xavoy
Established
Just a quick post, 'cause I'm way behind with everything, but I paid the $99AUD for the Lightroom 6 standalone upgrade this morning because of the speed improvement claims.
After installing it and upgrading my catalogue, I was unable to use the develop module. After some troubleshooting I realised this was because it was now making use of the GPU (hence the speed improvements) and my display adapter needed a driver update. I updated the driver, and after a restart was back in action. (I mention this because it might happen to you too. Start there if you can't see your photos in the develop module.)
After a bit of work it does seem quite a bit snappier. Outside of the GPU related enhancements I haven't made use of the other new features (HDR, Panorama, Face Recognition) and probably won't (tho face recognition might come in handy later on) but for me so far, providing it stays as snappy and stable as it has this afternoon, this update has been worth the money, and will hopefully keep me away from CC for another couple of years at least.
Thanks Adobe for keeping the stand alone version up to date! (Tho they don't make it easy to find on their site, and make it even harder to get the upgrade rather than the full product)
After installing it and upgrading my catalogue, I was unable to use the develop module. After some troubleshooting I realised this was because it was now making use of the GPU (hence the speed improvements) and my display adapter needed a driver update. I updated the driver, and after a restart was back in action. (I mention this because it might happen to you too. Start there if you can't see your photos in the develop module.)
After a bit of work it does seem quite a bit snappier. Outside of the GPU related enhancements I haven't made use of the other new features (HDR, Panorama, Face Recognition) and probably won't (tho face recognition might come in handy later on) but for me so far, providing it stays as snappy and stable as it has this afternoon, this update has been worth the money, and will hopefully keep me away from CC for another couple of years at least.
Thanks Adobe for keeping the stand alone version up to date! (Tho they don't make it easy to find on their site, and make it even harder to get the upgrade rather than the full product)
lawrence
Veteran
I've been expecting them to move to a subscription model for LR and pleased to hear they haven't done this for LR6. Thanks for the info about the GPU.
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
In Germany, it looks as if they accept upgrade orders for the purchase version by telephone only. Well, **** you Adobe - that is the last you've seen of me!
xavoy
Established
ChrisN
Striving
They certainly are doing their best to make things difficult. Do you have a link for the upgrade? And do you know if I can "upgrade" from 4.4?
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
It is worse than that. Once I have filled the cart and proceed to store, I do not get any online order or payment options, but end up on a link-free page with a text referral to the telephone support.
Merlijn53
Established
Just curious, what's wrong with the subscription model?
It's cheap, always the latest version of LR and PS. I'm perfectly happy with it.
It's cheap, always the latest version of LR and PS. I'm perfectly happy with it.
Sparrow
Veteran
... it's the thin edge of a slippery straw that broke the camels' back ... pick your metaphor, anyway one looks at it long term they expect to take more of your money
Try replacing the word subscription in the advertising with taxation and you'll find the meaning unchanged
dasuess
Nikon Freak
Not sure if it solves the problem of requiring a phone call, but with LR6 Adobe now requires that you need an Adobe ID. Try creating the ID and then see if you can pay and download online. I had a similar problem when trying to purchase the Photography CC subscription after finishing the 30-day trial.
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
It will continue to cost. Permanently. Even if some competitor introduces a better alternative, you will have to continue to pay Adobe eternally, or may lose access to all your past work files. Even in the best case, you will have to invest significant amounts of time into porting all files.
And if Adobe go belly up, you are game for their creditors - they may call it quits and shut down the licensing service, or let you bleed for the privilege of accessing your own back catalogue.
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
No, I resolved it by going back to an outdated insecure version of Internet Exploder - the fools had insecure elements embedded in that HTTPS, so Chrome only rendered half the page.
jarski
Veteran
Adobe tax. for a photo hobby, no thank you very much.
brbo
Well-known
Please, provide a link to back up your claims. I'm really interested when Adobe decided to break the promise of users always having access to their catalogues.
bobbyrab
Well-known
I don't understand any of this really, why can't you read Jpgs or tiffs that you created in CC? I can see if you leave everything as a photoshop document but why would you do that in any numbers?
Also the cloud facility is just that, an option, no functionality is lost if you never use it. I'm not trying to put forward a case for subscription, I just don't see this as an argument against it.
lynnb
Veteran
Pricing on the Adobe Australian site, standalone LR6 is AUD$186
Student and teacher pricing only seems to be available for CC, AUD$9.99/mo
I'm not interested in CC because
1. It periodically checks home to base to confirm licence/check for updates - meaning that if it can't make an internet connection, I figure it will stop working until it can (unable to validate licence). What if you decide your computer is better off not connecting to the internet sometime in the future, to avoid viruses or any other reason (e.g. if you want to have a legacy computer and OS to run old drivers and peripherals, while keeping its outdated software safe from corruption or attack).
2. I generally skip each alternate generation of software to reduce costs.
3. What happens when software updates require more processing than my ageing computer can deliver without a significant performance penalty.
4. What happens if Adobe goes belly up, and I find I can't use my LR Library (one of its great features); similarly, if I can no longer afford the monthly rental and it stops working.
