My standard tools are DxO's Optics Pro for RAW to jpg, tif or DNG, then PS4 for any more extensive editing. OP allows a lot of processing as part of the conversion, including color balance, WB, contrast, saturation, vibrancy, cropping, NR, etc., etc. I do the conversion as a batch process, spending a minute or two on each image prior to starting the batch process, in hope of getting a finished product in one step.
99% of my processing is done in OP. PS4 tends to enter the fray if I need masking or something needing layers of adjustment.
Does LR serve the same function as OP? Reading about LR, Bridge and PS at Adobe's site leaves it unclear to me how each one functions in the processing chain. There must be legacy issues as to why they're not all rolled into one complete solution. Maybe there are economic reasons also. Coming from PS Elements, like Adobe really complicates every issue that they can in their full-boat solutions.
Anyway, I don't think that I need LR. For my cameras and lenses, I think that OP gives me a better RAW conversion than DPP from Canon. The tests that compare LR and DxO showed little difference, so I use OP because I like the look, feel and results.
Is there any compelling reason to look more seriously at LR, other than the fact that it's much more widely used than OP?
I happen to really like LR--but I certainly don't think it is a requirement. I find myself using photoshop less and less in favor of LR. To me the main virtue of LR is the ability to organize and retrieve images in the catalog.
There is a free trial from Adobe (I think 30 days)--but I don't really see anything in your post which suggests that LR is for you..
LR when DxO Optics Pro is in workflow
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