I am sure that, by now, Lightroom users will be aware that Adobe has released new versions of Lightroom, including the desktop version Lightroom Classic CC which is essentially the next upgrade to Lightroom 6. Lightroom CC has now moved entirely to subscription-based model.

The main purpose of this post is to provide a word of warning to users of Lightroom 6 who want to try Lightroom Classic CC. While I understand it is possible to install the Classic CC version alongside Lightroom 6, the default installation mode is to overwrite earlier versions of Lightroom. While this may seem obvious with the benefit of hindsight, I downloaded the new product with a view to seeing what improvements it offered over version 6, and did not pay enough attention during the installation with the result that it replaced my Lightroom 6. I became aware of this when my Lightroom 6 icon disappeared, and when I clicked on the new icon the first task that Lightroom Classic CC tries to do is convert your Catalog to the new system (Classic involves a new raw processing algorithm). While I didn't try it, I suspect that once converted you will no longer be able to use the Catolog with Lightroom 6 any more. If you convert to Lightroom Classic CC, you are only provided with a one week trial period before you have to start paying.

I was able to reinstall Lightroom 6 from the downloaded file I obtained when I first bought the product. This installed the base version (6.0) which found my Catalog and various Collections fine, but needed to be upgraded to work with my camera files. With a bit of searching I was able to find a page on the Adobe site which provided downloads of the various upgrades, with the result that I was able to get version 6.12 back and working relatively easily and uninstall Classic CC. Earlier versions of Lightroom appear to be downloadable from this link: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/lightroom-downloads.html. However you will need your original product key.

Others may have had different experiences but I thought I would bring my experience to people's attention to avoid them falling into the same trap that I did.

There has been a lot of controversy on the Web about Adobe's abandonment of perpetual licences for a one off purchase price. In Australia it's about $15 per month. I have not decided whether to upgrade, although I suspect I will because I make use of the Lightroom key word and file management system and am also very comfortable with the Lightroom workflow (and have invested a lot of time and effort in learning the product). However, I am still evaluating alternatives. The nearest 'professional' product which offers similar capabilities including file management appears to be Phase One's Capture One Pro. I have been playing with this on trial but it handles its cataloging somewhat differently and I have not been able to get comfortable with it. Also while it converts Lightroom catalogs this conversion process only carries over certain processing eg it does not include any local adjustments. On the other hand, its basic raw processing is very high quality with lots of detail, and its use of layers for local adjustments works well and is fast (in my view, one of Lightroom's main weaknesses is the way it slows down when one uses brushes and masking extensively). Also, the one-off purchase price of Capture One is about two year's worth of Lightroom subscriptions, and two years is a long time in software development! There are other products out there in various stages of development for those who are anti-subscription but I have not tried them.

Simon

Hi Simon,

I am an old Lightroom CC subscription owner and when I upgraded to the new 'Classic' version something went wrong with the upgrade and as a result when I'm working in the Develop module, Lightroom keeps opening my exported back-up folder and then opens up the import module, so then I have to close the Import module, close the back-up files which want to be backed up again and then carry on with my work in the Develop module. This could happen 2-3 times each time I do post processing and no amount of investigation or emails to Adobe will get me a phone number for a technical department that can look into it and try to suggest a fix?
So typical of Adobe, they take your money and give absolutely NO back-up to their product!! The only phone number that can be found on any of their website propaganda (read BULLSHIT) is a number that is not a real number and not connected. Once I work out how to get all my files out of Lightroom and onto separate drives, Adobe can stick their new system where the sun don't shine. . .
Others mileage might vary. . .
Bruce

Bruce, sorry to hear about your problem. I don't have any smart suggestions about how to fix it (other than the obvious doing a re-install). I did find various pages online explaining how to revert to previous versions of Lightroom particularly v6, but I am not sure if this applies to CC.

Apologies if I am stating what you already know, but as I understand it the raw picture files themselves are not 'in' Lightroom so there should be no issues about 'extracting' them. Mine sit in the directory I import them into. When you process the file Lightroom stores all the processing steps separately (and depending on your settings, a sidecar file appears in the relevant folder with the original raw). Uninstalling Lightroom does not change the raw files or move them from the original import folder, but of course you would have to convert them afresh in some other software if you have not already exported a processed file (eg a TIFF or JPEG) from Lightroom.

I haven't done much trawling on upgrade problems to the new version, although I did see some traffic about people with very large catalogs (many gigabytes) having problems converting. This is part of the reason why I am not going to be an 'early adopter' in this instance - although I have seen some very positive messages about the new process now used in terms of speed and noise handling.

Hope you manage to find a fix.

Hi Simon,
Thanks for your reply mate, it couldn't have come at a better time, you reminded me that my raw files are located on a different drive than the Lightroom software---thanks!
I noticed today that there was an update from Adobe with bug fixes for the new Lightroom Classic, so I have downloaded those and will wait and see if it has fixed anything, if not I will do the "uninstall/install" routine and see if that fixes the bugs that I have?
Thanks again for your input. . .
Bruce

Hi Guys,
Seems as if the good ole folks at Lightroom are up to their old tricks by rushing new products onto the market before they are ready?
Today see's the second day in a row that there has been an update, read problem fix, for the new Lightroom Classic.
Hopefully when the dust settles and the updates slow down, we will have a great new product? So far I haven't seen any real difference from the old Lightroom CC. . .
Personally, I think that LR is a pretty good product and the more I learn about it, the better I get. . .
If you happen to be reading this before 6pm then you're wasting your Saturday, get out and do some shooting. . .

Bruce