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Lightroom Classic CC seems slower than previous Lightroom version it replaced. To test the performance of the new classic update, I imported some raw pictures taken with a Nikon D810/D850 and am noticing that moving from one image to another (all with 1:1 previews) in the Develop module takes 4 seconds before the image is displayed after pressing an arrow key to move (or using the mouse to select an image). When you move to another image, the UI is repainted first (and, i assume, the histogram calculated, etc.), and then the image is displayed on the screen. Moving between the Library and Develop modules also results in about a 4 second delay before the image is displayed. Moving between pictures in the Library module is almost instantaneous.
This level of performance is unacceptable. Doing a copy/paste of settings from one image to another takes longer in the latest Lightroom than in the previous one as the time needed to display the image seems to slow everything down, thus slowing down the entire workflow process.
Another quick test was to press the right arrow key 10 times in succession in the Develop module to move between images. It took Lightroom Classic CC 20 seconds before the UI finally caught up and displayed the desired image. Doing the same in the Library module takes about 3 seconds.
Or, is this just the level of performance to be expected? Was this not tested during the beta process, or just deemed satisfactory by Adobe?
What's the best way to get feedback directly to Adobe on this?
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My own experience is that Lr Classic is definitely faster although I have a different workflow. I import using “embedded and sidecar” and then make my picks. The camera previews appear almost instantaneously. After discarding the rejects I generate 1:1 previews for the keepers. I never jump along the filmstrip as these are images I want to spend a little time with editing each.
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I have exactly the same slow feeling
I have just updated to the newest version and regret it so much.
Importation literally locks lightroom using only 100% of a multicore CPU even with parallel preview render and GPU enabled.
Application switching to LR takes 4 seconds during importation. Other applications are working perfectly.
Opening any menu (file, edit, ...) takes the same time, accessing LR preferences takes the same time.
Hardware: 2,3 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 Go 1600 MHz DDR3, NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 Mo Intel Iris Pro 1536 Mo
Catalog: ~200 000 pictures
Previous versions of LR were far more responsive at import time at least.
Please Adobe developers, fix this dramatic performance issue.
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I'll go back to the previous version. This thing is too slow on my computer it has been painfully slow now. Adobe fix this as soon as possible
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How does one go back? I'm ready.
I downloaded about 2 dozen photos this morning. It took about an hour.
Yesterday I thought LR was completely broken; uninstalled, reinstalled with no difference. When I got disgusted and walked away for awhile, it actually worked!
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Same here, my CPU is showing loads of available power, RAM showing loads available. Yet Lightroom CC is running like a snail. Even clicking between one history state and the next is taking forever to show up.
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In the Lightroom preferences, on the performance tab, have you selected this option?
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Thanks for the tip. I checked the Smart Previews preference setting and it was off. Unfortunately, I turned it on and saw little to no difference in performance.
I always built Smart Previews in LR CC 2015, but didn't see a setting for turning on/off the use of smart previews as a preference setting
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hi Brente,
when you turned on the option to use Smart Previews instead of original files... did you generated them?
Because if you have no Smart Previews generated you're still viewing the original resolution file, and of course you can't have any gain in performance.
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Good question. Yes, I had “build smart previews” checked on at the time of import.
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why should he need to select this option when before he didnt need to select this option and Lightroom was faster?
THE ONLY THING that they fixed is scrolling between photos in Library.
Go start zooming in and see how slow render times are. Zoom in then start scrolling in Library mode. Go into develop module and start flicking between photos seeing how long render takes.
They are all slower than the previous lightroom. All i do is use Lightroom for work.
THE NEW VERSION OF LIGHTROOM BROKE MORE THAN IT FIXED!
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Upgraded computer to top of the line iMac. Slower than ever. Very upset. Brushes bring the counter spinning icon. Switching images is painfully slow. My time is being wasted. It wasn't that way. I am even considering other options now.
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Thanks for the feedback. When you say that "camera previews appear almost instantaneously," is that in the develop module?
I went ahead and reinstalled Lightroom CC 2015 (the previous release) and moving between images in the develop module is almost instantaneous. So, something seems to be broken (or changed) in the new Lightroom Classic CC version...
