Worth switching to LR for len correction?

[pezdaddy]

After reading enough times about the much talked about lens correction feature of LR (and missing from Aperture), I downloaded the LR trial last night. I exported some projects into LR and played with it's various editing features. I was extremely surprised with the lens correction and the fix it made to my photos. I didn't understand what everyone kept talking about until I tried it myself. Now I'm missing it in Aperture.

The problem is, I greatly prefer the Aperture DAM. Granted I did not spend more than an hour with LR so perhaps I can duplicate some of the Aperture organization?

Anybody have any tips to make the transition? Or, is it worth sticking it out in Aperture?

edit: Would a mod mind editing my title? Looks like I can't spell to save my life!

 

[MCH-1138]

I won't discourage you from switching to LR if you think it is better for you, but if you want to stick with Aperture, you can use a plug-in like PTLens. It has a free trial for 10 images and runs about $25.

 

[r.harris1]

+1 on PTLens. I like the control I have in it and love the results more than LR's built-in. It's pretty cheap too.

 

[ChrisA]

After reading enough times about the much talked about lens correction feature of LR (and missing from Aperture), I downloaded the LR trial last night. I exported some projects into LR and played with it's various editing features. I was extremely surprised with the lens correction and the fix it made to my photos. I didn't understand what everyone kept talking about until I tried it myself. Now I'm missing it in Aperture.

The problem is, I greatly prefer the Aperture DAM. Granted I did not spend more than an hour with LR so perhaps I can duplicate some of the Aperture organization?

Anybody have any tips to make the transition? Or, is it worth sticking it out in Aperture?

You can buy a plug-in that adds the lens correction feature to Aperture.
http://www.apple.com/aperture/resources/plugins.html

Are your lens really that bad that defects show in screen resolution images or is it you are making 1000X enlargements?

Perspective correction is complexly different and is a really great feature when you need it but that is different.

 

[pezdaddy]

Are your lens really that bad that defects show in screen resolution images or is it you are making 1000X enlargements?

Some images weren't bad at all, but on others it really helped at the sides. It wasn't something I noticed until I saw the before and after. Than it was obvious.

I am shooting with a Canon SL1 with the 18-55 kit lens. Only been using a DSLR for about 6 months.

I'll try to get before and afters up tonight.

 

[MCAsan]

Lens correction capability is not missing from Aperture. My Olympus E-M1, like any micro four thirds camera, passes the lens correction info in the raw file. Both LR and Aperture can use the data to do the corrections.

The problem is proprietary cameras, like DSLRs, not passing the lens correction data. That means in Aperture or LR you have to use a external lens correction plugin. LR went the extra step and built lens correction tables where the have to put in the correction data and make updates part of the updates.


Don't switch to anything until LR6 is out, likely on the 18th, and we hear/see the photo solution in Yosemite and IOS 8.

 

[egis]

Lens correction capability is not missing from Aperture. My Olympus E-M1, like any micro four thirds camera, passes the lens correction info in the raw file. Both LR and Aperture can use the data to do the corrections.

The problem is proprietary cameras, like DSLRs, not passing the lens correction data. That means in Aperture or LR you have to use a external lens correction plugin. LR went the extra step and built lens correction tables where the have to put in the correction data and make updates part of the updates.


Don't switch to anything until LR6 is out, likely on the 18th, and we hear/see the photo solution in Yosemite and IOS 8.

McSan is generally right on all points. However, if you wish to add lens correction capability to AP4, oops I meant AP3, then do look at DxO OP9. It can be used as a plug in to AP and blows LR out the door on all matters relating to optical correction. Latest indicators are that LR6 will be offered to subscribers of Photo CC. Those of us who use LR stand alone and have not taken the Adobe CC bait will be out of luck...June 18 we will all know for sure if this is their plan.

 

[MCAsan]

If Adobe is arrogant/stupid enough to do that they will have had my last centavo.

 

[fa8362]

Latest indicators are that LR6 will be offered to subscribers of Photo CC. Those of us who use LR stand alone and have not taken the Adobe CC bait will be out of luck...June 18 we will all know for sure if this is their plan.

I've seen no indication of that. Where did you read that?

 

[phrehdd]

If Adobe is arrogant/stupid enough to do that they will have had my last centavo.

I use Capture One Pro and also Photoshop 6. I own Lightroom, older version of DXO and a couple of other noted software. Because most of my work is related to photo restoration, I am spared the need (for now) to get sucked into Adobe's subscription model.

