Lightroom Classic CC 7.3 has been released today. This release introduces major updates to the Develop module and improved Face Recognition, as well as the usual new camera/lens support for Lightroom. The entire Lightroom CC ecosystem has also been updated.
Update 24 hours in – there’s a few bugs cropping up, mainly around presets:
- Some presets did not convert and appear to disappear (workaround included)
- Presets sort in the wrong order
- Applying a preset applies the Adobe Standard profile or converts from B&W to Color or vice versa in some circumstances
- The translation of Adobe Portrait and Adobe Landscape is incorrect in some languages
- Presets don’t work, Profile pop-up hasn’t moved to Basic panel, Splash Screen says Lightroom 6
New Profiles
Since version 3, Lightroom has offered a number of profiles to emulate different in-camera picture styles, but they were hidden away in the Camera Calibration panel so most people didn’t know they existed, and they weren’t available in Lightroom CC.
In the April 2018 Lightroom releases, these profiles have become first-class citizens, and the concept has been greatly expanded. In addition to the existing camera matching profiles, there’s now a whole set of new Adobe profiles for different subjects, and a wide range of creative profiles to give your photos a specific “look”. These profiles are now available across the entire Lightroom and Camera Raw ecosystem. You can read all about the new profiles here.
Changes to Preset Format
The Preset format has changed from .lrtemplate to .xmp, so that presets are fully compatible with the Camera Raw plug-in. Their location has also changed as a result.
Most of these changes happen automatically behind the scenes when you start Lightroom, but all the geeky details are in the 7.3 update for my Lightroom Classic book, for those who like to understand how it works.
Some of the preset management tools, like creating, renaming and deleting new folders, have gone missing in this release. There are workarounds, but hopefully Adobe will address these missing features in the next update.
You will need to check your backups include the new profile and preset locations, which I’ve listed here.
Oh, and big news… presets now preview on the main image now, not just the small navigator panel.
Dehaze Moved to Basic Panel
By popular demand, the Dehaze slider has been moved from the Effects panel to the Basic panel!
Face Recognition Improvements
The Face Recognition engine in Lightroom has been replaced, and it should do a better job of picking up faces the old engine would have missed. If Catalog Settings > Metadata tab > Automatically detect faces in all photos is checked, you don’t need to do anything to benefit from the changes.
There’s also a new option to reindex specific photos, which has been requested for a long time. You’ll find this under Library menu > Find Faces Again.
Sharpening Default Changed
The default sharpening setting for raw files has changed from 25 to 40.
Larger Tone Curve
The tone curve has been enlarged to make it easier to adjust.
Facebook Comments
Due to a change in the Facebook API, you can no longer view or add comments using Lightroom’s Comments panel.
New camera support:
- Canon EOS 1500D (EOS Rebel T7/EOS Kiss X90/EOS 2000D)
- Canon 3000D (EOS Rebel T100/EOS 4000D)
- Canon EOS M50 (EOS Kiss M)
- Panasonic LUMIX DC-GX9 (DC-GX7MK3)
- Panasonic LUMIX ZS200 (DC-TX2/DC-TZ200/DC-TZ202/DC-TZ220/DC-ZS220)
- Sony A7 III (ILCE-7M3)
- Click to view the full list of supported cameras
Tethering for new cameras:
- No new tethering in this release.
- Click to view the full list of cameras supported for tethering
New lens profiles:
- Canon EF
- SIGMA 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM A01
- TAMRON 70-210mm F/4 Di VC USD A034
- TAMRON 70-210mm F/4 Di VC USD A034 +1.4x III
- TAMRON 70-210mm F/4 Di VC USD A034 +2x
- Hasselblad
- Hasselblad XCD 2,8/65mm
- Hasselblad XCD 2,8/135mm
- Hasselblad XCD 3,5-4,5/35-75mm
- Hasselblad XCD 4/21mm
- Nikon F
- SIGMA 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM A018
- TAMRON 70-210mm F/4 Di VC USD A034*
- TAMRON 70-210mm F/4 Di VC USD A034 +1.4x III*
- TAMRON 70-210mm F/4 Di VC USD A034 +2x*
- (Note these Tamron lenses won’t be automatically selected due to lack of metadata, but you can select the profile using the pop-up and set it as a custom default)
- SIGMA
- SIGMA 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM A018
- Sony FE
- Zeiss Loxia 2.4/25
- Click here for the full list of available Adobe Lens Profiles
How do I update?
