Adobe today released Lightroom 6.4 and CC 2015.4. In addition to the usual bug fixes, new camera and tethering support and lens profiles, are the following additions and improvements:
Boundary Warp, for CC subscribers only
Usually the Photomerge Panorama process produces a panorama that is not rectangular, and that therefore requires cropping (or Photoshop work). The new Boundary Warp feature within the Panorama dialog analyzes the boundary of your panorama and warps the image so that it is rectangular and doesn’t require cropping.
While I used Boundary Warp with the Perspective option in the above example, if you are using Perspective to preserve straight lines, Boundary Warp won’t be useful since it will warp those lines.
Lightroom Mobile Location Preference, for CC subscribers only
For a long time we have been able to auto-import our mobile device Camera Roll photos into Lightroom mobile, and then these were automatically synced/copied to Lightroom on our desktop computer. However, these photos were stored in a .lrdata database. Getting them into our master photos folders required manually moving them using the Folders panel.
This new preference, added to the Lightroom mobile tab in Preferences (Edit>Preferences on PC, Lightroom>Preferences on Mac), allows one to specify a location for these photos that are synced from your mobile devices. You can select one folder for these photos to go into, or you can have Lightroom slot them into date folders within a master folder. Note that the default is still to store them in the database – so do set this new preference.
I’m very happy about this addition – having my iPhone photos automatically slot into my date structure removes a major argument against using Lightroom mobile to get my iPhone photos onto my desktop computer and into Lightroom. Note that this will not move photos already synced into the database – you’ll have to manually move those.
Performance Improvements Compared to Prior Versions (Apply to both 6.4 and CC 2015.4)
- The panorama merging process should complete roughly twice as fast as Lightroom 6.3
- Thumbnails update more quickly when copying and pasting settings or using Sync
- Images load faster in the Library module when you are zoomed in and navigating images (1:1 previews are built preemptively.)
Other Additions and Improvements
- Improved quality when applying Auto Straighten and Upright “Level” mode
- A preference was added on the Interface tab on Macs to prevent accidental “speed swiping”
- Metadata has been added to merged panoramas to support Photoshop’s Adaptive Wide Angle filter
- Tethered support added for the Nikon D5500 and Nikon D7200
- Nikon 1 J4 Camera Matching Profile added
New Camera Support (2015.4 and 6.4)
Support for the following new cameras has been added: Fujifilm X70, Fujifilm XE2S, Fujifilm XPro2, Leica M (Typ 262), Leica XU (Typ 113), Panasonic DMCZS60 (DMCTZ80, DMCTZ81, DMCTZ85), Phase One IQ150, Sony ILCA68 (A68).
Adobe has also released an updated version of its free DNG Converter. If you have an older version of Lightroom, you can use this to convert your new-camera files to DNG before importing them into Lightroom.
Fixed Bugs
- Tethering Nikon cameras on Mac OS X 10.11(El Capitan) did not work properly. (If you are tethering in continuous high-speed mode with an older Nikon camera, read this knowledge base article.)
- Auto Sync of some settings failed when using smart previews
- Lightroom would ignore model-specific custom default settings for some cameras, including some Leica and Sony models.
- Crop resets to image bounds when adjusting rotation via slider
- Slideshow wouldn’t work on some systems
- Video wouldn’t play on some systems
- Lightroom hangs or crashes when importing (related to the issue discussed in this forum post)
- In Lights Out mode, an image would disappear if a customer uses the Undo functionality
- SIGMA 50mm f1.4 ART lens was incorrectly identified as Zeiss Milvus 50mm f1.4
- Soft Proofing RGB readout values differed for the same file between 5.7.1 and 6.x
- Import from iPhoto would result in all photos receiving a Pick flag
- Comments from Lightroom web come in to Lightroom on the desktop as already read.
- Lightroom would not display the correct EXIF metadata for some video files generated by Canon, Fuji and Panasonic cameras
- Vertical panoramas created using Merge could appear with the wrong orientation
- The video cache did not respect the maximum size specified in Preferences
- Customers experienced issues importing video files in some scenarios
Lens Profiles Added
The list of new lens profiles is very long, so please visit the official Adobe Lightroom 6.4/CC 2015.4 announcement for these.
