Silkypix vs. Lightroom Raw conversion

I'm thinking of getting Lightroom (hopefully the student edition for my 9 year old daughter:wink, due to the many good things I've heard about it. However, I'm wondering if this is a good idea given the fact that I recently reverted to using Silkypix, after using Camera Raw in Elements 6 for a while, because I found the quality of the output from Silkypix to be noticeably better. Am I right in thinking that as it is an Adobe product the Raw convertor will essentially be the same as the one in PSE, allbeit with greater tweaking options such as noise control, sharpening etc.

My current PP'ing procedure is pretty basic. I use Silkypix to convert the Raw image - generally just tweaking Exposure, White Balance & Colour - then work on the converted Jpeg in PSE. I have a copy of the free edition of Silkypix 3, which I downloaded a few years back.

The options I'm considering at the moment are:
a. Stick with what I have.
b. Buy the latest full version of Silkypix.
c. Get Lightroom.
d. Buy Photoshop and use the latest PS Camera Raw - this way I get access to all the myriad editing capabilities of PS.
e. I suppose Capture One should be thown in the mix too, though I know very little about this other than the fact that the output quality is supposed to be high.

I'm currently torn between the latest Silkypix & Lightroom. Silkypix is attractive because I know it and like the quality it produces, though I'm not exactly sure how it's moved on since the version I have, and what I would gain by upgrading. I don't like the restrictions on numbers of computers it can be used on either. Am I right in thinking that Silkypix is only available as a download with restricted usage?

As for Lightroom, I've read so many positive things about this software that it sounds attractive even though I like the quality of output from Silkypix. I'd also feel happier getting a CD with the software on (instead of a download) - as I can with Lightroom - which can be used on any number of computers.

Any advice much appreciated.

I am sure there must be a trial of LR3 available for download. It really is very good although you still need PSE as well IMO. If you download it can't you copy the install file onto a disc for use on other computers?

You can download a 30-day trial from Adobe's website. It's around 160Mb. There is no problem linking it to Elements - in fact it will do so automatically. If you do decide to buy it, there is no need to do so from Adobe. I ordered my disc from Amazon and just plugged in the key code to the expired trial. Absolutely no bother .

Be warned though, once you use Lightroom you will not want to go back to the crippled Camera Raw in Elements - it's just too restricting!

Best,
Myles

Thanks for the feedback chaps. Yes, I will try the download. Lightroom certainly sounds the business.

Does anyone have experience of both Silkypix & Lightroom? If so, I'd be interested to hear their thoughts.

Doesn't Lightroom 3 use Adobe Camera Raw for conversion? Won't the results of the conversion be exactly the same as that by Photoshop Elements 8 using ACR 6.2, which can be had for around £50 ?

Andrew

Yes but it isn't for the ACR alone you buy Lightroom.
The power of lightroom is you work on the original RAW file and you never actual edit that or need to convert that.
If your photoshop use the same ACR as lightroom, lightroom can then direct the original RAW file to photoshop and open it with the lightroom edits.
This how I work so I don't need to convert anything besides with the final output.

Lightroom seems to have much more control over the whole RAW conversion process (including effects you would normally have to apply post-conversion in PSE) and it's seamlessly combined with a powerful photo organiser. I used to be sceptical, but I got the free beta download, and was sold on it pretty quickly.

Used to have SilkyPix, and except for their licensing bulls@$%, I loved the software.
At the time I thought it handled RAW conversion better than LR2.
Even though LR2 had all the tagging and logging of files, I preferred SilkyPix

Now comes LR3 with all its bells and whistles.
LR has so much more control of what and where you make changes. e.g. a little dodge and burn to a face (not the whole image!!), etc...

SilkyPix used to have some pretty good noise reduction with RAW files. LR3 now blows noise reduction out of the water and nearly eliminates the ned for other software. You might get slightly better results with some of the other products, but for 99% of my needs it is now all I need.

There is no way I'd go back to SilkyPix

You could throw Bibble 5 in to the mix too. Lightning fast and good, but it takes some getting used to. Again you can download a trial version.

http://bibblelabs.com/b5/

The main thing I like about Lightroom is that it doesn't feel as though you are converting a RAW file to anything. It is just like editing any image (tweak levels, curves, dust spots, sharpening, noise reduction, cropping etc.) and then instead of doing a "save as" (I always keep my original unedited file) you do an export. Best of all, instead of having the original file, the edited full size file, the down-sized for the web file etc. you just have the original RAW file, a tiny sidebar XML file, and whatever exports you need. SOLD to the scruffy man with a beard...

You'll have that with LR too

FWIW, Silkypix UK have been absolutely brilliant to deal with when it comes to licensing and even switching platforms

Matt

Dunno about SilkyPix running on multiple machines, but you can Run Lightroom on multiple machines (and multiple OSes), as long as only one instance is running per license. It is great that I can take my Windows laptop to the client site, import to Lightroom, then come home and transfer the catalog to my Mac desktop Lightroom without having two licenses.

Sadly, Silkypix licensing agreement was far too strict in the US, so when I switched form Windows to Mac they wanted me to buy a whole new license. F-that! I instead spent that money on a competing and much more complete product.
The UK reseller has more business sense than the US side. So that part of my sob story doesn't necessarily apply.

I used Silkypix and then moved to LR3 even though I thought Silkypix was marginally better quality wise. The fact is that LR3 is such a superb all-round package and does 90% of ALL the photo editing, storing and publishing I need.

For example, it's publishing manager is extremely powerful. I can work on a single RAW image and then add it to several publishing services: one will convert to jpeg and upload to my Zenfolio account; one will save as RAW on my back-up drive; one will convert to jpeg, resize to 800 pixels and save to my Pentax User directory ready for upload. Each operation, after initial set-up, takes ONE click of the mouse (and if I change any photos after uploading to Zenfolio it will automatically re-publish!)

And for when I do need layers, I can launch PSE from the RAW file, do my work and a PSD will then be saved in a stack with the original on closing PSE. And finally, I also bought the student edition for my (8 year old) son and both he and I have a copy loaded on our machines. It's a no-brainer!

Tony

Belated thanks for the feedback everyone. It sounds like Lightroom is the way to go.

Tony, was the student authorisation straighforward?

Mhuni, I used a UK online retailer (http://www.studentexpressware.co.uk/gbu0-display/splash.html) and they simply wanted to see proof of my son's attendance of the Primary School with my address on it. I sent a pdf of his acceptance letter and they turned it round within hours, no problem.

Cheers

Tony