LR4
p.1 #1LR4
Yup, Lightroom 4. I bought it in maybe 2007? and gave it a shot. Never did figure it out since life was super busy and I didn't take the time.
It is worth using it or is there a better way? I'm retired now and can watch some youtubes, and I'm loading up a new computer. My organizational software is (don't laugh) Picasa. I'm also using (again, don't laugh), Photoshop CS5. I'm not too keen on subscriptions.
Thanks.
It is worth using it or is there a better way? I'm retired now and can watch some youtubes, and I'm loading up a new computer. My organizational software is (don't laugh) Picasa. I'm also using (again, don't laugh), Photoshop CS5. I'm not too keen on subscriptions.
Thanks.
Dec 10, 2025 at 07:12 PM
p.1 #2LR4
jay w wrote:
Yup, Lightroom 4. I bought it in maybe 2007? and gave it a shot. Never did figure it out since life was super busy and I didn't take the time.
It is worth using it or is there a better way? I'm retired now and can watch some youtubes, and I'm loading up a new computer. My organizational software is (don't laugh) Picasa. I'm also using (again, don't laugh), Photoshop CS5. I'm not too keen on subscriptions.
Thanks.
The way this sounds to me, you might be better off purchasing DxO Photolab 9 Elite. This should be better than Picasa, and there's no subscription.
Dec 10, 2025 at 07:40 PM
p.1 #3LR4
Bite the bullet and get the latest / greatest lr / ps. Miles ahead as processing goes and actually runs on latest hardware and OS. You can get good discounts in the next month that brings down you yearly payments to around $80.
Dec 10, 2025 at 08:06 PM
p.1 #4LR4
Try both DxO PL9 and "the latest/greatest" - this should help you decide.
Dec 11, 2025 at 07:33 AM
p.1 #5LR4
The cost of LR Classic (including PhotoShop) is about the same as two Starbucks coffees a month. There can be a point where standing on a principle to no subscriptions becomes somewhat self-defeating.
JMTC
JMTC
Dec 11, 2025 at 09:03 AM
p.1 #6LR4
I looked at DxO features. Maybe I should have said I'm planning to do B&W printing, mainly starting with film negatives but also digital. Some of the subject selection tools like interesting, but a lot of the color correction, rendering, lens corrections, etc are not really useful for me (right now anyway).
I'm mainly looking at cataloging and how to pick images. I might have to do it the old fashion way of contact sheet by contact sheet, and then quality scan a few images. Then move onto the neg sheet.
Thanks.
I'm mainly looking at cataloging and how to pick images. I might have to do it the old fashion way of contact sheet by contact sheet, and then quality scan a few images. Then move onto the neg sheet.
Thanks.
Dec 11, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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p.1 #7LR4
jay w wrote:
I looked at DxO features. Maybe I should have said I'm planning to do B&W printing, mainly starting with film negatives but also digital. Some of the subject selection tools like interesting, but a lot of the color correction, rendering, lens corrections, etc are not really useful for me (right now anyway).
I'm mainly looking at cataloging and how to pick images. I might have to do it the old fashion way of contact sheet by contact sheet, and then quality scan a few images. Then move onto the neg sheet.
Thanks.
Photo Mechanic could be a viable option too. It's more focused on cataloging and culling with limited editing. You can get free trial periods for most any app. Just test each one for a few days to see if it does what you need.
I looked at DxO features. Maybe I should have said I'm planning to do B&W printing, mainly starting with film negatives but also digital. Some of the subject selection tools like interesting, but a lot of the color correction, rendering, lens corrections, etc are not really useful for me (right now anyway).
I'm mainly looking at cataloging and how to pick images. I might have to do it the old fashion way of contact sheet by contact sheet, and then quality scan a few images. Then move onto the neg sheet.
Thanks.
Photo Mechanic could be a viable option too. It's more focused on cataloging and culling with limited editing. You can get free trial periods for most any app. Just test each one for a few days to see if it does what you need.
Dec 11, 2025 at 10:46 AM
p.1 #8LR4
Photo Mechanic has moved to subscription unless you pay a considerably fee for standalone. PM is a strong app for what it does, but it's fairly narrowly focused and for OP, LR or similar would be better. IOW, an app that can act as a catalog as well as editor.
That said, for cataloging I'm using NeoFinder (on Mac). Used to be called CDFinder. https://cdfinder.de
On Windows, it's available here: https://www.abemeda.com
It's not subscription and reasonably priced. It's very powerful for cataloging but the advantage LR has is, as mentioned, that you can catalog and edit all within LR. If you're scanning negatives or working with jpegs/tiffs, basically non-RAW files, LR4 will work, but you'll just not have some of the more powerful features currently available. That also assumes it runs OK on your hardware and OS. IF you want to do RAW conversions with LR4, you'll be limited to files from older cameras. It won't support relatively new cameras, but the workaround could be to use Adobe's free DNG converter tool and edit the DNGs.
