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Which Lightroom version for me?

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clee01l

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Houston, TX USA
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Lightroom Version
Cloud Service
Operating System: MacOS 10.13.x

Lightroom Version: LR Classic 7.0
(Please go to Help menu > System Info to double check the exact version number)

Question or Description of Problem: I've got about 1.5TB of images in my LR catalog. I could probably delete half of the image inventory But that means having to revisit 36000 images to decide which to keep and which to toss.
I want to be able to work MY workflow from either my iMac at home or my MBP on the road. I want to be able to import images from either machine. It is not clear to me if Lightroom Creative Cloud Photography plan with 1TB ‎ will let me do this If I go for the 1TB plan, what happens to my catalog? How would my MBP access the images in my Master catalog? Can I keep the files I don't want to move to the cloud locally in a LR catalog on my iMac. I could care less about iPhones/Android/iPad Lightroom mobile. These will never fit into my workflow.
So who can tell me if I can seamlessly work my image from either the iMac or the MBP?
Who can tell me how to migrate my LR Classic to LRCC? Can I selectively decide which images are cloud based if I make the commitment?

Adobe continues to mis-manage users expectations. A change of this magnitude should really come with more preparation of the user base for the change. Dropping a surprise release is only good if ALL of the user base benefits from the change. My subscription gets renewed in November, There will need to be a lot of benefit in LR for me to continue. So far, I'm not seeing it. I already have a license for On1 PhotoRAW and Affinity, but none of these offer the power for image management like the LR database. But I can always go back to managing images by folders.
 
LOL; if you don't know the answer to your question I'm not sure anyone will :rolleyes:
Yep; totally agree about 'what were they thinking'. I have often had the thought LR has gone about a far as it can as the present LR -- I have never wished for more than Lr5. There are a some good programs coming up snapping at adobe's heals --- on1 is close but too far away --- Luminar could be more interesting if they add a good DAM system (they are promising it] --- ACDsee also has some useful toys, although like all other programs we seem to lose something we are used to and feel we need. I think Adobe could do a lot worse than boosting Elements with the old Cs3; the most advanced PS I had or needed.

Bit off topic: how did you get on in the flood Cletus? Last i heard you needed to move (??) . It's off the news radar down here.
 
Cletus, I sense that ultimately you will be the only person able to answer your questions, probably with a fair investment in testing and exploring multiple scenarios. The problem I see is this is likely to remain a moving target for several years to come, as successive releases of Classic and Cloud are implemented.

I have mixed views on this whole strategy. I agree with your thoughts above re mismanagement of user expectations, but feel that Adobe had to do something. Creating two Lightroom universes is not something I am happy with, as I feel their handling of a single universe leaves a lot to be desired.

My background is in designing and implementing large scale enterprise level complex systems. In this case, I personally am not prepared to put the time and effort and risk into the testing required to tick all the boxes I need. If you want to do that then fair play to you. I may decide to dip my toe in the testing of Lr Cloud at some stage, but not on version 1.0. If Adobe want to pay me to do that then I would be happy to bring my experience of testing complex systems to the table, but am saying this tongue in cheek as it is such an unlikely scenario. I make the point because it reflects the investment in time I would need to make, which is not a viable option for me with my current commitments.

I do sense that in due course Lr Classic will follow Lr Perpetual and will be allowed to decay, gracefully or ungracefully. My contingency in that situation , if I cannot feel safe using Lr will be to use something like PhotoMechanic to filter and rate my images and use Photoshop or a competing product such as Affinity to get a finished image file. A scenario I would not look forward to.

I am pleased to see the work gone into using the built in jpgs and or raw plus jpgs to speed up the culling process, but for the life of me I do not understand why this was not done years and years ago. I can only assume a Lr architect on the original team blocked such a developement for emotional / conceptual / legacy reasons rather than dealing with the reality of the problem this created.

I am a little clearer this morning, in Dublin, on the Lr Classic/Cloud lineup, but like you I have more questions than answers. In a few weeks I will test Lr Classic and probably wait for Lr Cloud ver 2.1 to arrive before forming a view or getting into what will be a replacement product, whether I like it or not.
 
