Cost of Lightroom

[Steve M.]

...I have gone totally black and white wet printing in the last year, no more color film and my digital is good enough for me. Their loss not mine, I refuse to pay an annual fee for small usage of anything.

That's an intelligent decision. I did something similar but it was more about getting (IMO) better prints w/ fiber enlargements vs scanned negs, and getting away from the unpleasantness of scanning, endlessly editing in PS, and dealing w/ ways to get things printed.

This is a typical Big Corporate way of doing business. When I encounter it, I walk. You have to or they kill you with a death of a thousand cuts, taking away this, adding that (but always at a higher price). It's why I stopped shopping at Walmart. No matter how good their prices are, they're a crummy company, and anything that can be done to not add to their riches I'm all for. It would be great if they went out of business, so every action helps.

 

[Corran]

Could you post a list of those “other implications” of rented software

You don't own it. They could take it away at anytime. You have to be on the internet (at least sporadically) to use it. You have to continue upgrading either components or your OS if they cut off functionality to older workstations, which may cause other issues for you (see the many complaints about scanners not working on newer machines for instance) or maybe you just don't want to upgrade simply to appease Adobe. And as I mentioned, how about the filter or effect license that was suspended and you could get sued if you continue using it? These are just a few things off the top of my head. There's probably many more, maybe specific and not related to you, but still are important to others.

You do you though. I'm standing firm against this move and will not budge. Luckily I am mostly a one-man show with my audiovisual business so I can afford to not run the latest version as I don't need any cross-compatibility with others.

PS - I had CC for one year several years ago, when I did need it for a certain project I volunteered to head, provided at discount by my previous employer, because the teams doing video were all on CC. When CC ran out, I did not plan on upgrading. However, what ended up happening, is the CC / Adobe system completely immobilized my CS6 install. I was effectively held hostage. Luckily I am plenty computer-savvy and was able to correct this issue through a deep-dive into the software systems in Windows, getting rid of every trace of Adobe's software and then reinstalling CS6 from scratch. I'm still annoyed though as I lost a good number of custom Actions.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Wow, what a shrewd move on your part

Wow, what a shrewd move on your part

PS - I had CC for one year several years ago, when I did need it for a certain project I volunteered to head, provided at discount by my previous employer, because the teams doing video were all on CC. When CC ran out, I did not plan on upgrading. However, what ended up happening, is the CC / Adobe system completely immobilized my CS6 install. I was effectively held hostage. Luckily I am plenty computer-savvy and was able to correct this issue through a deep-dive into the software systems in Windows, getting rid of every trace of Adobe's software and then reinstalling CS6 from scratch. I'm still annoyed though as I lost a good number of custom Actions.

Dear Corran,

Way to go! You really showed Adobe who's boss! Hopefully, you're investing that $ 11.00 a month and putting it away to your retirement, or travel plans, or something nice?

Me, like so many others, will take our chances on the subscription. If it goes away it goes away. You already lost on the deal while most of us are ahead, but please stay strong and vigilant!

Regards,

Tim Murphy
Harrisburg, PA 🙂

 

[jarski]

Google cloud storage is only tax-like software fee am willing to accept, as its constantly beneficial (having access to my files everywhere everytime). Can also end it one day and am not locked into any "ecosystem". With Adobe, it would not be the case and am definitely not buying their subscription.

Btw. Sony and Fuji users can currently buy perpetual Capture One license for 109USD (until their offer ends). https://www.captureone.com/en/store/pro-sony

 

[Bill Clark]

Here are Adobe products sold at B&H:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Photo-Imaging-Software/ci/13290/N/3988161558

There are also quite a few apps available. Here is one by Google. Originally by Nik software but Goigle bought it. This app is free:

https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-snapseed-1616444

Truth be known, I use CS4 and it works just fine for me. All of my digital cameras work just fine with CS4. i have an old Canon 20D and it still makes great photographs. I do have a few others and they all work just fine.

When you get down to the basics, two main features of Photoshop are layers and blending.

