# Importation of 32 bit files and photos to a 64 bit OS



## Lewi (Nov 29, 2021)

I'm interested in buying the newer local (non-cloud version) of 6 that I now use.  Does the new "Classic" accept importation of 32 bit files and photos?  Apple seems insistent on an upgrade from 14 to the latest 64 bit version of the OS.  Thanks for your answer in advance.


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## Paul_DS256 (Nov 29, 2021)

The 64 bit refers to executables in the operating system I believe. Your existing files will be fine. I've had no problems moving old images from 32 to 64 Windows.  

You did get me wondering and since I shoot Nikon, I found this article which states  "_RAW files are 16-bit files whereas JPEGs are 8-bit files_".


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## Jimmsp (Nov 29, 2021)

Screen said:


> I'm interested in buying the newer local (non-cloud version) of 6 that I now use.  Does the new "Classic" accept importation of 32 bit files and photos?  Apple seems insistent on an upgrade from 14 to the latest 64 bit version of the OS.  Thanks for your answer in advance.


Can I assume you are talking about 32 bit HDR files?
I found this article   https://www.rendernode.com/using-photoshops-camera-raw-to-edit-32-bit-hdr-images/
It is recent, but I can't find a publication date.
Classic uses the latest Camera Raw, the same as PS.

If you have a file you want to test, stick it in Dropbox (or similar) and I'll test it for you.


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## Johan Elzenga (Nov 29, 2021)

Screen said:


> I'm interested in buying the newer local (non-cloud version) of 6 that I now use.  Does the new "Classic" accept importation of 32 bit files and photos?  Apple seems insistent on an upgrade from 14 to the latest 64 bit version of the OS.  Thanks for your answer in advance.


Those two bits have nothing to do with each other. Images have a certain number of bits per pixel. An '8 bits' image is 24 bits per pixel total, because all three colors are defined by 8 bits. A '16 bits' image has 48 bits per pixel, because all three colors are defined by 16 bits. A '32 bits' image is an HDR image.

The latest MacOS versions only run apps that are 64 bits, but that has nothing to do with the number of bits per pixel of images. Lightroom Classic has been 64 bits for years. Even Lightroom 6 was already 64 bits (but the installer and the license verification is not).


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## clee01l (Nov 29, 2021)

Johan Elzenga said:


> The latest MacOS versions only run apps that are 64 bits,


To expand upon what Johan is saying:  This applies only to the executable app it self.  Modern apps that run on the latest MacOS computers need to be coded and compiled to run in a 64 bit architecture.   The difference is in the operating systems and the programs coded to run on those operating systems.  Current Windows and MacOS systems are both 64 bit.  Yet applications are compiled specifically to run on one system or the other.   Similarly 8 bit, 16 bit , 32 bit and 64bit Operating systems are so radically different that a program coded for one architecture will not run on the other.


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## Conrad Chavez (Nov 30, 2021)

"Bits" is always relative to something, but people tend to say "bits" as a shorthand without context, which creates confusion. There are more distinctions to be aware of here.



Screen said:


> Apple seems insistent on an upgrade from 14 to the latest 64 bit version of the OS.


There never was a 14-bit macOS. The original Mac (1984) ran Classic Mac OS on a 32-bit processor with a 16-bit data bus. By 1988 the Mac ran on a processor that was 32 bits throughout. The powerful new Apple Silicon processors are 64-bit only, so partly to prepare the Mac software base for that, a few years ago Apple started requiring all software to be compatible with 64-bit processing.

As the others said, none of that applies to the number of bits making up an image file, which is a totally different context. Even here there has often been confusion when people talk about image specs, because to be precisely understood, you have to be clear about whether you’re talking about the number of bits _in total_, or about the number of bits _per channel_.

For example, people started talking about “32-bit images” over 20 years ago. But those are not the same as the 32-bit images we talk about today. Back then, it was about having four channels of 8 bits each (red, green, blue, and alpha for transparency). 4 x 8 = 32. Today we would think of that as an 8 bits per channel image. When we talk about 32-bit images today, like the ones Photoshop and Lightroom use for HDR, we actually mean 32 bits per channel, not in total. Also, some people talk about “48-bit scanners” but that actually means a scanner that saves 16 bits of data in each of three channels (red, green, blue). That’s really 16 bits per channel; 16 x 3 = 48.