To update, go to Help menu > Updates or click the Update button in the CC app. The update servers take a while to push the updates around the world, to avoid crashing the servers. You can also open the Creative Cloud app, click the … icon (top right) and select Check for Updates to give it a nudge.
Tethered support for Hasselblad X1D ?
Nope, and I’m not convinced it’ll ever come. I understand Phocus can tether the X1D, and you can use a Watched Folder in Lightroom to automatically import the resulting photos.
Victoria — You mentioned in your April 3rd newsletter that there had been reports of some backups getting corrupted and that Adobe was investigating as a matter of urgency. Just wondering if there was any additional information on this and should we continue to do a file system copy of the Lightroom Catalog?
Thanks for all the great information you provide!
Hi Scott. Continue to do a file system copy for the minute – I expect to be able to share some news very soon.
Still no HEIC support ? Really ??
Yes, that’s correct. There are both legal and technical issues they’re still working through, AFAIK.
Victoria – please help. I updated to 7.3 and all is ok but I CANT install 3rd party Profile. I dont see the folder Im supposed to see where to put them, I followed Matt K’s instructions to install his but I dont see the folders. Please advise where they go. My Lr presets folder is located at (for example) : C:\Users\myname\Pictures\Lightroom
There should be another folder under than right to put them into?
I am on Windows 10 x64 bit. Lr 7.3 Classic CC subscription. thanks.
If Preferences > Presets > Store Presets with This Catalog is checked, they’d need to go in to the Lightroom Settings / Settings folder next to the catalog. Otherwise they should go in C:\ ProgramData \ Adobe \ CameraRaw \ Settings \
Has anyone tried the Face recognition upgrade?
Finally moved off LR 6 to LR 7. The new AUTO is no way near as good as Adobe claims. Highlights are really the main issue. They move so low the photo looks silly. Any way to limit what Auto can set? Or better yet, any way to return Auto to the pre-Auto Sensei trash?
Interesting, most people are happier with the results, although of course it depends on the kind of photos you shoot. There’s no way back, your alternatives are to apply a preset after Auto that removes the settings you don’t like, or just don’t use Auto.
For some reason, I am having no problems with my presets, they show up identically to before. Makes me wonder if this is a platform or OS issue. I’m on MacOS High Sierra on a Macbook Pro.
It’s really bothersome that some people take any post on an Adobe product as an opportunity to say why they don’t like Adobe’s business model or Adobe’s software. It’s irrelevant to the post, which is about new features, and it seems to come from some sort of anger that forums don’t need. It’s why I approve every comment before it posts, I don’t think readers come for whining and complaining that isn’t helpful.
Yeah, I know how you feel Spike. I don’t want to prevent people having their say, but on the other hand, it is the way it is. Complaining here isn’t going to reach the decision makers, and no amount of whinging is going to change Adobe’s mind at this point anyway.
I am among the ones who did not really know about profiles. I have now updated to 7.3 and imported some new raw pictures and all of them where looking somewhat too “vivid” compared to reality. Eventually I discovered the new Profile tab and I noticed that all new imports had the “Adobe Color” profile while the older ones (luckily unchanged !!) had the “adobe standard”. It was easy to sync all the new files to the Adobe standard, but, is there a way to set the program to use by default the adobe standard when importing new pictures ? (as apparently was the case before this last update)
Yes, you can set your own custom defaults. This is an old post, but the principle’s still the same: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/change-default-settings/
Without a non-subscription license Adobe has lost my future business, so while I am sure the updates are great, they are also irrelevant.
HI Victoria,
I enjoy your newsletter. I have the old perpetual license version of Lightroom ver 6.12. It does the functions that I have to do for my work which is mostly cropping and occasional tweaks. After reading the newsletter I thought I would check for updates to this version but was unable to find any. Is 6.12 the end of the line for the perpetual version?
