[Becca]

If you could only save up and splurge on one, which would it be? Lightroom or a Kindle? I love photography, love the beta of LR 3. But my other favorite pasttime (next to scrapping) is reading. Such hard decisions.

(And yes, it'll probably take me till LR 3 comes out to save up for it, so don't say "Kindle" and just wait on LR3's release. )

[Rose Ann]

I'd go with Lightroom. Kim Komando seems to think that market for those electronic book readers is going to heat up soon (something she said during the consumer electronics convention) and the prices were going to come down this year. Besides, you can always read a paper book. Can you always do what you want to your photos without the software?

[TallCool69]

I'd go with Lightroom too, Becca!
I LOVE reading, but I don't mind holding the actual book and I like flipping pages...
And I'm amazed with what I can do in Lightroom!

[Prahe]

Well I have never played with Lightroom but I love love love my Kindle, even with the slightly limited functionality here in Australia (no real web searching, apart from the Kindle store and wikipedia). I love that it is very portable and can be read outside...the e-ink technology is easy on the eyes. Reading in bed is a dream, no struggling to hold the book open while lying on your side/back/belly. The only down side is that it is way too easy to buy books $$$ but if you hunt around there are plenty of free ones too. I also have audio books on mine which is great on those occassions that I feel the need to do ironing..I can iron and listen at the same time. The best bit though is that it has got my 16 yo son reading...the inbuilt dictionary (just move the cursor to the word and the definition pops up at the bottom of the screen) has made reading less of a challenge to him and he has rediscovered the joy...what a bonus. Sure e-book technology will keep evolving, but so does every other program/application/electronic toy...there will never be 'the best' time to buy in terms of technology, it will always be outdated. New apps are coming for the Kindle some time this year which will make me love it even more no doubt.
Vote 1 - Kindle

[princessrunningfingers]

I'd probably get Lightroom, because I really am not sure that I want a Kindle. Reading in bed can be a little tricky sometimes with a hardback book, but, as someone else said, I like having a real book in my hands.

[ChristyVW]

Well, I don't know if this affects your decision, or maybe you already know, but if you have a child in school Lightroom is $99. I went through Academic Superstore for mine.

I would vote for Lightroom, but only because I really have no interest in the Kindle.

[ScrappingForever]

Boy, that's a tough one! But for me, it's the Kindle. (Need to get the votes for that one up! ) You see, I read EVERY day, so I use my Kindle every day. (And I can't go back to reading a paper book. They are sooo cumbersome after reading on a Kindle.) But I don't play with photos every day. (I just heard your GASP, Christy! ) So for me, the money is better spent on the thing I do every day, multiple times a day.

HTH! Let us know what you decide.

[SandiC.]

I'm with Ruth on this one. There is a big world out there, beyond photography and scrapping, unless you're a pro. While I love lightroom and if you had unlimited funds and could get both, I would say the Kindle (or other e-reader) would be more useful in the broadest sense. I love all the reasons Ruth gave for getting a kindle. One of the things I've found is I am spending much less money on books since I got my kindle. There is less clutter in my house because there are no longer stacks and stacks of books everywhere. I am a passionate reader and so my first recommendation would be a kindle. I find that with a cover, it "feels" like a book, it is easy to carry everywhere and books are so much less expensive. I like having my entire (not quite, but still lots of books) right at my fingertips. I like that I can preorder new releases before they hit the market and they are right there in my kindle on release day. I like that I don't spend nearly as much time shopping for books as I used to, though I do still go hang out at B&N on Saturday mornings. LOL. Now I go to B&N, browse the shelves, see if there is something new I want, use my iPhone to check the kindle store and have it downloaded before I get to the next aisle.

All in all, I'd say my kindle has made a more positive impact on my life than lightroom has. I use it much more than I use lightroom (don't get me wrong, I love lightroom too.) It has broader application to life as a whole. And once you get a kindle, you can download a book about lightroom to study while you're saving for that. LOL

[lorac]

I'd go with the ebook, as I'm an avid reader. Trying to hold one of those large hardback books in bed or even sitting on the couch or my easy chair is a problem.

