BUT ... For my $10/month that I pay for Lightroom Classic, I get Lightroom's excellent notion of presets for processing and printing, slide shows, etc. I can modify the processing defaults for each camera I use to suit my needs best. I have access to PS (and other tools Adobe offers) whenever I want/need them. I haven't found any other software with the ease of workflow that LR offers for outputting many different photos in a consistent and reproducible manner, which remains important to me since I often produce several dozen to hundreds of sets of photos in prints or slide shows. Prior to the monthly version of LR, I'd pay $80 or so for major updates every year or so, and I'd only have access to LR. For about $40 more, I get the whole family of useful products. Bad-mouth Adobe all you want, and I have had choice words with them myself over the years, but they produce very good tools that are consistent and reliable as well as easy to use.
As far as Adobe products go, Premiere Pro has been buggy and laggy for years, and I've only stuck with it because many projects are tied up in it. Ironically, the most recent version of Premiere Pro causes my computer to hang, so I use the second last version, which is the most stable version for my system so far.
I have not paid for Lightroom in over 12 years. This was a buy-it-once scenario. And out of principle, I dislike giving more money to a company that removed the choice of a standalone vs subscription payment, where my ability to use the current software ceases the month I stop payment, regardless of how many hundreds of dollars I've spent on it beforehand. In this instance, I would rather not enter a rental plan for something which was previously available for outright purchase. Capture One standalone might be expensive, but at least they give us this choice.
Oh yes, and the notion of "well I only paid for my cameras once, why do I have to pay for my software constantly?" ... well, your camera is a discreet object that either works well or doesn't. You buy it, you use it, or not. Software, unless you live in a cave unconnected to the rest of the world and never update your computer, has to deal with changes in its operating environment constantly. This takes development resources (read "money") on an ongoing basis. What the subscription model provides for Adobe is a consistent income so that they can continue to keep the software up to date and compatible with all the various computer OS changes in a timely manner. For the end users, it provides more capability and ongoing compatibility at similar prices compared to perpetual licensing.
If you buy software, it works well or it doesn't. I've used LR4 for over 12 years, moving from Windows 7 to 10, with no issue other than having to convert later camera files to DNG. If LR4 ever stops working on future Windows versions, I'll have to seriously look at switching. Aside from that, the changes in OS environments from 2010 to 2024 have not affected my ability to use LR4 at all. Lucky, I guess.
The other issue is whether you get a choice. Does the software company offer a standalone package, or is it subscription only? And if the software works well now, why not have the choice of being able to use it for as long as your current OS supports it?
Of course, if someone's financial situation is such that paying a small rental fee each month is viable, whereas a large upfront fee isn't, then it makes sense. Or maybe using software for a year only until a suitable alternative becomes available is more financially worthwhile than paying more in a standalone fee.
We all spend our money the way we see fit.
