• Welcome to the Lightroom Queen Forums! We're a friendly bunch, so please feel free to register and join in the conversation. If you're not familiar with forums, you'll find step by step instructions on how to post your first thread under Help at the bottom of the page. You're also welcome to download our free Lightroom Quick Start eBooks and explore our other FAQ resources.
  • Dark mode now has a single preference for the whole site! It's a simple toggle switch in the bottom right-hand corner of any page. As it uses a cookie to store your preference, you may need to dismiss the cookie banner before you can see it. Any problems, please let us know!

Does trialing LR Classic destroy or supplant LR6?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Thronsen

New Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
6
Lightroom Experience
Advanced
Lightroom Version
6.x
Lightroom Version Number
6.14
Operating System
  1. Windows 10
Hi there-

I have been considering trialing LR Classic. I tried when it first came out, and after I stopped the trial and went back to LR6, LR6 would not seem to run properly. This is on separate LR6 catalogs that had not been touched by Classic. Has anyone tried recently? It is possible I made a mistake when I tried before, but it seemed Adobe was pretty intent to make me switch. I would prefer not to have to reinstall LR6, as it seems increasingly difficult to do so without spending 3 hours waiting on Adobe support.

Also, for anyone who has tried recently, did you find much of a performance improvement? I just bought a new mid-high range computer, tried to render 30k standard previews, and LR took 10 hours without ever using more than 20% of the CPU capability. Though I am mostly concerned about the perforamnce of LR day to day, scrolling through photos, zooming in and then possibly working on them a bit in Develop.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
I went from LR 5.7 to installing Classic along side of it and have not had issues with 5.7 since the installation, but then again I have not done any heavy lifting with it. One question, why would you expect to need to spend time with Adobe support to reinstall 6.14? Do you no longer have the media or a D/L copy of the file?

Regarding you rendering of new previews? Does you new machine have an SSD for its primary drive? And how much RAM does the machine have?

--Ken
 
Hi Ken-

Thanks for your reply. The last couple of times I have installed LR6, they claim I have too many installed already. I have been good, but not perfect, about deregistering in the past, and there was never a problem. In the last year or so, it has become very strict, and even if you deregister from one, they still require you to contact support (my last wait was 3 hours).

My new machine has M.2 drives and 32 gb ram. 10 hours for 30k photos, many of which are on the D800, is about what I would expect on my old machine, and it is what I got on my new machine. I am curious about the performance improvement, especially for day to day tasks, that I can get if I bite the bullet and pay the subscription for LR Classic. I had taken an ethical stand against being forced onto the sub model, but after 5 years I don't think I have brought Adobe to its knees quite yet.

Thanks again,

Thronsen
 
If you install a trial of Lightroom Classic it will read your LR6 catalog and wrote out a new catalog in the LR Classic 9.2 structure. Your LR6 catalog file remains available to be used by LR6. Any changes or new imports to LR Classic will have to be repeated in the LR6 catalog if you revert to LR6
 
If you install a trial of Lightroom Classic it will read your LR6 catalog and wrote out a new catalog in the LR Classic 9.2 structure. Your LR6 catalog file remains available to be used by LR6. Any changes or new imports to LR Classic will have to be repeated in the LR6 catalog if you revert to LR6
Be aware that the names are not that helpful, it just tacks a -2 on the end, e.g. if your catalog was X, you get an X-2, so make real sure you know what you had before. Taking a screen image of the "before" folder structure and saving it could not hurt, especially if you have to ask for help.

There's some other stuff, some I know, some I am not sure about, to be aware of:

Avoid, or at least be aware of anything that writes to the image folders, e.g.

- Write metadata (including if you have it on by default, turn it off, so XMP's are not overwritten)
- Moving a folder or file on disk
- Delete rejects, delete or removals of any sorts (removed images will then show missing in old LR).

Also, if you are now using any features of Lightroom Mobile, I am unsure what steps you need to take to keep the new LR from syncing with the new catalog after migration -- anyone know if there's some steps to take?

Also be aware that if you use Photoshop it's not going to be compatible directly, so things like Edit In will go through a different set of prompts and/or warnings. You can of course use the trail photoshop. If you do this, and use non-destructive photoshop features (some in layers, e.g.) then try to go back on photoshop that might not work for those new edits.

If you have presets, there was a change to format and LR automatically changed/moved them (I cannot recall the details). I do not KNOW if this is a destructive move, i.e. if you have to put them back to go backwards. I'd make sure to back up all the areas that hold any lightroom settings, profiles, etc. in case you need to go backwards.

