Posts:
402
From:
Montreal, Canada
Registered:
Sep 29, 2004
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 9:22 AM
in response to: CorkyO
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CorkyO:
As William said, if you decide on Viveza you should get the whole suite. It's a much better deal and the other plugins are very good.
I'd wait to see how the suite updates in light of Viveza 2 though - I'd bought Silver Effex standalone for $199 two months before they came out with the Aperture Complete suite for $299 and they offered no upgrade path. That was a little hard to swallow.
iMac Core2Duo 24in + Powerbook G4 + Logic Studio
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
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Posts:
46
From:
Seattle, WA
Registered:
Sep 19, 2008
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 10:00 AM
in response to: Jade Leary
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Jade,
I agree.
I had thought about that as well and I think I will try the trial version of Viveza to verify that it will suit my intended purposes and then see if the whole suite is updated for full compatibility with 10.6.1, CS4 and whatever version of Aperture is current at the holiday season.
Perhaps a holiday gift to myself if it all looks good.
It would be nice to see NIK offer upgrade paths from one product to the complete suite!
Thanks again!
Mac Pro 2.8 Quad-core (Single CPU)
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
ACD 23", iPhone 3G (8 GB)
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Posts:
754
From:
United States
Registered:
Mar 24, 2008
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 10:22 AM
in response to: CorkyO
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After months of hearing people rant and rave about Silver Efx, I decided to download the demo only to find that it doesn't run in CS4. What's up with that? I expect Adobe to announce CS5 any minute 
Seriously Jade, do you think a hardcore Photoshop guy like me would really use the other plugins? Is the noise plugin really better than Noise Ninja? For that matter, does Silver Efx really do a better job than I can do mixing channels?
DLS
24"imac 2.33 3GB / 15"MbP 2.6 4GB / 20" Display / Dual 1.25 G4 MDD 2 GB
Mac OS X (10.5.8)
Canon 5D, 20D and G7
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Posts:
1,362
From:
North East MD
Registered:
Jul 18, 2006
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 10:29 AM
in response to: MacDLS
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It runs fine in CS4 - I use it all the time - you may have download the wrong version (like the one for Ap). It does a great job - and it does it quickly with really fantastic local adjustment tools. I could probably get the same result if I futzed around with CS4 but it would take me a whole lot longer. IMO it is the only b+w conversion tool worth buying for CS4
RB
Ps. Here is a really brief mini-review:
Nik SilverEFX
Nik SilverEFX other one
Nik SilverEFX other other one
MacBookPro / MacPro
Mac OS X (10.5.4)
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Posts:
754
From:
United States
Registered:
Mar 24, 2008
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 10:35 AM
in response to: rwboyer
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I didn't try it, but the "read me" said CS2 or CS3 for PC and CS3 for Mac. No mention of CS4. (I prefer to run plugins in Photoshop so I can make use of Smart Objects.)
I'll give your reviews a read.
DLS
24"imac 2.33 3GB / 15"MbP 2.6 4GB / 20" Display / Dual 1.25 G4 MDD 2 GB
Mac OS X (10.5.8)
Canon 5D, 20D and G7
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Posts:
1,362
From:
North East MD
Registered:
Jul 18, 2006
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 10:37 AM
in response to: MacDLS
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I run all the Nik stuff in CS4 as well for that very reason. I have no idea why the Ap plug-ins don't work the same way - so you don't have to reinvent the wheel for a minor tweak.
RB
MacBookPro / MacPro
Mac OS X (10.5.4)
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Posts:
402
From:
Montreal, Canada
Registered:
Sep 29, 2004
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 10:49 AM
in response to: MacDLS
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DLS:
For that matter, does Silver Efx really do a better job than I can do mixing channels?
IMHO it's miles beyond. You get that same ability plus control points and the grain engine is fabulous. It's really a one stop shop for black and white and I admit to being seriously addicted.
As for the other plugins in the suite I guess it depends on how you work. I agree with RB about control point technology: I also was introduced to it by NX and even though you can achieve the same thing with masks and layers, the ease of use and speed are hard to beat.
I own Noise Ninja but haven't touched it since getting DFine for the same reasons. Being able to add NR selectively without fuss is very nice. Plus I find it does a better job overall. Sharpener is also good - my only beef is that I need to create yet another TIFF when I want to use it...
