Month: October 2018

Today’s Question: My computer is running out of storage space. Can I delete the smart previews from my catalog? Can I delete them from the folder that contains my Lightroom catalog, or should I do it within Lightroom?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To delete Smart Previews in Lightroom, I recommend Using the menu command Library > Previews > Discard Smart Previews. You can first navigate to the folder that contains the photos you want to remove Smart Previews for, or even choose the All Photographs collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module. Then choose the Discard Smart Previews command, and choose the “Discard All” option if you want to discard previews for all photos in the current location.

More Detail: In theory you could simply delete the Smart Previews file from the folder where your Lightroom catalog is stored. However, because you are able to work offline in the Develop module with Smart Previews, there is some risk that you could lose changes you’ve applied to photos based on Smart Previews.

Instead, I recommend using the Discard Smart Previews command from within Lightroom. First navigate to the location that contains the photos you want to discard previews for. As noted above, you could also select the “All Photographs” collection from the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module if you want to discard all Smart Previews for all photos in your catalog.

You can then choose Library > Previews > Discard Smart Previews from the menu. In the confirmation dialog you can choose Discard All if you want to discard Smart Previews for all photos from the current location, rather than only the selected photos.

I do recommend performing a optimization of your Lightroom catalog after performing this type of task, which can help optimize the catalog and improve performance. This is an option available when you perform a catalog backup in Lightroom, but you can also choose File > Optimize Catalog from the menu to begin the optimization process.

Today’s Question: I’ve been using HDR Efex Pro from the Nik Collection for some time, and am very happy with it. However, I’ve seen some indications that there may be issues with the older version of the Nik Collection, and I don’t plan to buy the new version from DxO Software. Is there another HDR software application you can recommend as an alternative to HDR Efex Pro?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Aurora HDR from Skylum software has become my preferred tool for creating HDR images, and I recently had the chance to test the new Aurora HDR 2019 version of this software. This update will be available starting on October 4th, but you can pre-order the software here: https://timgrey.me/aurora2019

More Detail: I had long been a fan of HDR Efex Pro, which is part of the Nik Collection. As many readers know, the software was acquired by Google, and ultimately provided as a free download. Since then, the software has been acquired by DxO Software.

The first release of the Nik Collection from DxO Software doesn’t offer any new features, but instead simply provides an update that will ensure more users are able to continue using the software tools included in this collection even with newer software and operating system updates.

It is important to note, however, that if you install the free trial of the Nik Collection from DxO Software, any existing installation of an earlier version of the software will no longer work after the trial period ends. In other words, the previous version of the Nik Collection from Google won’t work anymore, and you would need to purchase a new license from DxO Software to continue using the software.

In part due to these issues, and in part because of the great strides made by Skylum Software, I’ve started using Aurora HDR instead of HDR Efex Pro, and am very happy with the results. The next updated version is Aurura HDR 2019, which will be available on October 4th. You can pre-order this new update directly from Skylum Software by following this link:

https://timgrey.me/aurora2019

Today’s Question: I don’t know how I never knew about this, but I just learned that my camera has a mirror lockup feature. Should I leave this turned on always?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I only recommend enabling the mirror lock-up feature when you are using a shutter speed that is at (or very close to) 1/15th of a second. At shutter speeds that are a bit faster or slower than 1/15th of a second it is safe to leave this feature turned off.

More Detail: In an SLR camera there is a mirror that diverts the light from the lens away from the image sensor (or film) and up to the viewfinder. This is what enables you to see the view through the lens when configuring a photo. The mirror then moves out of the way for the actual exposure.

The reason the mirror lock-up feature exists is to enable you to compensate for the vibrations caused by the movement of the mirror. When you enable the mirror lock-up feature, you will generally press the shutter release button twice to capture a photo. The first time the mirror will be locked up, and the second time the photo will be captured. This enables you to have the vibrations from the movement of the mirror dissipate before you capture the photo.

When the shutter speed is a bit faster than about 1/15th of a second, the exposure is so short that the vibrations caused by the mirror movement shouldn’t affect your photo. Obviously the faster the shutter speed (the shorter the exposure time) the less this vibration is a factor.

With exposures that are a bit longer than 1/15th of a second, the portion of the exposure that is affected by the vibration will be very minor compared to the overall exposure, and so the impact on the photo will be minimal (or non-existent).

Naturally, you could simply leave the mirror lock-up feature enabled for all photos to ensure the vibrations caused by the movement of the mirror are never a factor. However, it is only with shutter speeds of around 1/15th of a second where this can be a significant consideration.

Note, by the way, that the mirror lock-up feature is addressed in lesson 3 of my “Photo Gear Quick Tips” course, which you can find in the GreyLearning library here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/photo-gear-quick-tips