Edit:
5. Standalone is a lifetime licence. If you buy LR6 CC, what happens when LR7 is released? Does your subscription automatically update/replace your LR6 with LR7? If so, what happens if the system requirements for LR7 exceed your current system specs? LR6 needs 64-bit OSX 10.8 or later; when LR7 comes out, owners of Macs which can run LR6 may find their Mac cannot be upgraded to meet the system requirements for LR7, whatever that may be. If that's the case, you will lose your LR (including the Library), as you won't be able to buy the older version 6 under CC once 7 is released, and LR6 may no longer be available retail.
If LR6 is not automatically updated/replaced with LR7 when LR7 is released, how long will Adobe support your Lr6 subscription? At least with the standalone product, it will always work.
Student and teacher pricing only seems to be available for CC, AUD$9.99/mo
I'm not interested in CC because
1. It periodically checks home to base to confirm licence/check for updates - meaning that if it can't make an internet connection, I figure it will stop working until it can (unable to validate licence). What if you decide your computer is better off not connecting to the internet sometime in the future, to avoid viruses or any other reason (e.g. if you want to have a legacy computer and OS to run old drivers and peripherals, while keeping its outdated software safe from corruption or attack).
2. I generally skip each alternate generation of software to reduce costs.
3. What happens when software updates require more processing than my ageing computer can deliver without a significant performance penalty.
4. What happens if Adobe goes belly up, and I find I can't use my LR Library (one of its great features); similarly, if I can no longer afford the monthly rental and it stops working.
Edit:
5. Standalone is a lifetime licence. If you buy LR6 CC, what happens when LR7 is released? Does your subscription automatically update/replace your LR6 with LR7? If so, what happens if the system requirements for LR7 exceed your current system specs? LR6 needs 64-bit OSX 10.8 or later; when LR7 comes out, owners of Macs which can run LR6 may find their Mac cannot be upgraded to meet the system requirements for LR7, whatever that may be. If that's the case, you will lose your LR (including the Library), as you won't be able to buy the older version 6 under CC once 7 is released, and LR6 may no longer be available retail.
If LR6 is not automatically updated/replaced with LR7 when LR7 is released, how long will Adobe support your Lr6 subscription? At least with the standalone product, it will always work.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
There is other PP software out there .... Adobe doesn't have us by the balls just yet! LOL 
lynnb
Veteran
There is other PP software out there .... Adobe doesn't have us by the balls just yet! LOL
The problem from my perspective is that it's not just the processing, it's the LR Library Catalogue, with all its keywords and ratings. Any alternative needs to enable importing these things from LR, otherwise it's huge job to relabel tens of thousands of images!
russelljtdyer
Writer
A Software Subscription may Cost Less
A Software Subscription may Cost Less
At first, I thought software as service was a terrible idea. But then it occurred to me that every year I was buying the latest version of Lightroom--paying about $150 each time. I was also buying upgrades of other Adobe products every year or two (e.g., Photoshop, Acrobat Pro). On that basis, I was spending two to three hundred dollars a year on average at Adobe.
What pushed me over the top was when I wanted to buy Adobe Premiere Pro for video mixing. It costs much less to pay about $30 a month for an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, than to buy the software outright.
One could argue that once you buy the software, you're set for years. But I upgrade my computer's operating system to a new version once a year. The old versions of software don't always work with the new operating systems. So, for compatibility and to get the latest versions, upgrading all of my software makes sense to me.
Besides that, for me there's another advantage: I needed Adobe Premiere Pro for my job. So my employer reimburses me for my subscription. The result for me is that I get the latest version of Lightroom for free, as well as several other programs.
-Russell
A Software Subscription may Cost Less
At first, I thought software as service was a terrible idea. But then it occurred to me that every year I was buying the latest version of Lightroom--paying about $150 each time. I was also buying upgrades of other Adobe products every year or two (e.g., Photoshop, Acrobat Pro). On that basis, I was spending two to three hundred dollars a year on average at Adobe.
What pushed me over the top was when I wanted to buy Adobe Premiere Pro for video mixing. It costs much less to pay about $30 a month for an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, than to buy the software outright.
One could argue that once you buy the software, you're set for years. But I upgrade my computer's operating system to a new version once a year. The old versions of software don't always work with the new operating systems. So, for compatibility and to get the latest versions, upgrading all of my software makes sense to me.
Besides that, for me there's another advantage: I needed Adobe Premiere Pro for my job. So my employer reimburses me for my subscription. The result for me is that I get the latest version of Lightroom for free, as well as several other programs.
-Russell
brbo
Well-known
1. If you can't have your computer connected to Internet for a few seconds few times a year, don't subscibe.
2. So?
3. Don't update.
4. You have access to your catalogue as long as your drive is alive.
5. You are notified of updates for your CC applications. Nobody forces you to update, though.
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
When and where did Adobe promise that? Indeed, how could they? Even if they buy insurance to continue the license servers in case of a insolvency, many situations in which Adobe would go bankrupt/seized by government/etc. would also invalidate the insurance or destroy the infrastructure needed for the servers.
And so far, they don't even have a solution to give you unrestricted access to your past work if you merely decide to stop paying - as far as I can make out, they offer no free read-only/export-only versions of any major Adobe product other than Reader (demo versions can edit but not save, you'd need the opposite). Sure, you can access the raw files - but you lose all work done inside Lightroom.