Lightroom: Classic vs. CC

It's been a few months since Adobe released its latest Lightroom update. The fact that they've chosen to bundle several different versions into one release has been a source of confusion for many users. Both Lightroom Classic and CC are available with the subscription plan. If you're on the plan and currently using LR, you now have access to the full version CC as well with an initial online storage allotment of 20gb.

Here's a quick summary of updates and features to help you sort things out.

Lightroom Classic

This is exactly what Lightroom has been all along with a few improvements sprinkled in. As of this release, Adobe will only be updating their subscription version. The shrink wrapped edition may still be sold for a limited time but will no longer receive additional updates.

Pros

• Now noticeably faster than previous versions
• Some additional selection options in retouching tools
• Updated support for new cameras

Cons

• Interface is as complex as ever (more of a challenge for new users)
• Photos, catalogs and edits are tied to a single computer (Mac or PC)
• Organization requires some substantial planning and attention for maintaining catalog integrity and backups.

Lightroom CC

This is a ground up, nuts and bolts reimagining of Lightroom. Both the Classic and CC versions endeavor to do the same things but other than sharing a common name, they look and feel like different programs.

Pros

• Cloud based storage. This means that your photos are available everywhere on any device Assuming a decent Internet connection, you can edit on your smartphone, iPad or laptop from your beach chair, cafe table or even your train commute home. They've even eliminated the requirement to actually have the app, you can use your web browser for nearly the same set of features. 
• Enhanced searching. Adobe has adapted their Sensei search engine, the same one used in their Adobe Stock library, for use in your personal catalogs. The software is smart enough that if you search for cars, women, children, airplane, etc. the results will mostly contain what you looked for. It does this passably well with occasionally unexpected (and sometimes amusing) results. Even though it's just one step up from a parlor trick it's reasonable to expect that as the algorithms are improved, so will the results.
• Shareable content. Leveraging the fact that your content is stored in the cloud, Adobe has made sharing it a one click process. Once your images are in a gallery, just right click on it to get a URL that seamlessly publishes your images.
• Streamlined interface. The user experience looks like a clean, modern web app as opposed to a ten year old computer based application

Cons

• As of version 1.0, Lightroom CC only has a subset of the features available in Classic. It's a decent image editor but doesn't have the full range of editing tools you may take for granted.
• No tethering for image capture. This may be a deal breaker for many pros who rely on real time image capture and display as part of their process. While Classic did a mediocre job of tethering, CC doesn't do it all. 
• Some of the "modules" available in Classic are still available as features in CC but addressed in different ways. You can for example, still generate a slideshow and publish content to the web (with fewer bells and whistles) but notably absent are the map, book and print modules. Facial recognition, compare and survey views are also not available.

Both

Lightroom Classic has had web synchronization for some time now. That feature will now sync your photographs to your Lightroom CC catalog but only uploads the jpeg version (direct import to CC gives you access to the raw version as well) and critically, omits any keywords you may have assigned. That's regrettable as LR Classic does do an excellent job of keywording and metadata manipulation. Adobe may be missing an opportunity here to bridge some of the best features of both.

Surprises

In introducing CC, Adobe has created some intriguing new possibilities. Access to a specific catalog is still based on user credentials so for any large institution, it's not possible to share a master catalog to groups of users without running afoul of Adobe's licensing restrictions. On the other hand, for users in a smaller work environment it's not clear that they'd be subject to the same limitations. That opens up the possibility of a robust DAM solution for a fraction of what it would cost to implement a traditional software package. I'd guess, and this is purely speculation on my part, that a formal multi user version may be a few upgrades away.

Finally, Adobe quite intentionally labelled this as version 1.0. If you're upset that they released a software package that in some ways may seem limited, you may be missing the point that it also opens the door to a new range of possibilities as well.

Lightroom CC apparently has a sense of humor. When I searched for "lab" it returned what I thought was a pretty good collection of lab photos. And one of my old dog Moose. Who was part lab.

Lightroom CC- First Look

Adobe released the next series of upgrades this week to its venerable Lightroom photo editing software. Lightroom is one of those products that new users often have problems understanding and this weeks releases didn't do much to help clarify that.

There are now several versions with some major distinguishing features. The current edition, Lightroom 5, is the last one that will be sold as a shrink wrapped product. You buy it, you own it forever. The problem is that it's reasonable to ask how long Adobe will keep on providing updates to cover compatibility with new cameras and hardware. You may own it forever but it's a good bet that it's utility will be compromised over time.

The new version is now known as Lighroom Classic CC. It does everything the old version did but much, much faster and it throws in a few image selection enhancements as well. If you're a current LR user, you'll immediately appreciate the extra speed as you can now scroll through a library of images without the interminable wait of having each image redraw.

I'd consider this as Adobe making good on their promise to address the speed issue in this release. The catch is that it's only available on a subscription basis. You don't buy it, you rent it. Every month your credit card is charged $10 for that and a full copy of Photoshop as well. I have to admit, I hated this in the beginning but the upgrades are supplied automatically and so far each one has come with significant enhancements that help to take some of the sting out of each month's credit card statement. Like the prior versions, your photos are stored on your local computer's hard drives. You are responsible for your own backups, security and catalog integrity.

To muddy the waters a bit, this upgrade also comes with Lightroom CC. This is a downloadable app that works on your Mac, PC, iPhone and/or iPad. It's an entirely different application with a subset of features from Lightroom Classic. The biggest difference however, is that it's cloud based... all the images are stored on Adobe's servers. When you import your photos you're actually uploading them to a remote network. If your house burns down, your computer is stolen and you can't find your iPhone, the next time you log on to the service, your images will be there fully intact and with all of the edits and keyword assignments you've made. Assuming you've got an Internet connection, you can actually do a decent job of image editing on your iPhone/iPad on your train commute home. In fact you don't even need the app, the web interface to your photo library comes with image editing built in so if you decide to ditch your commute and spend the weekend in Barcelona, you could head to an Internet cafe and still work on your photos from any generic computer. Why you'd actually want to do that from Barcelona is another matter.

The early word from users is a bit of outrage that Lightroom CC doesn't have the full feature set that Classic does. I personally think they're missing the point. Significantly Adobe has designated this as Lightroom CC 1.0. The implication being that it's going to be vastly improved over time. For example, it comes with a "technology preview" check box to let you test drive and provide feedback for new features. As a hint of the kinds of enhancements to expect they've included access to Adobe's Sensei search engine. You can for example, type "car" into the search box and all of your images with a car will show up... along with a few horse drawn wagons, some baby carriages and mysteriously, a snow covered mailbox as well. Or type in baby and you'll get a decent collection of baby photos. Type in "blue" and the search returns images that are mostly dominated by that color. It's not perfect by any means but as it relies on machine learning it's reasonable to expect that it's scope and accuracy are going to improve over time. Note that this happens without any keywording whatsoever. The software recognizes the contents of each image without any help from already overworked humans.

For me, the most fascinating aspect, is it's ability to seamlessly synchronize thousands of photos across multiple devices and users. The original Lightroom had excellent organizational, tagging and keywording features but it left the images isolated on a single computer. Making them available to a group involved uploading them to a digital asset management system (DAM). If you're part of a small workgroup that needs access to a common image bank, this has the potential to put some of the lower end DAMs out of business. Even the low end products start at around $6000 annually for 250 GB. Lightroom CC's professional package gives you an entire terabyte for $20 @month. Obviously this isn't an apples to apples comparison. DAMs have features in security, permission access and accessibility that aren't really considered for inclusion in Lightroom but Adobe may have inadvertently filled a need for a new market segment. It really comes down to how well it all works. Stay tuned.