Lightroom mobile 2.5 for iOS has just gone live and for most users, this is primarily a compatibility update for iOS10, which will also be available later today.
iPhone 6S, 6S+ and SE owners, and those expectantly waiting on the delivery of an iPhone 7/7+, will be excited to learn that Lightroom mobile 2.5 now allows you to shoot raw images using the Lightroom camera, saving them as DNG format. iOS 10 and a 12MP camera are required for DNG support.
This update also adds support for Display P3, which is a wider gamut display profile used on the iPad Pro 9.7″ and the upcoming iPhone 7/7+.
Finally, there are the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.
I am hoping you can help me find the answer to this question about LR Mobile. My workflow when I’m traveling is to sync files from my sd card to my iPad. The raw files import into Photos, and then I put them in a collection in LR Mobile. When I’m back home, they sync to my desktop. It’s VERY important to me that the full size originals be saved to my desktop. That’s where I store all my photos and where I have good backup solutions. I don’t want to have them only on my iPad.
I contacted LR support to confirm that I would have the full size images on my desktop. They told me that if I did this workflow, the full size images would NOT be on my desktop. To quote them: ‘if you need full images to be on the computer, please import images into the computer and then add them to LR. LR mobile is not good for that purpose. The sync process would use storage on the iPad, and on the desktop app it would be the preview.’
I was disappointed to hear that so I figured I’d test it. When I tested it out (by importing the photos to LR Mobile and then allowing the sync to complete on both the iPad and desktop), it sure looks to me like I’m getting the full size image on my desktop. I am getting files of about 25mb in size. They show up in Lightroom and in Finder when I browse the files and check their size. Can you confirm this for me? Any other suggestions on how I could confirm? What am I missing here or is LR Support just wrong? Thanks so much.
Oh I do despair at Adobe’s support at times! Yes, your originals get uploaded to the cloud and downloaded to your desktop as full size originals. You can remove them from the iOS Photos app once they’re in Lightroom to save space on your iPad too. I’ve used this workflow on vacation for the last couple of years and it works great.
AWESOME NEWS! I’m so glad I thought to question the response and test it myself. And I’m so pleased that you were able to confirm. That’s great news. WHEW! 🙂
Does LR mobile actually save the raw data to DNG, without a JPG being made first internally from the OS?
As far as I know, yes, although if someone would like to send me an iPhone 7 to test, I’d be happy to try it for myself. 😉