New to Lightroom: Should I use Classic or CC?

[TomHu]

Hi, I'm considering moving over from Aperture to Lightroom. I'm a new user, so I'm a bit confused by the two Lightroom versions available: CC and Classic CC.

I don't really care about cloud features, I have way too many photos to make cloud storage financially feasible. I just want a good post-processor and organizer for the tens of thousands of photos (mostly RAW) I have. Also, if there's a way to import photos from Aperture/Apple Photos over to Lightroom, that would be a big plus.

So, if I'm just getting started with Lightroom (but not photography), which version should I choose?

From what I've read, seems like Classic is more stable and has more features. It's hard to predict how Adobe will continue down this path of maintaining two versions of Lightroom. One of them is obviously the "favorite" for Adobe, which means it'll get all the attention while the other languishes. I'm guessing the one that will get the latest, coolest new features will be LR CC, and then they will get around to maybe adding those same features to LR Classic.

Would love to get any input on this, thanks!

[Neox99 · Accepted solution]

I would highly recommend Lr Classic CC.

Lr CC (the cloud based system) is only version 1.1 and these support forums are replete with requests for help from users who are having problems. I'm not saying the software is flawed, it's just an early release version.

Lr Classic is the one with all the cool features. Lr CC is the one waiting for some of them to be added.

Julieanne Kost has a video explaining the different iterations and if you notice she advises picking one. At no time does she recommend using them both for the same batch of files.

Julieanne Kost, Principal Digital Imaging Evangelist, Adobe Systems, Inc.

[Neox99]

I'm going to put this recommendation in it's own reply

You may want to consider using the Adobe Bridge | Camera Raw | Photoshop workflow.

Julieanne Kost (and others) have tutorials on using that workflow.

[TomHu]

I posted this thread in January, but am finally coming back to re-evaluating whether I should go with Lightroom CC or Lightroom Classic CC again.

As I mentioned in my original post, I don't need the cloud storage features, I'll store all of my images on my external hard drive that holds 4 terabytes. Is Lightroom Classic CC still the better choice for me, or has Lightroom CC been improved to match the features of Classic since then?

Also, if I decide to go with Classic, how difficult would it be to transition to the newer Lightroom CC in the future if I change my mind?

Thanks for your input!

[JP Hess]

If you want to store your images on your local hard drive then Lightroom Classic CC is the logical choice. Lightroom CC is specifically designed to store images in the cloud, and to share those images on all devices (i.e. mobile phones, tablets, etc.). When you work with Lightroom CC you are editing images that are stored in the cloud. Yes, you can have images backed up locally, but the main emphasis is working in the cloud.

If you subscribe to the Creative Cloud photography plan you can still synchronize collections with the cloud. Those collections will not be full-sized images, but they are big enough to share with others and to edit on mobile devices. While the feature set in Lightroom CC continues to improve, it still is not on par with Classic and probably won't be for quite some time. As part of the photography plan, you can download and use Lightroom CC. The plan includes 20 GB of cloud storage which is enough for you to experiment and get a feel for how CC works. That way you can decide for yourself which plan works best for you.