Adobe announced today the release of Lightroom 5.4, which in addition to the typical bug fixes, new camera support and new lens profiles, includes an exciting new feature — the ability to easily sync collections of photos to your iPad, where you can work on them and then have your work automatically sync back to Lightroom on your desktop. You can also view your synced collections of photos on private pages on the web at lightroom.adobe.com, and share them with others by providing them with the collection URL.
On your iPad, using the new Lightroom mobile app available from the iPad App Store, at this point you can view your photos, flag them, do some basic develop work, play slideshows and share photos via social media and email. You can also add photos from your iPad Camera Roll to Lightroom mobile, and have them automatically synced to LR on your Desktop.
Adobe expects to also release Lightroom mobile for iPhones later this year, and then will follow with support for Android devices.
Lightroom mobile for iPad Grid View
Lightroom mobile is available AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE(!) to Creative Cloud members with one of the following qualifying plans:
- Photoshop Photography Program (USD $9.99/month) – includes Lightroom and Photoshop – in my opinion a great deal!
- Creative Cloud complete (USD $49.99/month)
- Creative Cloud for teams (USD $69.99/month)
- Creative Cloud student and teacher edition (USD $29.99/month)
There is no stand-alone purchase option for Lightroom mobile. Lightroom perpetual customers will be given a 30-day trial to Lightroom mobile, and can subscribe to one of the qualified Creative Cloud plans.
Watch my video below for a demonstration of what’s new in Lightroom 5.4, Lightroom mobile, and Lightroom web view:
My Take On This Release
Lightroom mobile 1.0.0 is rather short on features, and sync speeds are slow. However, I still see this as an exciting direction and a good first step by Adobe. I am really excited about where this will take us – I am tired of being chained to my desktop computer, and having essentially a brick wall between my mobile devices and computer! Most impressive to me is how simple the process is from within Lightroom desktop – create a collection of photos, check a box next to it, and that’s it – you’ll see your collection of photos on your iPad (and on the web), and any work you do on either your computer or iPad appears automatically on both. The Lightroom mobile app for the most part is also elegantly designed and easy to use.
Personally, what I would most like to do on the go (and on the couch) are flag, rate and keyword my photos. I am hoping that rating and keywording come soon. While I don’t see doing “serious” develop work on the small uncalibrated iPad screen, I might do some minor editing work as I’m deciding which photos to keep. More so, I’d like to be able to have “Snapseed-like” creative editing fun with my photos as I kill time on the road – this requires many more develop controls and creative effects than the Lightroom mobile Basic panel controls and presets currently allow.
At this point I am very happy that Lightroom mobile automatically manages my iPad camera roll (once you set it up, photos just show up in Lightroom on your Desktop!), and that I have an extremely easy way to get portfolios of my work onto my iPad so I can share them with people as needed.
Leave a comment below with your own reactions!
Lightroom web view (lightroom.adobe.com)
Frequently Asked Questions
[wpex I’m not interested in Lightroom mobile. Should I still update to
Lightroom 5.4?]
Yes — I recommend updating to Lightroom 5.4. It includes important bug fixes, new camera support and lens profiles. As a precaution, always backup your Lightroom catalog before updating Lightroom.[/wpex]
[wpex How do I update to Lightroom 5.4?]
Lightroom should prompt you to update – if not, go to Help>Check for Updates. Download the update, then, with Lightroom closed, double-click on the downloaded file to launch the installation wizard. To check to see if the update was successful, in Lightroom go to Help> About Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 – if it says 5.4, you were successful.[/wpex]
[wpex How do I get the iPad app?]
Visit the iPad App Store, where it is available for free.[/wpex]
[wpex I don’t have an iPad. Is there anything here for me?]
Yes, you can still sync collections and view them on the web, and share your collections with others by sharing the web URL. (Watch the video above for a demo.) In addition, Lightroom 5.4 contains important bug fixes, new camera support and new lens profiles.[/wpex]
[wpex I already had a 30-day trial of the Creative Cloud. Can I try it again?]