Honestly, if you have a separate laptop or desktop or VM or something -- the simplest way to do this is move a copy of your catalog there and try this in isolation. I know that's not "real" but it is sure easier to just delete all the experimenting than to retract it. (This wouldn't entirely fix the risk of Lightroom Mobile syncing up to the new catalog, I just have no idea if that's even a risk).

Or.... and honestly this is the best solution ... just decide you taught Adobe an adequate lesson and upgrade and you won't look back (much).
 
I had taken an ethical stand against being forced onto the sub model, but after 5 years I don't think I have brought Adobe to its knees quite yet.
I understand. I am also not a big fan of subscription software. But, when I finally made the switch, I realized that at least Adobe was offering me a variety of software and services within the package. It does not make me a fan, but it does take out some of the sting. You might want to give it some consideration as LR 6.14 will not work forever.

--Ken
 
I understand. I am also not a big fan of subscription software. But, when I finally made the switch, I realized that at least Adobe was offering me a variety of software and services within the package. It does not make me a fan, but it does take out some of the sting. You might want to give it some consideration as LR 6.14 will not work forever.

--Ken
It should be pointed out that most business software has been sold since the beginning as subscription. Microsoft offers Office365 as a subscription product. It is really not unreasonable for Adobe to go the subscription route to maintain a viable predictable cash income.
 
It should be pointed out that most business software has been sold since the beginning as subscription. Microsoft offers Office365 as a subscription product. It is really not unreasonable for Adobe to go the subscription route to maintain a viable predictable cash income.
I understand the reason why large companies like subscription models as it affords them a predictable cash flow. And like Microsoft Office 365, which bundles up a lot of software, Adobe did the same. So, no, I do not think that what Adobe is offering is unreasonable. However, I am still no big fan of the model, but I will agree that at least offer you value for your money, and I do give them credit for that.

--Ken
 
My new machine has M.2 drives and 32 gb ram. 10 hours for 30k photos, many of which are on the D800, is about what I would expect on my old machine, and it is what I got on my new machine. I am curious about the performance improvement, especially for day to day tasks, that I can get if I bite the bullet and pay the subscription for LR Classic. I had taken an ethical stand against being forced onto the sub model, but after 5 years I don't think I have brought Adobe to its knees quite yet.
There have beed many great performance improvements since LR6 was released. If you are considering upgrading to LR Classic 9.2 you should see improvements. If you don't then we need to look at other processes going on in Windows that throttle LR Classic's response.
 
Thanks everyone for all your really helpful replies. I appreciate it.

Ferguson, you mentioned that if I did switch I 'would not look back (much).' Just curious what people found hardest about the switch. Is it more just getting used to a new interface, or were there features or workflow you missed from LR6.

Thanks again.
 
Ferguson, you mentioned that if I did switch I 'would not look back (much).' Just curious what people found hardest about the switch. Is it more just getting used to a new interface, or were there features or workflow you missed from LR6.
I suspect most people here did it incrementally, and so we have forgotten some of our pain. And frankly a lot of the pain got fixed, e.g. there was a period of screwed up catalog backups, fixed in a later version. Maybe some more recent converts who did a major jump will be able to offer a better answer. My attempt is this:

I do not think there is a lot missing from LR6, per se. A recent change removed iso-specific noise reduction in presets (or replaced it with something more complicated), but that's a pretty niche piece. There are a number of those. Presets were changed to be a different language, profiles got confusing names and a complete restructuring along with LUT capabilities. For most people these are mostly un-noticable (or at worst a new and better default), for ones using them in specific ways they can be a pain to learn, as you need to work back through postings and release notes over a LOT of versions to see what really happened.

Some of the new features are just add-on, and so will not get in your way and you can explore when you have time, such as the transformations and guided uprights. Enhance Details, panoramas, HDR... just new stuff that won't affect your current workflow (until you decide to incorporate). And new sliders like dehaze and texture you can ignore until you feel like trying them; they do no harm left as-is.

The biggest stumbling blocks are for people who dive into a big upgrade AND try to use Lightroom CC as well as Classic. If you stick to Classic you will avoid a lot of complexity; you can always look at Cloudy (CC) when you get comfortable with the Classic changes.

The process version changed from 6.x to now, but unlike some early develop process changes, it did not change the appearance noticeably. You can just leave it alone and it will auto-upgrade if you use new features.

That big of a jump will also likely invalidate any old plugins you have, require new ones, maybe even be incompatible. The built-in ones will upgrade, JF and ones like Smugmug have replacements. If you have to buy new versions that can be annoying of course.

