Any photoshop 7 or lightroom users?

Question

I am looking for a RAW format image processing and editing tool that has a little more than the standard import and initial processing [i.e., white balance and exposure editing] than what is standard with photoshop 7, in terms of workflow and management. I have been reading up on Adobe photoshop lightroom, but I'm confused about what it is. Is it a plug-in, or a seperate editor that just imports to photoshop? I need some sort of RAW processing and editing above what photoshop 7 already does, but do I need a program like lightroom? Cost is somewhat of an issue for me as I just can't do $700+ to upgrade to CS2 or CS3 from photoshop 7 (which I've had for a while, but not really learned fully). Does photoshop 7 have the kind of RAW functionality I need, built in? Or should I go with lightroom (or some other moderately priced program of the like), if I want to exclusively work with RAW?

I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I use Photoshop CS2 and it works great. For what you're doing I would definitely recommend Adobe Lightroom. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a photography software program developed by Adobe Systems for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, designed to assist professional photographers managing thousands of digital images, and do post production work. It is not a file browser like Adobe Bridge, but rather an image management application database which helps in viewing, editing and managing digital photos (including those on backup DVDs).

Answer 2

For PS7 you need the Adobe RAW plug-in. It is integrated in CS though although I have heard there are better products out there for RAW image processing.



This one is supposed to be pretty good: http://www.phaseone.com/

Answer 3

Lightroom is stand alone software. You can upgrade fromPS7 to CS2 or CS3 for US$199.