I just had to share this with you.
After a discussion on Facebook about using an External SSD to store images and catalogs for Lightroom, I got to thinking – is this an affordable option? Is there anything else that I could change to speed-up my Lightroom workflow, and retain its portability that I value so much – being able to move between Laptop and Desktop so easily.
Well the answer is yes on both counts. I’ve purchased a 1Tb Crucial SSD, put it in an Inateck enclosure and bought a crush-proof Inateck carry-case to go with it. The performance improvements with my catalog of c.40K images is startling. Now with an internal SSD and an external SSD I really have a system that’s humming!
Another addition is the desirability of using the same Presets for the catalog saved on the external disk – this would mean I didn’t have to create separate Presets for the two machines. I came across this really useful post – Should I store my presets with my catalog? written by Victoria Bampton – The Lightroom Queen.
At a stroke this makes everything SO MUCH EASIER. Only one set of presets to modify, but … it does require some thought as to whether you want to make a duplicate copy of the images on import, and where to store the backup catalog on exit.
What I’ve decided is that it doesn’t matter about creating a duplicate on import as long as the External SSD is part of my TimeMachine backup on the iMac and as long as I cycle the SD cards around a bit before deleting the images from them. For the catalog backups, I’m using a Sandisk 16Gb USB-stick which fits in the Inateck carry-case and which I copy to a Google Drive when it’s full.
So, some really good additions to my workflow which makes up for the dismal news from Adobe about the decease of perpetual licenses for Lightroom – but more about that another time as I begin to look at Affinity, Luminar 2018 and Capture One Express for Sony as replacement RAW editors.