You will need to deal with updates through the Creative Cloud desktop app, which can be annoying but for most people work fine. You no longer upgrade from within Lightroom or manually. I recommend you turn off automatic updates in it, so you can choose when you get new versions. Unlike windows it will wait patiently for you to tell it to install.

THere's a ton of writeups here, in Victoria's blogs and newsletters and books. If you like doing a lot of homework you can read through them, but here's my two cents: If you think you want to go ahead (as opposed to just test the waters), back everything up thoroughly just in case, install the new version, and just start using it. It will rebuild the catalog (adding -2 on the end), use that one exclusively, don't go back to the old version if you can avoid it, and just start trying it. As you bump into something new, google a bit or just ask. For most people and most workflows -- it will just work, or if it is slightly different it will be obvious. You may bump into a few things, but I honestly think just going forward and seeing what your workflow bumps into is easier than trying to work out all the implications ahead of time.
 
I do not think that I could have summarized it better than Linwood. To elaborate on my OP, I made the switch just a few months ago and found it to be pretty much the same LR with a bit of changes here and there. I did my installation in steps. First I installed Creative Cloud. When that was done (and it did install smoothly), I adjusted my setting accordingly and then installed LR Classic. That also installed smoothly along side of 5.7. I did not install CC as I do not have the time yet to devote to a workflow that accounts for both. There are numerous posts that go into detail about the do and don'ts when you are ready. And as I also mentioned above, Adobe gives you a lot of additional goodies with your package. Adobe Portfolio, for one, is a nice free bonus. All said and done, installation was pretty much a nothing event (the kind I like) and I have been happy. My annual renewal is coming up soon and I am happy I made the move.

Good luck,

--Ken
 
Thanks guys, I reall appreciate all the detailed responses. They are very helpful.
 
THere's a ton of writeups here, in Victoria's blogs and newsletters and books. If you like doing a lot of homework you can read through them, but here's my two cents: If you think you want to go ahead (as opposed to just test the waters), back everything up thoroughly just in case, install the new version, and just start using it. It will rebuild the catalog (adding -2 on the end), use that one exclusively, don't go back to the old version if you can avoid it, and just start trying it. As you bump into something new, google a bit or just ask. For most people and most workflows -- it will just work, or if it is slightly different it will be obvious. You may bump into a few things, but I honestly think just going forward and seeing what your workflow bumps into is easier than trying to work out all the implications ahead of time.

@Ferguson I just installed LrC and rebuilt the catalog (added the -2 at the end as you say) and the library opened up with all the unlinked preview images as suspected but I seem to have "bumped" into something that has me freaked out(!). I opened a folder and clicked on the ! to locate the missing file. I went right to the new location (I just moved everything from a tethered EXD to a NAS drive) selected the image and instead of linking to that preview and the rest of the images it deleted the entire folder. Scrolling over the folder name it shows the old EXD as the location, shouldn't that have updated when I located the image? What did I do wrong, or better yet what do i do next? "Help me Obi Wan, you're my only hope." :)
 
I'm sorry, I am completely lost. Can you lay out the steps a bit more sequentially from the last point where 6.x worked?

In particular, what happened to the photos. It sounds like you converted the catalog, but the photos are in a different place than they were before? Why, is it because you changed computers at the same time? Are the photos at the same path (on the new computer, but same drive letter and folder path) or did that change?

Are the photos actually present (not inside lightroom, but if you look using file explorer)? Can you take a specific file showing an error in lightroom and give us the details on where lightroom thinks it is, and show us what explorer says? Screen shots or just paths or something?

The most important thing if stuff appears to be disappearing is to slow down and find, outside of lightroom, where things are and what is happening, then relate that to what you see in lightroom (and I would stop making changes until you completely understand what happened). There's no magic inside Lightroom in that regard -- it just users Windows file system to store photos and the catalog just contains a pointer to them.
 
@Ferguson Cooler heads prevail! After posting that I took a breath and looked around and feel confident I've figured it out.

Quick sketch of what is going on. I recently upgraded from a 2012 iMac running Lr 6 on Mojave to a MacBook Pro running Catalina and at the same time moved all of my files from the EHD for the iMac to a NAS. The process has me a bit shellshocked to date so when this happened I freaked. But now that I've looked around a bit I realized that the folder didn't disappear but rather was recreated under a new root folder just out of view.

I have since gone about the process of relinking all of my active client work, and am questioning whether or not I want to bother with the older stuff or just be content in knowing I can add it at a later date should one have additional need down the road.

Anyway, thanks for your quick reply!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top