Adobe 5 upgrade without creative cloud crap?

Energize · 4 Sep 2014 at 01:20

Is there anyway to upgrade to Adobe Lightroom 5 without buying the upgrade CD from amazon?

The Adobe website is just full of Cloud crap and wants to hold me hostage with a subscription service, I can't find an option to buy a standalone upgrade.

I don't want to have to resort to piracy but Adobe may force my hand here, the lack of D610 support in Lightroom 4, is unacceptable, one expects their software to work and be supported for over a year, every product in a shop has a one year warranty or more. As far as I am concerned Adobe have failed to hold up the necessary standard of support for a current product.

Sh4rkie · 4 Sep 2014 at 02:10

LR 5 retail upgrade is around £60 online, lots of suppliers. Keep an eye on for sales forums though as regular LR 5 crops up as it is bundled with cameras from time to time and people already have cloud subs.

Tbh though you need to get past the idea of the cloud being bad in this case. The only 'cloud' portion is a license check once in a while in both PS and LR. Nothing else is hosted, the programs are installed locally on your PC and you don't need to be online regularly to access them. If you cancel your subs they will allow access to the library module but not the develop module i believe. That way you won't lose access to your existing catalogue(s).

Energize · 4 Sep 2014 at 05:05

Yeah I know the upgrade is available online, but the ones that I can find are all cd's not downloads.

As for the cloud, been there done that. When there's a problem with the server or the company goes bust, you lose access to your software, there have been so many fiascoes where that has happened it's unreal.

Sh4rkie · 4 Sep 2014 at 09:01

Energize said:
Yeah I know the upgrade is available online, but the ones that I can find are all cd's not downloads.

As for the cloud, been there done that. When there's a problem with the server or the company goes bust, you lose access to your software, there have been so many fiascoes where that has happened it's unreal.

A CD boxed version arrives in a few days, download the standalone copy from Adobe and wait for your CD key in the box to license it.

For CC version if they were ever to go bump or the licensing servers went offline for a long period i imagine a 'patch' would be released either officially or unofficially very soon to keep everyone going. Worse case install dodgy version at that point but at least have the warm & fuzzy feeling of being fully licensed until then.

<< NeilC >> · 4 Sep 2014 at 12:09

There is a box for the standalone product on the bottom right corner of the Adobe Lightroom page, once in the cart you can click "edit" to choose between upgrade and full versions.

Columbo · 4 Sep 2014 at 12:48

You could save your money and convert your RAW files to DNG then import those into lightroom.

Janesy B · 4 Sep 2014 at 20:08

You've just spent the best part of £1400 on a camera and you're crying about having to pay £50 to get an upgrade to the latest bit of software to support the RAW files. Just get the CD and be done with it. LR4 hasn't been updated for over a year and it's been replaced.

In fact you can get the standalone upgrade from the website, took me less than 1 min to find;

Energize · 4 Sep 2014 at 21:58

<< NeilC >> said:
There is a box for the standalone product on the bottom right corner of the Adobe Lightroom page, once in the cart you can click "edit" to choose between upgrade and full versions.

Thank you, I can't believe how terrible the website is that it's all the way down in the bottom corner like that. On my 1920x1080 monitor it's not even obvious that page can be scrolled.

Janesy B said:
You've just spent the best part of £1400 on a camera and you're crying about having to pay £50 to get an upgrade to the latest bit of software to support the RAW files. Just get the CD and be done with it. LR4 hasn't been updated for over a year and it's been replaced.

In fact you can get the standalone upgrade from the website, took me less than 1 min to find;

What are you talking about? :confused:

I am quite clearly willing to buy Lightroom 5 as I stated in the op. I just don't want CC.

And the D610 is nowhere near £1,400.

Janesy B · 4 Sep 2014 at 22:22

You're saying it's unacceptable because old software won't support the RAW files from your new camera that was released after the latest update of that software. Tough really.

And it is

Energize · 4 Sep 2014 at 22:36

Yes it is unacceptable when it is a trivial fix for Adobe to implement for the masses of customers who paid good money for the software, the update could be rolled out to all versions of the software simultaneously with no extra work on their part.

And quoting the price history for the D610 doesn't change the fact there are retailers selling it for < £1000.

asim18 · 4 Sep 2014 at 22:37

Janesy B said:
You're saying it's unacceptable because old software won't support the RAW files from your new camera that was released after the latest update of that software. Tough really.

Well it is unfair because my ACR from CS6 still gets the RAW compatibility updates and it's older.

englishpremier · 5 Sep 2014 at 12:37

Sh4rkie said:
LR 5 retail upgrade is around £60 online, lots of suppliers. Keep an eye on for sales forums though as regular LR 5 crops up as it is bundled with cameras from time to time and people already have cloud subs.

Tbh though you need to get past the idea of the cloud being bad in this case. The only 'cloud' portion is a license check once in a while in both PS and LR. Nothing else is hosted, the programs are installed locally on your PC and you don't need to be online regularly to access them. If you cancel your subs they will allow access to the library module but not the develop module i believe. That way you won't lose access to your existing catalogue(s).

I'm interested in what happens if you are without internet access? Do you lose the use of your purchased software?

I can see this happening when taking a laptop on holiday, or moving home and having wait a month for a new line to be installed.

Sh4rkie · 5 Sep 2014 at 13:19

englishpremier said:
I'm interested in what happens if you are without internet access? Do you lose the use of your purchased software?

I can see this happening when taking a laptop on holiday, or moving home and having wait a month for a new line to be installed.

License check every 30 days for monthly CC subscribers:

http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/faq.html

Do I need to be online to access my desktop apps?

No, the desktop applications in Creative Cloud, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, are installed directly on your computer, so you don’t need an ongoing Internet connection to use them.
An Internet connection is required the first time you install and license your apps, but you can use the apps in offline mode with a valid software license. The desktop apps will attempt to validate your software licenses every 30 days.
Annual members can use the apps for up to 99 days in offline mode. Month-to-month members can use the software for up to 30 days in offline mode.

thebandit · 5 Sep 2014 at 21:20

The op is right about the upgrade option from Adobe, it took me ages to find it on their page, its well hidden, I guess to push people toward the CC license. CC is just not worth it at the price they charge for most hobbiest photographers though. However, at 100 quid for a perpetual license I think lightroom is good value. I just hope in the future they don't drop the purchasde option altogether.

Energize · 6 Sep 2014 at 17:44

Tell me about it, the front page looks like it's not even scrollable from the design.

I can't believe they still haven't implemented png export though, so many people want it, you shouldn't have to install a plug-in in 2014 jesus christ.