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How long will Lightroom 5 be available for purchase?
- Thread starter eemton
- Start date
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Your question has two parts (1) when will LR 6 be available? I guess in about a year and (2) will Adobe continue to SELL LR at all or will they move to the rental model. I think this second question will depend on if Apple's new "Photos" app gives LR any competition. If Adobe has competition they will continue to sell LR but if not, I bet they move to subscription-only. We will not see Photos until 2015.
The short answer: "I'd guess at least a year."
Yea I hate this renting the software idea, so many flaws with it. What if I just feel like using a few days a month? The cheapest plan for Lightroom is $10 a month, that $120 a year, full version of Lightroom 5 is $150. Such a ripoff and I'm not going to be using Adobe stuff if that's how they want to be.
And I was thinking it would be pretty cool if a iPad could be used to do some fairly serious photo editing and see there's a version of Lightroom for iPad, but to use it you got to subscribe to CC. Why can't I just buy the software like normal. This Creative Cloud is a bunch of crap because where it might be a good deal for professionals who make a lot of money doing design etc, for amateurs who just like having fun with the software it's a ripoff....
Hahahahahaha. I just had this chat with an Adobe representative talking about Creative Cloud where he just gets me to place an order and has very little sympathy for my plight. I can't stand "customer service" people they're just like robots....
Please hold as we route your chat to an Adobe Representative.
info: at 23:33:34
Hello! Welcome to Adobe.com! My name is 'Shane'.
Shane: at 23:33:37
Hi, may I have your first name please?
Visitor: at 23:33:47
Jim
Shane: at 23:33:51
Hello Jim.
Shane: at 23:33:56
I'll be glad to help you and make your purchase valuable.
Visitor: at 23:34:31
I'm not going to be buying anything until I can pay for the software full price and keep it
Visitor: at 23:34:48
I don't like this Creative Cloud nonsense where I have to rent the software
Shane: at 23:35:01
I understand your concern, Jim.
Shane: at 23:35:07
Could you please provide me with the full name of the software you're referring to?
Visitor: at 23:35:37
It costs $120 a year for Lightroom and for now you can buy Lightroom 5 for $150
Visitor: at 23:35:57
I don't make money with photography I just like the software
Visitor: at 23:36:21
I'd rather pay $200 for Lightroom that I own to keep
Shane: at 23:36:39
If you just want to buy the one time payment version and keep it for ever, you can purchase Lightroom 5 for just $149.
Shane: at 23:36:42
How soon do you plan to use the software, Jim?
Visitor: at 23:37:09
Not right away cause I might be upgrading computers first
Shane: at 23:37:15
Are you a student or teacher presently?
Visitor: at 23:37:37
I hear when Lightroom 6 comes out you will have to buy Creative Cloud
Visitor: at 23:37:42
I'm just an amateur
Visitor: at 23:38:10
I'm just letting you know I don't like this idea of subscriptions I'll have to find other software if it keeps up
Shane: at 23:38:41
That's not necessary, Jim. Even if Lightroom 6 comes out, you can just upgrade to Lightroom 6 and keep your software with you.
Shane: at 23:39:13
So let me help you with the link to place the order and once you upgrade your computer, you can download it to your computers. Okay?
Visitor: at 23:39:44
Okay
Shane: at 23:40:21
Click here directly to place the order
Shane: at 23:40:26
Once you place the order, please make sure that you don't forget to help me with the order number and order total so that I can verify and confirm it with you and also assist you with any errors that you face.
Shane: at 23:40:31
I'll stay online while you complete the order process.
Shane: at 23:40:31
Let me know if you face any issues.
Visitor: at 23:41:02
Thanks
Please hold as we route your chat to an Adobe Representative.
info: at 23:33:34
Hello! Welcome to Adobe.com! My name is 'Shane'.
Shane: at 23:33:37
Hi, may I have your first name please?
Visitor: at 23:33:47
Jim
Shane: at 23:33:51
Hello Jim.
Shane: at 23:33:56
I'll be glad to help you and make your purchase valuable.
Visitor: at 23:34:31
I'm not going to be buying anything until I can pay for the software full price and keep it
Visitor: at 23:34:48
I don't like this Creative Cloud nonsense where I have to rent the software
Shane: at 23:35:01
I understand your concern, Jim.
Shane: at 23:35:07
Could you please provide me with the full name of the software you're referring to?