You can migrate a Lr Classic catalog to Lr CC, so if you don't want to migrate everything, you could save a selection as a new catalog and migrate that one. I'm not sure if you can repeat this and migrate a catalog in several chunks this way.

Personally I would stick to Lightroom Classic and the way you have been working till now. Lightroom CC will grow, but at the noment it is far too limited for a seasoned Lightroom user. To give you a small list of what you'd be missing: smart collections, hierarchical keywords, color labels, HDR, panorama, publishing services, just to name a few things.
 
No doubt Adobe would say that it's coming, but yes, it's incredible that they would launch this program without it.
 
Lightroom does the majority of what I want, out of the box. When it doesn't, there is a very large ecosystem of plug-ins and add-ons that will. For me, that is key, and if that is not possible under a Cloud version, then I can't see going down that route.

In a way, this is just another spin of the client/server wheel (I'm sure some of us remember the way the boundary shifted around with developments in processing, storage and comms). From the perspective of someone who routinely works from a single place, as a single user, the Classic configuration makes the most sense, but I can readily see the solution is different for someone who wants to work from multiple locations.

It seems there are (at least) two communities with different needs who can be best served by different products, and I hope Adobe keeps both.

Dave
 
No doubt Adobe would say that it's coming, but yes, it's incredible that they would launch this program without it.
I'm not so sure about that. A lot of the initial target audience never print anything, or they'd send stuff to online labs. I can't remember the last time I printed a photo on a proper printer! I'd expect it to come, but I'm not convinced it was that bad a priority decision.
 
I agree to some extent, but there's not even a dummy-level File > Send to Email command, so I guess the bar is set pretty low. I just expect more from Adobe, certainly when something's apparently "built for professionals and enthusiasts" (press release).

John
 
I agree to some extent, but there's not even a dummy-level File > Send to Email command, so I guess the bar is set pretty low.

Maybe Adobe will fill this gap by providing a "Cloud Print Service" along the lines of the Blurb Book service !!!!
 
Bit off topic: how did you get on in the flood Cletus? Last i heard you needed to move (??) . It's off the news radar down here
I’ve been an apartment since September. We’ve just started to make minimal repairs on our house and when done we will move back in. This is only a temporary solution. Our house was valued only for the lot (i.e. a tear down). And lot values are now about 60% of pre-flood.
 
Cletus, personally I think the question you should be asking is why do you want to migrate ANY of your photos to the cloud. :)

I think if you migrate part (e.g. export a portion of the catalog and then migrate it), and come back later the next group will be an import not a migration. Emphasis on "think".

But my question about, despite the smiley, is serious -- I think people happy with LR6/2015 need to answer it before they bother migration, now. A few months from now, or at version 1.1, after the dust settles... maybe. But if no good reason, do not move your production catalog.

If you want to play, play -- migrate a tiny portion and plan to delete it all later.

But be happy with the new Classic while other people suffer through the growing pains in the Cloud. :sneaky:
 
I do sense that in due course Lr Classic will follow Lr Perpetual and will be allowed to decay, gracefully or ungracefully.
I see this as inevitable too. I’ve been a loyal Adobe customer for about 10 years. Freely putting in a lot of time here and elsewhere to support the product. I am seeing end of life for the Lightroom that I need. As such, I am beginning to think that my time needs to be focused on moving away from Lightroom Classic.
 
who can tell me if I can seamlessly work my image from either the iMac or the MBP?
Who can tell me how to migrate my LR Classic to LRCC? Can I selectively decide which images are cloud based if I make the commitment?
While I’ve gotten a lot of “me too” and a lot of commiseration, no one has been able to answer these basic questions. I’m certain that there are those on this forum that have been involved in the beta testing. And I would hope that they could provide the answers. If they can’t, can anyone?
 
I'm not so sure about that. A lot of the initial target audience never print anything, or they'd send stuff to online labs. I can't remember the last time I printed a photo on a proper printer! I'd expect it to come, but I'm not convinced it was that bad a priority decision.

