I have been using LR since v1. The last 2 revisions have brought significant improvements.
With v2 the standout benefit for me was the local adjustments brush (that alone made the upgrade a no-brainer.
With v3 I wasn't as eager to buy another upgrade - UNTIL I tried it out and noticed that after "updating" views of my images to use the "2010 process" the difference jumped out at me (particularly those at ISO 800+).
The higher ISO RAW files from an Olympus E-1 and E-300 suddenly looked demonstrably better (same with files from my E-3).
Noise reduction in Lightroom has always been less-than-stellar and I've been saving my pennies to buy a "real" noise reduction program for ~$100.
I am SO glad that I held off buying a separate noise reduction program until after I tested LR3 - I was about to pay just about the same price as the LR3 upgrade just for a noise reduction program!
IMO, the noise reduction now integrated into LR3 is the BEST that I have yet seen.
Another tool which I've pined for was a USABLE watermarking tool. FINALLY it is here!
Thanks Adobe (even though you really should've had this in there from the get-go.
There are a number of other tweaks that I've noticed (with a smile) - a bit of a speed increase (thanks to true 64bit support), a little more power in working with Black & White renderings and the lens profiles are fantastically useful (for me).
If you are on the fence as to whether you really want to buy this upgrade or wait for the next version just answer the following questions:
1 - Do you shoot primarily in JPG? The image processing engine won't mean as much to you.
2 - Does your camera already have excellent high-iso noise characteristics? This upgrade won't be the revelation it was to me.
3 - Do you not really care about watermarking? One less reason to upgrade.
4 - Are you running on a 32bit system or with <4GB of RAM? You won't see much speed improvement.
If you can answer yes to questions 1 & 2 above then this upgrade is probably not for you.
Personally, the noise reduction and watermarking were what enticed me and then seeing the new RAW processing is what made me click the "buy" button.
Now the only features I'm wishing for are soft-proofing, content-aware fill (I can dream can't I), a clone BRUSH (not stamp) and direct DVD burning. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Upgrade
I've been using Lightroom since the beginning - ordering Lightroom v1 immediately upon it's release and absolutely loved it. It's not a complete replacement for photoshop (it does a LOT of the stuff Photoshop does, but not a lot of the selective editing/power you get in PS).
After using the Lightroom 3 beta for the past few months, I knew I needed to get this upgrade.
Unlike Photoshop which is more of a "One image at a time" program, Lightroom brings your whole collection of photos into the application, allowing you to quickly navigate through them, tag/flag them (by stars, for example) and make quick edits to either a single photo or the whole set. This is the most important thing as if you shoot a few hundred photos and need the SAME settings quickly applied to each of them (white balance, for example) it's just a few clicks away. Lightroom also uses a non-destructive editing system, which means you can make as many edits to photos as you want, and the original is still untouched (you don't "save" over your photos, you create new versions once you've edited them how you like).
The built in presets, and ability to create your own/download others online, is a huge feature. Need a black and white high-contrast look with a vignette? You can find it. Need a HDR look? You can find it. Just about any "look" you need, you can either create or find online as a preset (most free).
With Lightroom 3 there are some obvious upgrades/changes:
One of the nicest is the noise reduction - take those ISO 3200 photos and make them look like ISO 200. The feature is much improved over Lightroom 1 and 2, and of course you have full control of the strength.
Faster (at least for me). It was never too slow to begin with, but seems to have gotten even faster in V3 (Windows 7, quad-core)
Lens Correction - great for those super-wide lenses!
Watermarking - I believe this was in LR1, but the current version is VERY nice. I'm usually one to avoid watermarks, but the ones on LR3 can be classy and non-obtrusive.
Tethered shooting - now you don't need to combine multiple programs and set up a "ghetto" tethering solution - it's built in!
Flickr upload built in - a nice feature for those that use the service.
Video importing - unfortunately you can't edit the video, but it's nice to have it in the same spot if you do both photo and video (like most HD DSLRs and almost all point and shoots do now)
Slideshows - you can now export them as video (even HD), with music!
New print options - I don't use these, but I'm guessing some people do. If that's you, you have some upgrades here!
Ability to create galleries for your site (either basic HTML or Flash) - This is the same as Lightroom V2 (but an upgrade for those who went from v1 to v3)
Selective editing brush - Same as above, nothing new but something not available in Lightroom v1
Overall it's a great system, especially working with hundreds or thousands of photos at once! A must-have for all photographers, professionals or amateurs. I'd like to see the ability to add effects/filters and edit video files in the future, but this is a PHOTO application so I won't hold it against them! Can't wait to see the new updates coming out over the upcoming months (Adobe has been very good about adding new features in same-version updates (like 3.1, 3.2) which come free. - Lightroom - Photography - Lightroom 3 - Image Editing'
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