If you’re one of the more wide-eyed people who updated to Adobe Lightroom 6.2 right after it was launched a few days ago, you have likely come to rue that decision. Between the “Fisher Price”-ification of the Import flow to the ridiculous crashes caused due to bugs in the software, this update left much to be desired. Fortunately, Adobe has made good and released a critical maintenance update that supposedly fixes some of the issues.
I still take umbrage with their decision to regress the Import workflow functionality by removing key features in the name of making it more ‘accessible’ to the broadest set of users. That rationale is preposterous. If making your software more ‘accessible’ is such a concern, why haven’t we seen the emasculation of apps like Photoshop or Premiere Pro? Perhaps it’s because there is a dying line of Elements-grade apps built to cater to the more novice user. If this is such a concern, then go ahead and release Lightroom Elements to appease that demographic.
But to move forward with watering down one of the most critical processes of a photographer (the import process) because it’s too hard for novices is an insult to the legion of dedicated power users who have invested years with you. By dummying down this process, you end up castrating your users from growing into the product and maximizing its potential. You also take away some key features that are actually a boon, like automatically ejecting the media card upon successful import. Why get rid of it?
I know why. It’s because you’ve been seeing a population of users leaving your solution for something more simplistic, which translates into lost revenue. I can appreciate that. Trust me, I can. But the route you guys took is simply awful. Don’t penalize your user base by removing core functionality because you can’t figure out how to recapture lost subscriptions. Either build more educational materials and make them super-discoverable or build an Elements-grade version of Lightroom.
Playing with my photo editing tools is like playing with my emotions. Quit it.
Direct links to the Lightroom Patch Installer:
Mac
Questions about this column?
Just leave them in the Comments section and Ill make sure to address them!
Thank you, Brian. That sums it up pretty much. At a minimum, they could have included both interfaces (how hard could that be?) and let each user choose their own poison – are you a power user or do you need the “for Dummies” version?
One comment on the links – they don’t seem to work.
I agree fully. Changes will add time and complexity to my workflow, the loss of the zoom in import will cost me as I will be forced to import more shots to my drives.
The install of Lightroom CC I tried to work with today kept crashing on startup so I never got to see Adobe’s contribution to the dumbing down of America. Since the typical college diploma these days is little more than a high school diploma of 25 years ago, a “Lightroom for Dummies” was probably inevitable–but at the cost of the original Lightroom? I’m transitioning to Capture One Pro currently. The Adobe CC model did me in. The problem is I have years of cataloging and work invested in Lightroom and making a switch of this magnitude is not an overnight… Read more »
Found the correct link …
http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2015/10/lightroom-cc-2015-2-1-6-2-1-now-available.html
Has both Mac and Win versions
Amen!
Spot on! Adobe would be wise to follow Brian’s recommendations.
Just to clarify, the 6.2.1 patch did not fix the changes made to the Import module.
Just a simple “hear hear” from this side of The Pond. Well said, sir. Well said.
I was frustrated with the new Import dialog, however, I quickly discovered the “power user” features that I normally use.
Please explain which features were removed or “dumbed-down.”
I really enjoy your posts. Keep up the great work!
Thank you.
I agree completely! The new Import is terrible. Your Mac link for the Patch does not work.
Totally agree with you!!
Brian, I couldn’t agree with you more. As I have spent countless hours over the years educating myself on the intricacies of LR and PS (stand alone and eventually moving into the CC platform), seeing Adobe dumbing down the program(s) is unconscionable. Hobbling their programs is not going to solve their revenue issues. Those issues arose as a result of moving to subscription based programs and eliminating the vast amount of people who would have continued to purchase their products. Now they’re punishing us for their faux pas.
How much did on1 pay Adobe to create such a debacle? You are right; people will be looking for alternatives.
HA! That’s actually pretty funny. :)
P.S. Me dumb. After I asked in my comment if Lightroom 6 was affected by the dumbing down, I realized by the title of your post that you were speaking specifically of the standalone version. Duh.
rjk
Thanks for the rant. The Win link for the patch appears to be broke..
Just tried it and it’s crap. The old way was so much better.
Software users (which means everyone) is used to having bugs in newly released software. There are few if any major programs that don’t have a dot release to correct unforeseen conflicts that occur in an almost infinite variety of computer configurations. That’s just the way it is. Each time a new release comes out and it doesn’t perform in the way its advertised, users go through an analysis of their download, was it complete, did it hang up somewhere? The next step is to determine whether the equiment is functioning properly, has the equipment finally reached the point where it… Read more »
Thanks Brian for this article, agree 100% with you.
