Lightroom 1:1 previews rendering duration

[fahrenhyde]

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Hi all

 

Since I have been wondering about Leica files taking so long to import in Lightroom, I did a test measuring the time for rendering 1:1 previews (without import time). I did it on my MacBook Pro (Mid 2012, 2.6 i7, 16GB with EL Capitan, Lightroom 6.4, SSD Bootdrive) with an empty catalog, 

 

I processed the same amount of GB of CR2 (Canon Mark III), Leica M240 DNG, Leica S007 DNG and the result is the following:

 

2.59GB 89 Files of CR2: 4:24 Minutes

2.59GB 100 Files of DNGM: 5:16 Minutes

2.57GB 57 Files of DNGS: 10:20 Minutes

 

 

I also did a test of 100 Files each leading to the following result:

 

100 Files of CR2: 4:57 Minutes

100 Files of DNGM: 5:10 Minutes

100 Files of DNGS: 16:10 Minutes

 

 

Note that the Leica files always take 40-60 seconds until the rendering starts, that time is not included in the above figures.

 

 

So my impression was wrong about the Leica M files taking much longer, maybe slightly. But the Leica S files seem to take 2 or 3 times longer, depending on how you want to look at it (number of files (3x) vs. same folder size (2x).

 

 

I might try the exact same test on my desktop Mac, but I have to get it running first, El Capitan doesnt seem to work after all.

 

 

Best, Jorma.

 

 

PS. I forgot to add, that files from Leica S 007 are not displayed correctly in LR import (see screenshot above).

Anyone seen this, too?

 

[jip]

Importing has to do with more than just file size, also if you shoot lossless compressed on the M240 and S006 (and probably S007) it takes longer, because your computer has to 'unzip' them before import or convert to Lightroom's standard DNG.

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[hoppyman]

I am importing DNG files from my S (Typ 007) in LR, currently CC 2015.4. The initial embedded low resolution previews do display as normal thumbnails quickly on import. As I understand it that preview size is part of the DNG specification. 

Rendering 1:1 previews after the import action is a complete processing of the file and does take some time. I prefer that to waiting several seconds when first viewing each image initially. Typically my card might have 300-600 images on it for import. My main computer is a PC that is more highly specified than my MacBook Pro (2013) but the process works normally on both.

You could try changing that 1:1 previews setting on your macbook and see if that works more smoothly for you?

 

Edited February 4, 2016 by hoppyman

[albertknappmd]

A good reason to skip the 1:1 previews. I triage my files and the keepers get 1:1 treatment. 

Far more efficient in my view...

Albert     

[menos I M6]

I have been using the exact same MacBook Pro 2012 Retina model up until recently.

 

I have seen this behavior with extremely slow rendering of Leica S2 files myself.

In my experience though it is not a behavior specific to the Leica S files.

 

Files from my Nikon D3, Leica M8,9,MM and tiff files from my film scanners are rendering reasonably fast.

 

Files from my Nikon D800E and from the Leica S2 are languishly slow to work with in bulk on this configuration (2012, 1st gen Retina MacBook Pro).

 

I have not yet migrated to El Capitan but use the latest built of Yosemite on all Macs here.

Rendering of Leica S2 files (and Nikon D800E files) on my late 2013 MacPro is MUCH faster than with the 2012 Retina (as one would expect as of it's CPU power).

 

I have also recently upgraded to a 2015 built to order MBP Retina with full CPU upgrade but still have to do the full OS X system migration on that one before I can report of any improvements.

 

Regarding the preview thumbnails during the import into Lightroom - this is an OS specific issue, where the OS built you are using has not yet been upgraded to the latest raw file definition by Apple for the camera these files have been produced with (Leica S 007). You have to wait on Apple (not Adobe, not Leica) to upgrade those raw file definitions via the OS update function through the App Store.

I had this very same issue when Apple took a felt aeon until they finally updated the raw file definitions so we were able to see preview thumbnails from Leica MM files back then.