Sorry Victoria, that is funny.
The press releases state this is a professional and enthusiast application. I know you are stuck in the position of trying to defend a product and decisions which you did not make. But still, basic printing functionality is a checkbox item.
This is just one more example of Adobe product management not actually discussing anything with the target customers and building this in a vacuum. Sort of like the whole marketing fiasco. Just the name, Classic means they want to kill it off.
Further, when you read the release notes on Classic, they are getting the low hanging fruit that has been complained about for years. There is no real focus on pushing the product forward. The combination of these two, screams they are planning on killing off Classic. It is just a question of time.
The problem for Adobe is there are many people like me who have made the same choices, I have been a CTO for over a decade at mid size companies. I do this for a living. You also have Phil, Fergeson, Cletus... many others. Adobe screwed up big time, many of the retired enthusiasts I have met are former IT workers. We know the game.
For those who are retired already, they just have to determine if Adobe will let them run out the remainder of their photography hobby before the price point kills it. For others like me who are still learning the product, it has become time to re-evaluate if we want to continue trying to learn Adobe.

Tim
 
While I’ve gotten a lot of “me too” and a lot of commiseration, no one has been able to answer these basic questions. I’m certain that there are those on this forum that have been involved in the beta testing. And I would hope that they could provide the answers. If they can’t, can anyone?

Seamlessly is a strong word but in the new LR CC has a nearly identically GUI and features on all platforms, and yes, you can work on the same image anywhere, any time, subject to connectivity and bandwidth.

When you MIGRATE to LR CC (cloud), whether from LR6/2015 or Classic, you are moving ALL images that are in the catalog into the cloud. It makes a local copy (you need a LOT Of space) and starts uploading to the cloud, and shortly thereafter it also starts bringing the images back down on any connected LR CC programs where you have local storage selected. This can take a long time as most people's upload speed is slow, and can also run into a lot of storage issues as you need your original catalog (and images), and a new copy for staging upload.

The migration is designed as a one time thing; it then de-activates sync on the Classic catalog (I think) and expects you to use the Cloud version only (LR CC not Classic).

Un-doing all this requires breaking the sync and deleting the cloud to start over.

AS far as I know incremental migration is not supported, and could only be done by then importing new images into the cloud separately. I have not tried to see if they would accept XMP files to carry edits out as well, as a partial workaround.

Adobe's paradigm for this is "people with modest catalogs can just move to the cloud and forget their catalogs forever".

If you do not follow that paradigm, you are blazing your own trail to some extent.
 
As such, I am beginning to think that my time needs to be focused on moving away from Lightroom Classic.

I feel it's more a matter of reviewing what you are doing, just in case Adobe do as one may fear.

Years ago I likened DAM to a life of serial monogamy, with one theme being that while you're committing to one relationship you know that one day you will want to leave it and take all that's yours, like having a prenup! For example, should one depend as much on collections, when keywords would be more portable? It also means more "playing around" - testing the alternatives that are fluttering their eyes in your direction.

John
 
Cletus, just to elaborate a bit more. If you want to learn about the CC offering, my suggestion is this, if it fits:

- Finish up any current LR Mobile editing and such, and get everything safely in your LR6/2015 catalog.
- Delete the cloud entries so you are not using the cloud at all.
- Turn off sync on your LR6/Classic if it's on
- Export a smallish portion of your catalog to a new location, including images, so it is completely isolated from your production catalog. Maybe even move it to a separate computer (the LR Classic software is not needed on that computer just the catalog).
- Migrate that test catalog up to the LR CC, experiment to your heart's content, but treat it all as throw-away.
- When done experimenting, delete everything in the cloud and start over, migrating your entire catalog if you choose to go that way.

Trying to stay with production work in both environments is possible but is going to be a real serious exercise in frustration. It's built to move into -- not commute back and forth.
 
While I’ve gotten a lot of “me too” and a lot of commiseration, no one has been able to answer these basic questions. I’m certain that there are those on this forum that have been involved in the beta testing. And I would hope that they could provide the answers. If they can’t, can anyone?

Who can tell me if I can seamlessly work my image from either the iMac or the MBP?
Yes, you can.

Who can tell me how to migrate my LR Classic to LRCC?
Lightroom CC has a 'Migrate Lightroom Catalog' menu.

