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Participant
January 22, 2023

P: Low quality previews/rotated thumbnails on direct import to device

  • January 22, 2023
  • 47 replies
  • 16782 views

Hi .. on importing to LR mobile via a camera device (SD card via reader) the images have suddenly started to appear blurred and pixelated. 

I have plenty of cloud storage free and this has only started recently.. prior to this all appeared clear and sharp .. allowing them to be reviewed prior to import.


see sample image 

any help greatly appreciated 😁

47 replies

Participant
April 12, 2025

Yes. Album previews unusably blurry on m4 iPad Pro, latest os and app. So infurating. Why is this still an issue!

Participating Frequently
March 29, 2025

It was fixed at one point. Now it is not working again. Is anyone facing the same issue?

Community Manager
October 9, 2023

@Wyatt23080743aax7 

Lightroom relies on iOS APIs to display raw images.  If you are not able to see the raw images, is it possible updating iOS on your device helps?

 

And the reason why the jpgs look blurry before importing is that Lightroom will display thumbnail images that your camera has encoded and embedded inside each image.  In other words, you JPG images have both the full size image data plus a tiny little jpg thumb all combined into one file, and Lr iOS opts to display thumbs if availalble.  Your camera manufacturer has opts to make these embedded thumbs very tiny, probably to save on file size, and these look blurry/pixelated.  

If you can't really see each image well on the import screen, which is a limitation I also experience with one of my own cameras, my recommendations are:
- import everything, and cull/delete later.  This is what I do sometimes.  I also tap the cloud icon and pause syncing from my mobile device until my import/culling is complete, and then resume sync.  This way, I only sync what I want to keep.

- upgrade to a plan that provides Lightroom Desktop (Mac/Win).  Desktop platforms can often display raw images better than mobile, and this may allow you to do the selective import I think you are trying to do.  Perhaps start with the 7-day free trial to see if Lr Desktop will serve your needs.

Participant
October 7, 2023

Hello,

 

I am experiencing the same issues. I have a Fujifilm XT-5 and shoot uncompressed Raw + Jpeg. The raw files are just blank boxes on direct import and the jpeg files are all extremely blurry and unusable. I am on Lightroom for Ipad version 8.5.1. Strangely, when shooting on a Canon 90d, both the raw files and the jpeg files were high resolution on direct import. I am now thinking that this is a problem with lightrooms support for images from Fuji cameras? A solution to this problem soon would be incredibly helpful as right now I have to import all of my photos before assessing which are usable and deleting the rest. Thank you.

Adobe Employee
August 7, 2023

Hi All,

Thanks for reporting the issues that you observed with Direct Import. We worked on the issues here at Adobe and also brought this to attention for Apple to get them fixed. 

Having fixed the issues from Apple and our side, this should be working fine now (no orientation and blurry thumbs issues) on iOS 16.6. 

If you haven't, could you please update your devices to iOS 16.6 and try? 

If you still see any issues on iOS 16.6, please provide the following details:

  • Is it blurry thumbnails or orientation issue or both.
  • Device on which this is happening.
  • iOS on the device.
  • Screen shot / screen recording.
  • Any other details if you think is relevant(like file type, SD Card contents size, etc.)

Regards.

Kavita 

Lightroom Quality Team

Known Participant
August 7, 2023

Yes, its really a problem for the past 8–9 months. And we really cant to nothing, but paying our mothly subscription. 

Participant
August 5, 2023

Same issue here. Extremely annoying. Wanted to import images from my SD into Lightroom, and can't properly assess them as they are extremely blurry. Don't want to import 600 photos.. 😞

Known Participant
July 11, 2023

Any news from apple when the bug will be really fixed? Still impossible to rate and judge a portrait mode (9x16) photo. Its almost 7 months now?!

Participant
June 20, 2023

Thank you guys for fixing this! I was about to sell my iPad 😂

Participant
April 4, 2023

When selecting Raw photos in the Mobile app for Lightroom (iPad) when I pinch to zoom on a horizontal picture it spins it sideways so I constantly have to turn my head to see the photo before I select it.  This has changed from the last version and needs to be fixed

 

1. V. 8.2.2 62B77A/30

2. IOS iPad OS 16.3.1

Rikk Flohr_Photography
Community Manager
Community Manager
April 4, 2023

I am not able to replicate this using iOS 16.3.1 and LrM 8.2.2. 

 

Can you please provide step-by-step instructions for reproducing this issue?

Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
Known Participant
June 19, 2023

as mentioned: Was never before a problem & camera is supported. Ill start a new thread ...