Adobe has finally updated Lightroom and the new release is all about speed. It’s been almost three yrs since there was an overhaul of the fundamental way that Lightroom handles your images and while I cannot say it was worth the wait the update is very welcome because it’s all about speed.
The new version of Lightroom that most of us will use is now called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC. That’s a very long name and will be even more confusing as you continue reading. Why did they change the name, because there is also an additional version of Lightroom launching today called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC! The CC version will be highly cloud driven with a new interface.
Lightroom Classic CC New Features
The significant new features are mostly under the hood and are designed to speed up your workflow. I’ve been playing with the latest version for a few hours, and it is noticeably faster than the old version especially when it comes to the previewing your images.
When you are importing files, you will be able to see what your images look like quickly because now LR will use the camera generated preview rather than creating a new one. This process will enable you to immediately allow you to see if that photo of Big Foot you took is in focus or not without waiting for LR to build a preview. You need to check a new preview option called “Embedded and Sidecar” to enable the feature.
If you were like me and would often click over to the develop module for a quick edit during your image review you probably were frustrated by the amount of time LR took to make a preview for you to edit. That delay is virtually gone now.
I suspect that you will want to edit previews generated by LR rather than the embed and apparently so does Adobe because under “Preferences” you can now select “Replace embedded previews with standard while idle.”
The Camera Process Version was also updated to 4 because there are new advanced methods of using the masks. I will write more about that when I get a chance to play with it some more, it looks way cool though!
Lightroom CC New Features
Lightroom CC further integrates your photography with the cloud and seamlessly lets you edit images on one device and finish on a second machine. LRCC comes with 20GB of storage for your RAW files and image edits. Since everything is in the cloud, this version of LR should be speedy, and it is cool that you can continue editing on any of your computers, phones or tablets.
I have not used this version yet, so stay tuned.
Lightroom is Now Subscription Only
If you want the new stuff, you are going to have to give up your beloved licenses, and physical copies of the software because the only way to get these features is by subscription. The good news is that it is still $9.99 for Photoshop (Also updated today) and both versions of Lightroom. If you want 1TB of cloud storage for LRCC, it will cost an additional $10 a month.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC Links
Read about all of the new features and download your copy today at Adobe’s Lightroom web page.