LR Classic CC: Spot removal tool broken in 7.3.1

[JLobert]

The spot removal tool is broken in version 7.3.1, it no longer works properly, either in heal or clone mode, regardless of feather settings. It simply does not remove spots or clones properly, it leaves a trace of the spot in the cloned area or a discolored spot.

Anyone else seeing this?

I downgraded to version 7.3 and it works fine again.

Windoze 10, latest all.

[Rob_Cullen]

And where is the "opacity" slider set to?

Set it to 100.

[JLobert]

100%

AS stated, it works in 7.3, but not 7.3.1

[Ian Lyons]

Have you, by any chance,  applied a Range Mask to the affected images?

[JLobert]

There is no range mask in the clone tool. Nothing underneath, I was just trying to clone out dust spots as a first step.

[JohanElzenga]

Keep searching for a logical explanation. Did you crop the image and are you removing a spot right on the (cropped) edge? That sometimes causes this behavior.

The tool works fine on my Mac, and quite frankly I think that simple statistics prove that it must work fine on Windows too. Version 7.3.1 was released about two weeks ago if I remember correctly. If the tool was really broken, then it would not have taken so long before anyone reported it. We would have a long thread about it by now.

[JLobert]

Johan, I understand where you are coming from. What you don't know is that I am a scientist who gets paid to analyze and solve problems. I just reinstalled version 7.3.1 and the problem re-appears. Attached are some screen shots from top left to bottom right:

* Original dust spot to be cloned out

* Spot healing tool with slight feathering, the inner circle is much larger than the spot

* The end result in HEAL mode, you can see that it did not heal the spot, it created something that has an inner spot that is different from the rest

* The end result in CLONE mode. It may show a different tone because it copies exact the source to the destination, but you can see a similar inner spot that doesn't go away.

* Setting feathering to zero doesn't make a difference.

* The inset shows the HEAL settings. Opacity is at 100%

With all settings equal, this works fine in version 7.3, it is broken in 7.3.1.

[cmgap]

Hi JLobert... I can't recreate the result you are showing in your screen shot. I have to admit this because my sensor needs a good cleaning - I use the spot healing brush all the time.

I  have to turn off use GPU processor to speed it up but other than that it works as intended on every image.

[JLobert]

After doing some more research, I figured out what this defect is based on. I was mistaken when I stated that there is "nothing underneath". I did actually apply a linear gradient first, the only adjustment being some amount of DEHAZE, and I did apply a luminance range mask to it, the sky was included in the effect. When I delete that linear gradient, the problem goes away. This explains why nobody else is seeing or reporting this, as it is a special scenario.

However, this is still an inconsistent behavior between versions 7.3 and 7.3.1 and it worked fine before. Whatever is applied first should not affect the clone tool, the spot removal should strictly work on whatever is currently available, it needs to be decoupled from prior steps.

I will report this as a bug.

[cmgap]

Thanks for the added information... I still can't recreate it but that may be because I tested on a mac.

[Joe Foe Toe]

JLRobert, I'm in Win10, 7.3.1 and tried to replicate using your png and couldn't. Perplexing. Have you attempted on a copy before any adjustments?  The fact that clone mode at 100% doesn't completely obscure would seem to be a hint. I presume you get this result with no feathering?

If all these yield nothing, it sounds to me like a weird bug; in some way 100% isn't really 100%.

You might try disabling GPU in settings/performance and restart, but I can't see why that would change anything.

I see bug form here: Feature Request/Bug Report Form  others might know a better place.

[Joe Foe Toe]

You beat me to the punch by a minute!

[EPICDirector]

Similar situation with ver 8.1 release Lightroom Classic CC but different - I get no clone tool "pick choice" outline. Does not matter If tool overlay is set to "always" or "auto" I am not getting the clone stamp area choice shown, nor is it removing spot. In my case I am performing spot removal last, after fish-eye lens lens profile adjustments. Also does not matter if Spot removal brush is set for Clone or heal.