Embedded Previews

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Today’s Question: With a high-resolution camera do you recommend making use of the embedded preview option in Lightroom Classic CC rather than generating Standard previews on import?

Tim’s Quick Answer: On balance, I still recommend using the Standard (or 1:1) preview option in Lightroom rather than making use of the embedded previews that are included in proprietary raw captures.

More Detail: Choosing the option during import to use the embedded previews rather than generating Standard (or 1:1) previews could potentially speed up your workflow a little bit, since the embedded previews are already available and Lightroom would therefore not need to perform any additional work to generate replacement previews.

However, the embedded previews won’t necessarily match Lightroom’s interpretation of the photos, since the embedded previews are generated by the camera rather than Lightroom. Also, those embedded previews would not reflect Lightroom adjustments, such as if you had applied a Develop module preset during the import process. I apply profile-based lens corrections at import, for example, so all photos will have that correction by default. The embedded preview would not reflect those changes.

So, on balance I still prefer to have Lightroom generate the Standard previews during import. It takes a little extra time as part of the overall import process, but I feel that is time well spent.