Yes, with every “dot” release of Lightroom (e.g. 5.4), you can obtain a new free trial.[/wpex]
[wpex What about the iPhone and Android devices?]
Coming — Lightroom mobile for the iPhone first, then Android.[/wpex]
[wpex How many photos can I sync to my iPad?]
There is no maximum imposed by Adobe. Because sync speeds are slow, syncing thousands of photos will take a LONG time, but is doable. Note that much of the data stays in the Cloud, rather than being downloaded to your iPad. Only if you “enable offline editing”, so you can use Lightroom mobile without an internet connection, will all of the data be downloaded – at this point iPad storage space becomes a significant constraint.[/wpex]
[wpex Can I sync multiple catalogs?]
You can only sync one catalog at a time – syncing a second requires deleting photos from the first from Lr mobile and web view.[/wpex]
[wpex In Lightroom on my computer, can I undo the photo work I did on my iPad?]
Yes, all work continues to be non-destructive and can be undone. You can reset any controls you used, and you can undo all your work by using the History panel – each LR mobile sync shows up as “From Lr mobile”.[/wpex]
[wpex I own your Lightroom 5: The Fundamentals & Beyond video tutorial series. Will
there be an update for 5.4?]
Yes, in the next week all those who have purchased this series from my website or who have registered their product will receive a free downloadable update.[/wpex]
Lightroom 5.4 Release Details
[wpex New Camera Support ]
Lightroom 5.4 New Camera Support Introduced:
Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II, Nikon 1 Casio EX-100, DJI Phantom, Fujifilm X-T1, Olympus OM-D E-M10*, Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS40 (DMC‐TZ60, DMC-TZ61),Nikon D3300, Samsung NX30,Sony Alpha a5000 (ILCE-5000), Canon EOS 1200D (REBEL T5, KISS X70), Hasselblad H5D-50c, Hasselblad HV, Nikon D4S, Phase One IQ250,Sony Alpha a6000 (ILCE-6000), Nikon COOLPIX P340[/wpex]
[wpex New Camera Color Matching Profiles]
Added Camera Matching color profiles (PROVIA/STANDARD, Velvia/VIVID,ASTIA/SOFT, MONOCHROME, etc.) for the following Fujifilm cameras:
Fujifilm X-A1, Fujifilm X-E1Fujifilm X-E2Fujifilm X-M1Fujifilm X-S1Fujifilm X-T1,Fujifilm X-Pro1,Fujifilm X10, Fujifilm X20, Fujifilm XF1,Fujifilm XQ1,Fujifilm X100,Fujifilm X100S[/wpex]
[wpex Full List of Lens Profiles Added in Lightroom 5.4
]
Mount/Lens Name
Apple/ Apple iPhone 5c
Canon/ Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM
Canon/ Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM EXT
Canon/ Canon EF-S 18-55mm /3.5-5.6 IS STM
Canon/ Canon EF-S 25-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Canon/ Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM A013
Canon/ Zeiss Otus 1.4/55 ZE
DJI/ Phantom Vision FC200 (for raw files)
Fujifilm/ Fujifilm X100S
GoPro/ GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition
Nikon/ Nikon 1 NIKKOR 6.7-13mm f/3.5-5.6 VR
Nikon/ Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II
Nikon/ Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED
Nikon/ Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G ED
Nikon/ Nikon COOLPIX P340
Nikon/ SIGMA 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM A013
Nikon/ Zeiss Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2
Sigma/ SIGMA 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM A013
Sony/ E Sony E PZ 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS
Sony/ FE Sony FE 24-70 f/4 ZA OSS
Sony/ FE Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS
Sony/ Alpha Sony 20mm F2.8
Sony/ Alpha Sony 24mm F2 ZA SSM
Sony/ Alpha Sony 35mm F1.4 G
Sony/ Alpha Sony 35mm F1.4 G
Sony/ Alpha Sony 50mm F1.4
Sony/ Alpha Sony 50mm F1.4 ZA
Sony/ Alpha Sony 50mm F2.8 Macro
Sony/ Alpha Sony 85mm F1.4 ZA
Sony/ Alpha Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM
Sony/ Alpha Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA
Sony/ Alpha Sony DT 11-18mm F4.5-5.6[/wpex]
[wpex Full List of Bugs Corrected in Lightroom 5.4]
- When switching to the Book module with images selected, a ‘Gathering Photos’ message would appear and stay persistent.
