Colorado Springs, US
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>>I would get the structures the way you want them via
>operating
>>system moves, deletes, and modifies, and then import
>things in
>>bulk form.
>
>Yes, this is what I'll do to make the copy on the new 3Tb HDD,
>i.e. the HDD I want to use as my primary HDD from now on.
>However, instead of importing everything in bulk, I want to
>import existing folders separately in different days, i.e.
>import a folder only once I'll have cleaned it from photos I
>don't want to keep anymore. I assume it won't be a problem for
>LR4 to import the new folder since it is similar to ingesting
>a memory card from my camera. Am I right?
>
>I'll then end up with up to 5 levels of folders since I will
>organize everything under a unique top-level folder.
>
>>
Yes, you can do that. It'll just involve more steps. Keep in mind that you can also delete and move stuff within Lightroom, including individual files and folders. You can also add folders. It's up to you.
>>>2- What will happen with the .NEF and .JPG versions
>of
>>the
>>>same photo (they have the same name)?
>>>
>>
>>There's no issue having NEFs and JPEGs with the same name.
>
>>Lightroom will treat them as separate files.
>
>However, I assume I'll loose the different versions of a NEF
>file (as used in NX2). I have not used this very often, so not
>a big issue.
>
The edits you had in your NEFs, including versioning, will remain in there, so they won't be lost if you want to edit them using NX2. Lightroom has multiple ways of handling a similar concept: snapshots (which reflect different states of a file that you can select - it's the feature most like NX2's versioning) and virtual copies, where the alternate version of the file appears to be a completely separate file, but there's only one actual NEF, JPEG, TIFF or PSD. Lightroom just tracks a separate set of instructions for the virtual copy, along with a preview that it generates. This is an extremely handy feature when you want multiple renderings of the same image or if you want to experiment without tampering with the original version.
>I have the choice between the 2 following options once I'll
>have copied all existing files on the new 3Tb HDD and imported
>them into Lightroom:
>
>a) make an exact backup copy on a second new 3TB HDD (which I
>have)
>b) use my two source HDD as backups of the new 3Tb HDD (i.e.
>with the same folder structure but split over 2 HDD) and back
>up the LR catalog files (+ sidecar files) on these two HDDs.
>
>Solution "a" is the simplest one
>Solution "b" may be the most practical one during my
>transition phase where I still use PM5 to ingest photos and
>CNX2 untill I become good enough with LR4 (i.e. I'll not
>import in LR the files on the source HDDs, but I'll backup a
>copy of the LR catalog files on the source HDDs in a separate
>folder). BTW, I assume we don't have to import backups in LR
>but that we rather make a regular backup of LR files and
>photos(i.e. in case of HDD failure, I assume LR will be able
>to run a backup of photos even if its catalog was created from
>a different HDD)
>
I would definitely do option "a". Although it may seem like a bold step, I would drop NX2 and PM5 as fast as you can. That's not because they're bad, but you'll prolong your learning time and continue to build up edits or templates in tools that you'll eventually stop using. The best way to learn LR4 and CS6 is to give yourself no choice but to use them. It's similar to what I did when I moved from film to digital. As long as I had the crutch of using film, I stuck with it because I didn't know how to get results I liked with my D100 (using Capture at the time). It wasn't until I took an extended trip with just the D100 that I actually started learning how to really use it.
You're correct on the importing of backups. If you ever had to recover a lost drive of images, you'd just add the new drive, copy the images to it from your backup, and then point Lightroom to the new drive. If it had the same name, it wouldn't even know the difference and you'd immediately be in business.
BTW, you can export all your keywords out of PM5 and then import them into LR4 (or vice versa). Both programs let you use text files to do this and both support hierarchical keywording. Once you're up and running in Lightroom and Photoshop, you can configure PM5 to be Adobe-compatible in case you ever want to use it. I suspect you'll find that LR4 will probably handle your needs the vast majority of the time.
>
>
>
>> and if you confine your
>>file moves and deletes to Lightroom,
>
>I'm not sure I understand this sentence.
>
Rather than moving, renaming or deleting image files and folders in your operating system, you should use Lightroom to do it. Otherwise, the catalog won't know where they've gone. It's not difficult to resynchronize things, but if you use Lightroom to make those moves, renaming operations or deletes, there's no need for resynchronizing the catalog and files.
Rick Walker
My photos:
GeoVista Photography
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