iView Leap to Lightroom?

[frankgindc]

Like a lot of folks, I'm wondering about whether the new Lightroom release should cause me to shed my connection to iView.  Since that type of decision depends on the individual needs, here's my situation:

- I'm a new iView user and, as the gods would have it, at about the exact moment that the new Lightroom release was announced, I was completing my keywording of 5,000 images in iView --    .  These are the images from my original archive type library;
- I have an additional 1,000+ pictures that need to be edited, "derivatve-ized", and imported into iView;
- I will be doing some heavy shooting over the next few months and will be adding about 1,000 more;
- I'm generally a hobby shooter -- assume less than 3,000 images per year -- with some volunteer and pro bono work and I use Bibble for my RAW conversions;
- I've been generally not too happy with iView's lack of bells and whistles but picked it because a) it's one of the few robust options available on Mac, b) it will write IPTC to RAW files, and c) it's a "big" program with an active user community.  I've been unhappy with the lack of easy heirarchal keywording, lack of frequent updates (it seems to be frozen in time for the last year), lack of versioning and a bit nervous about its future support of Mac.

Basically, I'm getting a lousy vibe from the program and what I thought were big benefits (i.e., robust keywording and writing to all (?) IPTC fields) are turning out to be not such a big deal.  For example, I like that iView uses the full slate of IPTC fields.   But after I finished associating 5,000 images with 36 "people" in the People annotation category, I tested out the sync function and found that the People category is not as useful as you'd think since other programs won't read that "contact" field.  So, to make that data exportable (thanks to advice on this forum), I created heirarchal Catalog Sets based on those annotations.  These work great but are native to iView so if I want to embed their data in my files I need to find a script that converts those into keywords and then embed those.  Long story short: all the useful IPTC data ends up in the "keyword" field which every program supports so there is little obvious advantage in the ability to write to all the IPTC fields.  Must we resign ourselves to all these work arounds?

My Question:  how much deeper do I want to go into iView?   I know I'll be eligible for a free upgrade to Expression Media but, frankly, it better have "something that sings" or I'm not inclined to wait around for it.  

I'm really tired with working around the lack of usability in iView.  This is from my perspective, of course, which is a new user who is struggling with initial DAM setup and also finding some shortcomings in the program.  It's hard to see where my inexperience ends and the programs shortcomings begin but my general sense is that the biggest selling point for iView is for people that already have 100,000 images in it and don't want to go through the painful transition to another system.   I'm in a much different situation where I'm on the edge of being in too deep but could still "call off the wedding" at the last minute.

I know some of you have access or insight into planned releases and the direction of iView v. Lightroom.  I'd like to avoid spending $199 on Lightroom now if my free upgrade to Expression Media is going to get that program up to speed.   On the other hand, I don't want to wade further into iView, have Expression Media come up short, and then spend $299 on Lightroom 4 mos from now when I finally decide to make the jump.

Any advice for someone in my situation?  Should I wait until Expression Media comes out and then sort it out (not really looking forward to another big migration) or does someone already know enough to help me sort it out now?

Thanks,
Frank

[Marc Rochkind]

Frank--

If you see inadequacies in iView's cataloging features, you're most unlikely to think of LR as a suitable replacement, since it's far weaker in that area. In addition, the interface between LR and iView is poor. The most significant problem I see is that LR won't create or update JPEG previews in DNGs, which iView relies upon. Maybe the two work better together in a non-DNG workflow, but I haven't tried that, as I'm not personally interested.

--Marc

[peterkrogh]

Frank,
Your critique did not mention the one compelling reason to move to Lightroom: the ability to make adjustments to image files from the same environment that you use to organize them.

The "lack of bells and whistles" you cite, if in relation to the sorting, organization and management, will be significantly worse in Lightroom.

I don't think that current users don't want to leave because we are afraid of the pain of exit.  I can take all the work I have done to my files out of iView in less than a day.  The problem is what to move to.  My first consideration is the security of the image files themselves.  This is followed by the ability to save and migrate data.  After this would be convenience, which, for me, would include the integration of the adjustment tool and the management tools.

If you are a hobbyist with no great economic stake in your images, and you only use a single computer to work with photos, then perhaps the convenience of Lightroom will be on the top of your list, rather than number 3.
Peter

[frankgindc]

Peter,

Thanks for the thoughts.  Yes, you're right that moving to Lightroom would also have the advantage of being a one stop shop for most images and I see that as a big advantage (simplicity seems to be a valuable but rare commodity in DAM right now).   Also, I'm not doing a DNG workflow (mainly b/c Bibble doesn't support that) but that might be another advantage.   I basically work off of one laptop but use an external harddrive and DVDs for backup.   Would Lightroom be able to support that pretty well or would that be taxing it a bit at this stage?

Also, is it me or has it been awfully quiet about the pending release of Expression Media?   Any insights on what to expect?

Thanks (as always),
Frank

[peterkrogh]

Frank,
For a single user, the biggest real issues (to my mind) are the lack of tools to help you sort out problems.  Those can be your own carelessness, past practice, and media problems. 

So as long as nothing goes wrong, no problem.

As to expression Media, can't say anything at the moment.

Peter

[frankgindc]

Peter,

My "own carelessness"?!  You are painfully insightful.   

And I can understand that you can't divulge much.  How about this:  any advice on a "holding pattern" strategy that would let me go with Expression or with Lightroom, say, four mos. down the road?  That is, are there any keywording, derivative, or other approaches that I might want to avoid (or follow) to ensure max flexibility later -- wouldnt' have to be program specific but general practice (e.g., I wouldn't recommend that anyone go down the People field road at the moment)?

Thanks,
Frank

[peterkrogh]

Frank,
Everything I have suggested in my book and on this forum will enable you to migrate later. 
Don't try to overthink it, or do any special prep, since the exact steps will only be knowable when you decide to make the switch. 

Th holding pattern is to continue to adjust and archive your images in a sound way, and to organize them in a way that is useful to you.

The migration process will begin with a decision: something like "I want to move to this program because it offers me these critical improved functionalities.  And I still want to do it despite these drawbacks"

Followed by: "How do I go about the migration? Which of my data is seen as it, and which might need to be transfered to another field?"

Followed by preping the images for migration: reimport into the new program, validate data migration (check to see that the data came along for the ride).

You can't even answer number one now, so answering the following questions is also impossible.

Peter