If I were to upgrde my computer, I think I would just buy Elements.

 

[Corran]

Way to go Tim, your sardonic reply really showed me!

Good for you and others happily paying a monthly fee for software. Your money, your choice. Perhaps try having some comprehension that others may choose to not go down that road, for a variety of reasons.

Peace out.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Get real

Get real

Way to go Tim, your sardonic reply really showed me!

Good for you and others happily paying a monthly fee for software. Your money, your choice. Perhaps try having some comprehension that others may choose to not go down that road, for a variety of reasons.

Peace out.

Dear Corran,

I'll agree that it's your money, your choice if you'll agree that the money you will not part with on a monthly basis amounts to a coffee and a doughnut?

Regards,

Tim Murphy
Harrisburg, PA 🙂

 

[Rob-F]

Nope. Its a vital tool for my work, and honestly it is silly for people with thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, worth of camera gear to balk at the cost of software.


I have tried nearly everything out there. Affinity, On1, Luminar, Capture One. NONE came close to giving the image quality that Lightroom does, except for Luminar. Luminar is great, but very unintuitive to use. Its user interface is overly complex and it is SLOW compared to Lightroom.


What's wrong with the image quality on the others? Poor detail resolution and noise reduction/sharpening. Especially at high ISO speeds.


To me, my images are everything. I'm not compromising to save a few dollars.

Chris, you did't mention Aperture. Don't you like Aperture? I have Lightroom, but after trying it I went back to Aperture. It's so intuitive, and I can use it without frustration!

 

[jarski]

Chris, you did't mention Aperture. Don't you like Aperture? I have Lightroom, but after trying it I went back to Aperture. It's so intuitive, and I can use it without frustration!

Guess Aperture is practically end of life, so its not considered anymore as an option.

 

[Rob-F]

Guess Aperture is practically end of life, so its not considered anymore as an option.

Well, I have it alive and well on three computers.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

You don't own it. They could take it away at anytime. You have to be on the internet (at least sporadically) to use it. You have to continue upgrading either components or your OS if they cut off functionality to older workstations, which may cause other issues for you (see the many complaints about scanners not working on newer machines for instance) or maybe you just don't want to upgrade simply to appease Adobe. And as I mentioned, how about the filter or effect license that was suspended and you could get sued if you continue using it? These are just a few things off the top of my head. There's probably many more, maybe specific and not related to you, but still are important to others.

You do you though. I'm standing firm against this move and will not budge. Luckily I am mostly a one-man show with my audiovisual business so I can afford to not run the latest version as I don't need any cross-compatibility with others.

PS - I had CC for one year several years ago, when I did need it for a certain project I volunteered to head, provided at discount by my previous employer, because the teams doing video were all on CC. When CC ran out, I did not plan on upgrading. However, what ended up happening, is the CC / Adobe system completely immobilized my CS6 install. I was effectively held hostage. Luckily I am plenty computer-savvy and was able to correct this issue through a deep-dive into the software systems in Windows, getting rid of every trace of Adobe's software and then reinstalling CS6 from scratch. I'm still annoyed though as I lost a good number of custom Actions.

Corran,

I appreciate the answer. We probably disagree whether any of that is important in the overall scheme of things, or significantly different from the potential aggravating issues inherent with anything software or OS related, but that’s okay.
e.g. somebody mentioned Aperture. I owned that and liked it. It was perpetual (which turned out to mean “supported until Steve Jobs dies”, then we dumb it down) until it wasn’t. Doo doo happens. For any kind of computer related task, how many people are still using the first iteration of the first app they ever owned to do that task, whether it be word processing, file management or anything else? Everything gets replaced, and we pay to replace it, over and over again. We either pay them on our schedule, or theirs, but we pay. (At that point it is about the money again, ultimately.)

I understand your position, everybody’s different in what they need and how they like to do things. Pros and cons tip the scales differently for different people. As long as everybody is happy that’s all that matters, I wasn’t trying to move anyone out of their happy place, just mentioning what has worked out best for myself.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris, you did't mention Aperture. Don't you like Aperture? I have Lightroom, but after trying it I went back to Aperture. It's so intuitive, and I can use it without frustration!