All the Best,
Sing
The last version for the perpetual license users is 6.14. You can upgrade from the “Updates” option from the “Help” item on the Lightroom menu bar, or use the Adobe CC app that you were forced to install a few upgrades back. If you use the app, be sure to choose “Lightroom CC (2015)” and NOT “Lightroom Classic CC”. Adobe labels the latter as an “Update” but it really is a “replace what you own with the subscription version” so it is not an update to the software that you own. And the so called update will also uninstall the perpetual license copy of the software and you will have to crawl through Adobe’s website to find where the Lightroom 6 installer package is hidden so that you can reinstall it and then update it to the current version.
Hi Keith,
Thank you for the ‘update’. Sorry, couldn’t resist. When the subscription versions started coming out I thought it was the scammyist thing that I had ever seen. I never saw any advantage for me to switch to subscription based Photoshop and Lightroom. There was a big advantage for Adobe because they get a permanent residence in your credit card/PayPal once you subscribe.
Anyways, lots of other companies have to subscription based software now so I must be the dinosaur in the room because I haven’t made the switch yet. I still get my work done each day so hopefully I delay switching to subscription software for another 10 years. Keep Smiling.
All the Best,
Sing
Hi Victoria, thanks for this lively and informative post and threads. First, I purchased a new iMac in January. The update went without a glitch. A pal, who creates presets, noted not all her presets were imported. Mine are fine. BUT they are not xmp, but the older lrtemplate. Dunno if that’s an issue.
I started using Illustrator in 1988, and Photoshop in 1990, then Lightroom, but not til version 3. I’ve taught and used many programs and plugins which either have radically changed or no longer exist. I can’t even use Illustrator and I taught it at UCLA! THAT is how much programs can and do change.
To bicker about changes or charges misses the point to me. Tech changes. Life changes. You can argue and protest, but it won’t change our reality. And if you think $9.99/month for subscription is too much, well, too bad. I speak as someone who is always scrambling for a buck. I don’t make a lot of money, but that’s partially my fault. I take responsibility. BUT I will NEVER stop my $9.99/month.
IF you can’t afford the tools of the trade, then … find another trade. Or use older software. But pls think about this: complaining is negative. Not gonna move you forward nor help you with your art.
I am grateful for the tools tech affords us. I REMEMBER the darkroom. I hated it. Dark, hot, smelly (I hate vinegar), boring, tedious and worse.
But if you wanna complain, pls go tell someone who wants to hear it and can do something about it. Otherwise, you are sucking the air outta the room.
I am celebrating the updates. I’ll deal with presets. Cos life is not what happens to you, but how you react.
Using Lightroom and Photoshop are life-changers for me. Everyone comments how quickly I respond when mags, books, sites, customers contact me. And when I’m feeling low, I launch Lightroom and work in it. Cos I have tens of thousands of legally acquired clip art. Looking at that and my photos makes me happy.
And that is worth far more than $10 bucks a month. It all depends upon YOUR priorities. But gee, why must ppl complain on threads where we cannot affect change? Or as I was told by many in the industry (I spoke, covered for press and attended lots of top computer conferences in the 90s, when that industry rocked the best events!):
If you don’t like our product, either make your own, use someone else’s or just use older versions.
Works for me. I LOVE being able to see Preset changes IN the main window! Woot! Game-changer. I JUST mentioned that in a class I just recorded. Now I’ve got to add another segment. I recorded how to update, discussed changes Adobe listed, but now have to update the Preset viewing and a few other things.
Do you hear me complaining about that? No, cos hey, no one wants to hear it.
THANKS Victoria!! You have so much patience and are so dedicated to this!! You rock!!
PS I will also link to your site and book on my classes site! Fer sure. I just warm ’em up. You take it far further. Thanks for all you do!!
Thanks Jenny, what a lovely reply!
