Lightroom Alternatives

[sixkiller]

Hi guys,

recently I've become more and more frustrated with Lightroom CC, it is slow, laggy, unresponsive and not smooth and fluid at all - basically just a huge pain in my ass to work with.

When I use masks, use the sliders, remove noise etc it "jumps" instead of a smooth transition. Does anyone else have this problem? And are some of your using something else than Lightroom to edit and manage your pictures?

 

[Apple fanboy]

Hi guys,

recently I've become more and more frustrated with Lightroom CC, it is slow, laggy, unresponsive and not smooth and fluid at all - basically just a huge pain in my ass to work with.

When I use masks, use the sliders, remove noise etc it "jumps" instead of a smooth transition. Does anyone else have this problem? And are some of your using something else than Lightroom to edit and manage your pictures?

What are you using LR on? I don't have those issues on my 2012 iMac.
Alternatives would be
Capture One
DXO
OnOne
Macphun
Affinity
Nik software
Pixelmator

But LR is the market leader for a reason IMO.

 

[sixkiller]

I have a late 2013 macbook pro. Everything else on it is pretty "snappy" except lightroom. It just seems like the software is so heavy compared to other software i use, even premiere seems a lot faster than lightroom.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

Hi guys,

recently I've become more and more frustrated with Lightroom CC, it is slow, laggy, unresponsive and not smooth and fluid at all - basically just a huge pain in my ass to work with.

When I use masks, use the sliders, remove noise etc it "jumps" instead of a smooth transition. Does anyone else have this problem? And are some of your using something else than Lightroom to edit and manage your pictures?

Not sure that Lightroom is the problem. Lightroom was running fast and flawless on my iMac until I installed OS X El Capitan recently. No changes to Lightroom just OS X. Now I'm experiencing the problems you're describing.

I should have left well enough alone but I had time to spare on a rainy day.

 

[buttongerald]

Darktable is a free, open source alternative to Lightroom. It's worth checking out.

Darktable's homepage

It was last updated just a few days ago. It is available on Linux and OS X, but not supported on any variation of Windows. At least for now.

 

[MCAsan]

I have a late 2013 macbook pro. Everything else on it is pretty "snappy" except lightroom. It just seems like the software is so heavy compared to other software i use, even premiere seems a lot faster than lightroom.

Zero problem on my late 2013 rMBP. I have been running the El Capitan betas since the project started. No LR performance problems. LR is the DAM and I have MacPhun and OnOne plugins.

 

[maflynn]

The only issue I'm having with LR, is the fact that I'm paying monthly, and my usage is such that I'm not using a lot of its functionality. I'm questioning the idea of the subscription based model at this time.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

Zero problem on my late 2013 rMBP. I have been running the El Capitan betas since the project started. No LR performance problems. LR is the DAM and I have MacPhun and OnOne plugins.

I don't have any problems with the Library Module in Lr - just Develop. Are you using Lr Develop?

 

[MCAsan]

I don't have any problems with the Library Module in Lr - just Develop. Are you using Lr Develop?

Always. I use Develop presets on import. Then I do additional adjustments as needed. As needed I send the image to a Maphun or OnOne plugin and get back the completed image in LR Library.
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The only issue I'm having with LR, is the fact that I'm paying monthly, and my usage is such that I'm not using a lot of its functionality. I'm questioning the idea of the subscription based model at this time.

Remember the CC Photography subscription includes both LR and PS. Also in LR you get features, like Dehaze, you would not have in the standalone version of LR. I have to wonder how many more years Adobe will offer LR standalone.

 

[buttongerald]

I have to wonder how many more years Adobe will offer LR standalone.

It will not be much longer. I am surprised they have kept it available this long.

 

[sixkiller]

Not sure that Lightroom is the problem. Lightroom was running fast and flawless on my iMac until I installed OS X El Capitan recently. No changes to Lightroom just OS X. Now I'm experiencing the problems you're describing.

I should have left well enough alone but I had time to spare on a rainy day.

Maybe you're right about El Capitan being the culprit. Are any of you guys running lightroom on os x 10.10 or older?
Because just changing modules for me is extremely slow and the lightroom ui sometimes just tears up for a a second or two when i switch, sometimes even longer.

edit: also, when i'm scrolling through grid view of my photos it's far from a fluid motion.

 

[maflynn]

Remember the CC Photography subscription includes both LR and PS. Also in LR you get features, like Dehaze, you would not have in the standalone version of LR. I have to wonder how many more years Adobe will offer LR standalone.

I agree, and that's why I've been continuing to pay the subscription but as I look at my actual usage, I'm questioning the value of the subscription. I'm not saying LR (and PS) is a bad deal or poor products, but rather in my specific use case, is there a better economical deal that provides me the features that I use? (Apple's Photos is not the answer though )

 

[Apple fanboy]

Maybe you're right about El Capitan being the culprit. Are any of you guys running lightroom on os x 10.10 or older?
Because just changing modules for me is extremely slow and the lightroom ui sometimes just tears up for a a second or two when i switch, sometimes even longer.

edit: also, when i'm scrolling through grid view of my photos it's far from a fluid motion.

Still on Mavricks here. Makes me think twice about updating my late 2012 iMac.
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I agree, and that's why I've been continuing to pay the subscription but as I look at my actual usage, I'm questioning the value of the subscription. I'm not saying LR (and PS) is a bad deal or poor products, but rather in my specific use case, is there a better economical deal that provides me the features that I use? (Apple's Photos is not the answer though )

I'm still using LR standalone. But that's unlikely to be an option when 7 comes out.

