eaglefan wrote in post #19262833
I'm still using Lightroom 5.7 to edit and process my RAW photos. I do have to convert them from CR2 (no support for 5D4) to DNG files before Lightroom will recognize them, which is annoying. However, what will I truly gain by upgrading to the latest version of Lightroom? I'm not interested in mobile editing or cloud storage.
Does the new version do a better job of reducing noise?
5.7 runs pretty fast on my PC now (Amd Ryzen 7, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVME, GT 1030 graphics). I'm sure the new version will be slower.
Convince me to upgrade, or to stay where I'm at.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Matt!
I don't know how up-to-date your PC is, but if it is as old as your version of Lightroom, I wouldn't change. You have a system and process that works for you. Upgrading to a new, shiny thing is often "interesting", which doesn't equate with "good". If your PC isn't up to the current software, you're likely to curse at your PC more than you do now.
Now, if you're willing to keep your electronic darkroom up-to-date with your camera gear, feel free to continue reading.
Full Disclosure: I use Adobe's photography package w/ Lightroom Classic (LrC) and Photoshop (Ps). It's like the cost of buying and processing a 24 exposure roll of film a month (if you can do that for $10!). I don't use mobile editing (Edit my photos on an iPhone?! Is Adobe out of their fine mind?!) and I don't use cloud storage, either. I also use a late 2019 iMac with 32GB RAM and 20TB of storage, with the storage being mostly on external drives. (I'll add LrC and Ps to my M1 MacBook Air in the next weeks.)
Should you upgrade? You have a 5DMkIV, and you're throwing away information by converting to DNG. I know for me there are times I'll go back to Canon's Digital Photo Professional to see some very specific details only available to this package. Specifically I might want to know which AF points were used for the photo. I tried DNG conversion once, and regretted it. I lost information I wanted. Yes, DNG is "universal", but that's Adobe's definition of "universal". The cost of DNG is loss of information. It's your call on that.
LrC sucks regarding how long it takes to load. Once loaded however, it is wonderful. LrC is fast, and while I never thought I'd ever use Ps, I find Ps to be invaluable for those rare times I need it. LrC itself is simply amazing. There's so much it can do. If I had to go back to an earlier version of Lr, I would not be happy.
On noise reduction, you've got a 5DMkIV. You may see noise, most non-photographers do not. No matter. When you reduce noise artificially, you remove details that can be important to your photos. I stopped doing general noise reduction a couple years ago.
Should you go to the Adobe photographer package, you may need to replace your computer. That's likely to cost less than your full frame Canons or some of your L lenses, but that's up to you. Personally I like my automation to keep up with me. I like that Adobe updates LrC and Ps frequently, even though some updates aren't without issues. I don't like my tools to slow me down or get in my way. I would drop Adobe and/or Apple in an instant if I thought I could do better with other tools.
Should you upgrade from Lightroom 5? Maybe the question should be, "Should you stay with Lightroom 5?" I just saw a webpage indicating the Lr 5.7.1 release was announced in December 2014. That's pushing seven years. On upgrading, it's your call.
Hope this helps!
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