Editing RAW files on SP3

[ajamils]

Does anybody here use their SP3 to edit RAW photographs? I recently replaced my few years old desktop with SP3 (i5/256/8GB) but I haven't been impressed with the speed in Lightroom. Editing 16mpx raw files is slow and erratic. When I open the file it takes few second for it to load completely and even longer if I zoom 100%.

I'm not sure if it's the SP3 at fault or because I'm using Seagate 2TB portable drives as storage for the RAW files.

 

[silkrooster]

You might want to temporarily move the raw file to the internal hard drive for a faster rate.
The external drive is naturally a slower drive.
You could also temporarily reduce the screen resolution as well.

 

[nipponham]

I used to have Lr (and C1) on my device because the screen resolution was better than my desktop, but I went back because it was easier working on the larger monitor and processing was faster on my Core i7 than SP3's i5.

But with that being said, I didn't find any lag when loading image files and I was working with 24mp RAW files. I imported them to the internal drive rather than use an external one like you. Processing took longer than my desktop, but editing was smooth and stress-free.

 

[ajamils]

I will copy the files on SP3 and give it a try. I'm not editing the files on SP3 screen. I have a 22" external monitor connected to the SP3 dock.

 

[kevinlevrone]

I edit 18MP Canon EOS M RAW files without any issue on the SP3. There is no lag to speak of, except when exporting multiple files, when it can take a few minutes depending on the number of files. I also did this on the SP2 without issues (aside from the too-small screen).

 

[Moonsurface]

In lightroom it also depends whether you render the previews on import or not, if you don't render the 1:1 preview but then look at a file and zoom to 1:1 it will need to render the image then. I do suspect that the external drive may be hitting the speed as well though

I have used my SP3 for my D800 raw files (36mp) and it copes generally just as well as my desktop does which was a huge surprise. Did you see my post on this subject? I'll try and dig out the link for you.

Here's the link :

http://www.surfaceforums.net/thread...er-files-in-adobe-lightroom.10965/#post-82821

I had never really timed my desktop doing the same task but the next time I did a shoot and imported to the desktop (i5 3570 with 16GB RAM... supposedly faster than my i7 SP3 on processor speed) I was quite stunned to find it also took about an hour to import and render previews on a similar number of files. The only thing that was different was that I felt more confident to use the desktop for other tasks at the same time where the SP3 I just left it to it.

 

[GreyFox7]

Yeah that poor external drive will be a bottleneck.

You could get a 1TB external SSD for under $500 which will put some zip in that transfer.
http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Ext...=1418300321&sr=8-1&keywords=1+tb+ssd+external

Or build your own for under $400.
http://www.amazon.com/Optimized-Ina...ompatible/dp/B00FCLG65U/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_text_y

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra...=UTF8&qid=1418300572&sr=8-5&keywords=1+tb+ssd

 

[ajamils]

Thank you for the reply. I figured that the external drive must be the bottleneck as everything else seem to run fine on SP3.

I will look into the SSD option but the cost is a lot more than I was planning to spend. Doesn't any one have any experience with Seagate fast drive ?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HXAV0X6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418305298&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

 

[GreyFox7]

Thank you for the reply. I figured that the external drive must be the bottleneck as everything else seem to run fine on SP3.

I will look into the SSD option but the cost is a lot more than I was planning to spend. Doesn't any one have any experience with Seagate fast drive ?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HXAV0X6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418305298&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

That drive uses Raid 0 to achieve its 2x speed where with SSD you would get 4x performance without the risk involved with raid 0.
Portable HDD Review: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-portable-hard-drive/

You could go lower capacity SSD 750/500/256 GB to cut cost or use the ext. SSD or internal storage for processing only then move to backup drive.

 

[CustomSurfaceP2]

I edit using my 5D Mark 3 photos using LR on the surface, but I still prefer my 27inch imac just because of the screen size. But when I'm on the go like I am right now (currently sitting in airport), I edit on my pro if I need to and there is no lag. The smaller screen does make it a little harder to edit since I'm used to the big screen, but the pen is way better than my mouse.

 

[bvone21]

Sounds like you have plenty of responses, but I'll chime in to add that editing 24mp RAW images with Lr (SP3 i7) has worked very well. Hardly any stress (heat/fan noise) on the system during editing.

While editing, I do experience like a half second (?) lag between the adjustment selected and the result applied in the image.

For myself, I've had two changes in workflow...I went from an aging Core 2 Duo laptop and home built server to an SP3 (i7) and Synology DS415. I feel like the SP3 is much faster than my old laptop, but my Synology is much slower than my old server.

I "think" once the 1:1 preview is rendered...that lag I'm seeing must be in the SP3 processing the image and completely unrelated to transfer speed from my NAS. Because the previews and catalogs are all local...am I right in this?