I’ve just begun trying out the Beta version of LightRoom and am startled by how good it is. I was initially put off by all the guff about how it was tailored to the ‘workflow’ needs of serious photographers. In practice, it’s a very neatly designed program. The ‘workflow’ idea is embodied in the notion of four main phases in the life of an image — Library (storage and filing), Develop (adjust), Slideshow (Display) and Print (see top right-hand corner of picture). Unlike most other Adobe products I’ve used, LightRoom seems intuitive and fairly self-explanatory. It’s nowhere near as powerful as PhotoShop for image manipulation, but then life is too short for most of us to learn PhotoShop. All in all, my first encounter with the software has been a revelation. No doubt more experienced and perceptive users will soon be emailing me lists of its deficiencies. But my reaction is positive so far.