Overall I think it's a pretty good deal for the price. Although I own the Aperture Complete suite since I haven't had a need for the full PS version which is more expensive.
iMac Core2Duo 24in + Powerbook G4 + Logic Studio
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
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Posts:
23
Registered:
Nov 3, 2006
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 11:46 AM
in response to: Jade Leary
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Adding to what Jade says here about Dfine. It is flat out the best noise reduction software out there, and I have tried them all. I decided to buy the NIK complete Collection for Aperture (and you get the Lightroom plugins as well, so if I ever did switch....which I won't...) based off of using the demo's of Viveza, Silver Efex, and Sharpener Pro. Basically, if your want 2 out of the 5, it makes sense to buy the complete collection, at least for Aperture (Photoshop is more).
I was completely taken aback with how good Dfine does on noise reduction, and I had a Noise Ninja license already, which generally I was happy with. Dfine, with it's default, automatic profiling, was significantly better then Noise Ninja with my specific Canon 40D profiling. Really, way better. Noise Ninja tended to wash out lots of the details and contrast, where Dfine somehow reduces the noise by an extreme amount, yet keeping the details fairly intact. And I'm not even including the ability to use Control Points to selectively do more tweaking, which is great.
In general, the NIK plugins are really amazing. Until you've done a local correction with Viveza, that takes all of about 1 minute, you can't understand the power. One of the most common uses I have, is to brighten faces in shadows, especially for outdoor shots. Yes, dodge & burn can do, yes masks in PS can do it, but unless your a PS pro, you just can't do it that quickly, at least I can't. Also, I find it better then Lightroon 2 local corrections, in terms of speed and ease of use. Of course, it's not in the RAW "pipeline", but so be it, for now at least....
The hardest part with the Apeture NIK plugins is all the TIFFs, because you want to run these plugins on every shot. It takes willpower not to do so, and only on your picks .
Message was edited by: gandalf44
Mac Pro
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
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Posts:
109
From:
Earth
Registered:
Apr 9, 2005
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 11:54 AM
in response to: gandalf44
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Although I have both NIK Complete Collection and OnOne's Photo Suite plugins for Aperture, I still end up using them in Photoshop instead of Aperture. I usually end up wanting to perform some other tasks where there's just no substitute for layers & masks in Photoshop. Not always, but usually.
As someone else posted, I also made the mistake of buying one tool (SilverEFX) and then deciding to buy the whole collection. There was no discount for having already bought one of the components. Give it some thought if you think you only want to buy one of the tools instead of the collection. You could end up paying more in the long run if you do what I did.
Mac OS X (10.6)
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Posts:
402
From:
Montreal, Canada
Registered:
Sep 29, 2004
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 12:24 PM
in response to: gandalf44
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The hardest part with the Apeture NIK plugins is all the TIFFs, because you want to run these plugins on every shot. It takes willpower not to do so, and only on your picks .
Darn right Gandalf - and I lost that willpower with the Film Effects part of CFX Pro which I can't seem to keep away from any of my picks!!
iMac Core2Duo 24in + Powerbook G4 + Logic Studio
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
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Posts:
23
Registered:
Nov 3, 2006
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 12:48 PM
in response to: Jade Leary
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Hey, it looks like we've turned this topic into NIK software slurping! Should we get back on topic and continue the complaints of no Aperture 3, and keep those bets going on how long Apple let's us go before shutting us down?
My history with all of this, and I am simply a prosumer/enthusiast/amateur , and do am not a pro photographer who makes a living from pictures and a an efficient post-processing workflow. I started with Aperture 1.5, and at the time, it didn't support my camera RAWs at the time (Canon Powershot G9). I went to Lightroom 1.x --> 2.x, and was generally happy, but never really liked the "Library" module's DAM functionality. Yes Develop module was nice, as was local correction in LR2. I also never really got used to or like the modal interface of LR. I rarely used Slideshow, and never Web. Print of course was used, but lightly. But my workflow was not seamless, as I REALLY missed the OS X integration, and had to constantly export out to iPhoto for use in syncing to my iPhone, access through media browser for iMovie, etc. Plus, I was starting to use Photoshop less & less. I also am a big scripter/automator, so the fact that Lightrrom has zero, scripting support, either in Automator or Applescript, is a real downer. Adobe won't even acknowledge this aprt, and I find that too bad. Probably supporting Windows and OS X is the reason, but who really knows.
