People who gave up on LR, how are you viewing your old photos?

[rawdawg]

I do not make money of photography, but I used an old version of LR the past 8 years. I am not going to join the CC, I don't like the idea of subscription based programs and am more then happy to switch to Capture One. These past 8 years I've imported everything by date, so I have over 2000 folders with photos in them.

Other people who have left LR, did you migrate you entire libraries over to your new program? Or have you found a program which allows you to easily view the folders LR built (like ACDSee?). Something to easily navigate through.

Although I did do a lot of processing in LR, I don't mind loosing all that data. And I never really used any rating system. There's not a big reason to pay even the $10/month to have my photos held hostage in perpetuity because Adobe requires a subscription.

Can anyone suggest a good program that has worked for them?

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

I do not make money of photography, but I used an old version of LR the past 8 years. I am not going to join the CC, I don't like the idea of subscription based programs and am more then happy to switch to Capture One. These past 8 years I've imported everything by date, so I have over 2000 folders with photos in them.

Other people who have left LR, did you migrate you entire libraries over to your new program? Or have you found a program which allows you to easily view the folders LR built (like ACDSee?). Something to easily navigate through.

Although I did do a lot of processing in LR, I don't mind loosing all that data. And I never really used any rating system. There's not a big reason to pay even the $10/month to have my photos held hostage in perpetuity because Adobe requires a subscription.

Can anyone suggest a good program that has worked for them?

Have you thought about using Bridge, I'm pretty sure it's free.

 

[kenoh]

Lightroom CC also continues to work in view only mode without a sub. Basically when your subscription stops, it disables the Develop module but Library still allows you to view your stuff.

I havent tried this BTW. Maybe try a 30 day trial then dont take the sub?

 

[stillcrazyman]

I left Lr a few years ago. I tried different file browsers - Lyn works nicely for smaller libraries, On1 is worth a look, PhotoMechanic and Graphic Converter. I tried a new release of ACDSee for Mac - it was a little unstable.

I like Photo Mechanic a lot, but it's not cheap at $150. I don't know when the 64bit version will be out or how much it will cost. In the mean time, I'm using GraphicConverter - it's actually quite good at doing what I need it to do. Organize, view and manage over 30k photos.

 

[maflynn]

I still have LR on my system, as disabling the subscription only locks you out of the edit module.

I tried a new release of ACDSee for Mac - it was a little unstable.

I just downloaded the app, I'm going to take a look at that.

I like Photo Mechanic a lot, but it's not cheap at $150.

I liked it too, but it is pricey, I didn't know it was not 64bit. I think I may hold off on giving that a serious look

I'm using GraphicConverter

I'm not using much of anything right now, I'm stuck with analysis paralysis

 

[robgendreau]

I do not make money of photography, but I used an old version of LR the past 8 years. I am not going to join the CC, I don't like the idea of subscription based programs and am more then happy to switch to Capture One. These past 8 years I've imported everything by date, so I have over 2000 folders with photos in them.

Other people who have left LR, did you migrate you entire libraries over to your new program? Or have you found a program which allows you to easily view the folders LR built (like ACDSee?). Something to easily navigate through.

Although I did do a lot of processing in LR, I don't mind loosing all that data. And I never really used any rating system. There's not a big reason to pay even the $10/month to have my photos held hostage in perpetuity because Adobe requires a subscription.

Can anyone suggest a good program that has worked for them?

The folders you see in Lr are the same exact folders you see in the Finder. Throwing all of the Lr catalog and all Adobe files in the trash wouldn't change that at all; if you had images in HD>Pictures>2018>Hawaii vacation they'd still be there, Lr or not.

You could use Photos (free) to either import all those folders of images into a managed Photos catalog, or instead of copying them in, reference them in their existing folders as Lr did (but then they won't synch over iCloud, which may or may not concern you).

Any browser-type photo manager then could view those folders too (or even just the Finder). Graphic Converter has a really good browser that can do an awful lot, but finding by searches and by filtering isn't so hot. Xnview MP is free, and can do keywording, filtering, etc etc, but has a bit of an odd interface. Bridge is free, and works well with Lr.

None of the photos you imported are held hostage in Lr. Yes, if you did adjustments those are proprietary to Adobe and some other applications (like Mylio). But that's true with Photos, Aperture, Affinity Photo, ACDSee, Pixelmator, or any other photo editor pretty much. The way around that is to export the finished product as a TIFF or something else suitable.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

I've been using Nikon ViewNX 2.

 

[mofunk]

I’m still using LR 6, the CC version. I don’t plan to upgrade my camera any time soon and so far everything works. I bet you can find copies if you need it. Best Buy always have versions lingering around.