Upgrade Madness?

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Upgrade Madness?

williamkazak
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p.1 #1 · Upgrade Madness?

I have been using LR2 and CS3 for a while now with Windows XP. Since I shoot a pair of Nikon D300 bodies there is no problem with the Adobe Raw converter for my cameras. I am wondering what an upgrade path might look like for me this new year and how important the forum members think it might be to upgrade.

Note; having read the various responses, it looks like a computer update would also be necessary for some of these updates.

Edited on Dec 01, 2012 at 03:12 PM · View previous versions

Nov 24, 2012 at 05:38 AM

Peter Figen
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p.1 #2 · Upgrade Madness?

You may enjoy the better raw conversions and noise reduction of LR4 or the new tools and features of CS6, as well as the 64 bit capabilities of CS6, which allow far greater ram use as compared to what you're using now. Upgrading is not always necessary, but in your case, there's a lot that has been going on in the intervening years. I think you'll be glad you did.

Nov 24, 2012 at 06:40 AM

sbeme
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p.1 #3 · Upgrade Madness?

Do you use PS much? LR has evolved nicely with more sophisticated editing aided by the brush tool which now can change most parameters (exposure, clarity, noise, etc).
I would definitely upgrade it unless you have relied heavily on PS for most processing. PS has evolved the content-aware feature nicely and it is an amazing tool.

Nov 24, 2012 at 01:29 PM

Alan321
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p.1 #4 · Upgrade Madness?

Lr 4 is a must do upgrade, at least since Lr 3 is unavailable. The noise reduction is greatly imp[roved in both of those versions. Lr 4 does better with extracting highlights and shadow details from raw files but the NR seems to slow things down. Probably no big deal for D300 images but more so for 20-40 Mpx images. There are ways around it.

You might consider Perfect Layers for Lr instead of upgrading Ps, but I have not tried it yet.

To get the best from modern software you need a 64-bit OS to support 64-bit programs. That implies an upgrade to your Windows from XP to 8. Chances are that you will benefit greatly from a new pc preloaded with win 8 and lots of ram and faster storage but if cash is short then you're in a bind, so then it's back to just upgrading Lr 4 only.

Most upgrades only really offer time savings by doing things faster or differently, but I think that you'll get more out of Lr 4 than any reasonable amount of time on Lr 2 will give you. However, I'm not sure whether or not Lr 4 works with Windows XP.

Nov 24, 2012 at 03:36 PM

msalvetti
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p.1 #5 · Upgrade Madness?

And you should upgrade CS3 before the end of this year. Adobe announced that starting in 2013, you can only upgraded from one version back. So you can upgrade for $200 now, after that you have to buy a whole new version.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/faq/upgrade-policy.html

Mark

Nov 24, 2012 at 03:36 PM

williamkazak
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p.1 #6 · Upgrade Madness?

Thanks for the comments. I really appreciate them. I know a lot of photogs get exited when something new comes out, even in software. I was "resting" in what I already have, not feeling the need to rush out and spend more money on programs. (Let me put in a good word for my NIK program that I use within Photoshop CS3). Too bad I cannot really go back to 35mm film, where all processing was already figured out by me in B&W. Those 11x14 prints of models in the studio were nice. Like someone on the forums mentioned somewhere, they are getting tired of wasting their emotional energy wanting to get their B&W enlarger/film processing back up and running again and then never do it. It is nice to think about your "photographic art" and not the latest programs, however.

Nov 24, 2012 at 05:01 PM

WAYCOOL
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p.1 #7 · Upgrade Madness?

Peter Figen wrote:
You may enjoy the better raw conversions and noise reduction of LR4 or the new tools and features of CS6, as well as the 64 bit capabilities of CS6, which allow far greater ram use as compared to what you're using now. Upgrading is not always necessary, but in your case, there's a lot that has been going on in the intervening years. I think you'll be glad you did.

OP is on a Windows box so he can use 64bit just fine it's the Mac OS that has been crippled with 32bit until recently.

OP if you do nothing else upgrade to Lightroom 4. I find some of the tools in CS6 well worth the upgrade cost as well.

Nov 24, 2012 at 05:30 PM

Peter Figen
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p.1 #8 · Upgrade Madness?

Photoshop went to 64 bit on the PC with CS4. Then original poster is using CS3, so no 64 bit for him. Sixty-four bit came the Mac with CS5.

Nov 25, 2012 at 02:12 AM

Alan321
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p.1 #9 · Upgrade Madness?

But the OP has Windows XP which is probably 32 bit, so 64-bit software is inappropriate (isn't it ?).

It was frustrating that Ps was 32 bit only for the Mac OS for so long, but Mac OS was not to blame because it was 64 bit and could also run 32 bit software. Windows, on the other hand, had to be installed as 32 bit or as 64 bit and you needed to change 32 bit windows to 64 bit to run 64 bit software. Then it didn't like some 32 bit drivers and you could lose use of some hardware.