I checked out the new Barnes and Noble "Nook" ebook and it looks real nice. I don't like the idea that you can't hold the Kindle in your hands until you purchase it from Amazon.com and at B&N it's right there to handle and ask questions of the rep.

There is also the older eBook by Sony, but it's not as nice looking nor as slim as the Nook. I also like the idea of the ebook as it will help keep down the cost of buying hardbacks and also trying to find room to store them before and after they I've read them. Some books I pass on, but I do keep my favorites: The Godfather, all the Harry Potter books, The Outlander series of books, etc.

So far the prices are pretty close and I expect within this year, prices will come down, a lot. So I'm waiting till later n the year.

[Sarah in VA]

When we were in Harrisburg this summer, I remember your saying that you were very pleased with how your camera's software handled your RAW files, more so than Photoshop. So, I'd say go for the Kindle. I think the possibilities there far surpass a piece of software - the world is at your fingertips, almost instantly! It's also something you can share with your family. Lightroom? Not so much.

[mimes1]

ChristyVW, on 30 January 2010 - 07:54 AM, said:

Well, I don't know if this affects your decision, or maybe you already know, but if you have a child in school Lightroom is $99. I went through Academic Superstore for mine.

I would vote for Lightroom, but only because I really have no interest in the Kindle.

Off to go get Lightroom!!! Thanks for the heads up Christy!

[richelle]

I am a techie person and I don't like the kindle. I am a touchy feely person when it comes to my books, I write in them, and like that I can just go to the bookcase and pull it. I do however like the option of having a pdf copy of work related books that I purchase simply because it is so easy to copy and paste references to sections of the book.

I have Lightroom and it is positively AWESOME!! It has bailed me out of a bad lighthing situation when that was the ONLY time to get the client's shot.

[MLLatscrapgirls]

Well, I have both (I also got Lightroom at a student discount, both sons are college students), and I would have to vote for the Kindle. I like Lightroom, and perhaps it is because I am still learning it (waiting for class) but I could live without it. I am still learning all of the awesome things I can do just with PSE.

Lugging around any reference material I need along with my laptop is just not always possible. Whereas the Kindle could carry my Missing Manual for PSE 8 as merely one of several useful items that I brought to convention. (In fact, the Kindle version came out weeks before the paper version - which I also have as I do like the convenience of a "real" book sometimes too and it cost much less.)

I love having an entire library that I can slip easily into a purse.

And as someone said, there are lots of free books also!

[LissaD]

Honestly I don't read a lot. BUT, recently I have discovered audio books. I love listening to audio books on my computer while I am working on things, or I can download the whole book to my blackberry and listen to it on the go. So I can listen to a book while I do the laundry, then pick it up while I am working on the computer, and then also take it to the park with me while the kids are playing. This has opened up a while world of books to me that I would have never sat down and read in paper form. Does that answer your question? LOL. If you REALLY like to read, maybe the kindle would be good, but a good blackberry and some audiobooks are far more useful for my lifestyle.

[TallCool69]

Since I posted my vote for Lightroom and stating my love for "real" books - something has happened...

I got an e-mail from my "american parents" telling me that there will be a package arriving in Sweden from amazon.com.
They have bought me a Kindle as a belated birthday-gift!

So, I've been looking into the Kindle-thing a little bit more closely - and I think I'm gonna LOVE it!

I will still read "real" books, because the Swedish authors are not available in Kindle-format. Except for Stieg Larsson and a couple of others that have been translated to English and actually sell in the States. But I usually buy the ones I want as soon as they are released in Sweden...

And I will still buy audio-books like I have in the past, because DH and I both enjoy them in the car and I listen to them at the office while doing accounting.

But I also buy loads of books in English from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk every year!
DH frequently tells me I have to stop because they take up too much space - I have books everywhere!
Now I can buy probably 80% of them for my Kindle instead!!!

It's due to arrive Friday, and I can't wait!

[caprimom]

Oh congrats Thess! What an awesome gift!

