Converting LR3 develop presets to LR4

[sertsa]

Was wondering if there was a way to convert a LR3 develop preset to LR4.  Yeah I know you can still use the preset - it will take you back to the 2010 process and then if you like you could then switch back to 2012.  But it would be nice to skip that dance.

Really the preset is just a text file with some 2010 process develop settings defined.  Adobe has obviously already worked out a mapping from 2010 to 2012 process, so the code already exists in LR.  It should be simple to run a script over the old preset text files and output new files with the 2012 process equivalent settings.  Of course some would map more accurately than others, some would be spot on, others unusable, etc, but all in all this would be a useful thing.

An enterprising soul could reverse engineer the 2010 (or earlier for that matter) to 2012 mapping and maybe have a window to sell a small tool to do this, but Adobe has already written this code.

I don't think this exists, but a number of people close to the action post here, so thoughts?

[Rhossydd]

Adobe has obviously already worked out a mapping from 2010 to 2012 process, so the code already exists in LR. 

No I don't think there's any sort of equation to convert one process setting to the newer process because they work so intrinsically differently.
If it was so simple to switch from one to the other Adobe would have not needed the option to change.

[sertsa]

Didn't claim it was simple, but clearly it exists, if you have an image in 2010 process and change the image to 2012 process LR makes a try at mapping the settings of the old controls to the new controls.  This same mapping could be applied to the presets.

However I seem to be mistaken that an older preset takes the image back to 2010 process.  I thought I'd read that somewhere and then seemed to be experiencing it and that prompted this thread.  Today however using an older preset does not take an image back to 2010.  Opening an older preset in a text editor still shows "fill light", etc, so they have not been converted, so the mapping to 2012 process seems to happen on the fly.  It seems unlikely that LR4 has suddenly changed its behavior so it may be time for me to look into some meds.

I still think a tool that converted presets would be useful, then one could tweak the resulting process 2012 preset by hand to more closely match the old result.  But expecting that from Adobe now seems unrealistic.

[wolfnowl]

I don't think it's a problem of rewriting the text in the preset - the problem is that PV2012 is a very different approach to image processing than PV2010.  As Jeff has said in other threads, it's more than that 'Recovery' and 'Fill Light' don't exist anymore, but Exposure now controls more of the overall exposure rather than the highlights, Brightness doesn't exist and by controlling Highlights and Shadows one needs to do less to the White and Black points.  Even the Clarity slider has been revamped.  If you have a preset that controls cropping or split-toning or something that hasn't changed much then old presets will work pretty well, but anything requiring changes to the Basic panel is going to need reworking.

Mike.