To avoid that kind of confusion when discussing bits and multi-channel images, it’s best to say “bits per channel” and not just “bits.” That’s consistent with the Image > Mode submenu in Photoshop.



Paul_DS256 said:


> You did get me wondering and since I shoot Nikon, I found this article which states  "_RAW files are 16-bit files whereas JPEGs are 8-bit files_".


The linked article is actually not sufficiently clear on this. Not all raw files are 16 bits. Early raw-capable cameras saved at 10- or 12-bit raw files, hundreds of models in the last few years save 12-or 14-bit raw files, and currently a few high-end models save 16-bit raw files. Even though it’s a Nikon article, it sort of muddies the differences between the bit depth of the sensor, the bit depth of the raw file saved by the camera, and the bit depth of the non-raw file format the raw file may be converted to. For example, you can shoot with a 14-bit sensor set to save a 12-bit raw file, then when converted to Photoshop or TIFF format it can then become an 8- or 16-bits per channel RGB file.

Not even all Nikon cameras save 16-bit raw files. The Nikon D1X (2001) was one of those early models that saved 12-bit raw files, and the D850 (2017) can save 12- or 14-bit raw files.

If you noticed I wasn’t saying “bits per channel” in this last raw section even though I just said that we should, that’s because a raw file has only one channel of data (it hasn’t yet been demosaiced into three RGB channels).

The answer to the original question is that Lightroom Classic 11 doesn’t change the types of files that you can import, compared to earlier versions.


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## Lewi (Dec 1, 2021)

LAW said:


> I'm interested in buying the newer local (non-cloud version) of 6 that I now use.  Does the new "Classic" accept importation of 32 bit files and photos?  Apple seems insistent on an upgrade from 14 to the latest 64 bit version of the OS.  Thanks for your answer in advance.


OK I intended to say VERSION 10.14 to 12.0 (Monterrey).  These new Apple OS's WILL NOT run all programs previously used on th 10.14 system.  I really don't want to get into a vocabulary food fight here I just want to know how to install 1Monterrey ,2 Classic and 3 transfer my files and photos from Lr6 currently on my 10.14 OS..  There must be a way, but I just don't want to lose 20K+photos in the process.   Thanks for any help I can get.


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## Paul_DS256 (Dec 1, 2021)

LAW said:


> I just want to know how to install 1Monterrey ,2 Classic and 3 transfer my files and photos from Lr6 currently on my 10.14 OS..


In terms of points 2 and 3 see https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/ and https://laurashoe.com/2018/12/10/ho...sic-cc-from-lightroom-6-and-earlier-versions/


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## clee01l (Dec 2, 2021)

Paul_DS256 said:


> In terms of points 2 and 3 see https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/ and https://laurashoe.com/2018/12/10/ho...sic-cc-from-lightroom-6-and-earlier-versions/



The rest of it is automatic. Unless you are getting a new computer, Nothing else is needed. You will install Adobe Creative Cloud App Manager and let it install LrC v11. LrC v11 will open your LR6 catalog to make an LrCv11 catalog file. Everything will remain in place where they were when you were running MacOS 10.14


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Conrad Chavez (Dec 2, 2021)

LAW said:


> Does the new "Classic" accept importation of 32 bit files and photos?


And just to be clear, the answer to that original question is that Lightroom Classic 11 should be able to import at least as many files and types as Lightroom 6. Other than the usual updates to add support for new cameras and lenses, there are no new restrictions on import file formats that I can think of.


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## Lewi (Dec 2, 2021)

Conrad Chavez said:


> And just to be clear, the answer to that original question is that Lightroom Classic 11 should be able to import at least as many files and types as Lightroom 6. Other than the usual updates to add support for new cameras and lenses, there are no new restrictions on import file formats that I can think of.


IMy questions have been answered thanks to forum members.


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