Disclaimer: my comments are based on the first beta release of LR4. I was excited by the inclusion of not only a good linkage to a book publisher, but as a bonus it links to Blurb with which I have been quite pleased. The obvious advantages of having such a linkage built into LR itself are twofold. First, it obviates the tedious step of exporting files which then need to be "imported" into Blurb's BookSmart software. Second, on a related note, it leaves the file re-sizing/optimization job to be done within LR which presumably is at least as good as the BookSmart software. For me, the big DISadvantages of the Book module in LR4 [as presented in the beta version] are also twofold. First, it is neigh on to impossible to make quick edits to one of the included page templates. Changes are accomplished in the Print module, with the result exported as a JPEG, which is then re-imported into LR4. The whole process is quite bizarre in my opinion; however, if you are comfortable with the provided templates, then this is not an issue. The second disadvantage/limitation is that the LR4 version of an interface to Blurb restricts you to the "higher quality" paper which a) is heavier; b) more expensive; c) not any more attractive IMHO; and d) limits the number of pages you can include in your book.
Again, my comments may be OBE. After playing quite a bit with the first release I have not looked at any subsequent releases including the 4.0 or 4.1 commercial releases. But I have tracked comments on the official discussion site and haven't seen anything to indicate that my concerns (shared by many others) have been addressed. So my bottom line is that I would not upgrade to LR4 in order to use the Book module. There probably are other good, even compelling, reasons to upgrade, but Book ain't it. BookSmart does a decent job and Blurb has been proactive in making improvements; Adobe hasn't come close to matching the functionality of BookSmart, so far. stan On Apr 1, 2012, at 6:06 PM, Christine Aguila wrote: > Lightroom 4 looks good to me: highlight/shadow recovery-a good plus, the > blurb book software, and extended video support, and for $79, pretty good. > I'll probably go for it come summer. Did you watch the videos, Rick? > Cheers, Christine > > > > On Apr 1, 2012, at 3:17 PM, Rick Womer <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I switched to Lightroom 3 mostly for its superior noise reducing abilities. >> I've been very happy with it. >> >> Looking through the features of LR4, I'm not seeing anything compelling. Am >> I missing something? >> >> Rick >> >> >> http://photo.net/photos/RickW >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. >> > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