Your XMP’s will be in a different location, but they don’t delete your .lrtemplate format presets in case you need to go back to an earlier Lightroom version. For your friend’s ones that didn’t convert, check out the reported bugs in red at the top of the page. One of them is a bug that causes those symptoms, and there’s a link to a solution too.
The standard camera profile for my Canon 5D Mark IV improved significantly in this update. In the previous version of LR CC, the photos never looked right–too flat for my taste. I relied on my ColorChecker passport profile to get the photo close to correct.
I’m disappointed, however, in LR CC 7.3’s Auto Tone feature, which the LR folks encourage start with. It didn’t improve at all. In fact, it’s a waste of time to use because it decreases Exposure and Contrast way too much, making the photo look muddy . If I zero out Exposure and Contrast but keep the highlight, shadows, whites, blacks, and presence in Auto, then the picture gets pretty close what looks right.
Isn’t Auto Tone supposed to be smart enough to get you as close to correct as possible, thereby saving you time? Is there a way to modify the Auto Tone settings?
Auto Tone won’t get everyone’s taste, that’s for sure. But if you have examples of ones where it did a bad job, it’d be worth reporting at the Official Feature Request/Bug Report Forum at https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/new/add_details?topic%5B
You could create a Develop preset to reset Exposure and Contrast, and apply that immediately after Auto.
Thanks for the quick reply, Victoria. I really appreciate it.
It seems that Adobe has done a lot of work on LR Classic, for which I am happy, but on the Adobe forum, at least, a number of bugs are being reported as well. My instinct is that if the features listed here are not crucial to my current work flow (and they are not), it would be a good idea to delay upgrading until these issues are resolved (either with bug fixes or by clarifying that the reported issues are not affecting many people). Thoughts?
Most of the reported issues seem to be surrounding presets, so if you don’t use presets, you’re probably fine to upgrade. If you rely heavily on presets though, I’d hold off temporarily.
Maybe you answered this already. When I first opened LRClassic a notice appeared saying my presets were changed to XMP. When opened up the Develop module most of my User presets had simply disappeared. I have been poking around in the folder for Develop presets and they aren’t there, either. Are they just gone and I have to recreate them? Thanks
I’ve seen a bug which sounds similar https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/develop-presets-did-not-all-convert-to-new-format-in-7-3
They should still be in the Develop Presets folder inside the following locations:
Windows—C: \ Users \ [your username] \ AppData \ Roaming \ Adobe \ Lightroom \
Mac—Macintosh HD / Users / [your username] / Library / Application Support / Adobe / Lightroom /
or inside the Lightroom Settings folder next to your catalog.
Victoria – Thanks for all the info on the updated LR CC Classic. One question – where have all the ‘old’ LR Develop Presets like “Lightroom General Presets” – Auto Tone, Punch, Zeroed, Medium Contrast, etc – gone to. They seem to have disappeared – are no longer listed in my left side panel in LR CC Classic after the automatic ‘conversion’ LR did to the new preset format?
They should be in preset folders starting with “Classic – ” now.
I really don’t see how I can prefer Capture One in terms of cost. I moved from a Sony to Fujifilm camera and intended to stay with Capture One. But (as a Fuji user), it would cost me almost £300 to buy a licence, then face annual costs of around £150 to keep updated. OK, updates are optional but, as a (retired) IT professional, I like to keep up to date with software. The Capture One subscription is about double the cost of Adobe’s. Fair enough to prefer Capture One in terms of functionality and as a matter of principle against subscription models, but I find the Adobe subscription price pretty reasonable at around one cup of coffee per week. For that I would probably have stayed with CO (I’m still not totally happy with Adobe’s Fuji RAW conversion.
Many thanks to Victoria for giving us details of each upgrade so quickly, and for her excellent website and books!
Thank you Chris!
How do I retrieve older catalog dates? When I was checking some older external hard drive I was informed that they were not of the current LR and would I like to update them. After saying yes the only items that appeared in in my catalog were the contents of the older hard drive and all my current information disappeared
When I tried to access my backup, only the items from the old hard drive. How do I go back to all the earlier backups? All my photos are on my hard drive but I would have to reimport them and add all the keyword, etc information.
Hope you can point me in the right direction.
