Final Toughts on Lightroom

Question

While many people are apparently dedicated devotees of Lightroom, I've decided it is not for me. My primary issue is the inability of the program to make adjustments to more than one or two pics using the adjustment brush, graduated filter, etc. ACR does this just fine but it defeats the purpose of LR to have to open another program and complicate the supposedly improved workflow. LR works wonders using the adjustment tools on one pic per session but after trying several more adjustment tools, either through editing the current pic or creating new ones on additional pics my entire system starts to slow down to a crawl until LR is restarted. Thankfully, no problem like this in the Bridge/ACR workflow.
I also find ACR to be much easier to navigate and make more typical RAW adjustments. Having tabs as opposed to having to scroll to various development features is much less of a nuisance. But LR has potential if you batch process large numbers of pics with similar exposure, WB and so forth. Then again Bridge and ACR also have this capacity albeit more limiting.
I also do not like relying on a central cache or databse for backup purposes. In my experience, these are among the first file types that get corrupted on Windows XP systems so buyer beware - and defenitley employ an alternative backup strategy for adjustment data and so forth.
Finally, images viewed as a slideshow or fullscreen pic(s) are somewhat soft compared to the same image(s) viewed in PS CS4 or Windows Pic and Fax viewer. Definitely way better than Bridge but still short of professional standards IMHO. Also, exporting a slideshow to PDF is about as bad as Bridge in terms of soft image quality. So, I will stick with Windows P&F viewer and Powerpoint for onboard viewing to clients of post processed pics.
I've tried to post information in other threads that will be helpful to Adobe engineers in solving the adjustment brush problem but some of the old trolls in the cave seem intent on dismissing not only my concerns but those of others, as judged by the numerous threads on the topic. LR is a good concept but not for everyone. Maybe it is better on a Mac? Hopefully the information provided will help Adobe provide a better product down the road but for now it's not worth it to me - even with the 30% discount available with concurrent CS4 upgrade.
Cheers and have a great New Year!
Les H.

Answer 1

The problem with LR for me lies precisely in it's ambitious design, to provide digital photo workflow 'all in one application',which is both appealing and its Achilles heel.
Making everything dependent on and subordinate to a database (i.e. Library)means there can be no selective use of features independently of the slow I/O operations that Library imposes, and , of course, it constrains all development, at least in the sense that it makes it much more complex and prone to miscues. The ongoing saga of the adjustment brush is a good example.
Feature development has been slow and very buggy, both as a result of that complexity and very likely the fact that Adobe simply has not put up the resources necessary to overcome inherent problems more quickly and offer support levels found in their higher end products like Photoshop.
While the concept may be appealing, especially to the ever growing number of photographic enthusiasts that inexpensive digital cameras have attracted, the concept and design will only have limited appeal to professionals or advanced photographers who require both workflow efficiency and speed and product reliability along with specialized editing features.
For those of us with those requirements, LR's concept may be theoretically appealing and inherently interesting, but practically a poor choice as a tool to get our work done at this time--yes, of course, there will be exceptions, depending on the precise nature of a given pro shooter's precise workflow requirements.
For me LR is measurably less time and resource effective than Bridge/ACR/PSCS4, especially given the significant improvements to PS CS4--more precisely the workflow speed enhancing changes to the UI, and the improved features, UI,and reliability of Bridge 3. I should add that I also rely heavily on a range of PS plugins, especially those from NIK.
Someday, LR may be competitive with that combination of interrelated applications--that can be used independently of one another when it is workflow expedient to do so--but I suspect that will be years down the road. Right now I can't afford the distraction, reduced productivity, and recurring frustrations with buggy features that come with the growing pains associated with developing and appealing concept to maturity. I have four children and I don't need another teenager residing in my editing suite :)
In the meantime, like the OP and others, I will revisit LR at each new upgrade to test its effectiveness and reliability through trial versions, hoping, of course, all the best for the LR team's success.