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jrg63
Participating Frequently
April 15, 2026
Question

Why does Lightroom’s direct import take so much longer?

  • April 15, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 61 views

Here’s your workflow rewritten into a clear, reference‑style checklist that’s easy to share in forums like Adobe’s community:

🖥️ Hardware & Setup

  • CPU/RAM: AMD Threadripper 3970X (32 cores, 64 threads), 128 GB RAM
  • Catalog Drive: Samsung 990 Pro (2 TB, dedicated to Lightroom Classic catalog)
  • Import Drive: Samsung 990 Pro (4 TB, used for incoming imports)
  • Camera Workflow: Nikon Z9 → 256 GB XQD card (1.7 GB/s read speed) using a USB 3.2 card reader on a 20 GB/s port

📸 Import Workflow

  • Assisted culling: Disabled
  • Face detection: Disabled
  • Location lookup: Enabled (images GPS‑encoded)
  • Import preset: Imports to incoming drive, renames files
  • Preview setting: Minimal previews
  • Typical batch size: 1,000–1,500 images

🔒 System Configuration

  • Lightroom working directories: Excluded from antivirus scanning

⏱️ Performance Observed

  • Direct import via Lightroom Classic:

    • Duration: 20–30 minutes
    • Behavior: Lightroom often becomes non‑responsive

  • Copy + rename via Advanced Renamer, then in‑place import:

    • Duration: < 5 minutes
    • Behavior: Smooth, no responsiveness issues

❓ Problem

  • Metadata and preview creation are identical in both workflows.
  • Huge performance gap between Lightroom’s direct import and external copy + in‑place import.

💡 Question

  • Why does Lightroom’s direct import take so much longer?
  • What steps can improve Lightroom’s import performance?

    4 replies

    Jim Wilde
    Community Expert
    Jim WildeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 15, 2026

    One other question, which may be relevant: when you are doing a “Copy” import from the memory card, which source option are you using? Typically a memory card will appear in two different places in the Source column, under the Devices section and under the Files section. Files should be the default, as that is typically faster than import from Devices. Which one are you using?

    J
    jrg63Author
    Participating Frequently
    April 15, 2026

    The Nikon Z9 uses CFExpress Type B cards which appear to Windows 11 as drives. My other Nikon cameras that use regular XQD or CF cards have two interfaces, these cards only have 1. They appear to Windows as SSDs

    J
    jrg63Author
    Participating Frequently
    April 15, 2026

    Instead of using in-place import, I should have used Add photos to the catalog without moving them

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    April 15, 2026

    Some possible causes is a defective camera card or defective card reader/defective USB port.

    J
    jrg63Author
    Participating Frequently
    April 15, 2026

    Same card, same reader, same USB port

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 15, 2026

    What do you mean with “in-place import”? Importing images that are already on the drive where they are going to be stored? That is obviously much faster than importing from a memory card, because this kind of import only needs to add the images to the catalog, and does not have to copy them from the memory card to the drive as well.

     

    The bottleneck you should look at seems to be that copying.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    J
    jrg63Author
    Participating Frequently
    April 15, 2026

    Apologies for the vague term, I should have used ‘Add photos to catalog without moving them’ rather than in-place import. I watched the Lightroom import and it had moved all the images from card onto the disk within 2-3 minutes, they just did not appear in the catalog until much, much later. Aside from copying and renaming the files to the target folder, what additional work does ‘Add photos to catalog without moving them’ have to do? The images are each scanned for their metadata, a location lookup is done and they are added to the catalog. You can easily reproduce this behaviour by manually copying files from the XQD card using File Explorer into the target folder and then doing the ‘Add photos to catalog without moving them’

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 15, 2026

    “Aside from copying and renaming the files to the target folder, what additional work does ‘Add photos to catalog without moving them’ have to do?”

     

    That is not what this does at all. “Add photos to the catalog without moving them” adds the photos to the catalog only (meaning it creates a link in the catalog, photos are not copied into the catalog), nothing more. Never use this option for photos that are on the QXD card, because it means the photos will still only be on that card! If you reformat the card to start using it again in your camera, you will erase the only copy you had… Only use this for photos that have already been copied to their destination folder on the hard disk.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
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