- On Mac Lightroom activity, such as an export, did not prevent the computer from sleeping.
- In the Develop Module, the ‘Settings > Crop as Shot’ menu item did not properly reset orientation.
- In the Develop Module and when applying Grain, occasionally vertical artifacts would appear along the bottom edge of a photo.
- In the Develop Module, there is a slight delay before the Histogram is available for adjustments.
- Lens profile corrections for the iPhone 5 would not be selected when using the ‘Auto’ Lens profile correction feature in the Develop module.
- In the Develop Module, Scrubby Adjustments on Adjustment Brush Pins did not work as expected.
- Syncing of spot removals was not consistent from image to image.
- Exporting a scaled image to PSD would sometimes cause the watermark to be displayed incorrectly.
- When Don’t Enlarge is on in Export, image was not resized, even when making image smaller.
- Sharpening/Noise Reduction were applied inconsistently depending on crop and export image size.
- Luminance of exported file differed noticeably after crop.
- When adding keywords on Import, Import begins at once when keywords entered with ‘enter’ key (Windows only)
- In the Import dialogue, Loupe view occasionally did not work.
- When using the “Edit in Photoshop” feature in Lightroom, the Smart Object filter mask was sometimes not previewed correctly within Lightroom.
- When creating a new Collection inside of a Collection set, the default option for Location was the parent of the selected collection set and not the selected collection set.
- Upload via publish does not prevent computer from sleeping, and upload fails if computer sleeps.
- When playing a slideshow comprising TIF or JPEG images, occasionally the slideshow would appear pixelated.
- The color profile of a photo was incorrect when playing slideshow in full screen mode.
- When using a video export preset, develop settings were not applied to all images.
- Smart preview indicator under Develop histogram displayed the wrong number when multiple photos were selected.
[/wpex]
[sc:signup]
If all I want to do is VIEW some collections (or all of?) my Lightroom library, is the paid Adobe service the best option right now? What other good options do you recommend?
Thanks for the great tips!
Ron, you can also check out Mosaic Archive.
Hey Laura – have you looked at Photosmith? It’s local Lightroom sync, without the subscription. We let you sync photos *and* metadata, including keywords, star ratings, comments, etc.
Mike Wren
photosmithapp.com
$120 for what Photosmith can do……. no thanks !
So I have to be have a Creative Cloud account to use this mobile app?
If correct, seems a bit ironic to produce this for one of the final software applications that can still be obtained as a standalone, don’t you think?
This is correct, Paul. Sync to/from LR mobile is a cloud service.
Comment then a question:
Thank you Laura, for sharing the news I’ve been waiting for, and with such a clear and comprehensive video!
My question is this. When I select an original photo for the collection, then sync to mobile app, and say do some basic editing work, does LR automatically create a copy or is the original changed?
Hi John,
LR mobile does non-destructive edits on the master/original (or a proxy of it), just like LR desktop does.
Great news, and thanks for a wonderfully clear presentation ;-) Yesterday I decided to order a new laptop today, but this is certainly something to look into before doing that, given that I don’t need mobile editing all that often/much. Thanks again!
For those not using iPad & not a subscriber to cloud-based LR, is this an early warning that upgrades to a boxed LR5.3 will not be made? Or, for cloud subscribers, that access to LR catalog (NB proprietary format) ends when one stops paying??
No it is not, Fred. The stand-alone program will continue to be available.
Nice posting of this news. I have recently been experimenting with using Toshiba’s Air SD card and ‘sucking’ pics from camera direct to iPad then using Dropbox to my PC; I’m wondering if the add-on of LR Mobile (I am not on rental plan, owning LR5 and PS11) would allow me the pre-edit choosing and tagging you talk about in the middle of my process? OR should I maybe wait for R.2 about when I would likely be migrating/upgrading to the Photography plan.
