LR - Want to upgrade etc, but intimidated by array of Options

[Safariholic]

Lightroom Version

5.7.0

Operating System

1. Windows 10

Lecture the other day (via Zoom, of course) made me realise I am way behind in LR Versions.

I am on LR 5.7, but Version 4 is said in some places to be the Latest ! Is there an Upgrade from 5.7 or ............... ?

No idea whether LR Classic is the correct route for me.

Use iCloud for storage of iPhone & iPAD images and other stuff, but NOT for 'Camera captured Images' (use separate External Drives).

Frightened of doing the wrong thing and ruining my existing 25,000 of Images (even though not kept in LR). Haven't done a Catalog Back-up for years, as advised not to bother.

Sorry if this Q is in wrong Slot, or incredibly basic/Dumb, but Thank you anyway for your time, Input and Guidance (Keep It Simple)

 

[Johan Elzenga]

You even confuse between two Lightrooms. The original Lightroom, that has been around for many years (and where you now use version 5.7.0) is now called Lightroom Classic. It's now at version 10.1. So yes, you are slightly behind...

There is another version of Lightroom that stores its edits and the original images in the cloud. This version is officially called Lightroom, but better known as Lightroom Desktop. This is the one that is at version 4 now.

 

[clee01l]

There are 2 Adobe Lightroom apps. One that works exclusively in the Adobe Cloud is called "Lightroom". And it is at version 4.1. The version that is the successor to your LR5.7 is now called Lightroom Classic and is at version 10.x

The biggest difference between the two is that Lightroom (cloudy) works on any platform (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) and stores all of your information including image files in the cloud. Lightroom Classic is only available to work on Windows and Mac and stores your information locally on your computer. Additionally because of the limited common functionality across platform Lightroom (cloudy) does not have all of the features that is found in LR5.7 or Lightroom Classic. Notably missing is the Print module and Lightroom (cloudy) handles keywords differently than does Lightroom Classic.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Lightroom vs. Lightroom Classic | Adobe

Learn the difference between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic from Adobe. Compare features to learn about the desktop and cloud-based versions.

www.adobe.com

 

[Paul McFarlane]

Here's a more exhaustive comparison:

Lightroom cloud ecosystem vs. Lightroom Classic - which do I need? | The Lightroom Queen

Do you need the cloud-native Lightroom CC or the traditional folder-based Lightroom Classic? Detailed feature comparison and decision tree to help you decide.

www.lightroomqueen.com

And whoever told you not to bother with backing up your catalog...if something goes wrong you have no route back. Please back it up regularly.

Why should I let Lightroom run its own backups? | The Lightroom Queen

Lightroom is designed around a database, and all databases are at risk of corruption. Lightroom's catalog is no exception. There are plenty of

www.lightroomqueen.com

Lightroom Classic is the latest incarnation of what you had (Lightroom 5 became 6, then Classic)