Adobe made a big splash when in mid October they announced a new Lightroom... not a new version, an entirely new product... also called Lightroom. Well, technically the "new" Lightroom is called Lightroom CC and the "old" Lightroom is called Lightroom Classic CC.
Why would they do this? They have, probably, the most widely used software for photo editing in the world, so why change? Well, I don't know honestly. Adobe claims that new photographers were "intimidated" by the old Lightroom and the new Lightroom is easier to use and less intimidating. They also say that people were asking for a centralized place to store their photos (the cloud) and more intuitive photo syncing between mobile and desktop.
I can't really argue with their points as I don't work for Adobe and don't know what features other people request. But I will tell you why I won't be switching to Lightroom CC - at least not yet. Now, just so you know Adobe has said they will continue to update and improve Lightroom Classic CC ("old" Lightroom), so it's not going anywhere. If you are a serious photographer or intend to be, and I assume if you're reading this you are, then you should stick with Lightroom Classic CC. Why? Well here's a list of just some options and tools that are not available in Lightroom CC:
- HDR Merge
- Panorama Merge
- Ability to Rename Photos
- History
- Soft Proofing
- Keyword Hierarchies
- Snapshots
- Custom Defaults
- Organizing by Folders
- Smart Collections
- Survey and Compare Views
- Sync Settings
- No Map Module
- No Print Module
- No Web Module
- No Slideshow Module
So... that's a pretty big list! Maybe it's because I'm a creature of habit or I'm not fond of change but I just don't like it! Photographers have spent years learning Lightroom, err I mean Lightroom Classic CC, and now they're throwing a whole new program at us! I don't want to store all my photos in the cloud. I don't want to create a new workflow. I don't want to be without all those tools. I realize that for some the new layout may be better and having all your photos on the cloud may seem nice but I am sticking with the "old" Lightroom. And besides with the recent updates to Lightroom Classic CC - the speed improvements and masking options - the future looks bright for the old guys!
Let me know in the comments what you guys think!