Capture One works great with my raw (RAF) files and Photoshop 6 with some plug ins fits the bill for the retouch work. I hope that over the next couple of years we see non-Adobe software that makes Adobe just another competitor rather than the standard with respect to photo and graphics.

GIMP needs an overhaul, Pixelmator is getting there, Corel products could over time be a worthy competitor. Let's hope they don't go into this subscription routine like Adobe.

 

[Apple fanboy]

McSan is generally right on all points. However, if you wish to add lens correction capability to AP4, oops I meant AP3, then do look at DxO OP9. It can be used as a plug in to AP and blows LR out the door on all matters relating to optical correction. Latest indicators are that LR6 will be offered to subscribers of Photo CC. Those of us who use LR stand alone and have not taken the Adobe CC bait will be out of luck...June 18 we will all know for sure if this is their plan.

Another vote for DXO OP9. I use it more for the noise reduction, but the lens correction is good too. With Viewpoint you can take a fisheye lens and straighten it with minimal distortion.

 

[MCAsan]

Even if LR6 is good and at the usual price of $79 for an upgrade from LR5, I will still look very seriously at the photography story from Apple this fall.

I do not use and have deleted Photoshop and PSE. For my filter packages I use Perfecto Photo Suite and the Nik Collection. For layers and masking back to Perfecto Photo Suite. I only use Pixelmater for a few special effects. I don't need it for layers and masks. So LR is my last Adobe photo product. I have no problem saying goodbye to it if Apple releases a good Aperture replacement.

As I have said before, the good news is that we will all have choices. Some we will just better than others. Far more important than your flavor of processing tools is just getting out there and shoot something. The wife and I are headed to Minnesota on Wednesday for a week of shooting wildlife. It should be a hoot!

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

if you wish to add lens correction capability to AP4, oops I meant AP3, then do look at DxO OP9. It can be used as a plug in to AP and blows LR out the door on all matters relating to optical correction.

Not quite true! Investigate Adobe's free Lens Profile Creator and make your own profiles for your individual lenses, rather than using generic fixes for a lens en masse.

Mac version download

It's by far and away the most comprehensive and easiest way to correct for YOUR lenses, instead of using a generic, hit and miss approach.

 

[MCAsan]

make your own profiles for your individual lenses

I prefer the more advanced open published standards of M43 where lens correction data is passed in the raw file. I suggest that if you are going to stay with the older and very proprietary world of 35mm DSLRs, you lobby your vendor to get off their backside and start including lens correction data in their raw files. The post processing companies and camera owners should not have to scramble to make up for something the camera and lens makers know about their equipment.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

I prefer the more advanced open published standards of M43 where lens correction data is passed in the raw file. I suggest that if you are going to stay with the older and very proprietary world of 35mm DSLRs, you lobby your vendor to get off their backside and start including lens correction data in their raw files. The post processing companies and camera owners should not have to scramble to make up for something the camera and lens makers know about their equipment.

The whole point of using the Adobe creator is to tailor it to your individual lenses. Regardless of quality control, for domestic lenses and to me that includes the sacred "L" series, etc... lenses, they have imperfections and tolerances in production. A one size fits all approach, isn't the best way to treat a piece of glass for distortion correction, in my eyes.

If you were to print off the free Adobe test sheets for your gear, you may well be surprised at the subtle discrepancies remaining in regard of distortion that isn't correctly fixed. I have a couple of acquaintances with M43 gear and they were surprised at the distortion they were accepting, using the one size fits all in camera treatment. One size per camera and lens combination, that is, which is not the reality, due to tolerances accepted in production, even for the mighty Fuji's!

For me with architecture as a major interest, it's not unreasonable to want accuracy of imagery. You may not feel the need for such, depending on what you capture.

I have nothing against any brand or type of camera system, DSLR is where I find myself currently, but I'm about to go old-school with an old Pentax 35mm film camera, then next year move on to a technical large format system.

 

[egis]

I've seen no indication of that. Where did you read that?

A quote from the software vouchers website is below.

