Latest Lightroom Classic vs Old Lightroom 6.14?

Hi Craig,

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

Every now and then I get the urge to upgrade something, and sometimes that is Lightroom. Like many, I resent the idea of the subscription model, and I feel vindicated in my dislike simply from the fact that I did so little post-processing in 2020 that monthly charges there would have been 100% waste (to me).

I changed from LR 6 to the subcription version by chance, since I also did not like the idea of paying monthly: In 2020 I was processing images in Raja Ampat during a rainday (quite hot at highest humidity and the notebook frequently closed down to prevent overheating) when my LR version was corrupted by the computer shut downs and stopped working. At home I could not find the CD with the key to reinstall it, so I had to subscribe to the new versions (12 Euro per month for LR plus PS). Now I think the deal is not so bad: I always have the newest versions and in the end the cost is compareable to upgrading every year or every two years...

But I still wonder if there would be tangible benefits for me in a newer version of Lightroom. Specifically for post-processing underwater images, and even more specifically the new 'Dehaze' function.

My question is basically 'is it worth it', but I know that introduces the perception of money value. So I'm rather asking 'Does dehaze do anything notable for the underwater photographer when compared to the old 6.14 version that doesn't have it?'

I use "Dehaze" frequently since I have the subscription version - so for me yes, it is a nice function to increase contrast in a special way I was not able to do before. There are, however, too many functions in LR (and Photoshop) for me to understand them all and I believe that there are many ways to end up with similar results - but I just do not know how. Since 2019 I use LR first and then continue in PS for image processing (I took over this method of processing from Alex Mustard, when I joined one of his workshops; before I was just using LR alone). Probably there are not two UW-photographers that use PR and/or PS the same way, there is an almost indefinite number of combinations of all the different functions...

I've developed my routine for post-processing underwater images, and my version of dehazing uses the black slider. It tends to block up shadows, so I do a lot of back-and-forth edits pulling the black slider down, then doing other adjustments to counteract the negative effects. If a simple Dehaze slider adjustment does a very good job of eliminating haze in the water, I'm much more interested in the new software.

I think "Dehaze" will give better results in a simpler way compared to the the "Black" slider (I always adjust the "Black", "White", "Highlights" and "Shadows" sliders to some extend, but "Dehaze" is different) ...

In terms of post-processing, that's about all I'm wanting at this time.

In terms of other processing, specifically output to a web page, I'm very interested if the new version does a significantly better job there. (Makes it easier). I use Photo Mechanic to gin up quick web pages instead of Lightroom.