I’m new to Lightroom and just starting to get a bit of confidence. Downloaded the update that’s why I bought the CC and NOT Lightroom 6. Oh dear, panic started. Downloaded my photos and had a black screen. With the update it is a little better, but still not acceptable as exposure is still on zero etc etc.
Also the plug-in for On1 is not working! Is that on purpose???
Hate this and contemplating cancelling at the end of my year.
Adobe has revealed that they heard the feedback and are at work. The On1 plugin not working would be on them, not Adobe.
still crashes everytime i load it.. completely unusable.. i’m dead in the water.. cant revert back to older version.. cant use this version.. hopefully the update to the update will come out soon.. and fix the problem.
To Darrell
If I download the photos they are there and then they disappear 1 by 1!
What I do now is go to Develop mode (Basic) and click on Auto as Exposure is on zero. The photos are now visible, BUT have to do it 1 by 1 which is time consuming.
maybe i didnt make my issue clear. i click on the lightroom icon, the logo appears.. then it crashes.. it is completely un-usable.. not just the import or editing features.. i cant even get to my catalogs.
I read the summary from Victoria Bampton (who is excellent about giving realistic updates about these things) and admittedly it was around 6am but I distinctly remember reading her summary of the import changes and thinking that it seemed like it was going to make it harder to actually use and lose functionality. Im on the Perpetual version so might just stay with the version Im on a little longer…..
Workflow is an essential part of a professional photographers life. Anything that interferes with that is unacceptable. Make worthy improvements or leave it alone!
I still have the feeling that Adobe sees Lightroom as a casual user software. The book, slideshow and web gallery module are probably thinks most of us never use but are really attractive for the casual user. For the normal user the old import dialog was really overwhelming (I’ve just noticed it a few weeks ago when I tried to show Lightroom to a friend who wanted to try LR for his family photos), but for us the new one is a nightmare. I’ve often considered to switch back to my old Bridge, ACR, Photoshop workflow and maybe this is… Read more »
My solution: staying on 5.7 forever. It’s 100% paid for so it will never cost another cent and it works pretty much the way I want. If it becomes obsolete, then I’ll switch full-time to On1. If On1 could have a better raw converter and truly work non-destructively without creating monster psd/tiff files, I’d switch now.
Nailed it :-(
Good rant, Brian. Every time I back off from quitting Adobe altogether, they come along with something that gets me back in the camp…like Lightroom 5. I nearly quit again when the subscription noose was put around my neck and I backed off with the Photographer’s deal…but dumbing down the app that I have put in the center of my workflow is just not acceptable. Maybe they will back off…I won’t upgrade if they don’t …and I’m pulling out my old copy of CO8 and Media Pro just to dust off my memory of how to use them and I’m… Read more »
I couldn’t agree more. When I first attempted to import my images & the “updated” interface came up, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Please add the original import method back!
Yes, I agree. There is nothing wrong with adding functions or options. Messing with the workflow, on the other hand, is a very bad idea, especially when you are dumbing down and many of your users are professionals. There should at the very least have an “Expert” and “Basic” or “Guided” option as per the Elements series of programmes. Preferably one should have to opt out of the “Expert” (original) workflow. It would be nice if there were an option to go back to the original import options. Hopefully Adobe will amend things soon.
I have a little different opinion than most of the others posting here. Since moving to Lightroom 2 years ago, I found the Import UI to be confusing and un-intuitive. So I am glad that Adobe decided to try to make it cleaner with better ‘flow’. That said, I don’t think that Adobe needed to eliminate functionality to make the UI better.
FYI – this latest patch did add back the ability to zoom-in on photos before importing.
Besides eject memory card which is an important feature… What other feature did they remove? I can’t seem to find anything else that I use that isn’t there. So i’m curious.
I read the summary from Victoria Bampton (who is excellent about giving realistic updates about these things) and admittedly it was around 6am but I distinctly remember reading her summary of the import changes and thinking that it seemed like it was going to make it harder to actually use and lose functionality. Im on the Perpetual version so might just stay with the version Im on a little longer…..
My solution: staying on 5.7 forever. It’s 100% paid for so it will never cost another cent and it works pretty much the way I want. If it becomes obsolete, then I’ll switch full-time to On1. If On1 could have a better raw converter and truly work non-destructively without creating monster psd/tiff files, I’d switch now.
