Adobe CC for all your image storage - experiences?

[LocalHero1953]

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I'd like to hear from those with experience of using Adobe CC cloud storage for ALL their image storage. I'm assuming this would be with the 1Tb (at least) storage option.

- Do you also keep a local image store and LR catalogue synced on an individual device?

- Do you store, edit and print entirely online, or is it just for storage?

- Have you had any particular problems? Not enough broadband capacity? Adobe CC downtime? Lost images? Problems with access via multiple devices?

- Did you look at other options for cloud storage of images (for use, not for backup)?

- Do you maintain separate backup (e.g. Amazon Glacier - can Glacier interface with Adobe CC?) or assume that Adobe CC is your backup?

 

The background is that I currently have a Photographer's subscription to LR Classic CC and PS CC, but don't use cloud storage. When I travel, I store and edit new images in a LR catalogue on my Surface Pro, and import them to my main catalogue on my desktop when I get home. I subscribe to CrashPlan at $10/month for cloud back up. The latter is only for backup and doesn't give me access to my images when travelling. I want to streamline the process of storing and accessing images anywhere, without being limited to my desktop PC. It occurred to me that if I used Adobe CC for image storage I could:

- use it for backup as well as storage, and so eliminate Crashplan's subscription.

- reduce the need to keep upgrading my desktop hardware for image storage.

- make syncing images taken while travelling much easier.

 

NB Anyone who dislikes Adobe and its subscription model or cloud storage of images itself, please post elsewhere. I want to hear from those with real experience to pass on, not those who haven't tried it and don't want to try it.

[Exodies]

I’m not one of the people you want to hear from as I use classic mainly and mobile only when on holiday. However, what I want to mention is the Adobe cloud search facility - eliminates the need for keywording. Do those replying positively to Paul’s question have anything to say about this?

As crashplan dies in two weeks my plan is to reduce photo storage to <1TB, use Adobe cloud with local copy for pictures, and use iCloud for documents. Together with a local backup (Timemachine), that will do.

I should add that I have 500Mb/s up and 200Mb/s down so the net is not a problem.

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[jip]

I will reply on this later, have been using Adobe CC Lightroom for over a year now and was beta tester. 

 

Remind me if I forget to reply.

[jip]

So my situation:

 

I have:

MacBook Pro 15"

Mac Pro with calibrated monitor at home

iPad Pro for on the go

iPhone X

 

All these sync with the cloud, and Adobe CC now even syncs all your presets and editing styles across all devices.

 

Lightroom on my Mac Pro at home is setup so that it will keep a local copy of ANY RAW file at all times. (Don't trust adobe fully with my RAW files, but that's probably more paranoid than anything else.)

 

The Mac Pro Lightroom RAW file location is then again backed up off site in Amazon Glacier for redundant photo storage.

 

I've been really happy with Lightroom CC except for a few things that are missing compared to the Classic counterpart, I find it difficult to control Chromatic aberration for example. But Adobe promised they'd improve this module in the upcoming releases.

 

Haven't had Adobe CC downtime yet, and I have unlimited 4G on my mobile devices and at home I have 1000mbit up/down. So no problem there either. The server is slower than my connection it seems. I had the impression the Adobe CC server limits at 275mbit up (down on my end) and 350mbit down (up on my end).

 

Lightroom CC CANOT interface itself with any other cloud solutions, but thats where my software development side of life comes in

[jip]

However, what I want to mention is the Adobe cloud search facility - eliminates the need for keywording. Do those replying positively to Paul’s question have anything to say about this?

 

The search function is GOOD but it's not GREAT yet... it doesn't always work... so I still (for now) keyword my images  

[LocalHero1953]

So my situation:

 

I have:

MacBook Pro 15"

Mac Pro with calibrated monitor at home

iPad Pro for on the go

iPhone X

 

All these sync with the cloud, and Adobe CC now even syncs all your presets and editing styles across all devices.

 

Lightroom on my Mac Pro at home is setup so that it will keep a local copy of ANY RAW file at all times. (Don't trust adobe fully with my RAW files, but that's probably more paranoid than anything else.)

 

The Mac Pro Lightroom RAW file location is then again backed up off site in Amazon Glacier for redundant photo storage.

 

I've been really happy with Lightroom CC except for a few things that are missing compared to the Classic counterpart, I find it difficult to control Chromatic aberration for example. But Adobe promised they'd improve this module in the upcoming releases.

 

Haven't had Adobe CC downtime yet, and I have unlimited 4G on my mobile devices and at home I have 1000mbit up/down. So no problem there either. The server is slower than my connection it seems. I had the impression the Adobe CC server limits at 275mbit up (down on my end) and 350mbit down (up on my end).

 

Lightroom CC CANOT interface itself with any other cloud solutions, but thats where my software development side of life comes in

Thanks - very useful information.

 

Can you clarify your local storage?

- Are photos on your MacPro raw files plus all the LR edits/keywords? Or are the edits/keywords only stored in the cloud?

- Ditto the LR catalogue: can you access and use the LR catalogue even if you're offline?

 

There are two aspects to this:

- how easy is it to edit and manage images (on a tablet, say) when you don't have good internet access while travelling?

- If you decide to abandon Adobe and move to some other online service, or simply go offline again, how easy would it be to access/download your images and edits/keywords? Or can you just use your local images/edits/keywords?

