Slow Import speed in Lightroom 5.6

R

Revet

Senior Member
Ever since I downloaded the newest upgrade for Lightroom (now 5.6) my import speed is very slow. For example, yesterday I imported 60 Raw photos and it took over 4 hours. Prior to the 5.6 version is was much much quicker than this.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this issue???

Here is some info on the hardware and settings:

I do keep my photos on an external hard drive which is a USB-3 type. The hard drive is only 10% full.
My catalog is also on the same external hard drive
The computer is a Dell less than one year old. I can't remember all the parameters but it was a high end computer for Dell ($1400)
I import RAW photos from a Nikon D3100 and convert them to DNG format (no copies made)
I do create 1:1 previews but that is not the step that takes a long time (The 60 photos took about 10 mins to do 1:1 previews)
I do not create XMP sidecar files, all other metadata boxes are checked in the Catalog settings.
My cache size is 3 gigs, the catalog size is 17 gigs
Everything else is set as default Lightroom settings.

Thanks for any help
 
W

wornish

Senior Member
That does seem extremely slow. I imported 120 raw files yesterday from my camera via USB and it took less than 5 minutes on my iMac (not the latest spec) running LR 5.6 I don't do any conversions on the initial import though I keep the files as NEF and move them onto my hard drive the average file size being about 38MB. My LR catalogue is quite small only around 3GB as I don't use 100% previews in general.

I have read on the LR blog that very large catalogues with approaching 50,000 pics in them used to slow the system down but I thought this was fixed in earlier releases.

How many pics are in your catalogue ?

A good test would be to create an empty new catalogue and try the import again to see if its LR or something else.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
I import, convert to DNG (RAW file and a fast load embedded). I can't say it is super fast but 4 hours for 60 shots is exceptionally slow.

Is it possible you got some other program creating the delay? Like a virus checker going through all data?
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
Btw, did you try changing the cache settings to see if it makes a difference?

I just checked the time. I imported and converted 34 D3300 shots in less then 4 minutes with LR 5.6 on a computer older than yours. Only difference is I import from my internal C: to my D:.
 
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BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
LR imports in two phases, each with an associated status bar that moves across the top of the import dialog:

1) Importing the photo to the catalog, which may include a move from the card to the storage medium, and conversion to DNG.

2) Creating the preview and applying default presets and metadata. You said that it's not the preview portion that is taking a long time, so I'm assuming it's taking you a long time to physically move the photos from the card to the storage medium, right?

You say that you have a USB 3 drive, but in my experience computers and laptops may come with multiple USB ports but not all of them may be USB 3. Are you sure the drive is plugged into a USB 3 port? Are you sure the lag time is in the first phase? Are you importing directly from an SD card reader or are you attaching the camera? In your conversion to DNG are the settings such that it retains the original RAW file within the DNG structure (in Preferences under File Handling), and was it this way before (embedding the original file takes longer)? Is the Embed Fast Load Data box checked? Have you tried just importing the RAW file without conversion to see if that's where the problem is?

In my experience, the first phase has always been the quickest, though the DNG conversion can slow things down, but not to the extent you're seeing. I suspect that it has something to do with moving the data ... if the slowness is happening in the first phase. I heartily recommend removing the SD card from the camera and using a good reader to import, and most newer computers have a slot already in them which should ensure your fastest read speeds. Again, make sure that the USB drive is in a USB 3 port.

Instead of using LR, as a test just try copying files from the card to the source drive with nothing else different (i.e. if the camera is connected then simply access the files from that attached resource). If the copy speeds are very fast then your issue is definitely in LR, so if it's in the first phase then it's probably in the DNG conversion piece, so check those options.

Is there a particular reason you're using DNG? I know a lot of Adobe scholars recommend it for "better software compatibility", and I used to do it. But I've since stopped because I've found that some products (i.e. DxO Optics Pro) will not read the Adobe DNG format (at least the files I have), and some contest sites will not accept DNG's as proof of original photo unless the RAW file is embedded, and that just makes for BIG files. If data transfer isn't your problem remove the conversion step and test again.
 
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paul04

Senior Member
Not had a problem loading photos in lightroom 5.6
.


how do you upload your pictures? by card reader or connect your camera to the computer.
 
