Well, you may not want to create them all at the start. The point is, or it may eventually be, that you will find less use for PS and PSE. You may find that your ate able to do most of your work in LightRoom itself. Many people find that 90% of their work can be done within LightRom or Aperture and use PS/PSE less and less.

I only go to Photoshop now for creating compositions of multiple elements, or more complex editing that LightRoom cannot handle.
You may find that creating all those TIFs and PSD at upwards of 80MB each is not worth the extra disk space, and that staying with 15MB DNG of PEF as long as possible has its own benefits.

Another benefit to delaying export being that if you export at the start, then make changes within Lightroom at a later time, you will need to re-export. Possibly creating another large TIF or PSD file on disk and in the library. Add to that the possible confusion of which file did you modify within LightRoom last?... was it the original RAW file, or the TIF file?

Anyway, as long as you have a consistent workflow, it will all work out. Just throwing out possible pitfalls before you hit them.
I think I've changed my workflow half a dozen times before it was something I can live with doing on a regular basis.

Just been looking at that lens myself.
I've got a six year old Sigma 18-200 but IQ is fairly rubbish and not water sealed.

Just trying to plan a trip, so I want to bring just one lens to walk around with. Maybe add the nifty 50 in a jacket pocket for ultra-low light, but sadly the DA* 16-50 and 50-135 lenses are staying home.

I'm hoping the budget will allow a new lens. From what I've been reading, this sounds like a good one to have.

By default if you right click and edit in CS5, it will edit an "in-memory" copy without first creating a file on disk. (I am sure there is a temp file, but it is lost if you don't save). I like this, as I many times use multiple images for a composite and don't want extraneous HUGE TIFs or PSDs laying around.

By default, and oddly, CS5 will show the filename with suffix DNG (or PEF, I suppose) in the title bar, but when you save it, you need to choose a proper file type. You will not be allowed to saving directly into the DNG file format. (dunno if that makes sense... you'll see what I mean if you give it a try)

If you use the settings to specify Open With Application and specify CS5, then you can have it export as a TIF or as a PSD before editing within CS5. This takes longer due to the export and leave the file on disk regardless if you choose to save the file within CS5 or not.

If you stay in Adobe Camera Raw, yes. No need to save/export to TIF or PSD, etc...
(Basically same photo editing features and functionality as Lightroom, just a different UI).

Sure. It is an extra step to export first than to just edit directly in Photoshop and then saving when/if necessary. But it all ends up the same.


FYI, I believe OnOne software is working on some sort of plugin to allow layers in LightRoom. Not sure how that is going to work. I am sure it should be interesting to see their interpretation of "Layers".

This is certainly not an issue for studios and well controlled environments... and its use fits a pretty narrow scope.
Lots of stuff moves faster than 1/180sec and you cannot always blast out the ambient light with "SuperNova" strobes and a stack of ND grads.

Anyway, this is getting way off track from the intended discussion.
I'd suggest investigating the capability a bit, and if we need to discuss more I'd be glad to do so in another thread.
I mean, I'm not too proud to be proven wrong nor to learn a new way to get around a problem. (but I'm not easily convinced that I'm wrong, either)

Yep, one mans garbage is another mans treasure.

Just saddens me that they locked it into being disabled their top-of-the-line cameras without giving advanced users an option to bypass.

Proof:
1. set shutter speed to 1/180, use a standard flash via hot shoe or or sync port.
2. set shutter speed above 1/180, try the same.

The sync pin has been deliberately disabled above 1/180.
Other brand cameras do not disable this, and photographers use this side-effect to a specific end.

Perhaps to you that is not crippled. To me it is.
Call it what you will... One man's garbage is another mans treasure.
In my opinion, this design implementation is crippled garbage and I will call it nothing else.

Sorry to have offended you by describing Pentax's decision to design their flag-ship products to the lowest common denominator of users.

Maybe I should clarify... yes, top sync speed is 1/180. This is a mechanical limitation. Pentax chose to not add cost to increase shutter speed. We'll live with that choice.

The choice I have a hard time living with sometimes is that the flash sync pins are disabled above the sync speed. It is, or should be, quite possible to set flash above the sync speed and not notice, or notice to a very diminished amount, the dark bar that comes in as a matter of the shutter closing before the flash has sufficiently fired.
In some cases, the darkening band can be used like a ND filter to deuce brightness of the sky even further while brightening the subject and ground level... or other creative effects.

Actually it is a Pentax choice.
Look at other brands. I do not know how many models of other brands are equally as crippled, but the higher end models definitely do not lock out the user from using this limitation responsibly as a feature. (limitation being the sync speed... feature being the ability to exceed it and work around the side effects)

Yeah, would be nice if Pentax didn't cripple their cameras and disable the hot shoe and sync socket shutter speeds above 1/180. Sadly you're forced to use PTTL compatible devices and hi-speed sync at that point.