How to Update
It’s always a good idea to back up your Lightroom catalog before updating. Then within Lightroom, if you’re not prompted to update, go to Help>Updates. If there is no update, either wait for it to be available or download and install the update from here: Mac Windows
Creative Cloud subscribers can update from within the Creative Cloud app: click on Update next to Lightroom CC on the Apps tab. If the update isn’t listed, try signing out of the app (in Settings / the gear symbol), and signing in again.
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The link under Lens Profiles took me to the 6.2 release – scary!
Lol, Peter. Thanks for the heads up – I have fixed it.
Laura.
Many thanks for the information, and the update news.
John.
Hi Laura! Thanks for the news. I don’t seem to be able to update at all! I’m on 6.1 and when I click Help, Update, Adobe Application Manager pops up and tells me I’m up to date. Any ideas? Thank you!
Yes, Michelle – my ideas are in the last paragraph of this post. :-)
My Creative Cloud has not shown an update for LR – still have 2015-3.
Checking for updates did not help.
Do you have any idea why Adobe persists in not providing lens correction profiles for native Panasonic and Olympus micro four thirds lenses? Given their market share I would think that there are more micro four thirds shooters out there than Fuji.
Photos from compact and micro four-thirds cameras are so distorted that Adobe automatically applies profiles to these images as they are imported. You therefore don’t have the option in the Lens Corrections panel to apply one. Lightroom CC/6 shows a message to this effect at the bottom of the panel.
As I did (luckily) with 6.2, and 6.3, I’m going to wait until Laura says it seems to be OK before I take this upgrade! I’m really glad I waited for the “nod” and didn’t install 6.2, so let’s see how 6.4 shakes down.
Hi Rupert,
I’m glad I could help with 6.2. That was a special case, where it was clear from the start that it would be a fiasco and it was. For most updates, I don’t come back to give a nod, since typically the updates go well for most users. If you don’t hear from me, all is well! (With any update there is at least a small group who experience issues – I am not able to keep up with these.)
I see there is a fix for Slideshow not working on some systems. I had a question on the forum and it seems they were not aware of it. I finally reloaded my system from scratch which fixed it, So I am not happy with that. At least I won’t have to reload my laptop if there is a definite fix for the problem
Thanks for the info, Laura.
The Boundary Warp sounds like a very nice feature. But, like Dehaze, it is only for CC and we users who prefer to stick with the standalone 6.* are, again, left behind.
I have been a LR user for several years and do like using it. However, this continued discrimination against standalone users needs to end. There is no reason not to also give us these new features but, in my opinion, it is just a marketing ploy to try to force us into CC to gain the new toys. I’m tired of it.
I have purchased Capture One 9 and am learning that as a replacement. I’ll keep using LR for a while but won’t ever pay for another upgrade from Adobe if its marketing ploy/discriminatory attitude toward standalone users continues.
That said, please take no offense yourself. I have followed you and your great help since I started with LR years ago and have always appreciated what you do. Your blog, being very well read/followed is an available forum to express these thoughts.
Keep up your great work Laura.
You’re welcome, Bob. I appreciate your long-term support.
At the risk of you possibly feeling like I am starting an argument that I’m then not up for continuing, I do want to share my perspective on this issue:
While there’s no question in my mind that Adobe introduced the subscription model to boost profits, I don’t share the feeling that Lightroom 6 owners are being shortchanged. From my perspective, Lightroom 6 owners get the same thing that perpetual-version Lightroom owners have always gotten: for an inexpensive $79 upgrade price, which entitles them to use the product forever, they get new features only at the beginning of the product’s life. (Apparently under Sarbanes Oxley, Adobe couldn’t release new features mid-cycle (past the financial quarter in which the product is released) even if they wanted to.)
The Creative Cloud subscription is simply another option introduced. In return for a substantially higher price ($120/year) and loss of ownership, customers get some small features more quickly, as well as Photoshop and Lightroom mobile and web. The subscription model in turn allows Adobe, under accounting rules, to release features as they are available.