Can I selectively decide which images are cloud based if I make the commitment?
You can of course export a selection from Lightroom Classic to a new catalog and then migrate this catalog to Lightroom CC, but I'm not sure if you could repeat that with a second selection without removing the first one from the cloud again.
 
I see this as inevitable too. I’ve been a loyal Adobe customer for about 10 years. Freely putting in a lot of time here and elsewhere to support the product. I am seeing end of life for the Lightroom that I need. As such, I am beginning to think that my time needs to be focused on moving away from Lightroom Classic.

Keep us updated. I can understand if we need to move this off the current forum.
Based on the number of choices for cloud storage and backup solutions. I really want one that is file based, has no local database (or can be rebuilt on demand without loss of data) and can be used on multiple machines via replication of files via MS OneDrive, Google Drive, DropBox....
I am willing to accept a startup performance hit for scanning if needed.
If there was a good parametric editor we could integrate with, a solid DAM system does not seem supper hard to develop. Could be a fun group project, assuming there is a good library to manage the meta-data in the images.

Tim
 
I see this as inevitable too. I’ve been a loyal Adobe customer for about 10 years. Freely putting in a lot of time here and elsewhere to support the product. I am seeing end of life for the Lightroom that I need. As such, I am beginning to think that my time needs to be focused on moving away from Lightroom Classic.

It's amazing what one single word can do. If they had called it 'Lightroom Professional', would you have felt the same way?
 
I already have a license for On1 PhotoRAW and Affinity, but none of these offer the power for image management like the LR database. But I can always go back to managing images by folders.

Have you tried Capture One Pro 10? So nice it is... I am considering leaving Adobe, if the new classic CC is not much better than the old version. And also if I feel that we only will have the Cloud version in near future and Adobe is leaving the classic behind, or increase the pricing.... I will not have my files in the cloud, and not be able to work without internet connection!
This is the last chance Adobe!
 
Nicer default colours, for what little the default is worth? An interface so cluttered you are forced to customize it. A poor print UI? Catalogues that have stability problems with more than a few thousand pics? But the one thing I really like in CaptureOne is the focus mask.
 
I am considering leaving Adobe, if the new classic CC is not much better than the old version. And also if I feel that we only will have the Cloud version in near future and Adobe is leaving the classic behind, or increase the pricing....

The new is better (how much depends on what you wanted and the definition of "much").

You will not have only the cloud version in the "near" future, I would expect it to be many years as lots of existing users, paying a monthly subscription - why would Adobe kill a revenue stream that costs it nothing to keep going. Now if the Cloud version ends up "better", and all us old die hards (its not for me either) start switching... well, then your rationale may have changed also.

And so far the pricing looks reasonable. I am surprised you get the new CC version for free (with the existing $10 subscription).

I think Classic will die from neglect eventually, but it's not anytime in the near future. There is a lot of time to see how CC matures. It's a V1 product. Worry about V3 time. :geek:
 
Sorry Victoria, that is funny.
The press releases state this is a professional and enthusiast application. I know you are stuck in the position of trying to defend a product and decisions which you did not make. But still, basic printing functionality is a checkbox item.
This is just one more example of Adobe product management not actually discussing anything with the target customers and building this in a vacuum. Sort of like the whole marketing fiasco.

It's version 1.0 of a professional and enthusiast app. Remember back to the first releases of Lightroom on 2006? Not even a crop tool. In a program built for professional photographers?

There were discussions with a whole range of customers, and print was not top of their priorities. High, but not top.

I will agree they've overhyped their target audience in the press releases, considering this is 1.0 though. There's no way it's ready for most pros.

Just the name, Classic means they want to kill it off.
Further, when you read the release notes on Classic, they are getting the low hanging fruit that has been complained about for years. There is no real focus on pushing the product forward. The combination of these two, screams they are planning on killing off Classic. It is just a question of time.
If they're killing it, there's no point them bothering with low-hanging fruit though, right? I agree, it probably will get killed off eventually... but not before all the customers have another viable Adobe product to move to, and that will be at least a few years yet. They overhype their marketing, like most marketing departments do, but they wouldn't still be in business if they were making decisions like that.
 
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