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John E Anderson
Known Participant
January 10, 2022
Répondu

General question about all the Lightroom versions

I've been a Lightroom user for many years.  I now subscribe to the Lightroom & Photoshop bundle.  But I'm thoroughly confused about the versions of Lightroom.  I primarily use Lightroom Classic.  But then I noticed there's a Lightroom (Icon reads "Lr").  What's the difference?  I see a sync button next to my collections in Lightroom Classic.  Is this for syncing between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic?  Finally, a few years ago I installed what I believe was called Lightroom Mobile on my iPad, and I could view and edit photos and somehow sync up with Lightroom.  Is this app still supported, or has this become Lightroom ("Lr")?

 

My devices are all Apple: iMac, Macbook, iPhone, iPad.

Ce sujet a été fermé aux réponses.
Meilleure réponse par john beardsworth

The "Lightroom" applications are built around syncing, so you can import/edit in one and photos are automatically available on the others.

 

With Classic it's slightly different, more like an island. So synching to/from the cloud is not its default. Instead you're in control of what you want to sync.

 

So you can import photos as now into Classic and put them into a collection which you set to sync, meaning that those photos will be available in LR Mobile or in "Lightroom" on a second Mac or PC. Edits in Classic sync elsewhere, and vice versa. So I might import some photos at home, make rough edits on the train or in the pub, and those changes will be in my catalogue when I get home.

 

A second strand of syncing with Classic is that you can import new photos directly into one of the mobile apps, so while I am in the city I might shoot some new pictures on a DSLR and import them into LR Mobile over lunch in the pub, maybe send one to someone. When I get home, the photos automatically sync into my catalogue along with the edits.

 

Maybe Lightroom Queen has a summary, but I'd suggest trying things out for yourself.

1 commentaire

john beardsworth
Community Expert
john beardsworthCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 10, 2022

The product now known as Lightroom (with the LR icon) is a new application which is cloud dependent. It's rather like  Lightroom Mobile but it runs on a second PC or Mac. Some people use it and don't even use real Classic Lightroom, but it does a lot less.

 

Lightroom Mobile is now called Lightroom by Adobe, Lightroom Mobile by anyone who wants to be clear what they're talking about. It's still around, still worthwhile.

 

You may want to think of Lightroom as being the cloud service, with its client apps like "Lightroom" on computer and Lightroom on mobiles. This group is sometimes called the Lightroom ecosystem, distinct from Classic Lightroom which is the main part of the wider Lightroom world.

J
John E AndersonAuteur
Known Participant
January 10, 2022

Thanks for your quick reply.

 

What, if any, capability is there to sync photos and edits between the three applications: Lightroom (cloud), Lightroom Classic & Lightroom Mobile?

 

Also, so as to not bother everyone with all these questions, is there a comprehensive guide that explains how all these apps can interoperate?

J
Community Expert
Jao vdLCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 10, 2022

You can sync fully between Lightroom Cloud and Lightroom mobile. Basically Lightroom Cloud is a port of the mobile version of Lightroom to dektop operating systems. That is probably the best way to think about it. Lightroom Cloud/mobile relies on its catalog and original files all being in the cloud. This way it can make the library be exactly the same on all platforms. It is neat and handy on a phone but as john said, it is missing many many many features. One nice feature is that you do not need to have all your images stored locally as it can just download a raw file from the cloud anytime it needs it. So this is a good solution for devices with small storage space (there are caveats to this).

Classic can interoperate with the cloud ecosystem. It can sync specific collections to the cloud by sending smart previews up to the cloud (it can't send full raw images by an artificial limitation that Adobe put in!). It can sync down anything you add to the cloud (including full raw images). Classic relies on files being accessible locally so you need enough hard disk space for all your images at all times.

Here is a good feature comparison: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/lightroom-cc-vs-classic-features/

There are not many reaal guides on how to use all of these together as Adobe officially discourages it but it can be done if you know what you are doing.

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