I couldn’t agree more. When I first attempted to import my images & the “updated” interface came up, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Please add the original import method back!
Besides eject memory card which is an important feature… What other feature did they remove? I can’t seem to find anything else that I use that isn’t there. So i’m curious.
Yes, I agree. There is nothing wrong with adding functions or options. Messing with the workflow, on the other hand, is a very bad idea, especially when you are dumbing down and many of your users are professionals. There should at the very least have an “Expert” and “Basic” or “Guided” option as per the Elements series of programmes. Preferably one should have to opt out of the “Expert” (original) workflow. It would be nice if there were an option to go back to the original import options. Hopefully Adobe will amend things soon.
Good rant, Brian. Every time I back off from quitting Adobe altogether, they come along with something that gets me back in the camp…like Lightroom 5. I nearly quit again when the subscription noose was put around my neck and I backed off with the Photographer’s deal…but dumbing down the app that I have put in the center of my workflow is just not acceptable. Maybe they will back off…I won’t upgrade if they don’t …and I’m pulling out my old copy of CO8 and Media Pro just to dust off my memory of how to use them and I’m… Read more »
I have a little different opinion than most of the others posting here. Since moving to Lightroom 2 years ago, I found the Import UI to be confusing and un-intuitive. So I am glad that Adobe decided to try to make it cleaner with better ‘flow’. That said, I don’t think that Adobe needed to eliminate functionality to make the UI better.
FYI – this latest patch did add back the ability to zoom-in on photos before importing.
I still have the feeling that Adobe sees Lightroom as a casual user software. The book, slideshow and web gallery module are probably thinks most of us never use but are really attractive for the casual user. For the normal user the old import dialog was really overwhelming (I’ve just noticed it a few weeks ago when I tried to show Lightroom to a friend who wanted to try LR for his family photos), but for us the new one is a nightmare. I’ve often considered to switch back to my old Bridge, ACR, Photoshop workflow and maybe this is… Read more »
still crashes everytime i load it.. completely unusable.. i’m dead in the water.. cant revert back to older version.. cant use this version.. hopefully the update to the update will come out soon.. and fix the problem.
To Darrell
If I download the photos they are there and then they disappear 1 by 1!
What I do now is go to Develop mode (Basic) and click on Auto as Exposure is on zero. The photos are now visible, BUT have to do it 1 by 1 which is time consuming.
maybe i didnt make my issue clear. i click on the lightroom icon, the logo appears.. then it crashes.. it is completely un-usable.. not just the import or editing features.. i cant even get to my catalogs.
Thank you, Brian. That sums it up pretty much. At a minimum, they could have included both interfaces (how hard could that be?) and let each user choose their own poison – are you a power user or do you need the “for Dummies” version?
One comment on the links – they don’t seem to work.
The install of Lightroom CC I tried to work with today kept crashing on startup so I never got to see Adobe’s contribution to the dumbing down of America. Since the typical college diploma these days is little more than a high school diploma of 25 years ago, a “Lightroom for Dummies” was probably inevitable–but at the cost of the original Lightroom? I’m transitioning to Capture One Pro currently. The Adobe CC model did me in. The problem is I have years of cataloging and work invested in Lightroom and making a switch of this magnitude is not an overnight… Read more »
I agree fully. Changes will add time and complexity to my workflow, the loss of the zoom in import will cost me as I will be forced to import more shots to my drives.
Found the correct link …
http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2015/10/lightroom-cc-2015-2-1-6-2-1-now-available.html
Has both Mac and Win versions
Spot on! Adobe would be wise to follow Brian’s recommendations.
Amen!
I agree completely! The new Import is terrible. Your Mac link for the Patch does not work.
I was frustrated with the new Import dialog, however, I quickly discovered the “power user” features that I normally use.
Please explain which features were removed or “dumbed-down.”
I really enjoy your posts. Keep up the great work!
Thank you.
How much did on1 pay Adobe to create such a debacle? You are right; people will be looking for alternatives.
HA! That’s actually pretty funny. :)
Just a simple “hear hear” from this side of The Pond. Well said, sir. Well said.
P.S. Me dumb. After I asked in my comment if Lightroom 6 was affected by the dumbing down, I realized by the title of your post that you were speaking specifically of the standalone version. Duh.
rjk
Just to clarify, the 6.2.1 patch did not fix the changes made to the Import module.