I voted for the Kindle as well! I love to read and I'm sure I'll miss the feel of a real book in my hands. However, what I won't miss is finding several pages ripped out of a book or a nicely hand drawn illustration of a stick figure by my resident artiste a.k.a. my dd on random pages.

I haven't looked at LR at all b/c I never shot in RAW. I'm getting a new camera within the next few days so I may look into it now

[Smiles]

I think you could eventually afford both, so it might be a question of which could you get first. I'd be inclined toward the Lightroom, because you can always get a book out of the library. But I don't have children, and I don't know how involved your lifestyle is. Maybe the convenience of sitting down to just the right book for a few captured solitary moments would be just the ticket for saving your sanity. So, evaluate all our input, and make your decision based on your own situation!

[Shelbi]

I have both...
I bought my lightroom from the same place Christy got hers.
My DH bought me my kindle.

I hate to say that I only got as far as loading lightroom into my laptop but have never used it.

I do use my kindle.
I like that it is lighter weight then carrying around a ton of books. I like that the books are cheaper then "real" books. I have even downloaded lots of free books.
I like that no one cut down a tree to make an ebook.

I would love to learn lightroom and shoot in camera raw and all of that...but I seem to read more.

[HeidiD]

Shelbi, on 03 February 2010 - 04:27 PM, said:

I like that no one cut down a tree to make an ebook.

Dang it all, Michelle! You may have just done what no one else has been able to do.... convince me I need one of these Ebook reader thing-a-ma-jiggers.

Darn you and your ecological arguments!

[Shelbi]

HeidiD, on 03 February 2010 - 07:26 PM, said:

Shelbi, on 03 February 2010 - 04:27 PM, said:

I like that no one cut down a tree to make an ebook.

Dang it all, Michelle! You may have just done what no one else has been able to do.... convince me I need one of these Ebook reader thing-a-ma-jiggers.

Darn you and your ecological arguments!

Glad I could be of some help LOL

[AnnBK]

KINDLE, KINDLE, KINDLE. But that's with some reservations. I relish the feel of a real, hard cover book in my hands, I fondle the corners of the pages as I read. But, if you travel, how delightful to take an entire library with you in such a tiny package. And imagine you are up late, can't sleep, want a good read...shop the Kindle shop and within a minute you have that book at your disposal. It's a magical age in which we live....where do you suppose we are going?

[tinkerbell11]

I like to hold the book and flip the pages! No to kindle!

[1access]

I vote to get both since you can get such a savings via Academic Superstore! Seriously, though, if you have Bridge and Photoshop, you can live without LR for a bit. Photoshop has Camera Raw with all the sliders like LR has. Meanwhile, you can study up on LR using your Kindle.

[bjc]

i'd go with LR as there is nothing else like it... kindle is great ...dh loves his but you can read a book the old fashioned way.... let us know what you decide

[RosemaryS]

Becca did you make a choice yet? MY dh said he was able to download a free kindle to his laptop and he has also been reading some of the free books they have available too. Just a thought to see what it's like if you want to try it

[April Showers]

So Becca, if you have CS3, the raw processing from bridge has the same basic controls as lightroom.

[sarabethp]

Get the Nook instead of the Kindle. The Nook will display the ebook standard format .epub whereas the Kindle you HAVE to use the Amazon ebooks and no others.

[StephRN]

My initial thought was to vote for LR.

But, one of my coworkers brought her Nook to work and I almost ordered it that day. Then I saw Lissa's comment about loading books to her blackberry. Wow, I could do that and listen to them while I multi task. My only hesitation with book readers is that many of the books I would want to load are not available yet. So, I'm waiting to see how it all pans out.

Another thing to consider, if you buy LR (esp at the discounted price) can you claim it as a tax deduction for your job? I don't know what your actual contract with SG entails but it's a thought.

[RosemaryS]

Thanks Sara, I'm going to go look at that.

[RosemaryS]

Oh Steph we must have been posting at the same time, that's a great thought about tax deductions. I wonder how that works. LOL.... hmmmmm