The "dreaded" Lightroom 3.0 wishlist

[barryfitzgerald]

Ok my predictable list!

1: Zero NR on raw files, ACR is in last place for high ISO work compared to rivals (or even free ones), no raw software should inflict NR on users without the choice to disable it.
2: Distortion correction and perspective correction, absolute must have features
3: Speed, it's still not as fast as it could be, esp the local corrections..bog down quickly
4: Soft proofing, I would agree on that


I would not want to see more advanced editing features put in, keep it simple, and this time..please, do get it "right" ;-)

[madmanchan]

Thank you for all the suggestions. We will do our best to keep you guys happy ...

[Tklimek]

 

Thank you for all the suggestions. We will do our best to keep you guys happy ...

[photo570]

I would like to add a few thoughts.

I agree with jjj, as a DAM solution, Lightroom is flawed, because of its limited focus, no pun intended.

In the real world, photographers work with all sorts of files, which is why a lot of people still use Bridge, or something else. If you are going to have a DAM solution, it really has to cover everything that your business might deal with, and that includes, for example the rest of the CS suite, which brings up the issue of CMYK. I am a commercial photographer, almost everything I shoot ends up on a press, and where possible I supply CMYK (anyone who doesn't, and then complains about the prepress guy stuffing their shots, gets what they deserve, sorry to be harsh.  :-)  ) so Lightroom is a no go. I also am only a small studio, but I have an assistant, the fact that only one machine can access the database at one time is a killer, I have discussed the issue of multi user network access with Adobe, ala Bridge and Version Cue, and got the impression that it could be done, but they don't really want to, because it would be hard. :-(

Oh yeah, soft-proofing would be nice too. Ha ha.

Cheers,
Jason

[Ian Lyons]

In the real world, photographers work with all sorts of files, which is why a lot of people still use Bridge, or something else. If you are going to have a DAM solution, it really has to cover everything that your business might deal with, and that includes, for example the rest of the CS suite, which brings up the issue of CMYK. I am a commercial photographer, almost everything I shoot ends up on a press, and where possible I supply CMYK (anyone who doesn't, and then complains about the prepress guy stuffing their shots, gets what they deserve, sorry to be harsh.  :-)  ) so Lightroom is a no go.

As the saying goes - Rome wasn't built in a day.


Regarding CMYK - the underlying infrastructure already exists and has done for some time. However, two things you can't do are direct import and edit an image in CMYK. That being said, you can save a CMYK image from Photoshop back into Lightroom.  The tutorial following shows how you can indirectly import CMYK images. I'm not suggesting that you use it, but it does show that Lr 2 isn't totally brain dead when it comes to CMYK.

http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_cmyk/lr-2-cmyk.htm

[photo570]

As the saying goes - Rome wasn't built in a day.


Regarding CMYK - the underlying infrastructure already exists and has done for some time. However, two things you can't do are direct import and edit an image in CMYK. That being said, you can save a CMYK image from Photoshop back into Lightroom.  The tutorial following shows how you can indirectly import CMYK images. I'm not suggesting that you use it, but it does show that Lr 2 isn't totally brain dead when it comes to CMYK.

http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_cmyk/lr-2-cmyk.htm

No offense Ian, but the method described is a work around. As you say the underlying infrastructure is there, it just needs to be part of the main product. DAM is really one of those "All or nothing" propositions, if you have to use more than one, because some aspect "is coming soon ( or never)" then in reality it just makes things harder, not easier, which was the whole idea of the product in the first place.

Which then brings me back to the multi user point. Adobe has the experience, they have already done it once with Bridge/Version Que. The point has been made that Lightroom is for photographers. Unfortunately we do not work in a vacuum, we have to deal with other file types, other workflows, other people/companies, and other IT structures, some use external hard drives, some NAS and some client/server. It needs to do all or it will not achieve its potential.

Another peeve I have is that it doesn't support some older backs from Leaf, and I am sure others as well, that are still in common use in commercial studios, so that splits the workflow again, and yet other modern RAW converters can dev the files I have, LightZone to name one.

It is a great product, but needs important features to break out of the Art market into commercial usage.

Heres hoping.   :-)

Jason.

[ihv]

Already mentioned stuff:

More important:
* Soft proofing
* Non-destructive plug-ins functionality

Would like to see:
* Customizable signature (opacity, font, placement) on export/web
* Video files import
* Panorama tool

Hopefully we don't see issues like 'depth-of-field control found
only in professional video models', meaning you have to use
your feet which is by far not a camera feature.