I don't usually jump along the filmstrip, but just used that as a example to show how the performance degradation can be compounded when doing multiple actions.
For my workflow, I'll import the images and have 1:1 previews generated at time of import (I use a sidecar XMP). After I select the images to work on, I'll edit an image and then either sync or copy/paste settings from one image to another. While Lightroom CC wasn't a speed demon (and seemed to get slower release after release), Lightroom Classic CC seems to pale by comparison.
It also looks like exiting LR Classic CC and restarting it helped a bit as the time has gone down from 4 seconds to 2-3, but still seems slower than LR 2015
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I would recommend trying embedded & sidecar from the import dialog – see image below. They appear in the Library with an overlay to indicate they are from the camera. The D850 has large files. They embedded are full resolution jpeg previews as you see on the back of your Nikon.
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I don't know why this is slow for you. Switching between images in Develop is almost instantaneous for me on a much older and weaker machine (a 2012 MacBook Pro is what I use) but here are a few observations that might help
For my workflow, I'll import the images and have 1:1 previews generated at time of import (I use a sidecar XMP). After I select the images to work on, I'll edit an image and then either sync or copy/paste settings from one image to another. While Lightroom CC wasn't a speed demon (and seemed to get slower release after release), Lightroom Classic CC seems to pale by comparison.
It also looks like exiting LR Classic CC and restarting it helped a bit as the time has gone down from 4 seconds to 2-3, but still seems slower than LR 2015
One note is that 1:1 previews do NOT do anything for performance in the Develop module. They are only useful in the Library module for switching between images and zooming in and out to 1:1 in Library. In most cases you do not need 1:1 previews and for performance, I generally recommend people do not generate these and just use standard previews with the preview size on your catalog set to "Auto". Using the new embedded previews option is also a great idea although there is a small disadvantage to this for loading images in Develop (see below). Again, this only helps performance in Library and does not do anything for Develop. It can actually hurt performance a bit as your machine will be chugging along generating 1:1 previews in the background.
Smart previews are only really useful when you do a lot of offline editing of images. They also don't do a thing to speed up your editing if you have your originals available except perhaps if you set the option to use the smart previews for image editing. There is no point in generating smart previews for everything except when your machine is a laptop where you store most of your images on large external storage and want to still be able to edit every one of your images at Starbucks. Smart previews can take a large amount of disk space which if your main disk is a SSD can be expensive and while generating them, the machine is slowed down because of the background task of generating them.
For speeding up loading in Develop, the important factors are the camera Raw cache or whether you converted your originals to dng that has fast load data embedded. Either of those will help loading speed in Develop. Your camera raw cache needs to be large enough to hold enough images (the new 5GB default is generally fine but a bit larger is usually a good idea especially if you have large high res raw files). It is possible that the cache is poisoned somehow and Lightroom is not effectively using it and in that case a good idea is to purge the cache (preference->performance). It will then at first be slow but as the images get loaded in the cache it will get faster to move between images in Develop that you have had in there before. If you convert your images to dng, the dng files will contain the same fast load data that will speed up loading in Develop as is stored in camera raw cache so that can be useful in some cases although I am always wary of losing my original files so I only do that if I have a backup of the nef files.
One remark here is that there is a small disadvantage to using the embedded preview option on import. This can slow down jumping around in Develop if you go straight from import to Develop. What will happen is that many of the images will not have been loaded into the camera raw cache and loading them requires loading the entire raw file right away. This is a subtle effect but can be problematic if you work with high resolution images and like jumping straight into Develop.
Last but not least, on most SSDs it is very problematic to be running over say 75% full. They will slow down terribly. Make sure you are not near that on the disk that contains your camera raw cache and your catalog.
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"One note is that 1:1 previews do NOT do anything for performance in the Develop module."
I will give that Adobe is not 100% clear on this, or perhaps not explicit as to what happens with the Develop module. From the performance tips below, it seems to imply that only standard and 1:1 previews are used when viewing or working with images, and any other preview settings (embedded, etc) requires processing in the background to automatically generate the 1:1 previews. For the unclear part, the reference below to using 1:1 previews helping the Library module leaves out what happens with the Develop module - is the Library module just an example, or a special case? Adobe doesn't say, but it seems like it's just being used as an example (otherwise, when you do a 1:1 zoom, the preview would have to be generated at that time, affecting performance for viewing the image).