It may take a while until that happens as I doubt that the latest Leica S is much of a priority camera Apple will update for as was the first gen MM back then :-(

 

 

Regarding workflow of rendering, I do this after importing a large number of files from the Leica S2 or Nikon D800E:

 

- choose render preview only during import dialogue (NOT 1:1)

- I use a star rating system from 0 to 5 stars to rate all shots from an import session:

look through all files, giving either a star rating or a flag (1 star being a good file, a flag meaning this file is frozen into the given star rating)

I go through all files giving stars from 0 to 5:

 

0 stars:

- file is a complete discard (accidental exposures, blanks, completely out of focus, …)

- I spend no more than 1 second looking at each picture in order to decide if it is a 0 star or has potential for higher rating

 

1 star:

- file is not a discard but file has no potential to become a 2 star (I often rate file as such which are informational only like test shots, white balance card shots, shots of street signs, schedules, etc …)

- I spend no more than 1 second on judging this file 

 

2 star:

- a file that had potential to become a 3 star but turned out not to be good enough, I would not show such a picture to anyone

- I spend no more than 1 second judging

 

3 star:

- a file that shows a good picture - can be anything I find good about this (subject, expression, mood, etc …)

- it is not good enough though to show this file to a stranger, as it is lacking photographically and only may have sentimental value or value to friends, family or the person inside the picture

- I spend no more than 10 seconds judging

 

NOW I render 1:1 previews of all these 3 star shots left over.

 

4 star:

- a solid picture I would show to a stranger, focus, composition, exposure etc are good enough to upload it on flickr

- I take all the time I need to judge a shot, I zoom in to judge focus, check exposure, even make a few adjustments if needed to decide if the shot has the potential to get a better rating

 

5 star:

- this is the best possible picture I could come up with in a given situation

- I regularly revisit these images over time to re-judge them (and often rate them down after the "new-ness" has worn off).

 

So as you see, I only start 1:1 rendering from those files once I weeded out the bad shots.

This is really a very fast process, just flipping through the images and rating them with a star or flagging them as already rated to be able to filter them out.

 

I also have saved pre-arranged filters which allow me with one click to choose a certain filter level to pick up rating from, saving a lot of time.

 

One tip (which might not be valid any more as of Lightroom 6.4) - in the past it was better to not choose ALL shots in one folder at once and render 1:1 previews in one process, but to choose say 1/3 of the files in a given folder and start a render, choose the 2/3, start a second render and choose the rest and start a third render in order to force Lightroom to utilize more CPU cores.

I am not sure how valid this approach nowadays is (of course given you render files which sit on the same SSD drive, rather than in several folders on one big, slow spinning HDD, slowing the process down simply by the restrictions of drive access).

[fahrenhyde]

Thank you, menos, for your insights.

 

To me, as well, one star means I wont trash the file. I then decide (with two stars) which shots are sharp and in focus (and/or other criteria), for which I need the 1:1 previews to quickly check at 100%. Between those two steps I dont want to wait for anything to render, I do it all in one task, the whole choosing process. That's why I need the 1:1 in the beginning.

 

It's a good idea to render in three simultaneous batches. I should try that and watch the processor monitor or whatever it's called.

[menos I M6]

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Thank you, menos, for your insights.

 

To me, as well, one star means I wont trash the file. I then decide (with two stars) which shots are sharp and in focus (and/or other criteria), for which I need the 1:1 previews to quickly check at 100%. Between those two steps I dont want to wait for anything to render, I do it all in one task, the whole choosing process. That's why I need the 1:1 in the beginning.

 

It's a good idea to render in three simultaneous batches. I should try that and watch the processor monitor or whatever it's called.

 

When you are on a Mac, simply pre  "Cmd + Space", type "Activity" in the spotlight search field and select the app "Activity Monitor" - then you just select the CPU tab (usually already selected upon start) and click on the Lightroom process to monitor the details.

 

It is pretty similar on Windows I believe.

 

If you need to check focus precisely, you won't get around rendering 1:1 previews up front.

With my workflow I circumvent this as I can judge if a shot is badly out of focus from the standard preview and only check precise focus upon selecting three and four stars.

 

The only solution we have at the moment for this issue is:

- upgrading computers

- making the laundry, cleaning windows, swiping the floor, walking the dog, bringing kids to school, … while Lightroom is thinking slowly about building 1:1 previews