Lightroom raw support for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

[Bengt Nyman]

I am shooting the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. I am using the latest Lightroom 5. (I cancelled my Lightroom 6 because it kept crashing).

Lightroom has no support for the new E-M1.2.

What do I do ?

[R Neil Haugen]

The operational patterns of the CC "model" that Adobe uses are pretty easy to understand. Yes, a CC version needs to check in every 90 days or so or parts of it do shut down. Which is a rather easy thing to build into an app these days, and actually ... if you need, you can get phone support to help you extend those periods for when you're out and unable to have the CC Desktop app log-in to the Adobe servers.

The software for all the CC versions lives on your local computer, period. There are features that are useful for many through the "cloud", such as storing copies of your preferences, keyboard-shortcuts, and such on your membership 'space', and then downloading those when you're on another computer so you can use your customary workspace mods wherever you are. And some of the new apps have amazing abilities to share and work projects via combinations of mobile & desktop computing devices with multiple people collaborating on a project from anywhere in the world.

I come from 38 years of running a portrait studio, and now do some video & post production stuff, and I know a lot of editors that routinely sit at another editor's suite and download/run their customized setups when working so ... I've not actually used that feature, but it's slick if it floats your boat. The ones using this love it.

In our studio, we used to pay for every other version of Photoshop & Lightroom per update on the 'standard' old-style model. We were spending about $600 or a bit more per year per computer doing that as I recall doing that, with the approximately 15 month period we'd go between buying new versions. This is what, 12-15 years ago and better? And those were the only Adobe software we used.

Now ... I've got Premiere Pro, SpeedGrade, AfterEffects, Audition, Prelude, Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Character Animator, Illustrator, and Muse ... and use them all. Nearly 20 years later ... for $600/year. I'm not kicking about the CC model. Personally, it's been a huge production assist for our business.

But I know people who HATE the entire "subscription" model, which is fine. Adobe didn't invent this, it's been common for quite some time. You won't be able to use many of the accounting apps (think QuickBooks), quite a few of the studio management apps, and much of the current Adobe software, but if that floats your boat, have at it.

Saying that every company that sells software via subscription is unethical ... that's a bit of a stretch, personally. But then, as a professional photographer, I'm used to understanding licensing arrangements ... you want to use this photo for a small brochure, that's this cost. You want to use it in a national ad campaign, well now ... we're talking a whole different pricing arrangement. Ownership doth NOT go with the file, except ... if you pay specifically for ownership rights. That sort of thing.

Neil

[Bengt Nyman]

Thank you Neil.

I come from a background of science where we pay up to $4000 a year for the use of one piece of subscription software. This is fine considering the earnings potential and the relatively limited alternatives on the market. The subscription model also works well for large and corporate users who prefer an annually budgeted expense over large purchases every two, three or four years. Photographing the world over for voluntary organisations like WWF, Greenpeace, and Doctors without borders, however, is a different deal. I can also understand hobby photographers who feel left out in the cold by Adobe.

In the long run, however, the free market usually takes care of this with DxO and others moving in to pick up the scraps left behind by big and less caring operators.    

[R Neil Haugen]

"In the long run, however, the free market usually takes care of this with DxO and others moving in to pick up the scraps left behind by big and less caring operators.  "

Yup. And it's good there are the many very-low-cost apps that can do at least some photo/video processing. We need all types of resources. As we need all types & sorts of people.

Neil

[Just Shoot Me]

Creative Cloud is just a name. The CC version of LR is exactly the same as the stand alone 6 version. Both versions are installed locally on your hard drive. With the CC version you have to connect to the internet at least once every 90 days for the licensing system to check the status of your subscription, Paid Up or not paid.

It is not something that you need to access from across the internet. Only for licensing it when first installed and checking that subscription license.

[Bengt Nyman]

So if they get the idea that you have not paid the license, they have to wait until you are online again to block or pull the software ?

They do not need access to my computer to know if I have paid or not. But they do need access to pull the software if I have not.

[Bob Somrak]

Just the opposite.  If Lr can't phone home in 90 days it shuts down the Develop and Map modules.  Lr 6.8/2015.8 works great on my computer and millions of others so there is a problem with your system!!!  You seem really resistant to solving your problems.

[Bengt Nyman]

If solving problem means accepting to be overcharged, no, I am not interested.

I'm glad you are happy.

