Lightroom Classic 10.0 on Big Sur deeply flawed

[wanderer]

The new version of Lightroom Classic is slow and badly broken. I recommend NOT upgrading to it yet. This is running on macOS 11.0.1. It shows wrong data (e.g. a 1 star on an image in the develop module where there is none in the loope. It refuses to edit some things with the spot removal tool. It looses brush strokes using the adjustment brush. It sometimes shows a different edited state of an image between the loope and the develop module. Basically, I can't trust it for serious work at this time. Even panning or zooming is slower than it used to be. I even changed the preferences from Auto use of the GPU to always using it. It tells me full graphics acceleration is enabled.

These are just some flaws that come to mind. I am not trying to do formal testing. This release is, at best, Beta quality.

[ManiacJoe]

Also see this thread:

Does Lightroom Classic work with Big Sur? - Adobe Support Community - 11586896

[Just Shoot Me]

I suggest no one upgrade to MacOS Big Sur 11.0.1 yet as it is Deeply Flawed.

I can't trust Big Sur for serious work at this time.

I have not done a formal test but this release of Big Sur is, at best, Beta Quality.

Just to look on the other side of the coin that get flipped.

Oh wait I forgot Apple Does No Wrong?

[wanderer]

We can make pokes at Apple implying that Adobe Does No Wrong? My version of Lightroom Classic shows wrong information, it does not update the screen properly, and later shows a different edit state for an image than it did when I originally edited it, and it will not even do some operations. That is a broken piece of software.

Version 10.0 is buggier than the original Lightroom I Beta tested many years ago. I have used Lightroom since before its official original release. I have a good idea of what to expect from it. This one has disappointed me.

[Just Shoot Me]

I never said nor do I think Adobe never has and never can do no wrong.

But you are implying that all the fault falls on Adobe and None on Apple Or Yourself.

Best of luck to you. Have a great rest of your weekend.

[wanderer · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the replies "Just Shoot Me" (love the screen name). I said it was not a formal test and I was not trying to place blame. Just share my experience and let people know to beware.

As a software developer and software architect for many years I know, though, that even if Apple's OS is flawed, it is Adobe's job to work around it and support their customers.

I hopw you have a great weekend too.

[eFb-Photo]

Searching through all the Big Sur - Lightroom conflicts and came across this one - Running latest version of everything, and LRC is nothing short of frustrating.  5 - 10 second delays after just about every adjustment.  Tweaked, restart, checked updates - nothing is helping.  Just checking if anyone has found any super secrets to fixing the issues... Thank you

[wanderer]

Yes, Lightroom Classic 10.1 and Photoshop 22.1 are both frustratingly slow and buggy, at least on Big Sur (11.1). No defect fix updates have been rushed out yet. For instance, just a few days ago Photoshop refused to save a file I had edited for nearly an hour. It would not even save as to a differennt format. I lost that work. This is unacceptble.

I suggest we users complain to Adobe and let them know that reliability is more important thano new features. These products are required by professionals who make their living from using them. I suggest we explicitly say we would like a moratorium on new features until the reliability is up to a professional standard.

[NebbioloInspector]

Going into user preferences in LRC and disabling the use GPU saved the day for me--LRC needs a GPU w 4GB or better RAM to work, and the inability to change the graphics card on an iMac is a real problem here. I'd get an external GPU but for the money that'll cost, I'm just going to photo edit on my son's new gaming PC with a 16GB Radeon 6800. Mac is going to pretty quickly lose the photography community here, methinks.

[wanderer]

An update based on my non-scientific testing. Photoshop 22.1.1 seems to be much more stable. Lightroom Classic 10.1.1 has improved some and regressed some. Overall it seems to be better, but it has aborted on me 3 times and it "lost" a couple dozen images. That is, they were there, I could see them and edit them. The files were in on the disk in the places Lightroom said they were. But if I tried to move or delete them Lightroom said it couldn't because the files were missing. But after I exited Lightroom and restarted it, they were OK.

Crashing benignly is one thing and is an unsettling inconvenience. Messing with and potentially losing catalog data is unforgiveable.

Let me reiterate, this is not an exercise in formal testing (I have done that for years and know how). And it is not a diatribe against Adobe. I just want the excellent, reliable tools I need to use and am paying for.

[NebbioloInspector]

I think your comment is fair; there are a TON of creative users using late 2015 and early 2017 Macs that have 2GB Radeon cards; this strikes me as a problem Adobe *probably* should have caught sooner and warned people about. If people are losing data in some of these crashes, that's pretty unfortunate--but it's probably time for Apple to contemplate a mea culpa for a 2GB Radeon crashing the entire OS as it does in this case.

[wanderer]

The information about the GPU memory requirements is very useful. It is definitely something that Adobe should have made clear.

In my case, though, this is not the source of the problems I have been experiencing. My iMac has a Radeon Pro 580 with 8 GB RAM and in addition the computer has 64GB of RAM.

[NebbioloInspector]

Yeah, you should have more than enough oomph with an 8GB VRAM GPU; wonder if there is still a software miscue somewhere in LrC 10+ that causes some sort of hangup when accessing memory from the GPU instead of the CPU?  Dunno enough about the architecture to really be sure what's going on there. As someone else mentioned, some of this probably is Apple's fault, but it's something Adobe needs to find a way to work around.  

You shouldn't have to rip and replace a relatively modern, quite power iMac in favor of a PC just to run a core product like LrC or LR.

[wanderer]

I agree. I do not intend to replace my iMac for 1-2 more years. By then the move to Apple silicon should be settled down and software support will be stable. Of course, if Adobe can't get Lightroom stable on Intel processors...

[Nancy5C7A]

I am just trying to get my Sony Camera to upload RAW +JPEG...it was working before the curse of Big Sur.  I have a 2015 iMac with Graphics AMD Radeon 2 GB and extra 24 GB RAM.  I am perfectly happy with this computer and just want to organize and edit my photos.  Is LRClassic a no go.  Is this nightmare because of Big Sur?  I am not going to become a PC user! Do I give up on LR and just become an apple snapchatter?