Also, when I move from PS11 to Photoshop will I incur a big learning curve? (I am very facile with LR and digital processing in general)
I’m not sure how I missed this, Thomas, but sorry for the delay. Presumably you have found out by now that Lightroom mobile does not import raw files from your SD card.
Thanks for another great vid on the Lr 5.4 and mobile update!
Hi Laura Fred Orkin Asked
For those not a subscriber to cloud-based LR, is this an early warning that upgrades to a boxed LR5.3 will not be made?
Your Reply
Laura Shoe says:
.
No it is not, Fred. The stand-alone program will continue to be available.
OK so it is still available AS LR 5.3, But it appears there is still NO upgrade to 5.4 for this program, Mine is still at 5.3 and states NO Update are available for this programme.
Seems clear to me, No update from 5.3 is available for bug fixes or presumably new cameras etc.
Sad, who wants to buy out of date LR5 with no new cameras models or bug fixes, not many I suspect.
I hope this is only a delay for the stand-alone program, and that upgrades for it will become available.
Great in depth presentation as usual. my IPad is 2nd or 3nd generation not the mini nor the most recent one. will mine work with this app? do not have a creative cloud account. do you recommend the $9.95 per month one. i don’t use any of the other Adobe features and think the $49 per month is too expensive for what i do. I use LR, NIK, OnOne and CS6 daily, but have never thought i should use the Cloud, until i heard your presentation with the IPad App. I believe the App would help me in using the IPad for my presentations to clients, but i hope i don’t have to buy a new IPad to do it. thanks jeff
After looking into this new develop, I realize that in my dreams I had hoped for a solution that would allow me to get photos (incl. raw) off my memory cards when travelling, and do basic selections and edits on the go, without a laptop, and then find my full raw files having magically arrived on my desktop, when I returned home… But that isn’t likely to happen any day soon, right?
I’m with you that it would be great, Karsten, but I don’t think you’ll see it anytime soon – it’s a lot to upload. (I certainly would be happy to be proved wrong, though.)
Hey Karsten and Laura – This is actually quite possible with Photosmith for iPad. The major speed bump in any field triage workflow using iPad is the inability for third-party apps to delete photos in Camera Roll / iPad Albums. Apple simply doesn’t allow it. This is why we strongly advocate for importing wirelessly via Eye-Fi or FTP camera grip – this allow photos to be imported directly to our app, bypassing the Camera Roll restrictions. Importing to Camera Roll is a requirement if you use the dock connector and the Camera Connection Kit (CCK) to import photos to iPad.
Photosmith can import photos (JPGs and camera raws) from the Camera Roll – but you’re still left with the source image in Camera Roll – depending on the number of photos you snap, it can be a real pain to manage. Then, when you get back to your studio, Photosmith will sync your JPG’s and camera raws, along with any metadata you might have added (keywords, star ratings, color labels, captions/descriptions, etc.) to Lightroom – Photosmith’s sync is local, directly between your iPad and Lightroom Mac/PC, and doesn’t require a monthly subscription or uploading gobs of data to a server in the cloud.
Good to know, Mike. I haven’t checked out Photosmith, but obviously I need to.
Thanks Mike, I will check that out :-)
Laura, I want to distribute a web link to a collection of pictures, but I would like to watermark them since they will be in the public domain. I’ve looked at your video on watermarking. It doesn’t apply to this scenario since the collection is drawn from my Raw files and not be exported as such. Do I need to export the files to a new folder on my hard drive, apply watermarks and then use this new folder for my collection that will be uploaded to the web?
Thanks
If you are exporting to the web from LR Desktop, Ron, my video on watermarking fully applies – it doesn’t matter whether the original photo is a JPEG or raw file (in any case you will export a JPEG copy to share on the web). If instead you are referring to sharing on the web from Lr Mobile on the iPad, you cannot watermark as you do so – you would have to do the watermarking on LR Desktop.
Using the eye-Fi card, with Lightroom, I noticed that the correct Lens Profile does not appear, even after syncing the adjustment. Any thoughts?