PeterN
On 11/22/2013 12:06 PM, Savageduck wrote: <snip>

Savageduck
The decision to use DNG or RAW in LR is a personal one, and one which some folks hold polarizing opinions. That is for you to decide. Personally, all my RAW files are archived and LR does work best with converted DNGs. I use converted DNGs in LR, any images taken into an external editor PS, NIK, OnOne, etc is saved back to LR as a TIFF PSD, or JPG. (Though I have stopped saving PS product back to LR as JPEG) If I want a JPEG from LR I just make that conversion via the "Export" function. Anyway, that is still your choice to make.

A plan for organizing your files using Lightroom is essential. However, given the quantity of files you have currently archived you have to consider the time factor involved. I have similar quantities of RAW files and while I value all of them and save & archive all of them I keep my RAW archive separate from my Lightroom catalog, and not every single one of my RAW files is retained in LR. Making a project of importing all those RAW files into LR is a time consuming project which will distract from learning LR. Making the move to LR is a good opportunity to evaluate and cull your working catalog/archive. LR is a very good tool to use for evaluation and rating of image files, Not everything I shoot is truly worth retaining in that Lightroom catalog (even though all my RAW files are archived). So I rate, flag, and most importantly "REJECT", (no stars, and no flag is also a rating and not a reject) and then remove the rejects from the LR catalog. There is little point in doing all of that work at once, as your method for working with LR will evolve as you work with it.

My suggestion is to start with current & recent work. I save my day's RAW files to my RAW archive, I then import those into LR from the archive (I still have the option to import directly from my card reader to LR). So, pick a reasonable timeframe, say the last 6 months, or the last 12 months, and import those (DNG converted or not). Then start adding from your back archive at a more leisurely pace. Rate, flag, and most importantly REJECT, and then remove. Don't try to do everything over one weekend, you will drive yourself crazy, and not be any more organized.

So my LR library/catalog is not a mirror image of my RAW archive. My RAW archive is arranged by camera, year and month and looks something like this in archive and backup. Camera folders: < https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1295663/FileChute/screenshot_394.jpg > D300S Folder 2010-current: < https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1295663/FileChute/screenshot_395.jpg > D300S 2012: < https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1295663/FileChute/screenshot_396.jpg > D300S June 2012: < https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1295663/FileChute/screenshot_397.jpg >

Lightroom library folder 2004-2013, reflects my arrangement in LR: < https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1295663/FileChute/screenshot_392.jpg > Lightroom folder 2012: < https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1295663/FileChute/screenshot_393.jpg >

...and what 2012 looks like in Lightroom: < https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1295663/FileChute/screenshot_398.jpg >

PeterN
Thanks. While I have not finalized, my inclination is to stick with RAW, not just because Tim so advises, but I am not certain what I will lose in a mass conversion,

and I am not sure I will gain all that much.

From comfortable and everything I have read, a decent file organization now will save me a lot of time in the long run. I have not used LR for many years, and see no reason to rush into integrating it into my workflow until I'm ready. A delay in deploying LR will not interfere with my use of CC.