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Author Topic: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?  (Read 2629 times)

Jeffrey Saldinger

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Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« on: November 02, 2017, 08:21:37 am »

Like many others, I’m still thinking about everything that’s been going on with the new Lr classic vs CC, especially with respect to what I’m going to do (or refrain from doing) and all the interesting DAM and file development predictions (Adobe products and others) I’ve been reading about.

Although my deliberations remain incomplete (except that I have no interest right now in the new CC, cloud storage, or Lr mobile; or in needing updates to process raw files from new cameras; or in the speed with which one can see previews), it has come to mind that I might invest in the perpetual license for Lr 6 (I’m on the photography plan now but still using LrCC 2015.6.1 and PsCC 2015.5.1).  It seems like it might be a good idea to have the perpetual license just to have a little wiggle room in the future (i.e just have it without necessarily using it right away).

Lr 6 is available as a DVD from a major retailer (not Adobe).  Adobe’s customer service department tells me that if I buy it from them I would download 6.0 and then have to update to the current version (6.13) through a second step.

Any thoughts on downloading Lr 6 from Adobe vs buying the DVD from another source?  Or about owning Lr 6 perpetual license while I continue to subscribe to and use Adobe’s photography plan (whether or not I upgrade from 2015.6.1 to Lr Classic)?

As I said, my deliberations remain incomplete.  I hope that respondents will help bring them closer to completion.

Thanks.
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Jeffrey
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saiguy

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2017, 09:24:27 am »

Jeffrey.  Read my reply to the thread, "Updating LR6 issue". I got it back on my MBP because I have a license. But another reason is that I am starting a slide scanning project of about 6,000 very important images from India. I ordered the DVD so my friend could take advantage of LR6 DAM and out put. Also, he being 5 hours drive from me, It will be possible for me to have a duplicate of their lrcat and can advise or do things for them at a distance.
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saiguy

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2017, 11:55:53 am »

Jeffrey, also pay close attention to what I say about the Adobe ID part.
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Rick Popham

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2017, 07:31:33 pm »

You need to run the perpetual license on a separate account as it won't coexist in an account with a subscription.  If your perpetual license is an upgrade, you might have to transfer the older versions, on which the upgrade is based, to the new account (I could be wrong about that).
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Jeffrey Saldinger

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2017, 08:26:59 pm »

Thank you, Rick and saiguy.  The need to have separate Adobe ID was something I hadn't considered.  I'll add it to my mix of factors to consider. 

My wife and I already have two accounts (for two laptops and a desktop), so I gather that if we wanted to remain equally equipped with Lr and Ps (as we are now) we'd need a total of four accounts.  My initial response is that this could be cumbersome.  I'll continue thinking about it.
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Jeffrey
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Rhossydd

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2017, 04:01:27 am »

My initial response is that this could be cumbersome.  I'll continue thinking about it.
From what I've read, upgrading to the latest subscription versions will involve upgrading your catalogue to a new version. I don't think that will be backwardly compatible with the perpetual version.
If you are going to buy a perpetual licence, ensure you have a good working archive of your catalogue before upgrading it to a new version and regard any new work as only workable on subscription.
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IanSeward

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2017, 06:52:46 am »

From what I've read, upgrading to the latest subscription versions will involve upgrading your catalogue to a new version. I don't think that will be backwardly compatible with the perpetual version.
If you are going to buy a perpetual licence, ensure you have a good working archive of your catalogue before upgrading it to a new version and regard any new work as only workable on subscription.

Good advice.  I have used LR since V1 and I can't remember any time that an upgraded catalogue could be "reset" to the previous version.  It has always been a one way street.

Ian
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john beardsworth

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2017, 08:38:25 am »

If you are going to buy a perpetual licence, ensure you have a good working archive of your catalogue before upgrading it to a new version and regard any new work as only workable on subscription.

While that is correct, there is a route back. In the subscription-expired catalogue you save xmp metadata back to the photos, then in LR6 you import new photos or read the metadata of photos originally imported in 6 and edited in 7 "Classic". This rescues keywording and all IPTC metadata, but not things like flags, stacking, history steps, virtual copies.

One important loss would be any adjustments where the photo's Camera Calibration profile has been updated to version 4. I think you could rescue a lot of that work by applying a preset that sets the profile to the older version 3 (2012). Even so, this requires some care and really knowing what you are doing in this area.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2017, 09:10:49 am by john beardsworth »
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Jeffrey Saldinger

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #8 on: November 03, 2017, 08:28:22 pm »

Thank you, all.

This has been a help, not only in the actual content (which revealed necessary factors to consider that I didn’t know existed) but also in helping me realize I want to postpone my decision while everything gestates.

Meanwhile, I look forward to getting back to my cameras and my current Lr/Ps versions.
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Jeffrey
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Jeffrey Saldinger

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Re: Lightroom 6 perpetual license alongside Lr/Ps photography plan?
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2017, 07:54:21 pm »

Many things have remained on my mind about this.  The context is that I feel comfortable with the software I use now and I’d like to use it as long as I can without having to think about any changes.

One idea/question is this: 

I now have my Lightroom catalog (still Lr CC 2015.6.1); Photoshop CC 2015.5.1; and my most important image files on my 1TB late 2014 MBP retina.  Every day that I work I use Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) to back up onto two external drives (two, to have built-in redundancy at my fingertips [I also rotate a third EHD that I keep in a bank’s safe deposit box]). 

Thinking now that I might try Lr 6 perpetual license (buy the DVD and install it on my MBP using a new account), could I make a new clone of my current catalog and files onto a new EHD and upgrade only that catalog to Lr 6 while keeping the rest of my workflow (using Lr CC 2015.6.1 and Ps Ps CC 2015.5.1) as it exists now?  That is, I’d have my current Lr CC version as well as the new Lr 6 installed simultaneously on my MBP and use each version only with its dedicated catalog and image files.  Will that work?  And if so in principle, what (if anything) would I need to clone to that new “Lr 6 perpetual license” external drive that isn’t in my Pictures folder?  I wonder if I could just clone my whole MPB as it currently exists, upgrade the current catalog on it to Lr 6, and use it only for working with the files on that new drive.  (I gather there would be some knotty problems with workflow continuity, but as I've thought about submitting this post I've come to believe I can handle them).

In truth I must admit to having no desire at all to have Lr 6 on a new perpetual license unless I knew that my current Lr version would for some reason come to the end of its useful life before Lr 6 perpetual would.  Is this at all possible or likely? (See next paragraph.) 



A related idea/question is this:

Acknowledging that some people are still using Lr and Ps under perpetual license (i.e, from pre-CC days); and that some people (I’m in this group) are on the subscription plan but for whatever reason don’t want to upgrade; and that others do prefer to upgrade within hours/days/weeks of an upgrade’s announcement, is it possible to know or reasonably anticipate any future hardware or software developments that would lead to one group’s "luck" (if that is the word) running out (i.e., they're no longer able to use their preferred Lr/Ps combination)?  In other words, for example, would people still using Lr and Ps under perpetual license (purchased some years ago) have a greater chance of finding themselves “stranded” as things move forward before I would; or would they and I (assuming I never upgrade from my current Lr/Ps subscription’s versions) find ourselves stranded simultaneously while those using the new Lr Classic CC remain ok?  And finally, given some of the recent (perhaps too highly imaginative?) prognostications I’ve read about Lr Classic CC going away a few or several years from now, if I committed now to Lr 6 perpetual license, is it possible to envision what might happen to make it no longer viable?
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Jeffrey
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