As with many of their releases, Adobe always gives a discount for upgrading Lightroom instead of buying the full version. In the case of Lightroom, the upgrade license only costs $100 compared to the retail price of $300.
This is where the current and soon-to-be-old version of Lightroom 3 comes in. Since it’s due to the discountinued rather soon – sometime around late March 2012 – the full retail version of Adobe Lightroom 3 is on sale now for over 50% off. So factor in the current sale of Lightroom 3 and the discounted upgrade price for the next version, and you’ll be able to score Adobe Lightroom 4 for somewhere around $200 to $250 instead of the full retail version.
I personally use Lightroom 3 just about every single day. It’s a great RAW processor. The Lightroom 4 is available to try for free now, and it features essentially the same great RAW engine with some very welcome UI improvements that make processing faster and more flexible. If you haven’t already, you can read my thoughts on some of the major improvements in the new version here.
Long story short, I highly recommend Lightroom. I used to be a dedicated Nikon Capture NX 2 user, but with the introduction of Lightroom 3, all that changed. While the RAW processing engine is largely the same as Lightroom 3, I think Lightroom 4 will be the best iteration of the software yet.
Step 1: Buy a full retail copy of Adobe Lightroom 3
The first step is to buy a full copy of Adobe Lightroom 3. Right now you’re thinking, “But I want Lightroom 4,” and rightly so. After all, why would you buy software right before it’s going to be discontinued? This wouldn’t make any sense except for Adobe’s generous upgrade discount policy – so think of this as a two-for-one.
Both Amazon.com and B&H have LR3 for about $135 as of today:
Needless to say, Adobe will stop selling Lighroom 3 when the new version comes out, so you will have to buy your copy of Lightroom 3 now.
Step 2: Wait
Adobe hasn’t released Lightroom 4 yet – you can download the beta version now for free. So in the meantime, enjoy Lightroom 3 and get used to the interface. It’s an excellent RAW converter and the one I use daily for my work.
Step 3: Buy the Adobe Lightroom 4 Upgrade
When Adobe releases the full retail version of Lightroom 4, they’ll also be releasing an upgrade version, which is the exact same thing, it just requires a license key from Lightroom 3.
Step 4: Win at Life
With Adobe’s traditional $100 upgrade license for Lightroom, you will save about $65 over the retail version of Lightroom 4 when it comes out.
There you go, how to upgrade to Adobe Lightroom 4 on the cheap for anyone who isn’t currently a Lightroom 3 user. Personally, I already use Adobe Lightroom 3 and bought the full retail version, so I will definitely be upgrading to Lightroom 4 as soon as it comes out. I paid $300 for Lightroom 3 and even at that price it was worth it, but if you don’t already use this great Adobe software, here’s your chance to get the next-and-greatest version on the cheap.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 10:23 am and is filed under News and Info and tagged with adobe lightroom 4, lightroom 4. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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I’m working with the beta of lightroom 4 in these days and found it a great tool. In production I still use lightroom 3 (paid discounted by adobe at 149 € 6 months ago) because the beta sometimes crashes or behaves in a strange way (it’s a beta… indeed).
Did you find any bug too?
Hey Todd!
Thanks for the tip. I just purchased LR 3 from B&H. I’ve been looking for a reasonably priced editor for awhile since I am just a beginner. I hope this is the answer! I figured I couldn’t go wrong with this price. Can’t wait to get started.
Thanks bud!
Matt
You forgot the last step: sell your lr3 licence afterwards.
So the question is: will LR3 support the D800 and D800e or are they going to force us to upgrade to LR4?
I’m sure Lightroom 3 will be upgraded to work with the D800 RAW files.
I brought Lightroom3 for $150 CDN shortly after reading this. Now Adobe has released Lightroom 4 at $150. The upgrade is $80. I wonder if they will offer something for folks that brought so close to the release date.
Money aside, I’m sure I’ll enjoy learning how to use Lightroom 3 and eventually 4.
You have a great site here, thanks for sharing a lot of your knowledge and experience.
Actually, Adobe has a somewhat less-publicized but really amazing upgrade program where they send you a completely free copy of Lightroom 4 if you bought Lightroom 3 after LR4 was announced. I bought Lightroom 3 during B&H‘s one-day sale, contacted Adobe’s customer support about a week ago, and they’re mailing me a brand new copy of Lightroom 4 for absolutely nothing (even free shipping!).
Adobe has a support article on the policy here: http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/upgrade-policy-product-announcement.html
Good call! Thanks for the link.
For anybody who bought LR3 after Feb. 11 (i believe, or around there), adobe does a FREE upgrade. I did it, it’s 100% legit. Go here: http://www.adobe.com/go/pa
I can vouch that it works. I bought LR3, heard about this deal, and contacted them. I missed the cutoff for a free CS6 upgrade though! Oh well!