Visitor: at 23:35:37
It costs $120 a year for Lightroom and for now you can buy Lightroom 5 for $150
Visitor: at 23:35:57
I don't make money with photography I just like the software
Visitor: at 23:36:21
I'd rather pay $200 for Lightroom that I own to keep
Shane: at 23:36:39
If you just want to buy the one time payment version and keep it for ever, you can purchase Lightroom 5 for just $149.
Shane: at 23:36:42
How soon do you plan to use the software, Jim?
Visitor: at 23:37:09
Not right away cause I might be upgrading computers first
Shane: at 23:37:15
Are you a student or teacher presently?
Visitor: at 23:37:37
I hear when Lightroom 6 comes out you will have to buy Creative Cloud
Visitor: at 23:37:42
I'm just an amateur
Visitor: at 23:38:10
I'm just letting you know I don't like this idea of subscriptions I'll have to find other software if it keeps up
Shane: at 23:38:41
That's not necessary, Jim. Even if Lightroom 6 comes out, you can just upgrade to Lightroom 6 and keep your software with you.
Shane: at 23:39:13
So let me help you with the link to place the order and once you upgrade your computer, you can download it to your computers. Okay?
Visitor: at 23:39:44
Okay
Shane: at 23:40:21
Click here directly to place the order
Shane: at 23:40:26
Once you place the order, please make sure that you don't forget to help me with the order number and order total so that I can verify and confirm it with you and also assist you with any errors that you face.
Shane: at 23:40:31
I'll stay online while you complete the order process.
Shane: at 23:40:31
Let me know if you face any issues.
Visitor: at 23:41:02
Thanks
They're not complete robots, it seems they got you to buy into the subscription model of LR.
The more I think about it, the more I'm disliking that whole idea paying per month for LightRoom.
If LR moves to a subscription model only, I'm going to throw up in my mouth. I've been using LR since the 1st beta, so it'd be hard for me to move my photos to any other product (e.g. Aperture), and yet it'd be necessary.
Like many others, I do photography as a hobby, and not something I do frequently anymore. I'll probably be picking up the pace and getting into photography a bit more, but I can go months without using LR. Months. Then, I'll use it 30 hours in a single month. I'd feel better owning it. I'll pay. I don't care. I just don't want to rent.
Like many others, I do photography as a hobby, and not something I do frequently anymore. I'll probably be picking up the pace and getting into photography a bit more, but I can go months without using LR. Months. Then, I'll use it 30 hours in a single month. I'd feel better owning it. I'll pay. I don't care. I just don't want to rent.
Last edited:
Yeah, since I never fully converted over to LR, I have the freedom of choosing what works best for me.
your best bet is to use the current version until you find a replacement and then cut over to the new version for new stuff and keep LR just for the old stuff.
That's me as well, I'm just a hobbyist and I don't want to spend a lot of money or time dealing with this stuff, but I seem to be at this point.
I'm not sure it's such a bad deal. The only problem I see with it is if you stop using the program and stop paying, you can't really access your image library anymore. Though I guess there are ways to export it properly as the images in the library aren't in a proprietary format.
At 120$ a year you get Photoshop vs the 80$/year upgrade plus 150$ initially. Surely not really the best for amateurs who rarely use it and don't care for PS - vote with your wallet, get another DAM.
At 120$ a year you get Photoshop vs the 80$/year upgrade plus 150$ initially. Surely not really the best for amateurs who rarely use it and don't care for PS - vote with your wallet, get another DAM.
You can still access the library of photos if you end your subscription. Photoshop will stop working. Lightroom continues to work but you cannot access the Develop and Maps module. You have full access to the Library module and can still import/export and move files around.
I'm not sure what the fuss is all about. I'm also a hobbyist and $10 per month for a hobby I enjoy is cheap. It works out to 33 cents per day. I spend way more than that on coffee each week.
£10 a month isn't that expensive, but its a lifetime commitment. Whereas I own LR 5 (£85) and can use it forever (if I didn't upgrade my OSX at some point no doubt). The difference is when 6 comes out I can choose to upgrade or not. With the subscription model your paying for life.
What if it went to £12 per month, or £15, or £20?
Once you are in the Eco system you are making a commitment for life without a lot of hassle.
You can continue to use many of the features of LR even after your subscription lapses. Mostly it's editing stuff that stops.
