# Upgrade Cost?



## tlsmith1000 (Jan 10, 2012)

I'm probably being a bit premature, but has anyone heard what the upgrade cost will be when this is released? I finally broke down and bought LR3 just a few months ago, version 3.5 was out and 3.6 was released a few weeks after. I like the new features but I'm not too keen on shelling out even more money just yet.


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## Denis Pagé (Jan 10, 2012)

Welcome to Lightroom Forums tlsmith!

Adobe didn't release any price yet but since release 1, the upgrade price to 2 then 3 was always around the third of the full price.

But also consider they added much this time again. It is just a matter to know if you need those new features now...


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## tlsmith1000 (Jan 10, 2012)

So I should figure on about a $100 upgrade cost. That isn't too bad. I've already found that the selective editing tool doesn't do everything that I would like but that the new version will.


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## clee01l (Jan 10, 2012)

tlsmith1000 said:


> So I should figure on about a $100 upgrade cost. That isn't too bad. I've already found that the selective editing tool doesn't do everything that I would like but that the new version will.


Unless Adobe has a different price for V4.x.


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## happycranker (Jan 12, 2012)

At least Adobe have now backed of the new price/upgrade policy for Photoshop, so we don't have to worry that the same thing could happen for LR.....


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 12, 2012)

Peter, they've only done this as an offer this time - once CS6 is released, then it will revert to their announcement of single-jump discounted upgrades.  But no, I wouldn't worry about LR anytime soon, as it's targeting a different audience.


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## DWPhotos (Jan 13, 2012)

I'm curious, too. I purchased LR approximately 3 weeks ago and am now wondering whether or not I'll be eligible for a complimentary upgrade. Is there a general rule for the time of puchase before a new version is introduced to be eligible for a complimentary upgrade?


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 13, 2012)

In the past it's been around 30 days before the final release, so probably not.  You could see if Adobe's upgrade policy would allow you to return LR3 and wait for LR4 though.


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## jrmontag (Jan 19, 2012)

*Estimate on LR4 release date?*

Hello, 

I've just started using LR3 (halfway through the trial period) and am planning to make a purchase of one version or another. I'm wondering if anyone can make any reasonable estimates as to when LR4 will be officially released? Though it's tempting to pull the trigger on LR3, it also seems silly knowing that an $x upgrade is going to be available soon(?). 

Thanks!


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## clee01l (Jan 19, 2012)

Jrmontag, welcome to the forum.  Suggestions on release dates coming from anyone here will be just a guess.  The current beta expires 3/31.  That does not mean LR4 will be available by then.  There could be second or even third betas (LR4b2 etc.) and eventually there will be a Release Candidate (LR4RC)  The testing phase could be compressed and it could stretch out well beyond  3/31.  Suffice to say your trial will likely expire before LR4.0 is released.  It is possible the Adobe could announce special pricing, or free upgrades for new LR purchasers.  If I were in your situation, I would hold off on buying until your trial is ready to expire in hope that there might be a definitive announcement from Adobe about purchasing.


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## MarkNicholas (Jan 19, 2012)

Well for all those still on Windows XP there is the additional cost upgrading to Windows 7...and in my case a whole new computer, so the actual LR4 upgrade cost pales into insignificance !


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## Denis de Gannes (Jan 19, 2012)

The bottom line is pretty soon the reality is that Win XP cannot support the new technology. Its not that the software providers are unwilling to support the older OS. Support on Mac is now down to Snow Leopard and Lion. A much shorter lifespan than Win XP, Snow Leopard was released within the last three years.


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 19, 2012)

clee01l said:


> That does not mean LR4 will be available by then.



There was a note in Tom's blog post that said it would be.  It's a short beta this time round.

I'm in the dark on pricing too.  In the past, we'd have quoted previous years, but will all the changes going on at Adobe, I'm not so sure it'll follow past patterns,


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## Brendatn (Feb 1, 2012)

I am planning on buying Lightroom. I used the trial on the 3 now I am on the 4 beta. Right now Amazon has it for $139 for the 3. I am wondering if that will be the best way to go. Buy this and then later upgrade. My question is in the past does the full version start off well over $200? I am wondering if the $139.00 is rock bottom or will it continue to fall. I guess just a gamble.


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## clee01l (Feb 1, 2012)

Brendatn said:


> I am planning on buying Lightroom. I used the trial on the 3 now I am on the 4 beta. Right now Amazon has it for $139 for the 3. I am wondering if that will be the best way to go. Buy this and then later upgrade. My question is in the past does the full version start off well over $200? I am wondering if the $139.00 is rock bottom or will it continue to fall. I guess just a gamble.


Brendatn, welcome to the forum.  I'm not sure if Adobe has released anything substantial on the price yet.  If the past can be an indicator of the future, Lightroom3 retailed for $299USD. and an upgrade from V2.x to V3 was $99USD. .  So, with that assumption, your $139 full license  plus a $99 upgrade would coust you $238 to get into V4.  But future pricing is a big unknown.  Lightroom competitors like Aperture and Corel Aftershot Pro (Formerly BibblePro5) are retailing for $79.99  and $99 respectively.  With that kind of competitive pricing, Adobe will have a difficult time if it continues to sell Lightroom for $300. 

My recommendation would be to hold on to your trial version of LR 3.6 until it expires, Then if you have to, use the beta version until LR4 is released or a known pricing strategy is announced.  An Attractive pricing option if you qualify is to purchase LR3 with an educational/Academic License. price of $99 for the full version  (less if you shop around).  There is no discount if you upgrade an educational license, since the upgrade price has always been $99 too.


