Today’s Question: I noticed that Camera Raw [via Photoshop] has a feature for the Remove tool that automatically removes dust spots. This option doesn’t exist in Lightroom Classic. Am I looking in the wrong place? Or can I invoke Camera Raw from Lightroom Classic?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The dust detection feature for the Remove tool is currently only available for Camera Raw as an “Early Access” feature. I expect the same feature will be added to Lightroom Classic (and Lightroom) in the near future.
More Detail: Generally speaking, Adobe maintains parity across Camera Raw, Lightroom, and the Develop module in Lightroom Classic, in terms of having the same features for optimizing photos. Lately, there have been some features added to Camera Raw before they are available in Lightroom or Lightroom Classic. I expect that is what’s currently happening with the dust detection feature for the Remove tool in Camera Raw.
The Dust option can be found in the Distraction Removal section of the right panel for the Remove tool in Camera Raw. When you expand the Dust section you’ll see that there is an “Early Access” banner to the right of the “Apply” checkbox, which indicates this is in effect a beta feature that isn’t quite ready for full release.
My testing has shown that this feature works remarkably well. It essentially identifies where dust spots exist in the image and adds a removal spot for the Remove tool based on that detection.
For the time being, if you want to use this feature, you’ll need to open an image in Camera Raw, such as from Photoshop or Adobe Bridge. You could also send an image from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop as a Smart Object. This is done by selecting the image in Lightroom Classic and then from the menu choosing Photo > Edit In > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. You can then apply the Camera Raw filter (Filter > Camera Raw Filter) to the image to access Camera Raw and the dust removal feature. However, based on past experience I am confident Adobe will add this feature to both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom in the relatively near future.
