Not all of us have bleeding–edge hardware to run their processor and memory–hungry software on (*cough* Lightroom and Aperture *cough*). My mobile machine — a 3–year old 15” Powerbook (1.5 GHz G4 w/ 1.5 GB RAM) — is definitely showing its age when processing and displaying RAW files, and it doesn’t even hold a candle (color temperature: 1850 K) to the machines that are currently rolling off the assembly lines.
However, Lightroom is by no means a slouch on older hardware — especially when compared to its archrival, Aperture. But restraints and limitations can blossom into creative solutions, and I’ve gradually adapted my mobile workflow to adapt to the machine I’m working on. In doing so, I’ve come to learn and understand Lightroom’s nooks and crannies much better than I would have if I didn’t need to coax as much performace out of my laptop as I have.
In this week’s blog post, I’d like to share some of my tweaks with you to help you get the most out of your hardware (those of you with machines that have multiple processing cores and more RAM than they can shake a stick at can ignore this suggestion and move right on to tip #2):
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Quit every application that isn’t Lightroom. Every little utility and takes up RAM and processing cycles, which is precisely what we’re trying to save for Lightroom. And yes, you should kill iTunes while editing; fire up your iPod or sterero if you’re feeling the need for some tunes while working.
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Commit the keyboard shortcuts to memory and understand how they can help you be more efficient; memorizing Lightroom’s Panels shortcuts (in the Window menu) will go a long way to speeding up your workflow.
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Use Lightroom’s full screen feature to maximize your screen real estate, especially when on a small display: hide the panels, menu bar, and your dock/taskbar in one step with
SHIFT+CMD+F; hide all of the panels withSHIFT+TAB, or just the side panels withTAB. -
Toggle the panels on and off so that you only see what you need when you need it. When making adjustments to my photos, I like to leave my workspace no panels, toggling them on and off as needed. For instance, tapping the
F6key will hide and show the filmstrip in the bottom of your workspace. But by holding down theF6key, you can bring the filmstrip into view, select the photo you wish to view in the loupe, and then release the key to cause the strip to hide from view again. This tip is equally as useful with theF7(left panels) andF8(right panel) keys to quickly make adjustments, apply metadata, or switch to a different folder of images. -
Select the preview rendering option that suits your situation. If I need to begin editing my shots immediately, then I will neglect to generate previews of the images to get the images into Lightroom as quickly as possible and get down to work. On the other hand, if I can start importing my shots and leave my computer as it chugs away, then I’ll have Lightroom generate the previews so that everything is ready upon my return. Converting your images to DNG on import adds even more time to the import process, but may be worth the effort depending on the circumstances.
If you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve to coax the most out of your hardware, please leave post them in the comments to share with others!
I use a first generation MacBook Pro and have just moved from Aperture to Lightroom (I'm in the process really) because of slow system performance with Aperture (Aperture, Lightroom, and Me).
For me the key was making a decision about what was most important, working on a portable computer or giving any of these applications what they want (fast processor, memory, fast HD, fast graphics card). I decided that I did not want to change my hardware setup just for the sake of one application as I know people do with photoshop all the time. I'm a serious photographer but I'm also serious about the other things I do with my computer. Lightroom gives me a bit more space to do other things than Aperture did. Yes, I wish I had more memory (I have 2 gigs, maxed out) but I will on whatever next computer I have.
A couple of weeks ago I switched from a HP Pavilion PC (512 MB RAM and 2.8Ghz AMD processor) to an iMac early 2006 (Intel Core Duo 2Ghz, with 2GB RAM) and it works like a charm.
Even with Lightroom, Photoshop and Safari or iTunes running at the same time.
I think the RAM is in most cases the big bottleneck.
I run lightroom with 30,000+ images (>12000 RAW) on an AGP 400Mhz G4 with 1.2Gb ram and yes it ain't the quickest when batch processing etc fbut for much of the time using the shortcuts I get to work at an acceptable pace- the creative processes don't always work that quick do they?!
I've got a 3.5yo Powerbook too - 1.5Ghz with 2GB ram and a 5,400rpm hard drive - and yes it's quite sloooowwww
Widgets! All those widgets hog space and memory even when you're not looking at them - so don't have any widgets running in dashboard.
And remember to check on our menu bar if any other applications are running up top that you don't need - such as any memory monitors or delicious toolbar etc.
My biggest issue is just the time it takes to edit all those RAW photos - time I don't have unfortunately!
I'll try Lightroom again and shut everything down see if it helps...
I travel with a tiny little Sony Vaio TX - 1Ghz processor, 1.5GB RAM and a really slow hard disk. Reducing disk usage is the key to overall improved performane, since it's the slowest part of any system. For me, the biggest win came from reducing the size of my catalog: I start a new one for each trip and then merge it into my master catalog on my much faster workstation when I get home. This keeps the catalog small, which helps performance significantly. LR 1.1 makes this a snap: export your "master" keyword list from your main catalog before you start, then import it into the new catalog you create.
Adding RAM can help Lightroom a lot. For you a 1GB chip costs under $100.00. That will max out your Powerbook's RAM at 2GB. Well worth the money.