Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I enjoyed your article on “Understanding ISO” in the November issue of Pixology. I had seen a video that suggested higher ISO settings don’t actually cause noise. What is your take on that idea?

Tim’s Quick Answer: With most cameras a higher ISO setting will result in more noise in the final image. The video in question focused on the fact that underexposure leads to noise, suggesting that the ISO setting played no role at all. But the ISO setting does impact noise levels.

More Detail: I often see photographers using semantics to try to make a claim that seems to contradict established knowledge in photography. This generally seems focused more on getting viewers to watch a video rather than on truly helping them understand an issue.

When you raise the ISO setting on a camera in order to maintain the same exposure you need to either use a faster shutter speed or use a smaller lens aperture. In other words, at a higher ISO setting you are capturing an image that is underexposed and then brightening the image through amplification.

It is true that underexposing an image will result in more noise. It is also true that amplification will result in more noise. But the fact of the matter is, increasing the ISO setting will increase noise levels with most cameras (a small number of cameras are ISO invariant, which mostly means they have excellent noise performance overall).

In addition, it is worth noting that using the ISO setting to increase the overall exposure is better than underexposing an image without raising the ISO setting. That is because in-camera amplification of the signal recorded by the image sensor results in less noise that post-capture brightening of the image.

So, raising the ISO setting will increase noise levels for most cameras in most circumstances. But generally speaking, the benefit of raising the ISO setting is greater than the risk of noise, in terms of being able to ensure a fast enough shutter speed to avoid motion blur or not having enough depth of field.

You can learn more about the ISO setting as it relates to exposure in the November 2021 issue of Pixology magazine. If you’re not already a subscriber, you can learn more about Pixology on the GreyLearning website here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/pixology-magazine

Today’s Question: I installed the Lightroom Classic upgrade yesterday. I then decided to revert to the previous version for now until users have more time to test it. I reloaded the old version and worked through reconnecting to my old catalog. It worked, but I might have just got lucky. Can you how to revert to old version? Thanks as always.

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can revert to an earlier version of Lightroom Classic by installing the previous version and then opening the version of your catalog from before the update to the new version. Just be sure that you don’t make any changes to the updated catalog before reverting to your previous catalog.

More Detail: When you install a “major” upgrade to Lightroom Classic that requires an update to the catalog file structure, the existing catalog will remain untouched, and a new copy of that catalog will be upgraded to the new version. This provides a way for you to revert to the previous version if you decide you don’t want to start using the new version yet.

While the old and new catalog will be retained as separate catalogs in this scenario, the new version of Lightroom Classic will actually replace the previous version. Therefore, the first thing you’ll need to do is install the previous version.

To install an older version of a Creative Cloud application, go to the Creative Cloud app, which is where you install updates. Choose “All Apps” from the top of the menu on the left side of the Creative Cloud dialog. Locate the application you want to revert (Lightroom Classic in this case) and click the button with three dots to the far right of that application to bring up a popup menu. Choose “Other Versions” from that popup menu.

In the dialog that appears you can then click the Install button for the most recent version before the current version. In this case that would involve installing Lightroom Classic version 10.4.

Once Lightroom Classic has been “updated” to the previous version you can navigate to the folder that contained your original catalog before the upgrade. Find the catalog file, which has a filename extension of “.lrcat”. Double-click on that file, and Lightroom Classic will launch with that catalog, and you can continue working as you had been before the update.

Also, note that today marks twenty years since I sent out the very first edition of the Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter. You can get information about an eBook I’ve published to commemorate this milestone (with options to pay to show your support or get the eBook for free) on the GreyLearning website here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/ask-tim-grey-20-years

Today’s Question: Is it a mistake to convert the raw capture originals to Adobe DNG when importing into Lightroom Classic? I wonder if for any reason Lightroom Classic disappears or I cannot use it anymore will I have a useless archive of DNG photos? Or what is the future of DNG?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I don’t think it is a mistake to convert proprietary raw captures to the Adobe DNG file format upon import to Lightroom Classic, but I don’t consider it to be a significant advantage either, all things considered.

More Detail: I prefer to keep my proprietary raw captures in the original file format when importing new photos into my Lightroom Classic catalog. This is in part because I like the notion of retaining the original capture file. In addition, this ensures I have the flexibility of being able to take advantage of special features that might only be supported by using a proprietary raw capture format in conjunction with software from the camera manufacturer, even though I don’t really anticipate needing to take advantage of that option.

There are some advantages to the Adobe DNG file format, to be sure. Among those benefits is the fact that the DNG format is openly documented, so that if for some reason Adobe decided to stop supporting the format in their software, other software companies could still provide support for the file format.

That said, more than a few companies (including Adobe) have reverse-engineered the various proprietary raw capture formats in order to enable their software to process those raw captures. In other words, there isn’t really much of a risk that it would be impossible for a given file format to be supported by software.

The bigger issue in my mind is that over a longer period of time, certain file formats may lose support very broadly. This isn’t something that would just happen overnight, but it is something that you should maintain an awareness off.