The images are just in your file system. If you set things up so that you export photos you edit then you don't lose access to much of anything. That might be a good idea with ANY DAM you use since you'd always be able to back out.
And LR hasn't gotten much more expensive, if you upgrade regularly. LR 1 came out in early 2007 for $399 US. Assuming four upgrades at $80 each (might have been more) that's $720 for seven years. Just for LR. Not adjusting for inflation. So perhaps you shouldn't consider the perpetual license either since it might not save you much, if any, money. If you do use PS, it's an amazing deal compared to what that costs over time.
And consider the whole CC package. At $49/mo it's a great bargain for all the software you get; I can remember paying thousands for just parts of that collection. If you also do video, or drawing, or need to work on PDFs, it is certainly a great deal for Premiere, Illustrator and Acrobat. I'll probably switch over soon. And if you teach or are a student, the deal is even better. You could be taking one photography class at your local school and get the whole shebang for $19/mo for the first year, then $29.
But I certainly understand why someone who does a little photo shooting but wants "pro" like features would balk at the subscription. I kinda doubt Adobe will lower it even further, say with just LR, but you never know. They've always been more interested in the pro, business and school users than hobbyists
They say that it will work now, but once they get most of the photographers to buy into the subscription model, there's no guarantee that they'll keep doing that.
I'd rather not spend 120 dollars a year just for the right to edit my images.
Plus, we all would be foolish to think that the 10 dollar a month price will remain 10 dollars. Everything increases in price over time, at some point Adobe will say they reluctantly need to increase the price, and pretty soon that will be an annual occurrence.
I couldn't agree more. And this is the reason why I am content with my paid verison of LR5 in conjunction with CS6.
I'm a serious hobbyist who uses LR and PS almost everyday, so if I think about it, the $10/month for LR5 and PS CC would be beneficial to me. But I already subscribe to almost a handful of video streaming or music streaming services, so I don't want to add yet another service to my monthly bills, when the copies I currently own suffice for me.
I'd bet money that Lightroom 6 will be available for purchase. Many people are still angry with Adobe about Photoshop, to the point where Adobe had to drop the subscription price more than once because they were not generating the expected revenue. So, I doubt they'll make the subscription only move yet.
Why is it that people keep thinking that you would not be able to edit files if you stopped paying the subscription fee? You files are stored locally and are in industry standard file formats. You could edit the PSD, RAW or JPG files with other software.
My problem with Adobe's $10 subscription is that MOST people do not need Photoshop. The $10 includes LR and PS and if you need PS is is a great deal, a bargain really. But if you only want LR you are paying to much.
One god option is to buy Photoshop Elements. It has an organizer and and edits and comes with a RAW converter. Cost is about $80. Or free with some Wacom tablets.
But we don't yet know what Apple's "Photos" app will do. None of this speculation makes any sense until after we see Photos.
This echos my thoughts as well. I can't remember the last time I needed to do pixel level editting, everything I've needed to do I could manage in Aperture. If I need pixel level capability I'll pick up Pixelmator ($16) or perhaps Photoshop Elements ($75 on Amazon)
Whatever I end up doing in a year, $10/month for just LR was too much. I bought the boxed LR5 upgrade for $75 from BH since I had a LR license from my pre-Mac days. I can sit back and wait to see what happens with Photos. Even if LR6 drops early next year and goes full subscription model, I should have at least another year where LR5 remains functional. (barring camera upgrades to something not supported).
I just didn't want to keep digging the Aperture hole any deeper. I'm leaving what's in there alone, but using LR going forward. I'll keep in mind the possible desire/need to migrate again as I adjust my workflow to LR, trying to remain somewhat agile.
A valid point. 100 to 109 will get you retail now (it's always around for less than retail) A whopping 10-20 bucks less for the year. The last upgrade was 50 bucks? Hmm - I hate math
The LR & PS $10/month deal is a good one if you use both. If you have no interest in PS then just buy LR outright.
"Outright" realistically means it will work for ~5 years because that's about how long before an OS or other software upgrade will break it), not forever.
"Outright" realistically means it will work for ~5 years because that's about how long before an OS or other software upgrade will break it), not forever.
Unless you buy a new camera that is no longer supported.
If they do go to a subscription only model, you can be sure they will turn off LR 5 support pretty quick.
Of course we are all blaming Adobe, but the real guilty party are the torrent and pirate guys who have been stoping potential sales. That's why the subscription model is going to be the future for a lot of software companies I'm afraid.