LR3 and RAW from Canon 6D; when will Adobe support 6D RAW?

[ScottyP]

Does anyone know when Adobe will begin offering RAW support for 6D on Lightroom 3?  Mine is definitely not working now, and when I go to "look for updates" it says there are none.  This is as of Christmas Eve.

Thanks.

[ScottyP]

UPDATE:  I Googled this and read a few things, and I am not especially happy.  Is it correct that Lightroom 3 will NEVER be updated to handle RAW from my new 6D?? 

I don't WANT to update to LR4.  Not only is there the question of the money, but also there is the issue of LR4 being (supposedly) very slow to run on older computers.  Mine is 4 years old, and my plan was to go another 2 years without dropping bucks on a new one.

I also don't really like the sound of using DPP to convert it into some other format (or something) and then exporting it to Lightroom.  How does that work, and would it be lossy on the data?

Any suggestions?  Or any insight into whether LR4 is likely to bog down my computer?

Thanks!

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Lightroom 4 was out almost a year ago.  Lightroom 3 is not going to be updated.
However, here are two ways to use your 6D with Lightroom 3.

Method A:
1.  Install the DPP disk that came with your camera.  Setup a separate folder for your 6D images, and use DPP to import them to that folder.   
 
2. Use the Batch  Process Button in DPP to export the images to a folder of your choice.  The images will be converted to tiff which will work fine in LR 3. (The CR2 file is basically a compressed tiff image with Canon metadata added) 
 
3. If you set LR 3 as the external editor in DPP, you can also invoke LR3 from within DPP to edit a image.
 
 
Method B:

1.  Download Adobe DNG.  http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5519
 
2. Create a separate folder and place your 6D images in it.
 
3. Run Adobe DNG on that folder, it will convert the CR2 files to DNG.
 
4. Edit the DNG files in LR 3.(Your CR2 files will not be changed or deleted)
 
Either way will work fine.  You will never need to upgrade LR3 if you wish to keep it.

[Halfrack]

You answered your own question, so it's just a matter of if/when you'll upgrade.  What is your computer setup?  Will it be slower than your current setup, yes.  Would you better off with the functionality of LR4 - maybe.  Do you need a whole new computer to improve things - absolutely not.

[ScottyP]

@Mt. Spokane:
Thanks.  I will look at both methods and see if I can work the extra steps for a couple of years without "cracking" and buying LR4 and maybe a new computer.

@halfrack:
I have an old Core 2 Duo processor, and only 3 GB of RAM, but I upgraded both the video card and the OS within the last year.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 ghz
3 GB Ram
NVidia GeForce GTX 550Ti
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

I could buy LR4, and then buy some memory and up this to 4 GB or maybe more for $200 or so IF it would be enough to make a difference.  What do you think?

[RLPhoto]

LR4 is far better than LR3 for IQ retention. I could push my RAW files harder in LR4 than in LR3, and it also handles highlight recover much better.

If your willing to upgrade, it's well worth the $$$.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

@Mt. Spokane:
Thanks.  I will look at both methods and see if I can work the extra steps for a couple of years without "cracking" and buying LR4 and maybe a new computer.

@halfrack:
I have an old Core 2 Duo processor, and only 3 GB of RAM, but I upgraded both the video card and the OS within the last year.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 ghz
3 GB Ram
NVidia GeForce GTX 550Ti
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

I could buy LR4, and then buy some memory and up this to 4 GB or maybe more for $200 or so IF it would be enough to make a difference.  What do you think?

I'd spend $100 on memory.  Check your emory type, many core 2 duo systems use cheap DDR3 memory.
16GB of DDR3 memory costs less than $100.  If you happen to be stuck with DDR2, you can buy 8GB for about $100.
Memory is cheap.

[ScottyP]

@Mt. Spokane:
Thanks.  I will look at both methods and see if I can work the extra steps for a couple of years without "cracking" and buying LR4 and maybe a new computer.

@halfrack:
I have an old Core 2 Duo processor, and only 3 GB of RAM, but I upgraded both the video card and the OS within the last year.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 ghz
3 GB Ram
NVidia GeForce GTX 550Ti
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

I could buy LR4, and then buy some memory and up this to 4 GB or maybe more for $200 or so IF it would be enough to make a difference.  What do you think?

I'd spend $100 on memory.  Check your emory type, many core 2 duo systems use cheap DDR3 memory.
16GB of DDR3 memory costs less than $100.  If you happen to be stuck with DDR2, you can buy 8GB for about $100.
Memory is cheap.

I do have the DDR2, unfortunately.  I agree with your logic, and I just ordered the maximum (8 gigs).  That will be useful no matter what.
I think I will just suck it up and order the LR4 upgrade now.  If nothing else, my doing so is a surefire way to guarantee Adobe will release LR5 almost immediately!   

[ScottyP]

LR4 is far better than LR3 for IQ retention. I could push my RAW files harder in LR4 than in LR3, and it also handles highlight recover much better.

If your willing to upgrade, it's well worth the $$$.

I bit the bullet and upgraded to LR4.  I hate to say it, but I really like it better than LR3.  The new controls are simpler and more intuitive ("whites"), and I think the NR works better too.

[Badger]

Been running LR4 on a core2duo iMac with 4GB of ram. No problem handling RAW from 6D. Wish it was a bit faster, but, it works and I'm happy.