For example, the relatively new HEIC file format is a viable replacement for the JPEG image format, and so over time it is quite possible that software would discontinue support for JPEG images. Sometime before that were to happen you would want to be sure to convert your JPEG images to another image format. But again, this type of change is something that could be anticipated over time, as long as you were paying attention to changes in the overall world of photography and imaging.

In terms of the Adobe DNG file format, I don’t think there is any real risk of a lack of support for the file format in the near term. And if there were indications that Adobe was going to phase out the file format, I’m sure there would be a good amount of warning from others in the industry, including myself.

Today’s Question: I wanted to ask a question about taking a break from photography and what to do with my photos in the meantime. What to do with my Lightroom Classic catalog? I currently am paying the monthly Adobe Creative Cloud subscription but would like to stop. I’m not sure what will happen with my photos or how I would view them.

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can actually simply suspend your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, and you’ll still be able to import, manage, and export photos in the Library module. You won’t, however, be able to update your photos in the Develop module.

More Detail: While the Creative Cloud plans are subscription-based, if you cancel your subscription, you won’t lose access to your local photo storage or your Lightroom Classic catalog. You can therefore suspend your subscription and continue working in a limited fashion with Lightroom Classic.

As noted above, that includes being able to manage your photos in the Library module, including importing, organizing, and exporting photos. You won’t be able to work in the Develop module, but you could always export copies of your photos and use other software to apply any additional adjustments.

Should you decide you’d like to have full access to Lightroom Classic again, including new software updates, you can activate your subscription again. As needed, you would be able to upgrade Lightroom Classic and upgrade your existing catalog for that new version if applicable.

The bottom line is that suspending your Creative Cloud subscription is not as scary as it might seem when it comes to using the catalog in Lightroom Classic.

Today’s Question: I see that Adobe announced big changes to local corrections in Lightroom Classic 11. Do you think these updates make Photoshop less important for photographers?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, I do think the new changes to targeted adjustments (local corrections) in Lightroom Classic are significant and mean that photographers will be less likely to need to send photos to Photoshop for applying targeted adjustments.

More Detail: The new version 11 of Lightroom Classic represents a substantial change to how targeted adjustments are applied. There are new powerful options for automatically selecting the sky or a key subject in a photo, and very flexible options for assembling compound masks for photos.

While there are still situations where you will want to send a photo to Photoshop for some of the more powerful selection and masking features there, the new updates in Lightroom Classic 11 mean that more often than not you’ll be able to apply the targeted adjustments directly in Lightroom Classic.

These new features can be a little daunting at first, but rest assured that I have new content to help you master these new features. That includes new lessons on “Applying Targeted Adjustments” and “Updating Metadata for Your Photos” in my new “Lightroom Lectures” course. That course is included in the “Mastering Lightroom Classic” bundle, which you can find here:

https://www.greylearning.com/bundles/lightroom-classic-bundle

Today’s Question: I know I can copy settings to multiple images using copy settings in Lightroom Classic. Synchronize seems to do the same thing. Is there a difference?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The only difference is how you initiate the task of synchronizing the adjustment settings in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic. In other words, it is mostly a matter of personal preference in the context of your current workflow.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic includes a variety of ways that you can copy the adjustments settings from one image to one or more other images. All of these achieve the same goal, so it mostly depends on your personal preference, partially based on where you’re at in the workflow.

If you had just applied adjustments to a similar image before selecting an image that would benefit from the same adjustments, you can click the Previous button at the bottom of the left panel in the Develop module to apply those previous adjustments to the current image.

If you anticipate that you want to apply the same settings in real time to multiple images, you can select those images, and then turn on the Auto Sync feature by clicking the switch button on the left side of the Sync button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module.

If you want to synchronize to multiple photos after applying adjustments to a single photo, you can select all the photos you want to apply the same adjustments to, with the photo you already adjusted as the active image (the image showing in the preview area). Then click the Sync button at the bottom of the right panel and you’ll be able to select the adjustments you want to synchronize to all the selected photos.

You can also copy and paste the adjustment settings. Simply right-click on an image that has been adjusted and choose Develop Settings > Copy Settings from the menu. This will enable you to select the settings you want to copy, as with the Sync button noted above. Then select the photos you want to apply the same adjustments to, right-click, and choose Develop Settings > Paste Settings.

All of these options are the same in general in terms of being able to duplicate adjustment settings from one image to others. Of course, the Sync and Paste options include the option to selectively choose which adjustments you want to synchronize across multiple photos, which provides a bit more flexibility in that regard.

Today’s Question: I signed up for the Backblaze online backup at your recommendation and received an offer to upgrade to a one-year version history. Do you recommend this option, and if so, why?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you will be traveling or otherwise will have external hard drives disconnected from your computer for more than thirty days, I do recommend the extended version history option from Backblaze (https://timgrey.me/onlinebackup) to ensure your backups are not deleted from the Backblaze servers after the standard 30-day limit.

More Detail: Backblaze operates by more or less continuously scanning your system and backing up new or updated files to the Backblaze servers. This provides an offsite backup that you can recover from in the event that your local storage and local backup copies are lost.

