Cancelling the Creative Cloud Photography Plan

[Pete_S]

I haven't been on this site for quite a while and apologize if these questions have already been addressed.

I've been using Lightroom since LR3 and currently own the perpetual versions of LR6.4 and Photoshop CS5. I've been considering the LR/CS Photography CC subscription bundle but would like to know:

• Presumably LR CC creates its own catalog, first by importing my LR6.4 version and carrying on from there. If I subsequently cancel the subscription (for whatever reason), would I still be able to access my photos via the LR CC catalog for further editing with stand alone LR6.4?

• Can I load certain third party plug-ins into LRCC and if so, what happens to them should I cancel the subscription?

In summary,I would appreciate if anyone can provide information on the consequences of cancelling the Creative Cloud Photography Plan. Thanks.

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

The catalogs are the same, LR6.4 and CC are basically the same thing with the exception of how it authenticates and a few features.

So far as I have ever heard, every 3rd party plugin works the same in CC and LR6.

If you cancel your CC subscription while still at this current version you could re-install LR6.4 and use it and everything would be present. ON the other hand, if you continue to upgrade CC's LR beyond LR 6.4 (especially if it changes to a new major version) you may not be able to run the older LR 6.4 against the by-then upgraded catalog. To ensure compatibility before upgrading LR under CC, check that a corresponding point version of the perpetual license is also available.

 

[clee01l]

The current version of LRCC (2015.4) and LR6.4 use the same code. The catalog structure is the same. The only difference is in how your app is licensed. If your license is a perpetual license as you have now, certain features and functionality are not available to you, Notably this includes the LR Mobile functionality and any new functionality that was not available when you purchased a perpetual LR6.0 license. If you subscribe to the Creative Cloud plan, these restrictions are removed and you will have access to any new functionality that might be be added with each decimal release. You also get the current PSCC app which is an updated version superseding PS13 in your CS5 bundle.

If you decide to stop your subscription, you will need to install the latest version of the Perpetual license that you own. If Adobe releases a new Perpetual license version (i.e. LR7), your will need to upgrade your current LR6 license to have access to the functionality and catalog structure of the newest version. If you do not upgrade your LR6 perpetual license to the latest version after your subscription expires, your LR app will continue to function but in a limited way. For instance you will not have access to the develop module for new images.
It is purely speculation as to how long Adobe will continue with the perpetual license model. I think eventually Adobe will stop upgrading the perpetual license offering only the subscription model.

 

[tspear]

In addition most plugins are licensed to a specific license number Adobe has issued for Lr (based on what I have read)
So you may have to request new keys on some of the plugins when switching between CC and Perpetual.

 

[Pete_S]

Thank you for your responses. Regardless of whether subscription or standalone, it remains that Develop Module edits in LR are stored in a catalog as a set of display instructions for a specific image.

Based on your replies, if LRCC was used for the edits, these instructions do not disappear if the CC subscription is terminated. At the least they can still be retrieved from the catalog and the image correspondingly displayed using the most current standalone version of LR. However, further possible edits to that set of display instructions is another matter.

Cancelling the Photography CC subscription is an unlikely scenario, but it's good to have some idea of the consequences and a contingency plan for them. Thanks again for your inputs.