R

Revet

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
LR imports in two phases, each with an associated status bar that moves across the top of the import dialog:

1) Importing the photo to the catalog, which may include a move from the card to the storage medium, and conversion to DNG.

2) Creating the preview and applying default presets and metadata. You said that it's not the preview portion that is taking a long time, so I'm assuming it's taking you a long time to physically move the photos from the card to the storage medium, right?

You say that you have a USB 3 drive, but in my experience computers and laptops may come with multiple USB ports but not all of them may be USB 3. Are you sure the drive is plugged into a USB 3 port? Are you sure the lag time is in the first phase? Are you importing directly from an SD card reader or are you attaching the camera? In your conversion to DNG are the settings such that it retains the original RAW file within the DNG structure (in Preferences under File Handling), and was it this way before (embedding the original file takes longer)? Is the Embed Fast Load Data box checked? Have you tried just importing the RAW file without conversion to see if that's where the problem is?

In my experience, the first phase has always been the quickest, though the DNG conversion can slow things down, but not to the extent you're seeing. I suspect that it has something to do with moving the data ... if the slowness is happening in the first phase. I heartily recommend removing the SD card from the camera and using a good reader to import, and most newer computers have a slot already in them which should ensure your fastest read speeds. Again, make sure that the USB drive is in a USB 3 port.

Instead of using LR, as a test just try copying files from the card to the source drive with nothing else different (i.e. if the camera is connected then simply access the files from that attached resource). If the copy speeds are very fast then your issue is definitely in LR, so if it's in the first phase then it's probably in the DNG conversion piece, so check those options.

Is there a particular reason you're using DNG? I know a lot of Adobe scholars recommend it for "better software compatibility", and I used to do it. But I've since stopped because I've found that some products (i.e. DxO Optics Pro) will not read the Adobe DNG format (at least the files I have), and some contest sites will not accept DNG's as proof of original photo unless the RAW file is embedded, and that just makes for BIG files. If data transfer isn't your problem remove the conversion step and test again.
Click to expand...


I do use a card reader, I do fast embed, the original raw is not embedded, I do use a USB 3.0 (the cable is a 3.0 and the input has that blue part in it, I believe that would mean it is a 3.0 correct??)

I think the problem is solved, I cleared both caches. I just imported 50 raw photos in about 1 1/2 mins. YEAH!!!!

I don't think I will be entering any photo contests, would you still recommend using Copy instead of DNG?? Do you create sidecar files?? I create 1:1 previews which automatically erase in a week. I do this so that photos load faster in the develop module while I am working on them. Is that reasonable??? Thanks for the advise!!
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Revet said:
I do use a card reader, I do fast embed, the original raw is not embedded, I do use a USB 3.0 (the cable is a 3.0 and the input has that blue part in it, I believe that would mean it is a 3.0 correct??)

I think the problem is solved, I cleared both caches. I just imported 50 raw photos in about 1 1/2 mins. YEAH!!!!

I don't think I will be entering any photo contests, would you still recommend using Copy instead of DNG?? Do you create sidecar files?? I create 1:1 previews which automatically erase in a week. I do this so that photos load faster in the develop module while I am working on them. Is that reasonable??? Thanks for the advise!!
Click to expand...

Glad you got it solved. I learned LR thru the Kelby book and started converting due to his recommendation. Outside of being an early adopter with cameras like the D750 that are no supported by LR (Adobe will issue a beta version of ACR and DNG converter before full releases of ACR and LR) I have not found a single occasion where a DNG file would have served me better than the original NEF. So, I stopped converting earlier this year.

As for what I do in the import process, I do not create sidecar files (LR catalog gets backed up weekly and after any significant project is done), but I create 1:1 previews and apply defaults such as the application of Lens Correction and Chromatic Aberration Correction since these are always applied during my editing (except on my 15mm Fisheye, so when I use it I need to unset it and rebuild the previews since you can have camera-specific import presets but not lens-specific presets). Building the 1:1 previews takes significantly longer, and tacking the lens correction adds more time, so I usually just start the import process and then come here and type away until my CPU fan stops. LOL
 
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paul04

Senior Member
Glad you have sorted the problem. I formatted my computer 3 weeks ago, and I've just check my lightroom files(where lightroom keeps the library of photos) and it's on 10GB already.
 
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