GeekPhotographer

Adobe announce Lightroom CC Classic, Lightroom CC

October 18, 2017 | 3 Minute Read

I have been an Adobe Lightroom user for, well, many a year. I bought a few boxes and downloaded editions (I still have a box of Lightroom 3 here on my desk!) and when CC and the “cloud” editions came out, i bought the Photography bundle, and have been using that since. Over the years, they have added many features, including mobile apps for iOS and Android, but performance on the desktop has, in some cases, suffered…

Well, today, Adobe have announced not 1, but 2 new versions of Lightroom: Lightroom CC Classic and Lightroom CC….. and to make things easier to figure out, Im going to refer to them as CC and Classic… just make life easier…

So, First things first: Boxed and perpetual editions of Lightroom are, well, on life support. Adobe will release some updates to the current perpetual edition (Lightroom 6) but there will be no perpetual version of either CC or Classic. So, moving to the monthly option is your only option. The Photography plan still exits: $9.99 per month with Classic, CC and Photoshop, plus 20Gb storage (more on that later) or an extra $10 a month gets you 1Tb storage. The alternative, if you need the rest of the Adobe suite is the full plan, but i wont go into details here…

Right, so CC and Classic. Whats the difference? Essentially, Classic is an existing Lightroom desktop (Mac and Windows), updated and made faster and more powerful. I have not had a chance to play with it yet, but there are some reviews and more details below from other photography sites. I will add my 2c when I get around to playing with it.

As for CC, its a complete rewrite of Lightroom. New code base, new design, v1.0 application. probably closer to the iOS and Android versions than the old desktop version, so a lot newer code base, and should be a LOT faster. again, still not got to play with this, but links below with more.

I mentioned above about storage and how much you get with the plan. Well, this is important for both CC and Classic. Both, like the existing Lightroom CC 2015 and Lightroom Mobile, sync with the cloud. But while CC 2015 syncs a Smart Preview (from what i can gather, its a DNG type file) new CC syncs the entire RAW image. Depending on the app you are editing on you may still use the DNG (probably phones and smaller tables) but if you are on a larger device (might be a setting somewhere) you get the full RAW from your camera. Essentially, plug your memory card into your PC, open CC, and download images, they get uploaded to the Cloud. You can then edit on your PC, your Phone, your tablet, or anywhere!

Now, CC will allow you to sync the full RAW image, but Classic only does the smart preview images. Classic will, however, download the full RAWs… Whether Classic will get an update to allow it to upload in full is unknown.

So, there you have it. There was an update to Photoshop too… full disclosure: I have it installed on my machine (not the new one, current version) but I have no idea how to use it, so I don’t… the links below include some details on the Photoshop update.

Bye Bye Lightroom, Hello Lightroom CC and Faster Lightroom Classic [PetaPixel]

Adobe Announces Lightroom Classic CC, Lightroom CC, Photoshop CC Updates and More (FStoppers)

FStoppers Reviews the New Adobe Lightroom CC (FStoppers)

Is Adobe Lightroom Classic CC Really Faster? (FStoppers)

A New Lightroom is Here (and with it a whole new Ecosystem) (Lightroom Killer Tips)