Laura,
Thank you for your response. I had no intention, nor do I have a desire now, to participate in an argument. I shared an opinion for comment (OK, maybe I vented a little too), I appreciate your thoughts and I’ll still be following you.
God Bless,
Bob
For me, the only problem with the CC Photography Plan subscription for Lightroom is that it is priced to include the very much more expensive Photoshop. Photoshop is nice to have and sometimes useful, but all I really need – and therefore what I wish to purchase – is Lightroom. When you buy a bike you’re not normally required to buy a car too.
JPL
I do so hope you start the Facebook page but sorry I cannot wait. I have a burning question.
My camera,Leicax2x shoots in DNG+JPEG.I use this format. It makes me feel grownup.
Do I import into Lightroom with Copy as DNG or just Copy?Where do the jpegs go?
I live in an area with poor internet capabilities so have purchased your DVD from AMAZON. I love them.
Thanks,Robynne
Choose Copy, Robynne. Read my article on raw+JPEG for more information.
updated and within a few minutes already found a show stopper of a bug – the clipping preview for settings such as exposure and white point displays a blank screen! Already rolling back to 6.3 :(
…hmmm on closer inspection, it seems to be the particular .nef file I was working on, but it is working on all others including virtual copies of the same file. Strange…
I’d suggest posting on the Adobe Lightroom forum or on lightroomforums.net, Andrew, for ideas.
Thanks so much for this Laura .
I updated yesterday. I have OS X 10.8.5. After the update I get an error message indicating that LR 6.4 cannot be run on my version of OS X. I checked the system requirements at Adobe, OS X 10.8 should be able to run this no problem. I’m dead in the water. Is there a way to roll back to a previous version? Thanks, Greg
I would suggest posting on the Adobe Lightroom forum or on lightroomforums.net for ideas, Gary.
Thank you Laura. I did post to the Adobe LR forum, but apparently it didn’t pass the moderator as it never appeared. I found a copy of the base 6.0 and the 6.3 update and started from scratch. Problem solved.
can you assist me with a problem I am having when Exporting in JPEG. The colors are not holding when I save them to my folder on my desktop. Any suggestions on why this is happening and is there a way to fix. gary
Set the color space to sRGB, Gary, in the File Settings section. Beyond this there isn’t anything you can do – sRGB, which is appropriate for screen-based viewing and consumer printing services, is a smaller color space than Lightroom works in, so it can’t represent really richly saturated colors. (If you are printing to a pro lab, see if they have a profile.)
Limitations of sRGB and how you can preview this are covered in the Soft Proofing video in both my Fundamentals & Beyond and Producing Great Output video series.
I get this: Error Code: U44M1I210
Googled that code and get various Adobe forums w/ advice… like add new User Admin… didn’t work. Any ideas? I’m using OSX Yosemite 10.10.5
Thanks in advance. As an aside, I just rec’d your Lightroom 5 Fundamentals and Beyond DVD last week. Can’t tell you how grateful I was to find this… I live in the middle of nowhere with very restricted data use and limited bandwidth available (the upside more than makes up for the inconvenience :) ), so it’s really not an option for me to watch online content. I’ve learned so much in just a week!
I’m glad you’re enjoying the video series, Andrea!
I unfortunately don’t specialize in troubleshooting bugs. Since searching forums didn’t get you answers, I’d suggest posting on one – lightroomforums.net or the Adobe Lightroom one.
I have an installed CD copy of LR 6–when I went to Help-Updates it generated a Cloud update screen–I went ahead a selected just the LR box and hit install—it now shows LR 6.4 as the current version–
Did I inadvertently install a trial copy of the Cloud version?
I don’t think so, Roy – it would indicate CC 2015.4.
Hi Laura
Thanks for all the great work you do and info you constantly supply to us all..
LR 6.4 also appears bug ridden especially when you create any type of HDR pano and try to edit in Develop mode. On screen message tells you the image appears to be damaged. Do you think that Adobe will fix this. I thought when I downloaded 6.4 update that it said it was a final release
Hi Jim, I’d suggest posting about this bug on the Adobe Lightroom forum.