So you want to ditch Adobe Lightroom, but ...

I'm a happy Lightroom user and have no intention of switching, but I appreciate that it's not for everyone due to cost or other issues. So if you've been thinking of switching but something's holding you back, I have some thoughts on the matter.

[jeffkogler]

Very high quality video Andy. I've only just come across your youtube channel in the last 48 hours. You are an excellent presenter.

[rvernie]

Thanks for putting this video together. Definitely the most honest and well thought out piece on this topic on YT. Much appreciated.

[ShootingAndReloading]

Good video. I switched from Lightroom to Darktable about a year back and I'd never move back. Much more powerful and much more control (and no dodgy AI nonsense! :D)

[AnakChan]

Thx for this Andy. With all the recent dramas with Adobe, this topic has been more than relevant. I'm trialing Peakto at the moment and since I'll be ditching Lightroom Classic as an asset manager/organiser, I gather it'll be pointless to import the LC catalogue, but import from disk directly. With that method, Peakto doesn't seem to recognise the JPG equivalent of Raw as sidecars but sees it as two separate pictures. As such I'm now trying Darktable too and currently importing my files there.

[editname]

Currently in Lightroom and cancelled, and then took them up on two free months to figure out my next steps. I purchased C1 a few years ago and didn’t really like it. Now that piece of software is outdated. Liking the idea of open source or maybe DXO. This video was helpful weighing those options. Thanks

[HadleyHope]

Great video, Capture One seems well expensive these days. Looking at the costs if you were going to upgrade a perpetual licence every year you might as well pay the subscription, I think perpetual licences only pay if you plan on either not upgrading, or have a 2 year cycle.

I usually try and take advantage of buying a year's Adobe subscription at a time (then cancelling the subscription), the apps will work until the subscription expires even when cancelled.

[andycakebread]

Great trip through options. If it helps anyone I use Fuji and after a lot of trial and exasperation have landed on DxO Photo Raw -> Lr Classic/Ps -> DxO Nik Collection for my time, life and sanity. Accepting I'll have to spend something somewhere. And wordpress for sure. Great stuff Andy

[danacampbell]

This was good. I'm still missing Aperture as well...have been pondering trying Mylio to DXOPhotolab over Lightroom but still not sure ...Thanks for sharing your preference and the excellent and thorough review Andy.

[loulowe]

Thank you Andy for the video - very informative.

[freedomutilities]

January 2025 here, at this point, leaving adobe isn't only option for more freedom, reducing subscriptions type of product that we used, but it also telling the world that we're not just sit back and accepting all of these companies prioritize greed over need and profit over people.

[rgorji]

Thank you for the very honest and thorough video. I think I will stick with The Adobe Photography bundle for now since it seems to be good value. Subscribed to your channel. Glad I found you.

[rayderrich]

Thank you, I guess my search for escaping Adobe is now over.
You clearly explain that there is no real alternative for Lightroom which is one of my most important applications since... forever.
I will just forget about bad business practises and bite the monthly bullet.

[coolie]

Hi from Brissy Andy, liked and subscribed. Excellent video on an issue that plagues many of us, not least those who started off with and were happy with Aperture, only to be forced to Lr. Recently I was hoping that Nitro might be the solution, your video predates its release. I got it and I like it so far, though maybe I wouldn't if I had seen your recent rather unflattering video on it! Am hoping its issues are addressed...
Keep up the good work!

[ScottRae]

Looking at alternatives after the current Adobe dramas and exported all my RAW changes to sidecars. Already "subscribe" to most DXO products and have Affinity, but I guess it's the DAM I'm missing. Might try Bridge before I jump out of the Adobe ecosystem completely, I guess the question is whether DXO Photolab has enough DAM functionality to be worthwhile.

[brianwitter]

Just came across this. I've long advocated separating DAM and processing for the very reasons you stated. DAM by it's nature should be long term. In my 2 decades of raw processing, editors have come and gone or been dumped for better. On Windows my DAM of choice is Imatch. Super powerful, reliable, and reasonable cost perpetual license with discounted upgrades at major releases. The developer is very responsive. One point of caution with separating DAM and processing/editing, metadata should only be written by the DAM. You can use the metadata in the processors and editors for filters and sorting, but all writing of it should be done in the DAM. There are standards for metadata, they aren't always followed so have one source of truth.

[mjpt]

Ooh, a timely video. Still tossing up as to what I should do. Currently it costs me $14/mth for 1tb cloud storage. As posted in the On1 thread, I'm an amateur photographer in retirement mode, so, do I really need the powerhouse that is LrC?

Thing is, I run it on my Mac Mini M2 Pro (16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, Macbook Air 15" M2 (8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) and Lightroom for iPad 12.9" M1. That works well, plus I can tether to LrC in the bedroom/studio for our annual Xmas postcard shoot.

Thanks again, Andy, for your videos. It's appreciated.

[EricMustardman]

As a non-pro, I ditched Adobe quite a while ago in favour of DxO and Affinity.

[donleamon]

Good info. Is it wrong for me to miss Aperture?

[philipzwick]

Wow, you covered a lot in a short presentation. Well done.

I was an early Lightroom user and Photoshop pre-subscription buyer who also became an early adopter of Topaz and NIK software, which allowed me to become a Salon winner in Camera Club competitions. Then I found On1 Raw, which you do not like, to be a one size fits all program that provided non-destructive Topaz like effects as well as layered capability for compositing and I switched. For the few times I needed Photoshop type capability, I used inexpensive Affinity Photo. Yes, i have to pay for annual upgrades but with discounts it is only $60-70 per year to obtain the new features, including Brilliance AI in the 2024 release. Is it really better than Lightroom and Photoshop or Capture One? Probably not, but it is a lot easier to use for my non-commercial travel, landscape, and family photography.

Final conclusion: Lots of great software out there and the one to use is the one you know how to use best.

[tbxxl]

Nice one Andy. Saved me heaps of research 🙏🏻