[With the surprising lack of the Lightroom 5.5 release candidate that we were all expecting to be released with the Camera Raw 8.5 from a few days ago, we have a strong suspicion that Lightroom 6 will be released at Adobe’s Creative Cloud relaunch/refresh launch event on June 16th (no LR beta expected this time as we have typically seen in previous releases!). Lightroom has become an important part of CC and the popular Photoshop+Lightroom subscription plan. However, based on what we’ve heard from several sources close to Adobe, we have a strong feeling, to our disappointment, that Lightroom 6 will be subscription-only. So if this is true, no upgrade will be available to version 6 unless you decide to pay a monthly fee for it. Adobe’s betting big on subscriptions and investors seem to like it (as seen in the stock price the two years). The new Lightroom for iPad app is also for CC subscribers only so this is probably just a prelude of what’s to come. Lightoom’s competition has dwindled as it appears that their largest competitor to Lightroom, Aperture, won’t be releasing any new versions anytime soon./quote]

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[egis]

A quote from the software vouchers website is below.

[With the surprising lack of the Lightroom 5.5 release candidate that we were all expecting to be released with the Camera Raw 8.5 from a few days ago, we have a strong suspicion that Lightroom 6 will be released at Adobe’s Creative Cloud relaunch/refresh launch event on June 16th (no LR beta expected this time as we have typically seen in previous releases!). Lightroom has become an important part of CC and the popular Photoshop+Lightroom subscription plan. However, based on what we’ve heard from several sources close to Adobe, we have a strong feeling, to our disappointment, that Lightroom 6 will be subscription-only. So if this is true, no upgrade will be available to version 6 unless you decide to pay a monthly fee for it. Adobe’s betting big on subscriptions and investors seem to like it (as seen in the stock price the two years). The new Lightroom for iPad app is also for CC subscribers only so this is probably just a prelude of what’s to come. Lightoom’s competition has dwindled as it appears that their largest competitor to Lightroom, Aperture, won’t be releasing any new versions anytime soon./quote]

​

From watching the live event. I think this rumor is now confirmed...cc is this way forward.

 

[someoldguy]

Yup... sure looks like that , was just on the Adobe website and there's no sign of a perpetual license option anywhere I could find .

 

[MrGIS]

I won't discourage you from switching to LR if you think it is better for you, but if you want to stick with Aperture, you can use a plug-in like PTLens. It has a free trial for 10 images and runs about $25.

I used PT lens since my PC days, and it worked fine, but integration with Aperture is weak at best. I eventually installed DxO Optics Pro, and the lens correction module automatically installs as a plugin. It is seamless and works extremely well. You can download lens/camera profiles directly from the DxO application.

They also sell the module as a stand alone product, DxO ViewPoint.

http://www.dxo.com/intl/photography/dxo-viewpoint/wide-angle-lens-software

In my view Aperture still has a better UI, so plugins to augment functionality are my preferred option at this point.

All that being said, if you are using micro 4/3 equipment, Aperture and Lightroom automatically interpret the barrel distortion correction embedded in the RAW and JPEG files, making the requirement for third party plugin for this purpose effectively moot. This may also be true of other camera systems, I'm not sure.

 

[egis]

Yup... sure looks like that , was just on the Adobe website and there's no sign of a perpetual license option anywhere I could find .

Correction: after chatting with Adobe I was directed to the standalone purchase website. Since I was previously using LR 4 for migration from AP3, was able to purchase a standalone upgrade version of LR5 (ver 5.5) for the upgrade price. I will note also that the rep I was chatting with referred me to a May 2014 statement from Adobe saying the LR will remain available as a standalone or as part of the now normal regular LR + PS cc photographer combo.

http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2013/05/lightroom-and-the-creative-cloud.html

As I understand now, the difference between standalone LR 5 and the LR that comes with CC are the mobile features of +iPad, iPhone, as well as the web space.

Hope this helps everyone else...sure did for me.

 

[someoldguy]

I stand corrected , after reading egis' post , I hunted around Adobe's site and found the standalone purchase area . It was there , just not obvious to me .

 

[MCAsan]

LR 5.5 was just released.

 

[xStep]

I stand corrected , after reading egis' post , I hunted around Adobe's site and found the standalone purchase area . It was there , just not obvious to me .

Do you have a direct link to that page. I was just at the LR page and clicked the How to Buy button. Went to a page that suggested only CC licensing. Did I miss something or is there some manual navigation to get to the standalone purchase.

 

[someoldguy]

Try here :

https://www.adobe.com/products/cata...er_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_mostpopular.html

Had to root around some and then get lucky to find this , it's buried pretty deeply,and when you get on the page it's not obvious that it's a non CC version unless you're alert .
My search was to get a copy on disk for a retirement gift for a friend . The above link will only get you a download . I ended up at B&H who still sells DVD versions. Price was about the same either way IIRC.