[grispie]

Ist it worth getting lightroom 6? (now that it is still available & I don't want to pay a monthly fee for CC..)

Currently i am using LR 3.5 with nik google plug ins. Works fine by me. Except for chromatic abberation removal..
Not sure what LR6 would offer me more, but it's not that expensive.

[eyeball]

Don't know your situation, but I had to be careful in choosing a single version of Lightroom that would run under both OS10.6.8 and 10.8. (Wound up with LR 4) Make sure LR 6 will run under the same OS that you're using for LR 3.5 (if there is such), unless you're planning an OS upgrade as well. I recall using an Adobe website that tabulated OS vs LR version compatibilities, but I'm afraid that the only help I can give you at this point is that such exists, so you'll have to find it by searching.

[Na Horuk]

Except for chromatic abberation removal..

Um, why? LR is pretty good with CA in lens profiles. Sometimes it even overcompensates, but you can dial it down a notch (or add extra CA correction). And it has defringing option, as well. The distortion correction.. well, I don't like to use that anyway, so I don't know how good or bad it is

Not sure what LR6 would offer me more

I think it offers quite a few things, especially more brushes and gradients, more modern NR and sharpening techniques, more lens profiles (LR3.6 is no longer updated, so it is missing some new lenses and cameras). Most important for you might be axial CA correction. That said, I personally still use 3.6, and have only read about 6, never bought it.
You are right, though. I would prefer 6 over cloud.

[grispie]

Um, why? LR is pretty good with CA in lens profiles

I think LR3 is less powerfull for this than later versions. Not sure, but i just cannot get it done.

I also read something about smart preview that would allow me to work on a laptop & not having to carry around my external drive the whole time..
Maybe LR6 would have better options also for sharing between a windows desktop and a laptop (mac or win..)

Don't know your situation, but I had to be careful in choosing a single version of Lightroom that would run under both OS10.6.8 and 10.8. (Wound up with LR 4) Make sure LR 6 will run under the same OS that you're using for LR 3.5 (if there is such), unless you're planning an OS upgrade as well. I recall using an Adobe website that tabulated OS vs LR version compatibilities, but I'm afraid that the only help I can give you at this point is that such exists, so you'll have to find it by searching.

thks for the heads up. I'll do some research..
Using win7 now.

[cpdancer]

If I were you, I would update. I have used 3.5 and upgraded all the way up to Lightroom 6. It does offer you more, the shadow/highlight correction, noise reduction alone are much more improved. Lens correction is easier to work with and gives you more options, better speed just to mention a couple. I use it all the time, did not want the CC version. You will be asked for your Lightroom 3.5 serial number when you upgrade during install.

[stevebrot]

I went from 3.5 to 5.x summer of 2014 after I bought my K-3 and have no desire to go back. I wish I had made a list of the improvements as I was learning the new version, but failed to do so. There are numerous new features and a general improvement overall. If nothing else, moving up to the 2012 base image processing is probably worth the move in itself.


Steve

[Miguel]

As noted above, everything after v. 3 uses the 2012 process version which is a significant improvement. But if your computer can run it, I'd go for the latest and greatest. I own v 6 but moved over to the CC version several months ago as it is simply better--the dehaze tool is useful. You also get full use of LR Mobile which boosted my productivity extensively. I have zero problems with CC and think it is a bargain.

M

[eyeball]

I dug up the "System Requirements" websites for Lightroom. Here ya go:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/system-requirements.html

You'll see that LR 3 requires Mac OX 10.5 or 10.6, or Windows XP (SP 3) or Vista (various flavors); whereas LR 6 calls for Mac OS 10.9, 10.10, 10.11, and some 10.8, or Windows 7 (SP1), 8.1 or 10. First note that there are no os's common to LR 3 and LR 6. Second, I know that a Mac running 10.5,6 cannot be upgraded to 10.9 or later; I suspect that the analogous situation holds for windows. In other words, (LR3 -> LR 6) => (New Computer to run LR6). You may want to keep the old computer if you want to continue to use older (other) software for whatever reason. You'll have to examine the upgrade path for every software item you want to continue to use. PITA.

But wait! There's more! First, what I'm about to describe is a non-issue for Pentaxians, since newer Pentaxes have the option of choosing LR-readable DNG raw format right from the camera. For other brands, older versions of LR may not support RAW file formats for some newer cameras (in my case, a Lumix ZS50). Check whether the RAW format of your NEW camera can be handled by LR3.5 Then, you may find you need to use a recent version of Adobe's (free) DNG converter to convert your RAW files into LR3.5 -readable DNG's. So, if you want to continue with LR3.5, be prepared to download the converter so that when necessary, you can do a standalone conversion of the camera's raw files to DNG. I do this routinely as part of my work flow, and it isn't too bad. I will NOT be assimilated, I will NOT be assimilated...

