It's interesting that you are now a Lightroom convert. I remember when LR1 was released you complained bitterly about what you termed the excessively high price but now you have apparently paid even more money for the new version without a single comment about the high cost.
Or was it an undeclared freebie from Adobe?

Richard: You are right. I still think it is over priced. Even at today's seriously diminished Australian dollar rate we are paying $100 more for Lightroom than the Americans do. And I suspect that there are bigger retail discounts in the US than here.

However, the improvements in LR2 over LR1 are such that the value-for-money ratio is much better.

And yes, I do receive limited use review software from Adobe -- just as I receive limited use cameras etc for review. And you will have noted that my advice to readers is to buy the Kelby book on LR2 before paying out for the software. At that price you don't want to buy a pig in a poke.

TL

Terry I enjoy your recent articles on phot-taking not just the gear of the day. I've been hitherto a JPEG-Fine shoter, not being interested in too much post processing, but I hear Lightroom is fantastic as a database/organiser for many images which is what attracts me.

I' ve just bought a Nikon D700 body (in place of D200) to go with my old lenses, and I wanted to ask where Lightroom would fit in for me if I shot NEFs (RAW) on Nikon. Does Lightroom etc. do a good conversion of the Nikon NEF or would I use Capture NX as a front end to Lightroom?

Hi Terry, I've taken your advice and ordered the Kelby book. I have also downloaded a 30 day trial copy of Lightroom from Adobe.com and in the few days that I have used it I believe it's a fabulous program.

Adobe's site has links to other sites and blogs hosted by Lightroom experts such as Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski. The video tutorials are very good.

I think that with some literature, free on-line video tutorials and a free 30 day trial, we have every oportunity in assessing whether Lightroom is a worthwhile investment. I'll be buying my copy soon.

Lightroom printing colours? I'm using the test version of Lightroom 2.1 but have problems with the printing quality or apparent lack thereof. I have an Epson Photo R800 printer and I find that LR2.1 prints have a strange washed out/desaturated color rendering, particularly poor on red. The printer works fine and print richness is fine on Irfanview, Photoishop Elements etc (and all ink cartridges are fresh) but in LR2 it's washed out. I've sought to adjust the print settings to allow LR to manage the colour but I seem to be having problems, and from overseas forums there appears to be some glitch with LR printing. Have you printed successfully? or am I doomed to exporting all my LR prepared photos to another application for printing? or to use another software with this key feature working properly

Tony:

I don't have any problems printing from Lightroom 2. I use the same technique that I use for Photoshop -- let Lightroom control printing, go to Print Settings under File and set up printer output exactly as for Photoshop. Make sure that the right paper profile is selected and colour management is turned off [I use a Canon printer -- Epson printers use different terminology for the same thing] and then print. No problem with saturation or colour.

The tricky thing is that there are two setup points in LR2 -- the Print Setup under File and the Print module on the right side of the screen. You have to get them both right, it seems.

Good luck.

Hi Tony,

I had a similar problem with my Canon IP6700D printer.

I resolved my particular issues by not allowing the printer to manage the colours in the Colour Management section of the Print Module.

Instead I researched the appropriate paper profile for my printer (difficult on a Canon but I believe much easier on an Epson) and used that profile to manage the colours. I had to ensure all other colour managing settings on my printer driver were switched off (no colour corrections etc).

I achieved even better results by purchasing two specific ICC colour profiles for my printer and the paper I'm using. I was astounded by the results.

I purchased the profiles along with a basic monitor calibrator for AUD279 from a terrific imaging company in North Melbourne (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention company names).

They were great to deal with. I'm a bit of a novice but they didn't make me feel inadequate and they gave me clear and easy instructions via email. They were most pleasant over the phone as well.

Overall, I'm a big fan of Lightroom 2.1 and I've gained a lot of confidence in printing since I bought my colour profiles.