[Bengt Nyman]

"If Lr can't phone home in 90 days it shuts down the Develop and Map modules."

Describe that in detail, or do you really know ?

That makes no sense. I am paying and paying but I am off-line, remote somewhere, and Lightroom shuts down.

B.S.

[JDGould]

I tried to use the DNG converter today and it said that DNG (9.580585) doesn't recognize the .ORF files in my folder.

I then went to LR (2015.8) library and ran convert to DNG  which it did!

Slow! Until they update the programs I will use LR's converter and let it run, if necessary, overnight.

[Bengt Nyman]

Adobe's own DNG converter running on Windows 7 works fine. I don't remember if I had to change anything. It takes two or three seconds per file.

Another problem with the Olympus omd em1.2 is that Olympus populates the description fields in the EXIF files with their company name.

The easiest way to clear this is to select all the final Olympus.jpg files in the Windows folder, right click on one of the files, select Properties and batch clear or change what you want on all the files at once.

Thanks

Bengt Nyman

[andybryant2]

Has anyone noticed how poor the current beta support is compared to out of camera jpegs? I borrowed one to test yesterday, and was disappointed to find the raw files in lightroom worse from the EM1 MkII that from my EM5 MkII. The out of camera jpegs showed an improvement.

What are folks using in the interim, whilst waiting for the full Adobe release? OV3 convert to huge TIFF?

[Bengt Nyman]

I am assuming we are talking about Lightroom 6, latest update, which is a huge piece of patched up software that reluctantly reads Olympus omd em1.2 raw. The speed of this software opening files is horribly slow. It takes about three times longer than LR5 reading raw files from em1.1.

I have tried using Olympus own software which works fine if you just save to .tiff and don't need to edit. Editing, however, is painfully slow. I have also used Adobes DNG converter from .orf to .dng which converts each file in 2-3 seconds, to edit in LR 5 or 6.

You would think Adobe should do better than this on a fully paid upgrade.

[Bengt Nyman]

It is now the fourth time that I have purchased and paid to upgrade from LR 5 to LR 6. Earlier upgrades I have returned for a refund because the instability of the software disrupted my workflow. By the way, I am running on a powerful Dell Precision 4800 laptop which handles Mathematica, Interactive Physics, Newton and SolidWorks with ease. This latest upgrade to LR 6 plus update is more stable than earlier releases but not as stable as LR 5. What is bothersome, however, is that reading files, not only Olympus em1.2 .ORF files but also Nikon D810 .NEF files is substantially slower in LR 16 than in LR 15.

There are probably new features in LR 6 which are worthwhile, but to me not enough to offset the slowness and the instability of the latest LR 6.

I would happily have paid the same money to simply upgrade/update LR 5 to read Olympus .ORF raw files, with the speed and stability that we have come to expect from the LR 5.

Since there seem to be several Adobe friends on this forum, does anybody know when we can expect a resolution to this downgrade ?

[R Neil Haugen]

Adobe never releases any "prognostication" info. Ever. They do occasionally note that some buggy feature is going to be fixed in the next release, but that's even rare. What's being worked on at any one time is only known by staff and those on NDA', neither of whom will talk about here or elsewhere, and from personal conversations at major events, I suspect that only senior staffers know exactly what changes will be included with any coming release, and that's always partially decided by what's been 'tested' to be ready to go. So I'm not sure even senior staff know exactly what's making the next release ... or even the date of that release ... more than a few days from "dump".

And you and I find out when they publish the "New Release!" blogs ... as they simultaneously 'drop' the new release.

Neil

[andybryant2]

Has anyone determined what '*** Preliminary support available' actually means?

It's probably just my Lightroom processing ability, but I've noticed improved sharpness in the jpegs over the raw files.  More worrying though in a 60s test exposure of some pretty wild colours, I saw some really poor colour behaviour in the adobe converted raw (vs the jpeg, or vs the same shot from an E-M5 MkII).

When they update the raw conversion engine will we be able to go back and re-apply to the DNGs we've worked on over the last few weeks; or will it mean needing to re-convert from the ORF?

'Preliminary' support is a bit of a double edged sword, if they don't explain what's preliminary...

[Mohit Goyal]

Hi BengtNyman,

Please update your Lightroom to 6.9/2015.9 version which includes the support for Olympus E-M1 Mark II.

refer: Lightroom CC 2015.9 now available

Thanks,

Mohit