I am fine with having a slower import time (can step away from the computer) as long as my workflow is optimized, so 1:1 previews seem to be the recommended option to select at the time of import.
Adobe doesn't say what happens in the Display module. The references to "work with photos" below implies the Develop module to me - other than viewing and culling, what real "work" does anyone do in the Library module? All real photo editing work is done in the Develop module...
from here: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/optimize-performance-lightroom.html
Lightroom uses previews to display photo thumbnails in the Grid view, the Loupe view, and in the Develop, Slideshow, Print, and Web modules.
...
These previews are a 100% view of actual pixels and, like Standard previews, the Camera Raw engine processes them. When Lightroom generates 1:1 previews, it also generates minimal and standard previews, so all three are available to the program as needed. Because so much data is being processed, 1:1 previews can take a significant amount of time to create. Any time you zoom to 1:1 or higher in the Library module, Lightroom uses 1:1 previews.
To display and work with photos, Lightroom requires a standard or 1:1 preview, depending on the task. If, upon import, you only tell Lightroom to generate Minimal or Embedded previews, Lightroom creates Standard and 1:1 previews automatically as you’re working in the application. This process hinders performance. To increase your productivity and reduce this disruption, manage when and how you render your 1:1 previews. Render them on import, or set aside time to render them manually.
To render 1:1 previews on import, use the File Handling panel of the import window. Choose Render Previews > 1:1. Although generating high-quality, 1:1 previews on import slows the import process, it makes Lightroom more responsive when you start to work in the Library module.
An alternative, if you want a speedier import process, is to render minimal or standard previews on import. Then, at any time, select multiple photos in the Grid view of the Library module and choose Library > Previews > Render 1:1 Previews. Let Lightroom process the images before you start to work on them.
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I think the work they are referring to is just culling images. Anytime you touch any develop setting a completely new 1:1 preview has to be generated if you use them so that really slows stuff down. I think that what adobe envisioned is that you import. Then cull looking at 1:1 zoom in Library to check sharpness and only then do anything in develop in the tiny subset of images you selected. Basically think fashion photo shoot. Such a workflow doesn’t work for a lot of other usages of course. I mostly deal with landscape photographers in the few classes I teach and there it really is not appropriate.
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ok, I can see that perspective - thanks. Appreciate your insight!
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Jao so are you saying i should
1. create 1:1 previews on import (i have not been doing this so i can generate profiles for my older catalogues if necessary)
2. cull images at 1:1 in Library module while checking sharpness.
3. move into the develop module to work.
Let me ask this... is there a way to generate the develop module previews all in one go? How ridiculous that the develop module needs different previews than the Library module..
What to do?
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the whole thing is dog slow.
go and try and click anything in the Transform panel and its laggy as hell. The new version Library is great but the develop module has gone to hell.
currently im using lightroom Classic to cull images and lightroom CC 2015 to edit in develop module
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Just been to Transform and it works fine! No lag in sliders. Have you updated your previews, or are they rendering in the background while you are trying to use Transform? Using Win10 and LRClassic 7.0.1
Bob Frost
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Imac 5k 8gb video 64gb ram 512ssd i7 4.2GHZ
i rendered 1:1 previews and still a huge lag when clicking Auto, Vertical etc in transform
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Your description is exactly my experience with Lightroom CC Classic and my workflow is just about identical. Worse though, is that when I upgraded Windows to the Fall Creator's Update (1709), Lightroom went from reasonably slow to unusably slow. I've been reading everything I can find on performance and tweaking settings. Speed has been increased a tad but at this point it's been like climbing Everest to reach the moon. Even On1 is running faster than Lightroom at this point. I've checked hardware, I've insured that drivers are all up to date. I've watched the performance meters while I attempt to edit and move between images; they seem fine. I'm frustrated beyond belief. I'm at primal scream point.
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Try this.
Issues after updating to Lightroom Classic CC 7.2
Also look at your AV program and stop it from scanning images and stop if from scanning any LR files, especially the catalog file.
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I must add that you updated the OS and LR got slower. So that is a LR problem. Really.