I tried it about ten years ago and image quality was far below that of Lightroom and it was slow and offered a lot less control over images. I know its been updated since then but its now discontinued and will not support a single camera I own.

 

[retinax]

You could always try Darktable, which I'm quite happy with, although I have no frame of reference really, or RawTherapee, which can do even more. They're open source, free, and still being updated from time to time, although certainly not as frequently as Lightroom.
The times when open source stuff was only usable for total nerds are long gone.

 

[michaelwj]

You’re not alone.
I tend to upgrade my software only when a new camera I get isn’t supported by my current software (so rarely). I actually think I’m not alone. Thom Hogan talks about “last camera syndrome”, but I think many people in this boat are also part of the “last software syndrome” group. Photographers who practice the craft “traditionally” in the modern sense (does that even make sense?) where thy take a photo, download images, process in dedicated software, and then print or upload are getting older and not buying new cameras because their current one is sufficient. The same is true for software. I was quite happy with LR5, but then I bought a new camera and it wasn’t supported.
I ended up getting the Fuji version of Capture One Pro when it was half price. I’ll keep it until I buy a new camera that isn’t supported again, which might be another 10 years. I’m really liking C1 Pro, it is very different to LR, but does the same thing.

 

[michaelwj]

I’ll add that we use the full Adobe CC suite at work, it works fine unless I don’t VPN into the work network for a while, but I think that’s more how work has it set up than Adobe.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

$120/year for great software that is regularly updated (new cameras) and improved (texture, flat field)... I'm sticking with Lightroom/PS and the adobe photography subscription.

Also, FWIW, I'm not interested in the photos-in-cloud model.

 

[Solinar]

I’ll add that we use the full Adobe CC suite at work, it works fine unless I don’t VPN into the work network for a while, but I think that’s more how work has it set up than Adobe.

Greetings everyone.

Does the above post mean that if I upgrade my current stand alone LR6 / Photoshop CS6 software to the CC Photography Plan, the new software must check in with the mother ship via an internet connection each and every time I use it in order for the software to work properly?

It's kind of scary if it does, because I often use my MacBook Pro in a off-line mode. If that's the case, I'll have to forego upgrading the current Mojave OS on my laptop to the soon arrive next gen Catalina OS.

My desktop is different story.

Thanks for posting this info.

 

[joe bosak]

I use Silkypix, but then again I don't often do a lot of adjustments. It's comprehensive for what i need, I bought it for my x100t but it supports the various other makes and models i've had/have, and gets regularly patched with updates. There's a full version upgrade every couple of years. You get a 3 seat licence with version 9 pro: with 8 you got 2, same with 7. The old licences carry on working (with the old versions) too, if that matters. I think it only checks in with the server when you authenticate the licence, because you can authenticate licences offline too.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Greetings everyone.

Does the above post mean that if I upgrade my current stand alone LR6 / Photoshop CS6 software to the CC Photography Plan, the new software must check in with the mother ship via an internet connection each and every time I use it in order for the software to work properly?

It's kind of scary if it does, because I often use my MacBook Pro in a off-line mode. If that's the case, I'll have to forego upgrading the current Mojave OS on my laptop to the soon arrive next gen Catalina OS.

My desktop is different story.

Thanks for posting this info.

No, it doesn't need to check in every time. I don't remember if it is every 30 days or 90 days or what, but Adobe does explain that you will need to get connected every now and then for the program to keep working, remain authorized. But no, the program does not become inoperable if you don't have an internet connection as a general rule.


Adobe explains this, but knowing the right language to use to ask the question is half the battle.

 

[ruby.monkey]

Am I the only RFF user balking at the subscription cost of Lightroom? USD 156/year! I am looking at alternatives...

Use darktable instead.

I'm perfectly happy with LR CC at the moment; luckily, for those who aren't, there are a few good alternatives.