I decided to give Aperture 2 a try, and really like the speed increases, and other tweaks. Switched back, and decided to go the plugin route and forfeit all this RAW-only hoopla to get the NIK plugins for Aperture, as I decided I didn't need Photoshop for only the most pixel-manipulating tasks (which is my workflow, is very, very little). In fact, I still have PS3, and tried Pixelmator recently....wow..darn close for my needs, and WAY faster the Photoshop. I'm on the fence right now to use that going forward instead of PS, seriously.
Anyhow, I am waiting on pins and needles for an Aperture upgrade as the rest of us are. I can totally understand all the fustrations the pros on this forum are having, and the LR3 Beta, s just rubbing salt into our perceived wounds. You have to think, as others have said, that the hold was and maybe still is coding Aperture 3 for Snow Leopard, and I mean coding it "properly", taking adavantage of all Snow Leopard has to offer. And who knows about RAW processing changes, other UI enhancements, on and on.
That being said, probably no excuse for Apple not having at minimum OS X RAW updates for the recent cameras, to keep Aperture users with newer cameras on board, until an Aperture 3 release. Shame on Apple for that, 'cuz it does look like there are Apertures users jumping the fence for LR, especially with LR3 coming.
My last point, is I do think it's coming. I think there is to much invested in Aperture for Apple to totally kill it, in terms of marketing, and industry professionals backing it since 1.0. It's the "when" that's killing us all!
Mac Pro
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
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Posts:
548
Registered:
Nov 2, 2001
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 9:36 PM
in response to: Jade Leary
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The hardest part with the Apeture NIK plugins is all the TIFFs, because you want to run these plugins on every shot. It takes willpower not to do so, and only on your picks .
This is my problem too. Noise reduction plugins are useless for me in Aperture since I shoot at ISO1600 so often in dark conditions and all of them would require some sort of noise reduction. I can't afford to keep all those extra huge TIFFs.
MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo
Mac OS X (10.5.7)
4GB RAM (keys that don't work 100% of the time when hit in the corners)
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Posts:
178
From:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered:
Mar 9, 2002
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C'Mon Apple!
Posted:
Nov 4, 2009 4:17 AM
in response to: gandalf44
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Galdalf44 wrote:
"That being said, probably no excuse for Apple not having at minimum OS X RAW updates for the recent cameras, to keep Aperture users with newer cameras on board, until an Aperture 3 release. Shame on Apple for that, 'cuz it does look like there are Apertures users jumping the fence for LR, especially with LR3 coming."
Agreed. Inexcusable.
That said - how long will we wait? I'm giving myself until January 1st.
iMac 3.06 GHz 4GB RAM
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
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Posts:
120
From:
Denmark
Registered:
Nov 3, 2004
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Re: C'Mon Apple!
Posted:
Nov 4, 2009 4:36 AM
in response to: Randy Preising ...
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Galdalf44 wrote:
"That being said, probably no excuse for Apple not having at minimum OS X RAW updates for the recent cameras, to keep Aperture users with newer cameras on board, until an Aperture 3 release. Shame on Apple for that, 'cuz it does look like there are Apertures users jumping the fence for LR, especially with LR3 coming."
Agreed. Inexcusable.
That said - how long will we wait? I'm giving myself until January 1st.
For me I am thinking that when LR3 is out of beta I will look at the issue again, at which time my daughter will be eligible for a student discount  , and if my camera is not supported, by Ap 3, or by an update to 2, then I will probably (reluctantly) switch to using LR for all my new photos, and progressively migrate older ones as a rainy day project.
17" MBP
Mac OS X (10.6)
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Posts:
23
Registered:
Nov 3, 2006
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Re: Lightroom 3 alive at Adobe - Switching process ?
Posted:
Nov 4, 2009 6:03 AM
in response to: Proggie
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Proggie,
I actually had been using NIK plugins with 16-bit TIFF on exports, and 60meg per TIFF was getting unwieldy! So I decided to use 8-bit TIFF, as I perceptually cannot see a difference, although I know I'm loosing some granularity in the adjustments with NIK going 8-bit. But it's a trade-off, and again, I'm not a pro printing out giant-sized prints either. 30meg is a little easier on the hard drives too!
Mac Pro
Mac OS X (10.6.1)
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