Edited August 20, 2018 by LocalHero1953

[jip]

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Thanks - very useful information.

 

Can you clarify your local storage?

- Are photos on your MacPro raw files plus all the LR edits/keywords? Or are the edits/keywords only stored in the cloud?

- Ditto the LR catalogue: can you access and use the LR catalogue even if you're offline?

 

There are two aspects to this:

- how easy is it to edit and manage images (on a tablet, say) when you don't have good internet access while travelling?

- If you decide to abandon Adobe and move to some other online service, or simply go offline again, how easy would it be to access/download your images and edits/keywords? Or can you just use your local images/edits/keywords?

 

 

 

As long as you have a subscription for Adobe Lightroom CC you can work offline with all the files you have available offline. So on my Mac Pro I can fully work without an internet connection (because everything is available offline: Raw Files, and Catalog (containing edits, keywords etc.)

 

This answers your first two points.

 

Let's say I go on a holiday and just bring my Camera and iPad Pro.:

I import the Leica Camera RAW images with my "Lightning to SD card adapter" (from apple) into the "Apple Photo's Library" on the iPad Pro, I then open Lightroom CC on the iPad Pro and import the RAW files from the "Apple Photo's Library" into Lightroom CC, I then remove them from the "Apple Photo's Library" (no need to have them there since they are now in the Adobe Lightroom CC library, and also still on my SD card (if you choose to not remove them).

 

So now I have my RAW files in Lightroom CC on my iPad Pro, but since I'm traveling: let's pretend I don't have internet connection. I can still fully edit these files on the go without an internet connection. As soon as I get WIFI or 4G for the iPad Pro (back home or coffee shop or library or anywhere with a decent connection if available.) Lightroom CC will start "syncing" these files into the cloud, so then when I open my MacBook Pro or Mac Pro at home these devices will download the RAW files from the cloud, including edits etc. 

 

If I decide to abandon Adobe, I can grab the RAW files from the Mac Pro RAW files folder (pure as they came from the camera when you imported them). Or I can export the files within Lightroom CC as high ress JPEGS (including the edits as a finalised picture file) or export the photos as DNG RAW including the edits and keywords, which would be compatible with Lightroom CC Classic (haven't tried it with other software yet.)

[Exodies]

A small clarification - the RAW files are downloaded to the MAC OS devices due to an optional configuration setting. Otherwise a reduced file suitable for display on the device is cached. On IOS devices the edits are applied (at display time) to this file. So there may be pictures which have been dropped from the local cache which are therefore unavailable on devices which you don’t choose to keep the RAW when no net is available.

[LocalHero1953]

As long as you have a subscription .............................

 

..........................as a finalised picture file) or export the photos as DNG RAW including the edits and keywords, which would be compatible with Lightroom CC Classic (haven't tried it with other software yet.)

Thanks for all this - it's very clear now.

[LocalHero1953]

Reporting back.......

 

I have transferred all my images from Lightroom Classic to Adobe CC and Lightroom CC. It was a complicated journey juggling disk drives, trying to maintain a full independent back up of my catalogue (in case of disaster) while uploading the 34k images over 4-5 days.

Then deciding what local backup I wanted to maintain: I've gone for a complete backup on an external hard drive (normally disconnected) and my current year's images on my 'normal' local hard drive.

 

There are obvious limitations in the LR CC cataloguing system: files stored only by year, month and day folders makes it very slow to find images unless you have a good keyword system, or unless convert your original file structure into Collections, as I did; they then convert to Album Folders and Albums in LR CC. The glaring omission in the search facility ('Find All Images Not In Albums' or 'Find All images Without Keywords') is a pain - until that is rectified (as I'm sure it will be) one can lose track of an image by carelessness.

 

There are also limitations in the editing section as well, but not many that annoy me. The latest LR Classic Range Masking tools are missing, as is Skin Softening. I expect these or similar to arrive eventually.

 

There are other irritations in the interface and usability, but I have no regrets about the switch away from LR Classic. The availability of all my images across desktop, tablet and phone is enormously helpful, together with the ability to upload to the cloud from any device and have them available immediately on the others.

 

There will be a test in November when we go to India. Using the system on the move in another country should test it.

[andybarton]

Thanks Paul

 

How much storage did you buy from them?

[LocalHero1953]

Thanks Paul

 

How much storage did you buy from them?

2Tb

I needed just under 1Tb, but I was not far from needing the extra.

In parallel with this I have taken a Microsoft Office365 Personal subscription which gives me 1Tb on Onedrive (as well as the Office s/w) for all my non-photo cloud storage and backup.

I shall be closing my Crashplan Business subscription, which saves a bit of money.

 

As a retired gentleman with very little leisure and a lot of business/voluntary/family commitments, this strategy gives me full editing and display access to all my documents and images on my desktop, tablet (Surface Pro) and phone wherever I am. This is liberating compared to six months ago:

- I visited a friend I hadn't seen for more than ten years, and couldn't show her photos of my children, grandchildren and mutual friends. 

- I was expending a lot of energy managing a free dropbox account intended to give me access to documents on the go, and allow me to share hi-res photos for the journal I edit; 4gb just wasn't enough.

- I had an illegal MS Office suite courtesy of a charity I worked for, which I felt obliged to convert to a legitimate version.

 

There is cheaper cloud storage than Adobe and Onedrive, but both come with software that I need.