[Mark D Segal]

I find myself resorting from LR to PS quite frequently in order to perform elementary transforms on an image - for example keystoning adjustment,or de-skewing. I'm wondering whether the crop area of the program, which now permits rotations (a non-destructive transform) copuld be expanded to include some of these other transforms in a non-destructive manner. I can see some of us being accused of trying to bring all of PS into LR, but quite to the contrary, my underlying approach in suggesting add-ins is to pinpoint the ones which are most frequently used and thereby simplify the overall image preparation workflow by eliminating the most frequent reasons to invoke PS from an LR workflow.

[Tklimek]

Good one that I've not heard before Mark!

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

I find myself resorting from LR to PS quite frequently in order to perform elementary transforms on an image - for example keystoning adjustment,or de-skewing. I'm wondering whether the crop area of the program, which now permits rotations (a non-destructive transform) copuld be expanded to include some of these other transforms in a non-destructive manner. I can see some of us being accused of trying to bring all of PS into LR, but quite to the contrary, my underlying approach in suggesting add-ins is to pinpoint the ones which are most frequently used and thereby simplify the overall image preparation workflow by eliminating the most frequent reasons to invoke PS from an LR workflow.

[reyn_two]

I'm a bit slow and lazy, this is well known. I find Lightroom very difficult to understand, everytime I point my mouse cursor at it some part of the screen disappears and then re-appears when I am not expecting it to, please stop this haphazardly way of doing things. I have managed to get some pictures into the database, don't know how but they are there, so that's good, now I need to make them stop looking like crap so I twiddle a few sliders and make them worse, then I give up. So I want the following in version 3.
a) A button to press to import the pictures without all the reading bits.
2) A button to press to make the pictures look good to my wife.
q) A button to press to make a web site, no choices please.
6) A button to press to print good looking (to my wifes eye) (eyes) prints to put in a box (draw).
t) That's it.
no it's not, I also want a manual on which button to press and when, otherwise I will end up spending countless amounts of money on other people learning which buttons to press and then telling me in which order they should be pressed.
5) That's it. Finished. Over. End.

[Mark D Segal]

The first ten words of your post says it all.

Buy a good book on LR (e.g. Martin Evening's) or the Reichmann/Schewe DVD available on this website, sit yourself down with the learning materials and the program and teach yourself to use it correctly and reliably. It ain't rocket science and it's one of the best designed image editing programs ever released.

[reyn_two]

The first ten words of your post says it all.

Buy a good book on LR (e.g. Martin Evening's) or the Reichmann/Schewe DVD available on this website, sit yourself down with the learning materials and the program and teach yourself to use it correctly and reliably. It ain't rocket science and it's one of the best designed image editing programs ever released.

Ok

[sniper]

It'll be interesting to see what is in v3.0, although I suspect softproofing won't be one of them.  Wayne

[Mark D Segal]

It'll be interesting to see what is in v3.0, although I suspect softproofing won't be one of them.  Wayne

Forecasts are dangerous these days.

Mark

[Tklimek]

Wayne....

I'll go out on a limb here, but I think that softproofing will be in 3.0.

I think from the very first version it was one of the most requested features and many were surprised that it was not in v2.  I think it was made pretty clear by folks who are closer to "knowing" that softproofing would NOT be in ANY 2.x release.....hinting that we would have to wait for 3.0.  You could be right, but if I was in Vegas, I'd put $10 down on softproofing being in ver 3.

;-)

Cheers....

Todd in Chicago

It'll be interesting to see what is in v3.0, although I suspect softproofing won't be one of them.  Wayne

[sniper]

Forecasts are dangerous these days.

Mark

In which way would it be dangerous? Are they going to get a hit man??    Or do you just mean I might be wrong (not dangerous at all)  Wayne

[Mark D Segal]

In which way would it be dangerous? Are they going to get a hit man??    Or do you just mean I might be wrong (not dangerous at all)  Wayne

Oh - that's easy - the hit man - whadidya expect?  

[Schewe]

Oh - that's easy - the hit man - whadidya expect?  

Yep, sniper's wrong...

:~)

[sniper]

Yep, sniper's wrong...

:~)

So your saying LR3.0 will have softproofing.  Wayne

[Tklimek]

It's not too late to plunk down your $10 at an oddsmakers!  ;-)

Cheers....

Todd in Chicago

So your saying LR3.0 will have softproofing.  Wayne