Will a jpg image be degraded if it is edited in Lightroom (in this case Lr3)

[MarshaLevine]

When I started using Photoshop a long time ago, I was warned that every time a jpg image was opened and saved it became more and more degraded. The recommendation was that, if I wanted to re-save a jpg image (even if no changes had been made), I should first of all convert it to a tiff.

What is the situation with Lightroom (starting with Lr3)? In order not to de-grade the image quality, before I develop them in Lr, should I first convert jpegs to tiffs?

 

[clee01l]

Marsha, LR is called a non destructive editor. The reason for this is that you will find no {Save} button or menu item. This means that your original image remains unchanged. Adjustments to the original image that are made in LR, need to be merged with the original to create a derivative image file. While this can also be a JPEG, it is not the same JPEG as the original.

If you have a JPEG image whether it is the original or a JPEG, you can open it for viewing as many times as you want without degrading the image. It is only when you save a JPEG that degradation occurs. So, you can open any JPEG to view it even in a destructive editor like Windows Picture Viewer and as long as you don't press the {Save} button, no harm is done.

 

[MarshaLevine]

Cletus, thanks so much for your quick reply. I thought that it would be as you said, but needed confirmation before I started messing about with my old jpegs.