Thank you
Bill Koptis
Sounds like you opened catalogs from other drives… so the catalog you were working on (your current info) is probably still listed under File menu > Open Recent. Don’t go reimporting anything.
Have you or Adobe published a list of fixed bugs in 7.3? Or were there no publicly reported bugs fixed in this release, with the focus on the new features?
The focus is on new features this time. They did fix a stack of bugs, but I didn’t see any that were user-reported.
I’m not seeing an amount slider in the profiles section of the new Classic LR although all the various profiles are there.
Ok, I figured it out (by listening to the Julianne Kost video on new features). The amount slider only gets presented when one uses the “below the line” profiles like Artistic, etc. Makes sense to me. It was probably mentioned in Victoria’s notes and I just missed it.
Yeah, I thought a few people would get tripped up by that! It’s hiding in this blog post https://www.lightroomqueen.com/camera-profiles/
I did the update and now my presets are not applied, in the preview it makes change passing the mouse over the various presets, but after clicking nothing happens.
in the Library if I choose the preset in Quick Develop it is applied correctly.
also does not appear to me, New Profiles tab.
I have the last camera raw, and in photoshop the New Profiles tab appears with the new profiles.
how can i solve this?
Hi Claudio, I think I’ll need a bit more information. When you click on a preset, does it appear in the History panel? Which OS are you using? And can you see the Profiles pop-up in the Basic panel?
hi, clicking on a preset, does not appear in the History panel, but i can see changes in Navigator preview since i move mouse over the all the presets.
But in Library in the Quick Develop i can apply all the presets.
Can you see the Profiles pop-up in the Basic panel? There’s a bug I’m tracking that sounds like it could be related. And if you go to Help menu > System Info, what does it say for the license type on the second line?
hi again, i try tu uninstall and re-install… and it works now 🙂
on first run the presets are converted, and everything is working.
i like the new profiles.
is it possible when I go through the various presets the original image does not change?
I would just like to see the preview of the preset in the Navigator.
and sorry my english if not very correct.
tks
Oh that’s good news, thanks Claudio. You can’t disable the big preview right now, but you might want to vote on this feature request: https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/add-the-possibility-to-disable-full-image-preset-preview
Same here. I did the update and my presets aren’t applying. It doesn’t appear in the history panel. Also, the vibrance and saturation is greyed out.
Hmmmm, I can’t reproduce that here, but I wonder if it’s related to this bug https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/lightroom-7-3-bugs-make-it-useless-dont-update . Vibrance and Saturation is greyed out… that sounds like a B&W photo, is that right? Or was it color before you tried to apply the preset?
Bingo, the Vibrance & Saturation being greyed out was a good clue. I see the same in this bug thread: https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/lightroom-classic-cc-7-3-windows-10-profiles-missing-in-basic Can I get you both (Claudio and Jeff) and anyone else suffering this issue to post on that thread please.
Thank you Victoria – all good as far as I’m concerned. Personally I love working in Lightroom and simply couldn’t live without ‘collections’ and the functionality of the Library module. I also find that the Develop module gives me almost everything I need as a wildlife photographer. My only addition is DxO for their excellent PRIME noise reduction software. I wasn’t overjoyed having to move to a monthly subscription based arrangement, but it’s a sign of the times and I certainly wasn’t going to start looking elsewhere just to save a few bucks. So I’m happy, but clearly others aren’t. Fine, everyone is different, and everyone will have their own opinions. But, why oh why, do some people like moaning about Adobe and Lightroom so much. If you’re not happy, move on. And, if you think Lightroom sucks and Capture One is so much better, why are you even looking at this excellent Lightroom site? All I can say Victoria is that you are the Queen for putting up with some of the comments you receive. Keep up the good work, because quite a lot of us love what you do and love Lightroom.
Thank you very much Tonye, you put a big smile on my face.
you nailed it.
Another great listing Ms. Bampton… thx
( Mr. James’ info was a nice listing of alternatives btw, reading it right now)
The Lightroom subscription model is a complete rip-off. I will stick with my copy of Lightroom 6.13, the last version that I could actually own and keep on my computer. I refuse to pay Adobe every month for the rest of my life. I’ll switch to another product before I do that.
