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19 Feb 2020

Everything old is new again.


For the past 14 years I have been using Adobe's Lightroom for processing my photos. I started with Lightroom 3 and moved through version 4 and then into version 5. With each of these versions I bought the software on a CD and it was mine. However after version 5 Adobe changed their business model to a subscription model so that now you have to pay a monthly/annual fee for the ongoing use of what is now called Lightroom Classic. All updates are automatic but you never actually own the software- you just rent it.
I was very happy using Lightroom 5 -it met all my photo processing needs -and as my system has been very stable I have resisted switching to the subscription model until this week. However I recently discovered that Lightroom 5 will not work with Apple's later iOS systems. My Apple Mac is a 2009 model and it will not accept the later Apple iOS. Now one day my very reliable Mac will die and I will have to upgrade to a new Mac. So I decided, very reluctantly, to switch to Adobe's subscription Lightroom so that I am ready for the inevitable switch to a new computer.
The subscription Lightroom Classic does incorporate some enhancements on my old Lightroom 5 one of which is a slider for a function named dehazing which miraculously reduces haze in a photo.
I found this photo, taken in the mountains near Giulin in China, which has haze. I reprocessed the original DNG (RAW) file -taken with my Leica X1-and I am very surprised at the result. It partially, but only partially, offsets some of the pain of paying Adobe A$14.50 per month for something I previously had for nothing.
Below for comparison is the RAW file before I tweaked it in Lightroom Classic.





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