 

[Padaung]

Alien Skin Exposure X is worth a look if you're looking for an alternative. I like the speed of it for certain jobs but the feature set is limited in comparison to Lightroom's.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

Always. I use Develop presets on import. Then I do additional adjustments as needed. As needed I send the image to a Maphun or OnOne plugin and get back the completed image in LR Library.

And no problems with Develop such as very hesitant sliders and results that lag behind the slider adjustments?

Still on Mavricks here. Makes me think twice about updating my late 2012 iMac.

I had no problems at all running Lr under Yosemite. I do regret updating to El Capitan to the point where I'm considering a roll-back. But I know that will be a PIA.

I'm never a first or even early adopter of an updated app or OS and thought by now things would work well.

 

[Apple fanboy]

And no problems with Develop such as very hesitant sliders and results that lag behind the slider adjustments?



I had no problems at all running Lr under Yosemite. I do regret updating to El Capitan to the point where I'm considering a roll-back. But I know that will be a PIA.

I'm never a first or even early adopter of an updated app or OS and thought by now things would work well.

Not exactly an early adopter myself for those very reasons.

 

[robgendreau]

I use 10.11.4 and the latest Lr/Ps CC and have absolutely no problems on a 2014 5k iMac.

Are you using the current version of Lr CC? tried turning off graphics support? using 1:1 previews?

I had MORE problems with older Mac OS's; an Adobe engineer somewhere noted issues with IIRC an earlier 10.10 issue in say early 2015 that was causing stuttering, and that disappeared for me after an Apple update and then a CC update.

But there could be several reasons for slowness on a particular machine due to hardware and or software; hard to diagnose without more info.

 

[JackRoch]

I agree, and that's why I've been continuing to pay the subscription but as I look at my actual usage, I'm questioning the value of the subscription. I'm not saying LR (and PS) is a bad deal or poor products, but rather in my specific use case, is there a better economical deal that provides me the features that I use? (Apple's Photos is not the answer though )

I feel similarly ambivalent about DxO albeit for different reasons.

I do like its results but it is, after all, only a RAW converter; at least with LR/PS you get DAM and editing. Looking at my update billing history I couldn’t in good faith recommend it to the OP!

Makes a subs system seem good value?

FWIW I get the same processing times on my mid-2010 iMac now running El Crapstain Public Beta as I did when I first got it.

 

[mildocjr]

I use affinity photo, great program, really smooth has a lot of the same features.

 

[MCAsan]

And no problems with Develop such as very hesitant sliders and results that lag behind the slider adjustments?
I had no problems at all running Lr under Yosemite. I do regret updating to El Capitan to the point where I'm considering a roll-back. But I know that will be a PIA.
I'm never a first or even early adopter of an updated app or OS and thought by now things would work well.

I am always an early adopter of OS and other programs. Again, zero problems with LR and I am on the El Capitan betas. If you are having problems, It may be time for fresh OS and LR install.

 

[MarsViolet]

Always. I use Develop presets on import. Then I do additional adjustments as needed. As needed I send the image to a Maphun or OnOne plugin and get back the completed image in LR Library.
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Remember the CC Photography subscription includes both LR and PS. Also in LR you get features, like Dehaze, you would not have in the standalone version of LR. I have to wonder how many more years Adobe will offer LR standalone.

Lr standalone has already vanished from the Adobe web site, and Leica Camera recently sent out a notice saying that they would no longer be bundling Lr standalone with new cameras due to Adobe having ended the perpetual license. Instead, new Leica cameras will ship with a 90-day demo of Lr CC. So I'd wager that Lr 6.x is the last standalone version, and that Lr 7 will be subscription only.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

I am always an early adopter of OS and other programs. Again, zero problems with LR and I am on the El Capitan betas. If you are having problems, It may be time for fresh OS and LR install.

I suspect that it's probably time for a new iMac. I'm on a mid 2011 and although its served me well, 5 years is more than I've ever got from a computer of any kind. Question is whether or not to do it now or wait for a fall refresh.

Ultimately, possible hardware issues aside, I'm very happy with Lr Ps CC and will stick with it.

 

[MCAsan]

I would wait for the fall lineup as it will doubtless have USB-C ports and TB3 that hook to the latest generation of peripherals. Plus using adapters you always hook up to USB-3 devices as well. When the new lineup is out, check the price list at AppleInsider to see if you can find closeout deals on the current models.

http://prices.appleinsider.com
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Lr standalone has already vanished from the Adobe web site, and Leica Camera recently sent out a notice saying that they would no longer be bundling Lr standalone with new cameras due to Adobe having ended the perpetual license. Instead, new Leica cameras will ship with a 90-day demo of Lr CC. So I'd wager that Lr 6.x is the last standalone version, and that Lr 7 will be subscription only.

You can still purchase LR 6 as a standalone. You just have to dig to find it at Adobe.

https://www.adobe.com/products/cata...er_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_mostpopular.html

 

[Hughmac]

I've just found this http://lightzoneproject.org/ , LightZone, free open source alternative for Windows / Linux / Mac.

I have only just installed it but seems to be pretty good at first look.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[Apple fanboy]

Lr standalone has already vanished from the Adobe web site, and Leica Camera recently sent out a notice saying that they would no longer be bundling Lr standalone with new cameras due to Adobe having ended the perpetual license. Instead, new Leica cameras will ship with a 90-day demo of Lr CC. So I'd wager that Lr 6.x is the last standalone version, and that Lr 7 will be subscription only.

As @MCAsan says it's hard to find but its there. It was really hard to find the upgrade from previous version option when 6 came out.