Also, I hate Adobe for being so intrusive to my computer and my life.
Our organization recently did a presentation on Alternatives to Lightroom and Photoshop where we compared what you get with our camera (Canon’s suite in particular), Captue One, DxO PhotoLab Elite, On1 Photo RAW 2018, Luminar 2018, and Affinity Photo. For Digital Asset Management in a RAW-processor package, we thought Lr was still the best but Capture One was the closest. If you are using Sony Alpha bodies, it has a fairly attractive price and can do up to 16 layers non-destructively on the RAW file. ON1 Photo RAW was in third place. Luminar states they will add DAM in 2018 but at present it is vaporware (which of course will be perfect once released).
For Photoshop replacement, Affinity Photo was the clear winner and only $50. It does some things even Ps still does not do, such as the option of saving your entire edit history as part of Affinity Photo’s image file.
The presentation slides & a large matrix of feature comparisons from the presentation are online; Google PhotoMidwest alternatives lightroom.
Thanks for sharing your findings Meredith. Capture One would be my next in line if Lightroom didn’t exist, although it’s more expensive if you’re not shooting Sony.
I’ve updated Classic CC to version 7.3, but my sharpening default is still set at 25 and has not changed to 40.
I’ve no doubt missed something here – any ideas about what I’ve done wrong?
You may have custom defaults set, which it wouldn’t override, and the new defaults would only apply to newly imported photos or those you reset.
so for adobe moving some gui elements around or resizing them is a big deal.
they are pathetic.
capture one is quality wise so much better.
the only thing lightroom has going are the DAM features.
basically they made a few new presets (wow) and say they have enhanced facial recognition.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Perry. Having seen how the new profiles are built, personally I’m pretty impressed with them. It opens up a lot of potential for preset developers to create much more complex presets using LUT’s.
What would be pathetic is to spend $300 on C1 and have half the capabilities of CC.
We won’t criticize other people’s choices. Having a choice is good for us as photographers, as it keeps pushing each company to do better. Each software has pros and cons, and we each get to decide which is right for us personally.
Woah…am I seeing something new…Preset preview on mouse hover, in the main develop window?!?!?
Did I miss that out of the notes! Silly me. It’s in the book update, and yes, you’re not imagining anything.
Any leads on the preset folder naming work around?
Could it be a bug? Or by Design?
I use that feature often and that could be really annoying.
All in all are you happy with the changes or not?
I worry about adding more to develop w.o the ability to rearrange sections, I really hope they have that soon.
The trick is to create a new dummy preset. That’ll let you create a new folder with the right name at the same time. Then you can drag the presets into the correctly-named folder and delete the dummy preset.
OR managing them in ACR (camera raw in Photoshop) works too, and is reflected back in LR.
I’m pretty sure the management tools will be back, they just ran out of time for this release.
I’m really liking the new profiles, especially for B&W. I’m more luke warm about the preset format changes, but having access in ACR is handy when I’m using smart objects in Photoshop.
Thank you so very much for the reply. Ahhh so that drop down at the top that says where it will go lets you pick a new location. I think I gotcha. You the best!!!
Just read your newsletter issued today
I have LR 6.14 this is a non subscription program
Can I buy an upgrade to 7.3 without moving to subscription model ?
I don’t use often enough to warrant subscription.
I’m afraid not, Lightroom Classic is subscription only.
Well I guess I’ll have to unsubscribe. Adobe’s abandonment of all those who supported their growth for the past 20+ years have been hung out to dry unless they want to pay monthly for the next stab in the back.
I tried the subscription model for just over a year and when I cancelled, they told me I had to pay a years penalty for early cancellation. (They withdrew after mention of Social media exposure.)
Sorry to hear that Michael. That rolling 1 year contract does catch people out if they haven’t checked the T&C they agreed to when signing up.
Whenever signing up for something with an automatic renewal use a “virtual” credit card number, offered by some credit cards. The card expires after a month.
Good tip Allan!