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## eheffa (Feb 2, 2012)

I think the real cost will be in upgrading the hardware to run LR4 without a lot of lag.  
My 2006-2007 MacPro (3.0 Octocore with 24 GB RAM & SSD) runs Photoshop CS5 quite quickly and acceptably with very large files, but has been struggling with LR 3.6 & LR4b.  The SSD has helped a bit (contrary to some reports), but I'm guessing that I might need a new computer if LR4 doesn't improve on the speed front.  (The cost of upgrading the LR software itself will be trivial by comparison.)

-evan


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## clee01l (Feb 15, 2012)

Today I was made aware of a Complimentary upgrade policy from Adobe.  "eligible for a complimentary upgrade if you bought your software product (full or upgrade) soon after a new version was announced." This has only been in effect since January 2012. The details can be found here. http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/153/tn_15304.html

Currently Adobe is offering LR3 full version for 50% off ($149USD) at the website  Adorama has it listed for $99USD with an additional $20 rebate making it $79USD.


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## Victoria Bampton (Feb 15, 2012)

Just be aware that Lightroom 4 hasn't been announced yet.  Although the public beta's out, it doesn't count as the release announcement.


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## Brendatn (Feb 15, 2012)

The $99 is the upgrade version upgrading to lightroom 3 from lightroom 2. To buy it for the first time is $134.95 right now. Amazon is $138 and B& H is $134. I haven't decided to go for this or see if it goes lower. I guess a gamble.


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## Brendatn (Feb 15, 2012)

Just bought the full version at B & H for $69 with free shipping. Hope it doesn't get here and is a mistake and is the upgrade. It was $134 there yesterday.


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## rddayton (Feb 15, 2012)

That $69.95 (US) price from B&H is a "one day only sale" for Februaray 15.  They also are offering Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements 10 for the same price.  No rebates-- just an instant savings of $200 per package at B&H.  They also have big discounts on Adobe CS 5.5 and Premiere for PC or Mac are selling for just $900 instead of $1699.  Hopefully it's a sign of things to come from Adobe.


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## clee01l (Feb 15, 2012)

Victoria Bampton said:


> Just be aware that Lightroom 4 hasn't been announced yet.  Although the public beta's out, it doesn't count as the release announcement.


The Complementary Policy does say to first check with an Adobe representative  (with a link) for verification to see if your purchase will qualify.  Excluded from the policy are eBay purchases and purchases through the Mac App Store (even though LR is not currently sold through the Mac App store).


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## MPRamsey (Feb 15, 2012)

clee01l said:


> Brendatn, welcome to the forum.  I'm not sure if Adobe has released anything substantial on the price yet.  If the past can be an indicator of the future, Lightroom3 retailed for $299USD. and an upgrade from V2.x to V3 was $99USD. .  So, with that assumption, your $139 full license  plus a $99 upgrade would coust you $238 to get into V4.  But future pricing is a big unknown.  Lightroom competitors like Aperture and Corel Aftershot Pro (Formerly BibblePro5) are retailing for $79.99  and $99 respectively.  With that kind of competitive pricing, Adobe will have a difficult time if it continues to sell Lightroom for $300.
> 
> My recommendation would be to hold on to your trial version of LR 3.6 until it expires, Then if you have to, use the beta version until LR4 is released or a known pricing strategy is announced.  An Attractive pricing option if you qualify is to purchase LR3 with an educational/Academic License. price of $99 for the full version  (less if you shop around).  There is no discount if you upgrade an educational license, since the upgrade price has always been $99 too.



My understanding is that Educational/Academic License can not be upgraded to the next major version (LR3.x to LR4).  Can anyone confirm?


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## clee01l (Feb 15, 2012)

MPRamsey said:


> My understanding is that Educational/Academic License can not be upgraded to the next major version (LR3.x to LR4).  Can anyone confirm?


I think the proper term in Educational/Academic price for a LR License. (Note the distinction) There is no Educational/Academic upgrade price. Once you own a licence, you may upgrade at the standard upgrade price.  Adobe only tracks Licenses, not how you paid for them  At least this is how it has been handled in the past.  I upgraded my LR2.x purchased with an academic discount to LR3 purchased at the standard upgrade price. 

You might also note that some schools purchase under a volume discount pricing and resell to students at an attractive price for the students.  This is not the same as the Educational/Academic price offered directly through Adobe or from the Academic retailers.


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## jbourne (Feb 16, 2012)

Also factor in the cost of Windows 7 if you are not on it already. I believe that LR4 won't run on XP


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## tlsmith1000 (Jan 10, 2012)

I'm probably being a bit premature, but has anyone heard what the upgrade cost will be when this is released? I finally broke down and bought LR3 just a few months ago, version 3.5 was out and 3.6 was released a few weeks after. I like the new features but I'm not too keen on shelling out even more money just yet.


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## wtlloyd (Feb 19, 2012)

Regarding upgrades, be aware that in the past Adobe have offered bundled upgrades for those who have both Lightroom and Photoshop. I have twice taken advantage of this discount, but you need to wait a few weeks for both programs to be available in their new versions.
That is, IIRC, Lightroom in the past was released before Photoshop (new versions) and the bundled discounted upgrade price became available when Photoshop new version was released a couple weeks later...


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