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Should I buy Lightroom or pay monthly for CC for Mac ?


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I bought Lightroom 6 on disc for use on those images where it handles longitudinal CA better than Silkypix, and perhaps I'll use it more as I get used to it.

 

Anyway, I figured it would be better in my case to pay € 126 once than ten bucks or so monthly, forever.

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Anyway, I figured it would be better in my case to pay € 126 once than ten bucks or so monthly, forever.

 

i respect that point of view but it's not a like for like comparison. Your €126 won't last you forever...because that copy of LR will have stood still whilst CC has improved (I don't think LR6  has de-haze yet). If you get a new camera it might not be supported etc.

 

Buying standalone LR would cost me 18 months of CC and I also get full Photoshop (previously used Elements).

 

I usually upgraded LR every two generations anyway so CC isn't a major difference in price. 

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I am using LR6 and PSE 14 because I hate "leasing" cameras, cars, houses in fact anything you pay money for but it is never your own.

 

Just to let people know that PSE14 has the haze filter mentioned above.

 

Allan

 

Edit:  PSE14 also has, I don't know what it is called but, a filter for changing backgrounds behind animals and models with flying hair in the wind and will retain the hair against the new background.

 

Me again B)

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Many thanks for all your advice. I have never used LR and LR6 at £104 might do me for a year or so. I am reluctant to change my i mac 27 from OSX to El Capitan as I did on my newer Macbook Pro from Mountain Lion to El Capitan as I will lose the use of CS5 reading of the files for my Nikon D7000. So I can use LR6 when out and about for Alamy Live News pics and any layer work or as someone said losing a power line I will do on the i Mac 27. 

 

I may go down the subscription route in a year or 2. 

 

Someone asked why don't I contact Adobe. I have and they no longer support CS5 therefore would not speak to me. 

 

Anyhow, thanks again. 

 

Adrian. 

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I pay £8.57 p/m for Photoshop and Lightroom via the cloud but only really need Photoshop. I use C1 9 Pro for processing and it's a standalone app that is updated each year.

 

For me it's no brainer. It represents 20mins or less of earnings for a full months use! I don't need to worry about it working and they're adding new stuff and improvements all the time. I'm not a fan of the CC system, especially at £18-£50 p/m but £8.57..... good value and it's tax deductible anyway.

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You have to be running OSX 10.9 or later for Lightroom 6 - it's not clear what OS you are running but it might be you would have to upgrade your OS in any case.

 

It's also not clear why you have not been able to update your Photoshop CS5 to ACR 6.7 which is all you need to convert raw files on a D7000. You can download this from the Adobe website - search ACR download.

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When I made this decision, I looked at how often I tended to upgrade, and was the price of my upgrade pattern comparable to the cost of the subscription. I use both Lightroom and Photoshop, and I tended to upgrade every other version. So when I compared the cost of buying upgrades to both programs every 24 months, it was very similar to the $9.99/month subscription to CC (for just Photoshop and Lightroom.) So I went for it, and ALWAYS have the latest version now. But... do the math for yourself, because YMMV. (Your Mileage May Vary.)

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But what happens should you decide you no longer want to subscribe? No software. Why should we be held to ransom in this way?

Yes upgrades were expensive and yes Adobe are making changes all the time. But we are talking here about paying this for the rest of your life, otherwise they take it away from you, as I understand it.

It is one thing not to upgrade and miss out on improvements etc, but at least you still have an old software to continue to use, with this subscription plan you have nothing.

Tax deductible or not I hate being held to ransom.

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Hi MDM, 

 

You wrote. 

'It's also not clear why you have not been able to update your Photoshop CS5 to ACR 6.7 which is all you need to convert raw files on a D7000. You can download this from the Adobe website - search ACR download.' 

 

I agree that I did not state that I could not update to the version of ACR that lets me read D7000 files but that is my problem. Error message appears. It is annoying. Adobe would not help and Apple couldn't work it out either when I phoned. 

Regards, 

 

Adrian, 

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BTW I also agree with Trevor 'It is one thing not to upgrade and miss out on improvements etc, but at least you still have an old software to continue to use, with this subscription plan you have nothing.' Especially as the money for photos is very low at the moment. 

 

Best 

 

Adrian. 

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BTW I also agree with Trevor 'It is one thing not to upgrade and miss out on improvements etc, but at least you still have an old software to continue to use, with this subscription plan you have nothing.' Especially as the money for photos is very low at the moment. 

 

Best 

 

Adrian. 

 

The point with any software is the images you create using it, same for cameras. If you look at the depreciation on cameras (especially digital) the cost of software (outside of the specialist wares) is an inconsequential one. True it does depend on using the software to somewhere near it's full potential - no use in having PSCC for basic editorial work.

 

I have old discs of CS5 and somewhere CS3-1, I take them as having zero value.... the £600 or whatever I paid for the extended version of one goes a long way to paying £7.14 a month (that's two visits to Costa Coffee after all)  for access to software that helps me create work that does more than compensate for the small outlay.

 

IMO, software is as valuable in everyday use as your camera.

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Hi. 

 

Geoff's right about the value of software. It is undervalued by some photographers and our cameras lose far more money. However, cameras can still take photos whereas my CS5 won't allow me to see my D7000 pictures because I cannot fully upgrade. I have an old Nikon D200 somewhere that I expect takes good photos and likewise with a Pentax K1000 film camera.

 

Also, somewhere we have lost, or not worried about, what it is to take a photo correctly in camera. Using film we were more cautious about what we took and how we composed and getting the light right. Mechanically we cropped too. I only ever had one enlarger - so didn't upgrade that. 

 

Many of the best pictures of the past were taken quite simply e.g. consider Jane Bown's kit. However, I do recognise the latest technology is being employed to stretch the possibilities of what we can take that previously would have been a darkened blur. 

 

All very interesting posts so far. 

 

Best wishes, 

 

Adrian. 

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I'm content for now with Lightroom version 6.5, although somewhat curious about the dehaze feature in the CC version.

 

This free Prolost download purports to do the same thing. Usually I just snap images up in curves, but will give this a try.

 

 

The dehaze feature can be found in PSE 14.

 

Allan

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