Update 2020: This is an old article. Lightroom 6 is no longer for sale from authorized dealers.
Lightroom 6 was the last perpetual version of Lightroom offered before Adobe went subscription-only with Lightroom Classic CC. Up until recently Adobe continued to sell Lightroom 6 – but here’s a recent statement from Jeff Tranberry of Adobe on its current availability:
“Lightroom 6 is no longer available for sale on Adobe.com. The application stopped receiving camera support and bug fixes at the end of 2017.”
Lightroom 6 is still for sale on Amazon though, at least in the U.S. – but I’m guessing that this will be available there for a very limited time, so if you’re interested in it, now’s the time to purchase it. (It may also be available from other retailers.) UPDATE March 12, 2019: Adobe is no longer selling it on Amazon, but Adorama still is. Lightroom 6 is also still available on BHPhotoVideo.com.
That said, for most of you I don’t recommend purchasing Lightroom 6. As Jeff said, it received its final update in December, 2017. This means that if/when Windows and Mac operating system updates break Lightroom 6 features, they won’t be fixed. The Map module already doesn’t work (and never will again), since it relies on Google Maps and Google made a change that broke it. In addition, you can’t import raw files from new cameras released since 2017 directly into Lightroom 6 – this part isn’t the end of the world though, since you can use Adobe’s free DNG Converter to convert the raw files to Adobe’s DNG raw file format and then you can import them into Lightroom 6, but it adds another step to your workflow.
Nevertheless, if you are opposed to subscribing to Lightroom Classic CC (as part of the Photography Plan subscription) and you’re using Lightroom 5 or an earlier version, purchasing Lightroom 6 can be a way to gain some new features and possibly postpone your inevitable search for a non-Adobe alternative to Lightroom.
If you purchase Lightroom 6 and download it, be sure to keep and back up the downloaded installation file – even after installing the application – so that if you ever need to uninstall and reinstall or move to a new computer, you’ll be able to install it again.
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Looks like B&H Photo has copies as well. I read some complaints that 6 doesn’t have the dehaze feature.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Lightroom%206&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=
Tom
Correct, Tom – that was introduced in CC 2015 for subscribers only.
But you can download and install a dehaze preset from prolost.com to use in LR 6.
Hi Laura. Re your suggestion to “be sure to keep and back up the downloaded installation file – even after installing the application – so that if you ever need to uninstall and reinstall or move to a new computer, you’ll be able to install it again”, would that apply even if I had purchased from Adobe, and still have, a physical copy of LR6 on Adobe’s DVD (as opposed to having purchased LR6 online and downloaded to my computer)?
Chris
The DVD may be sufficient, Christine, though if your next computer doesn’t have a DVD drive, you’ll need a download (unless the files can be copied off of Adobe’s DVD – but I’m not very hopeful about that.
hi laura, i need your help. i purchased lr 6 about 3 years ago and downloaded it for windows 7. i now own a mac. should i make a new download for mac with using the same product key?
thank you so much.
Hi Betty, that is correct – download and install the Lightroom 6 application installer from Adobe.com and then the 6.14 update patch – and save the files for future use.
For the amateur photographer, the subscription plan for Lightroom is too expensive, as a one year cost is almost as much as the original LR5 when I bought it. There are other software programs that actually do as well, and some features even better. Adobe might regret doing what I have always considered a fleecing of the casual photographer as the competition will attempt to fill the vacuum. Hello Luminar!
I own Lightroom 6 and it works well enough but I am considering the Lightroom Classic CC (what a naming system). It is not directly comparable to, for example, ON1, Afinity etc. The Adobe subscription includes Photoshop which adds considerable value to those who need it. Also most (all?) of the non-subscription competition actually charge for major upgrades, so they do have “subscription-like” costs.
Hello Laura
From out here in Mauritius, I cannot subscribe to LR Classic CC. Why? I wish I knew. I would have paid for a whole year if allowed to subscribe. SHAME.
I am meanwhile managing more than satisfactorily with LR Version 6.14; and I have two CDs: a stand-alone LR 5.0 and a stand-alone LR 6.0.
P.S. There IS a way of my using LR Classic CC here in Mauritius. I am plunging ahead down that path soon.
Warm regards to you Laura. I still go back to your video tutorials now and then
Sorry to hear that you haven’t been able to subscribe, Tiberman. Good to hear from you!