For general PS stuff, CS5 will be fine. I used CS2 for a long time until I eventually retired the last computer I had that could still boot into OSX 10.6.8 in order to run it.
I generally avoid subscriptions because it ends up becoming 'death by a thousand cuts' as a few dollars here and there, by the dozen(s) adds up fast. Therefore I only do it for 'mission critical' apps, which includes Adobe's photography package of LRC and PS. No, I didn't like it but Adobe has continually added powerfully useful features that have saved me considerable editing time compared to if I was still plugging along with LR6 standalone. YMMV.
A problem with using legacy software is that eventually something breaks and you have to upgrade to whatever is current anyway. You'll have been so far behind that the transition will potentially be a steep, painful learning curve.
That said, for cataloging I'm using NeoFinder (on Mac). Used to be called CDFinder. https://cdfinder.de
On Windows, it's available here: https://www.abemeda.com
It's not subscription and reasonably priced. It's very powerful for cataloging but the advantage LR has is, as mentioned, that you can catalog and edit all within LR. If you're scanning negatives or working with jpegs/tiffs, basically non-RAW files, LR4 will work, but you'll just not have some of the more powerful features currently available. That also assumes it runs OK on your hardware and OS. IF you want to do RAW conversions with LR4, you'll be limited to files from older cameras. It won't support relatively new cameras, but the workaround could be to use Adobe's free DNG converter tool and edit the DNGs.
For general PS stuff, CS5 will be fine. I used CS2 for a long time until I eventually retired the last computer I had that could still boot into OSX 10.6.8 in order to run it.
I generally avoid subscriptions because it ends up becoming 'death by a thousand cuts' as a few dollars here and there, by the dozen(s) adds up fast. Therefore I only do it for 'mission critical' apps, which includes Adobe's photography package of LRC and PS. No, I didn't like it but Adobe has continually added powerfully useful features that have saved me considerable editing time compared to if I was still plugging along with LR6 standalone. YMMV.
A problem with using legacy software is that eventually something breaks and you have to upgrade to whatever is current anyway. You'll have been so far behind that the transition will potentially be a steep, painful learning curve.
Dec 11, 2025 at 11:41 PM
p.1 #9LR4
Cataloging in LR is a breeze but using ver 4? Ver 4 was introduced in 2012 and this coming spring will be 14 years old 
. In the computer/electronics world this is considered ancient software. I wouldn't embark on cleaning 'things' up with an app from that far back.
. In the computer/electronics world this is considered ancient software. I wouldn't embark on cleaning 'things' up with an app from that far back. Dec 12, 2025 at 05:35 AM
p.1 #10LR4
I'm going to disagree with everyone here and say LR4 is worth a try. The functionality you want has not substantially changed between 2007 and now. If it doesn't work, the only thing you lose is the time spent experimenting.
The big potential problem, as mentioned by someone else, is RAW support. That's a valid concern.
The big potential problem, as mentioned by someone else, is RAW support. That's a valid concern.
Dec 12, 2025 at 03:28 PM
p.1 #11LR4
"Ancient" software will work fine so long as the other hardware and software it interacts with are equally ancient and run in isolation. If your computer, monitor, OS, printer and camera were all made circa 2012, they'll continue humming along. But as soon as you introduce an outside variable like a new camera, all bets are off. Just connecting to the internet is high risk as most systems that old are no longer receiving any security updates.
Dec 12, 2025 at 03:52 PM
p.1 #12LR4
Oscarsmadness wrote:
I'm going to disagree with everyone here and say LR4 is worth a try. The functionality you want has not substantially changed between 2007 and now. If it doesn't work, the only thing you lose is the time spent experimenting.
The big potential problem, as mentioned by someone else, is RAW support. That's a valid concern.
As well as hardware and OS support. It’s ok if you setup an island ( old hardware / os ) for your work, but once you start adding things like printers, scanners or even external drives…that island just won’t float.
See Jeff beat me to it.
I'm going to disagree with everyone here and say LR4 is worth a try. The functionality you want has not substantially changed between 2007 and now. If it doesn't work, the only thing you lose is the time spent experimenting.
The big potential problem, as mentioned by someone else, is RAW support. That's a valid concern.
As well as hardware and OS support. It’s ok if you setup an island ( old hardware / os ) for your work, but once you start adding things like printers, scanners or even external drives…that island just won’t float.
See Jeff beat me to it.
Dec 12, 2025 at 03:58 PM