Adobe has released a new update for Lightroom, bringing the current version to Lightroom CC 2015.5 and Lightroom 6.5. The new update fixes numerous bugs plus adds camera support and a host of new lens profiles. The update also fixes several sync errors and a couple of missing features. Camera Raw also received an update, bringing the current version to Camera Raw 9.5. This is great. But do you really need updates?

An example why new updates are important

While teaching a Lightroom essentials class on a cruise to Cozumel, an attendee voiced her concern on not wanting a creative cloud subscription plan. The subscription plan automatically updates Lightroom and Photoshop. She insisted she didn’t need it. After a day of shooting, we came back to the classroom and started editing in Lightroom. She tried to import her images into Lightroom, only to realize her new camera she just bought wasn’t supported. In the middle of the Gulf of Mexico with very limited internet access, we tried to get her the latest version that supported her camera. Needless to say, it took forever and when we finally downloaded the update, we realized it was for the wrong version of Lightroom!  If she had the subscription plan, she would have had the latest profiles for her new camera plus updates fixing bugs. In the end, she just took photos and waited until she got home to apply the updates. If you plan on updating your gear, then having the latest updates are very important. If you stay with an old camera and didn’t care for new features, then having an older version of Lightroom or Photoshop would be fine.  

What’s new in Lightroom 2015.5 and Lightroom 6.5

As mentioned earlier, the new update adds camera support and a host of new lens profiles. You may not need them now, but it’s always good to have them. The update also fixes several sync errors and adds a couple of features. One added feature is how Lightroom edits dust spots in a smarter way. When applying a Panorama Merge, it remove spots from the first image, and the rest will be removed automatically as other images are merged. Additionally, bugs have been fixed that affected Boundary Warp, a tool that helps straighten curved edges of stitched panoramas.

Update to Camera Raw 9.5

Camera Raw 9.5 is now available through the update mechanism in Photoshop CC and the Creative Cloud application and is only available in Photoshop CC or later. Customers using older versions of Photoshop can utilize the DNG Converter for continued camera support.

Camera Raw 9.5 has an updated visual interface designed to align with Photoshop CC and Bridge.

For a full list of supported cameras and lens plus a detail of bug fixes, visit Adobe’s Lightroom Journal.