Laura, I’ve been using LR 3.6 fir years and want to upgrade to a newer version. As the leatest LR versions either would not run on my old iMac or run very slowly I purchased a new iMac from Apple a bit more than a year ago. It came with 16 GB of memory and a 1 TB Fusion hard drive. I had planned on either updating to LR 6.14 perpetual or LR Classic. However I recently read a forum post pointing out that fusion drives will not accept the latest APFS format. My worry is that in the near future Adobe may decide that LR will only run on an APFS formatted drive? After reading this post from you I decided the safest thing for me to do would be LR6 and update it to 6.14. Alas I just ran into a post from someone attempting to update to LR 6.14 and he said he couldn’t find an update link ar Adobe for 6.14. Another poster said Adobe has simply abandoned LR 6 users. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Winston, I don’t know why Adobe would restrict installation of Lightroom to that particular format – I’m skeptical that that would happen. I’ll check into the 6.14 update availability situation.
Laura,
Sorry but it appears that after hours of battling Adobe,s website I wasn’t clear in my first email. It’s not that I am afraid that Adobe will limit access to drives formatted with APFS it’s that I from what I hear the new Apple OS Mojave is already requiring APFS! Lightroom 6.14 will apprently run on my current OS High Sierra but it may not run on Mojave and almost certainly won’t when the next Apple OS comes out in a year or so. I would appreciate it if you could do a follow up on the availability of the 6.14 that folks seem unable to download and comment on whether 6.14 will run on Mojave.
Thanks!
Hi Winston, Lightroom 6.14 is compatible with Mojave – here’s an article.
It looks like it was a mistake that the 6.14 updater was taken down by Adobe – stay tuned.
That said, as I state in this article, I agree that it’s possible that the next OS update could break LR 6, and that Classic CC is a better bet.
I hope to find a link someday to update to LR 6.14 from LR 6. I need to open raw files from a Sony A7R lll and won’t be renting from Adobe. Otherwise I’m moving on to some of the new innovators of imaging software and saying goodbye forever to Adobe.
In case you didn’t see my comment to Sam, Winston, here’s the scoop- the Lightroom 6 application installer download on the downloads page is 6.14, it just isn’t currently named as such – so download and use that. I’m not clear on whether you’ll need to uninstall 6.0 first – it certainly can’t hurt. (Your Lightroom catalog won’t go away.)
Yes! Thank you SO much! Just finished the download. It was a bit of a mystery until I finished then opened LR to see that it is indeed 6.14. Hello raw files from my Sony A7R lll, I can see you now!
You’re welcome!
Thanks Laura…I make be back with more questions when I try to install
Warning! BH Photo is selling Lightroom 6 dvd perpetual saying in a chat with me that it is Lightroom 6.14! I will have to deal with them tomorrow for a software refund because I cannot find anywhere to upgrade to 6.14 to be able to open my Sony A7R lll raw files. If anyone knows if you can still upgrade to 6.14 I would love to know how.
I’ll check into this, Sam.
Hi Sam, it’s normal that the DVD would have 6.0, since Adobe can’t recall all the DVDs and issue new ones each time there is an update. That said, the 6.14 update patch should be on the Downloads page, but isn’t. It looks like it was taken down by mistake – stay tuned.
Ok, thanks. I do have LR 6 already. I will try that. Is there a link available to that upgrade?
Hi Laura,
I purchased the Lightroom 6 standalone perpetual licence in 2017 from an Adobe retailer (and with your tutorial videos as well) and have been using it with my Windows 7 OS.
Recently, I’ve upgraded my OS to Windows 10 in my PC primary hard drive and tried to install my LR6 in this drive.
At first, it worked. But then it does not open / launch anymore. I uninstalled it and tried to install it again but kept on failing. The program seems even gone from my PC.
I went into my secondary hard drive (i.e. Windows 7) and tried to open it but it just hangs there.
I contacted Adobe and they sent me a LR6 non-subscription direct download link and I disabled my Norton 360 antivirus firewall as well as the Windows 10 defender firewalls but each time a new browser tab will open and then disappears each time I clicked on the download link.
I then uninstalled Google Chrome (as it can’t open too) and when I tried to reinstall it, nothing happens when I clicked on their download link.
Is this a LR6 issue or a Windows 10 one?
Sorry I didn’t see this, Andrew. Unfortunately I don’t know what the issue is – if you haven’t resolved it, I suggest posting your question in one of the forums – the forum at lightroomqueen.com is my favorite (create an account and sign in first).