book (only up to chapter 4) he seems to be focusing on ACR, Bridge and Photoshop...hence the above question.

Tim Smith · #2 10-10-2007, 01:23 AM

I don't think Lightroom was viable when that book was published. He's a pretty big fan of Lightroom now and has integrated it into his newer instruction. It's a nice match with photoshop and does an awful lot of nice things. My personal preference is Lightroom but I think many people have spent more time with bridge and may have a different opinion.

Curtis Cunningham · #3 10-10-2007, 01:28 AM

So if I read his book and become adept at the techniques he describes (using Bridge), how steep will the learning curve be going to Lightroom at some point in the future?

Put in another way, is it worth it learning how Bridge integrates with the RAW workflow?

Is Lightroom the way of the future, or should I just be happy with Bridge?

Dennis_Vied · #4 10-10-2007, 01:49 AM

I am totally sold on LightRoom. In May I upgraded to CS3, and that was my first experience with Bridge. Frankly, I don't find it useful for my workflow. But LightRoom has become indispensable for me. I had started on LightRoom just before I upgraded to CS3, so that may have had something to do with it.

My vote would be for LightRoom. It's worth the extra money.

Ken Krehbiel · #5 10-10-2007, 04:17 AM

If you shoot large numbers of images, lightroom is the way to go for your main workflow. I read Bruce's book on ACR 2, and learned a lot. However, ACR 3 has expanded on ACR 2, and is even better, with recovery, fill light, and vibrance. They are awesome additions for correcting images.

Not sure if Bruce wrote a book on ACR 3; he died earlier this year. He was involved in developing ACR 3 & Lightroom.

I worked with ACR 3 before Lightroom came out; and Lightroom, even with it's issues, totally blows ARC 3 away when it comes to editing and correcting hundreds & thousands of images. I will use Bridge to edit if I have less than 25 images; more than that (usually); and I will use Lightroom. I use Photoshop for things Lightroom won't do, like cloning, dodge & burn, etc.

I gave up trying to import CF cards using Lightroom; to obscure setting up, and unreliable when downloading more than 1 card at a time. I use good 'ol Photo Mechanic to rename and download 3 cards at a time to two harddrives.

Adobe still has work to do on Lightroom however; I was writing this as I waited for Lightroom to process 506 NEFs into jpegs, (so I could sharpen convert into 3 sizes for the client using Dr. Browns's "jpeg 1 2 3", and I just got a message that 396 images failed to export - PISS ME OFF! NOW what.

Don't you just love this crap?
Ken

Dennis_Vied · #6 10-10-2007, 11:43 AM

I had that happen once. Never figured out why. Apparently if it bombs on one image, everything after it doesn't export either. When I selected the image singly, it exported just fine. Go figure.

AndrewRodney · #7 10-10-2007, 12:46 PM

The update to Bruce's book, written by Jeff Schewe should be going to print any day now. I've read the PDF's, its a major update. Bruce didn't write about Lightroom because, while he knew all about it (being an Alpha) it wasn't out when he did the CR book. Even in Jeff's book, its about CR, not LR.

The huge difference between Bridge (which I personally find a train wreck) and LR is Bridge is a browser, LR is a database. I don't use Bridge anymore (nor CR) and do about 85% of all work in LR, the rest, the stuff that requires non global pixel editing in Photoshop.