This whole thing reminds me of Catch-22. Yes, it is possible to update Lightroom from 3.5 to 6, but there's a catch....

Best of luck - Gerry

---------- Post added 04-29-16 at 08:31 AM ----------

Stevebrot,

Did you upgrade from 3.5 to 5 on the same computer? If you succeeded without changing your OS, then Adobe's info is incorrect and their OS requirements are unduly restrictive. On the other hand, if you had to change OS, your experience might be helpful to grispie. Me, I'm really curious.

Thanks

[blackcloudbrew]

Yes. That's all that's need to be said.

[grispie]

cool, never thought my question would lead to this..
Never heard of the 2012 process. My first thought was, this is 2016!! What are these guys talking about :-)

On the OS specs, i run LR3.5 on win 7 on my pc & on win 10 on my laptop without any issue. I assume the non-move from 10.5 to 10.9 must be mac issue then?
In a way i'd be interested, as a purchase of mbp could be on my list. Although considering the price, moving to lr6 is not a big investment and seems you are all quite positive about it...

So, if you want to continue with LR3.5, be prepared to download the converter so that when necessary, you can do a standalone conversion of the camera's raw files to DNG.

Do you mean the K1 dng files (ps: i currently go K3..) e.g. may not be supported by LR3.5?
Or are you simply referring to other cameramakers?

thks for all informative answers by the way..

[RGlasel]

I assume the non-move from 10.5 to 10.9 must be mac issue then?

It is. You might have some problems running LR 6 on a Windows XP machine, but you aren't doing that either.

No one has mentioned how LR 5 improved the spot removal tool. It's now an "advanced healing brush" and it makes cloning out dust spots, etc. a piece of cake. For this feature alone, I would upgrade.

[lsimpkins]

I dug up the "System Requirements" websites for Lightroom. Here ya go:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/system-requirements.html

You'll see that LR 3 requires Mac OX 10.5 or 10.6, or Windows XP (SP 3) or Vista (various flavors); whereas LR 6 calls for Mac OS 10.9, 10.10, 10.11, and some 10.8, or Windows 7 (SP1), 8.1 or 10.

You missed part of this on the Adobe page that you linked:

Lightroom 3 system requirements


Windows

• Intel® Pentium 4 processor or equivalent
• Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 3, Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise (32 bit and 64 bit) or Windows 7 (32 bit and 64 bit)

So there is no issue with LR3 on Win 7 and it is the one OS that both LR3 and LR6 will operate on according to Adobe.

[RGlasel]

Do you mean the K1 dng files (ps: i currently go K3..) e.g. may not be supported by LR3.5? Or are you simply referring to other cameramakers?

DNG files can be opened by any version of LR and just about every photo editing software currently available. However LR 3.5 won't be able to do anything with features that were added to your K-3 (or K-1 if it comes to that) since LR 4 came out, or even recognize lenses that came out after version 4 was released. Adobe bakes its raw convertor into Lightroom so even if you upgrade ACR so you can use features like pixel shift, LR 3.5 will continue to use the version of ACR that came with it. Once Adobe releases a major revision to LR, it doesn't update its lens and camera database in previous versions, so you need to buy a newer version of LR to get any new lens or camera profiles. Personally, I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade from 5.7 to 6, but 3.5 to 6 (or switching to different software altogether) should be a no-brainer.

[eyeball]

You missed part of this on the Adobe page that you linked:

Lightroom 3 system requirements


Windows

• Intel® Pentium 4 processor or equivalent
• Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 3, Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise (32 bit and 64 bit) or Windows 7 (32 bit and 64 bit)

So there is no issue with LR3 on Win 7 and it is the one OS that both LR3 and LR6 will operate on according to Adobe.

Apologies: my bad. Still, grispie is running LR3.5 under W 10 on his laptop, contrary to Adobe's "requirements"; evidently, these have to be taken with a grain of salt. But it looks like grispie is out of the woods, OS-wise.

[stevebrot]

Stevebrot,

Did you upgrade from 3.5 to 5 on the same computer?

No. I was running 3.5 on XP Pro on my old desktop and Win 7 Pro on my laptop. I currently run 5.x on Win 7 Pro on my newer desktop and scrubbed LR from my laptop as part of the Win 10 upgrade on that machine. I upgraded to LR 5 in conjunction with my K-3 purchase and the building of my newer desktop.


Steve