Adobe announced yesterday their 6.14 update for Lightroom is now available. The new update addresses bugs that were introduced in the previous release as well as additional camera raw support and profiles. Good news, right? Well, this will also be the last update released for perpetual customers.
For many, it might as well be the end as this was the final nail in the coffin for them. Many users are not happy with the new “rent-to-use” philosophy of subscribing and are looking to other photo processing software as alternatives. Since I use multiple programs from Adobe, I have subscribed to Creative Cloud but I held off for a while and wasn’t one of the early adopters. If you constantly did the upgrades between versions, Creative Cloud is a cheaper and better option, which many are happy with. However, if you didn’t need to update to every version and could hold off and skip a few versions then the subscription model wasn't something you were too happy with. You can read more about the Creative Cloud versions of Lightroom on their blog.
The Photographer's Package is only $10 per month, so many photographers just work that into their cost of doing business, but hobbyist look at it as an extra unnecessary cost. Is this a push to “force” perpetual customers into a Creative Cloud subscription? Many will see it that way.
Personally, I have switched to using Capture One for the majority of my work besides my event coverage photography which is still processed using Lightroom. What Lightroom alternatives have you looked at or even started using?
[via Adobe]
![Is Adobe Lightroom Classic CC Really Faster? [Updated]](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/small-16-9/s3/lead/2017/10/adobe-lightroom-classic-cc-performance-faster-than-ever.jpg)
I will be a capture one user very soon, in my research I have really liked what I see.
" If you constantly did the upgrades between versions, Creative Cloud is a cheaper and better option, which many are happy with."
That is simply not true. Stand alone Lightroom was about $199 the first time you purchased it. Once you already had a version the "Upgrade price" was only $79-$99. A new version would come out about every 2 years. The CC lightroom was at least 9.99/month. So over 2 years you paid $240 vs $99 for a stand alone upgrade.
They wouldn't force us to an option that was cheaper for us.
I didn't say Lightroom only, Creative cloud as a package or even the photographer's package is a cheaper route.
Adobe Bridge with Adobe Camera Raw has everything for image processing that Lightroom has except for Lightroom's ridiculous, over designed, under useful file management system. Just develop your own system for file management -- it's free and you don't need instructions.
We switched to RawTherapee for RAW processing and Daminion for cataloging and multi-user access for 7 team members. I can't say that the monthly pricing is too high in comparison to other online services but I decided to reduce a number of the endless subscription bills... Enough.