Transferring images to Mac for Editing

[jimglasgow]

Due to recent performance issues I thought I would seek feedback from the forum On how others transfer images from camera preparing to use Adobe Lightroom

Canon R5 - Macbook Pro 2019- Crucial SSD Drive - Lightroom

currently I stick my memory card into USB C hub and launch Lightroom and select import. This is where recently I have noticed more and more it’s taking a while to do so. So my question are.....

1. Should I transfer straight to the SSD Drive thereafter import to Lightroom or is the above the correct route

2. Is it better to transfer using the WiFi capabilities or am I better using the USB C hub and card reader route

3. is there a quicker way to transfer straight from camera missing out the USB C hub.

any guidance would be welcome

Thanks

 

[MaraLee]

I don't know that there's any 'best' way, just whatever works best for your workflow. If I only have a handful of photos, I connect my camera via wifi to my MBP, transfer to a folder on my desktop, then decide which photos I want to open into LR. If there are more than a handful, I pop the card into a single SSD card reader, and transfer the photos into a folder on my desktop, choose which raws I want to work with and load them in to LR. The keepers get exported into a separate folder which then gets transferred to another folder that gets bundled into the original and they all get moved onto an external 4TB external.

The reason I do it this way is because my MBP has a SSD and it's faster to work on, so I do all of the moving around there until I'm finished, then move the finished files off to the external. I also save copies of the completed files in the cloud in two places. LR keeps it's own copy of my changes to the raws as well.

I use JPEG mini Pro to compress any large jpg files for social media so they don't get mashed up by Instagram and Facebook, and they look great even while saving about half my disk space.

It took me a few different trials and files and folders all over the place (I'm still finding duplicate folders from 20 years ago on my old Mac desktop) to come up with my current workflow, but it's pretty streamlined, now. I have my originals folder, my 'edits' folder and my 'keepers' folder for each set. Much easier to keep track of.

 

[slclick]

One thing that begs a question...did the slowdown/bottleneck start with the R5 and possibly you were using a different body before that with smaller file sizes?

 

[jimglasgow]

Had a Sony A7R3 previously and it had the same file size so it’s not that I’m my opinion

 

[JayAy]

Are you still running the same version of Lightroom that you were with the A7R3?

Are you doing any processing (build previews or apply any basic image manipulation) on import that is different from your A7R3 process?

Are you using SD or CFExpress?

WiFi will definitely be slower than card reader, but may be more convenient or fit with your workflow if you are happy to start the transfer and then go and do something else - though I suspect that's not how you work at the moment if you have noticed a slow down?

Direct USB will almost certainly be slower than a card reader too. Even if only marginal, when you add the relative fragility of the camera's USB connector compared to moving a card, this may not be advisable.

My route into Lightroom is CFExpress via USB connected card reader. This seems fast enough to me, but I only have an EOS R via SD card to compare.

 

[jimglasgow]

One thing that begs a question...did the slowdown/bottleneck start with the R5 and possibly you were using a different body before that with smaller file sizes?

no I had a Sony A7R3 similar pixel size... tried a few things tonight and seeing some improvement

 

[slclick]

A reader connected directly to the computer port will always be faster than a reader connected to a hub. Don't know if this is your issue. When you mention the SSD are you talking internal or external, the chain connections of the OP was a bit muddy to be honest.

 

[MaraLee]

I may have missed it, but how much RAM are you working with?