There are many photographers (including myself) who don't have the funds available to buy the equipment that they need, so they must make due. I have owned my DSLR for several years now, and have taken close to 20,000 pictures on it. You could say that the sensor is not what is used to be. Noise Reduction is one of the indispensable tools that allows me to have professionally presentable work with the less than ideal equipment I have for the time being.
One of my favorite things about Lightroom has always been how well the program runs on my computer. I have a 15" MacBook Pro 2GHz Intel Core Duo with 2G RAM. It's definitely not the fastest computer on the market today, but it gets the job done. Lightroom 3 has never crashed my system, and I have not experienced any prolonged lags in applying effects, or waiting for images to load. The fact that my camera files average between 7 and 8 Megabytes does have something to do with this. If you are running an older system and importing images from a full frame sensor camera (not an ideal setup by any means) your lag time will be greater.
Many of us poor artists cannot afford the equipment to produce the work that we would really like to present. Many of the features of Lightroom 3 provide options to actually improve the quality of what you can produce. $299 might be rather stiff if you are on a shoestring budget, but it is a fabulous tool that makes this a great investment. Also, keep in mind that Lightroom upgrades usually run at about $99 so the purchase price will only be initial.
Since its first release, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom has set the standard for digital photography postproduction. Its simple and intuitive interface combined with its fast performance and wonderful options makes it a trend setting program. While it is a bit more expensive than other programs available on the market, it is a worthwhile investment if you are a serious hobbyist or professional photographer. It gives you the ability to present great images in your projects even if you have sub par equipment. Lightroom 3 will provide the organization and the creative options needed for achieving your vision.
