[TerryM]

I have been using Downloader Pro to download my raw files. Then import into Lightroom. I am using DLP 1.7 and wonder if I need to upgrade to 2 version? I took a look at the download for Lightroom 1.2 and it seems they have improved it quite a bit. On the surface, I don't see any reason to upgrade to the 2. version.

Am I missing something?

[DavidB]

On the surface, I don't see any reason to upgrade to the 2. version ... Am I missing something?
No-one has replied, so I'll have a go.

From my standpoint, Lightroom and DL Pro are very different animals. In a way, the counterpart to Lightroom is not DL Pro on its own but the combination of BB Pro and DL Pro. Even that comparison is not exact, as the Adobe and Breeze applications major on different things. I trialled Lightroom quite extensively when it was in beta, and, while I loved the interface, I still found that the workflow was easier to manage in the less flashy Breeze applications. And it's not irrelevant that the cost of ownership of Lightroom, depending on where you live, is probably two to three times that of the Breeze pair.

However, that kind of comparison is not, I think, where you are coming from. Your question is, "Is it worth spending $20 to upgrade DL Pro"? The answer depends on whether you intend to go on using it. I go on using it because, in my experience, it protects me from my own mistakes better than any other application of its kind. There are lots of other features I would not be without, but getting the pictures securely to where I want them on the hard disk has to be number one priority. I suspect that we don't talk much about the security features in this forum, because they work well and without drama.

If this security and the other features are sufficiently valuable to you that you will continue to use DL Pro, then I think that you do have at least one good reason to consider the $20 upgrade. Version 2.0.x is the first version of the software to support IPTC/XMP metadata, and this is the metadata standard that is supported by Lightroom (and current versions of BB Pro). That was enough to justify the upgrade for me, but you'll also like the thumbnail view once you start using it (for example to select images for a partial download), and it is clear from posts to this forum that a lot of people like the GPS data handling as well.

I'd say it's worth the $20. But it's your call. Hope these thoughts help.

[TerryM]

David, it is not the $20 bucks as much as do I continue to use DLP and of course upgade it, or start using the download feature in Lightroom. The LR feature seems to have come a long way. I don't think there is a lack of secruity in the LR download interface. Is that what you were saying? Or did I misunderstand.

I was really looking for a discussion from several people about the advantages of DLP over LR interface. It is interesting that no one stepped up.

[DavidB]

Terry

I too am sorry that no one else has engaged in this, particularly as I am not really qualified to speak of the current incarnation of Lightroom. I have noticed that I rarely see comparisons of the kind you are asking for in product-specific forums (not just this one). That's a pity, because there is rarely one best product for everyone.

The issue of security is more than anything about protecting the user from mistakes that are easy to make, like over-writing one image file with another or not downloading all the images before they are deleted from the card. The only Adobe downloader that I know at all well (the version of Adobe Photo Downloader that comes with Photoshop Elements 4) does not have the kind of checking features that are built into DL Pro, and that worries hare-brained people like me.

Perceptions of any user interface are so much a matter of personal taste that comparisons are really difficult. All the half dozen or so Adobe products I have used have had interfaces which flip from gorgeous to ghastly and back in an instant, whereas the user interface in Breeze products tends to be pedestrian but dependable (and therefore a good deal less stressful in daily use). That said, a downloader is software in which what goes on under the hood is even more important than the user interface, particularly when, as with DL Pro, it can be set up to work in a fully automated mode.

I suppose there is only one way you can be sure what works best for you. Grit your teeth, spend the money on the DL Pro upgrade, and run your own shoot-out. If you do don't add IPTC data on download, you could probably even run a side-by-side test with DL Pro 1.7.

Good luck, and may the best workflow win.

[EricHill]

I like using both Downloader Pro (to get my images from my memory card to my hard drive) and Adobe LightRoom (for image cataloging and post processing) together in my work flow. :)

-Eric.