With the default version history, Backblaze will only retain data that it has had access to on your storage devices within the last thirty days. What that means is that if, for example, an external hard drive has not been connected to your computer for more than thirty days, the backup from that drive on the Backblaze servers and won’t be recoverable.

If you’re not able to connect all of the external hard drives that you’re backing up with Backblaze at least every thirty days, this can become a problem. For example, at times I have trips that last more than thirty days, during which I leave some of my external hard drives at home. With the default version history Backblaze would delete the backups of those external hard drives during the trip.

Fortunately, by upgrading to the one-year version history option, you extend that thirty-day limit to a one-year limit. There is also a lifetime option so that your backups are never deleted, but keep in mind that this involves not only a higher subscription rate, but also a charge based on how much storage your backup consumes.

Today’s Question: How do backup programs like GoodSync and Backblaze avoid copying/mirroring corrupted files so that the backups aren’t just copies of corrupted primary files?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In many cases, they don’t. While backup software may use checksums to validate files, they can’t always detect corruption within the file. Therefore, a backup may include the corruption from the original, unless you have a backup from far enough back that it precedes the corruption of the original file.

More Detail: File corruption can be a very tricky issue to deal with. In general, corruption occurs when the information contained in a file is not recorded accurately when the file is moved or copied. While software uses checksums in an effort to prevent these issues, corruption can still occur such as when a storage device has a physical fault.

If a file becomes corrupted, backup software will most likely duplicate that corruption, so that both the original file and the backup copy are corrupted. This creates a problem when you’re trying to salvage an image that has become corrupted. The only real solution is to revert to an older backup copy of the image from before the corruption occurred. In many cases, of course, you may not have an old enough backup copy to recover from.

Many backup software solutions include the ability to retain various versions of files. This can help overcome corrupted images in some situations. For example, Backblaze (https://timgrey.me/onlinebackup) by default maintains versions of files going back thirty days. GoodSync (http://timgrey.me/greybackup) also includes an option to maintain versions of files as they are updated.

Of course, a corrupted image won’t always be identified as a different version of an image, so it can be difficult to completely protect against corruption of files. Even though a backup is not a perfect solution, I do recommend backing up regularly. It is also important to maintain an awareness of any odd storage issues or errors, to ensure you catch any issues that might lead to corruption as quickly as possible. You can then, for example, replace a failing hard drive before a significant loss of photos or other data.

Today’s Question: If you make a virtual copy and decide that the virtual copy is your preferred edit can you delete the original file and just keep the virtual copy, or would that cause you to lose all copies of the photo? Would I just need to keep both copies even though I only really want the virtual copy?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In this situation you can actually convert the virtual copy to the master, which will cause what had been the master photo to be a virtual copy. That virtual copy can then be removed, retaining what had been the virtual copy interpretation of the photo as the new master version of the photo.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic enables you to have more than one interpretation of the same photo. That is implemented by having a master photo in addition to the option to have one or more virtual copies based on the master photo. For example, you might have a master photo in color, and then a virtual copy for that same photo as a black and white interpretation.

If you were to delete the master photo, all virtual copies based on that master photo would also be deleted. So, in this context you definitely don’t want to delete the master photo.

Instead, you can convert your preferred virtual copy to become the master photo. Simply select that virtual copy and from the menu choose Photo > Set Copy as Original. This will effectively swap the master photo and the virtual copy. In the example above the black and white image would become the master image, and the color image would be the virtual copy.

At that point, since the master image reflects the desired adjustments, you can delete the virtual copy that you now consider an outtake. To remove the virtual copy simply right-click and choose Remove Photo from the popup menu.

I realize this can all be a little confusing. The thing to keep in mind is that adjustments in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic simply represents metadata assigned to the image. Initially the Develop metadata is assigned to the master image. When you create a virtual copy a new set of adjustment metadata is assigned to the virtual copy, but really both are referencing the same image file on your hard drive. As noted above, you can then choose to define a virtual copy as the master image in terms of the adjustments you prefer, and then remove any virtual copies that you no longer want to retain.

Today’s Question: I’ve heard that a carbon fiber tripod is better for use in cold weather compared to an aluminum tripod. Is this true?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, an aluminum tripod will transmit the cold more than a carbon fiber tripod, which can make handling a tripod in cold weather more uncomfortable. But there are a variety of simple ways to work around this.

More Detail: Both aluminum and carbon fiber tripods can be used in cold weather very effectively. However, it can be more comfortable to handle a carbon fiber tripod in the cold because the tripod itself won’t get as cold to the touch as an aluminum tripod.

An obvious solution would be to simply wear gloves when it is cold. That’s a good idea in general, but of course wearing gloves can make it more difficult to handle a tripod and adjust camera settings. As a result, you’ll probably find yourself without gloves for at least a brief period of time when photographing in the cold.

Another great solution is to use leg wraps for your tripod. This can be helpful to avoid directly touching the metal legs of an aluminum tripod, and also makes the tripod more comfortable if you rest it on your shoulder. I recommend the LensCoat LegCoat Wraps, which you can find here (just be sure to get the right size for your specific tripod):

https://timgrey.me/legwraps