Nov 30, 2012 at 08:03 AM

anthonygh
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p.1 #10 · Upgrade Madness?

Download the free trials and see what you think.

If you want to save money I would suggest LR4 and stick with CS3...but it depends on what type of work you do. I know some photographers are almost exclusively LR4 orientated now.....I have even heard of a couple using Adobe Elements for any final post processing.

All depends on your needs really...but when I got LR4 and started re working old files it transformed many of them.

Dec 01, 2012 at 01:32 AM

williamkazak
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p.1 #11 · Upgrade Madness?

I am using LR for events, going over to Photoshop as necessary and still feeling comfortable about it. Getting a new DSLR would mean getting a new program for the RAW converter. Not at all interested in loading any of the Nikon software ever again. Yes, I have heard LR4 is almost all things now but I am not sure it will load on my computer. I certainly should load the trial version, however. I am using an Intel Quad2 at 2.33 GHz.

Dec 01, 2012 at 03:17 PM

egd5
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p.1 #12 · Upgrade Madness?

LR4 will not work with Windows XP. You'll have to upgrade your OS or buy a new PC.

Dec 04, 2012 at 04:42 AM

tived
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p.1 #13 · Upgrade Madness?

william,

why do you want to upgrade? does it not work anymore? is it too slow or ....?

If your software is the age it is atm, then your puter is probably a bit older and in that case i would spend some cash on that instead.

You will probably be looking at

new mainboard, CPU RAM(16-32GB), New hard drives, probably a couple of SSD's and a couple of HDD's. Depending on what you got, then you may be able to keep your box and maybe your power supply, DVD etc..

Get windows 7 or 8, if the later have it setup so it used windows 7 layout and not the new tile layout unless you particular love it.

If you then need to also upgrade the software, then again depending on what you do, if you just correct exposure do a little dodging and burning, then Lightroom 4x will be fine, but if you are a bit more serious then you got to get PS CS6, either buy it or rent it via Adobe cloud, thats what i do for the Creative Suite and i am getting more then what i am paying for, plus you pay as you go instead of it all upfront

so to recap

new Computer
CPU - Intel i7 + CPU cooling (Noctua) quiet
Mainboard - Asus, or Asrock
16-32GB of ram in 8GB sticks
256gb SSD for your OS and APPS
128GB SSD for your scratch disk
2x 2-3TB Western Digital Black Caviar in RAID-1
so you have a backup copy
graphics card 1GB of ram if the onboard is not good enough
Case with plenty of room
Good Power supply (don't skimp here)
DVD/Blue-ray if you must

Spoil yourself with a new NEC 27in monitor :-) and if you do not have it yet, get a iOne Pro to calibrate it with and the Spectraview software

Have fun with your photos

Henrik

PS: This way you will drink less coffee - cos you will b waiting less

Dec 04, 2012 at 10:27 AM

Eric Larsen
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p.1 #14 · Upgrade Madness?

Not intended as a hijack in any way.

Could you elaborate on the scratch drive being a 128gb ssd? My impression from everything I read is to use "the biggest and fasted empty drive you have" for scratch. I've not been able to find any info relating to appropriate size scratch disk (I know, it depends) and especially as it relates to ssd.

Hopefully posing this question will help the OP as well.

Dec 14, 2012 at 01:29 AM

RustyBug
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p.1 #15 · Upgrade Madness?

If you are a Lightroom user ... the upgrade to LR4 is a must do.

I went from CS3 to CS6 and it of course is a nice jump, but I could certainly live with LR4 and CS3, CS4 or CS5. LR4 was the first LR product I've bought, because I just didn't care for LR2 or LR3 ... but LR4 is WAY WORTH IT (if you use LR much at all).

I feel that on the rare occasion that I need to do more production oriented work ... LR4 cruises right along, and I don't feel like I"m sacrificing image quality in the process by not using PS. If you can swing both, that's cool ... but get LR4 at least (ACR is same for both).

Dec 14, 2012 at 03:41 AM

tived
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p.1 #16 · Upgrade Madness?

Scratch disk, can be any size, but for most 128 is a reasonable size for most users, I use 8x128gb array as scratch disk, but I also work with large files and 96gb of ram

If you feel you need anything bigger that's fine, anything less will probably start to be cramped down the track

I hope this helps :-)

Henrik

Eric Larsen wrote:
Not intended as a hijack in any way.

Could you elaborate on the scratch drive being a 128gb ssd? My impression from everything I read is to use "the biggest and fasted empty drive you have" for scratch. I've not been able to find any info relating to appropriate size scratch disk (I know, it depends) and especially as it relates to ssd.

Hopefully posing this question will help the OP as well.

Dec 14, 2012 at 11:08 AM

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