Lightroom Mobile Reducing Image Quality on Export

[iaminneedofhelp]

Hi!
I'm currently travelling (so have no access to a PC, so can't use LR Desktop) and have been using LR Mobile to edit my images on the go using a CCK and an iPhone 6S. I'm no pixel peeper but do like to make the most out of my money so want photos that I've shot on my Sony a6000 to be maintained in FULL QUALITY, import to export.

I have found recently that when I export JPEGs from LRM (even after no editing, literally import-export) to Camera Roll the image gets reduced in size.

An example, image taken off my SD card using CCK is 4.7MB, after an export from Lightroom (no editing) the final image in Camera Roll is now only 3.3MB. That's a 30% reduction in file size. The dimensions remain the same at 6000x4000.

Currently my workflow is as follows:
Take photo, plug SD into iPhone using CCK and then import into Camera Roll. Edit in LR, export into Camera Roll as JPEG and then transfer from iPhone to USB as a back-up whenever I can.

Note - I normally shoot and edit in RAW and so only have a few JPEG pictures I have tested this on. I am just worried that all my pictures are being exported poorly and thus my RAWs will also have a significant loss in quality. If anybody has access to both LR Mobile and Desktop to do some testing to see if my RAWs should be OK, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Does anybody have any idea as to why the JPEGs are having such a reduction in quality when exporting to camera roll? Are there any work around except for using LR Desktop?

 

[Chappers]

From experience from a year or so ago I had the same problems. This was on a iPad I found that although the full file was imported it was only the internal jpeg file in the RAW file that was being used. I ended up only using the iPad as a back up and review system. I waited till I got back to work on the images on the desktop

 

[iaminneedofhelp]

I ended up only using the iPad as a back up and review system.

Do you still have that iPad? If you've got a bit of time would you be able to take a photo on your camera and see how the two versions handle it differently? So, 2 JPEGs and 2 RAWs processed in LR Mobile and LR Desktop?
Thanks for your reply!

 

[Byker28i]

OK ignoring file size whats the resolution? Didn't lightroom mobile have a size restriction to 2048 pixels on the longest edge?

The trouble is that lightroom mobile is part of the lightroom package. It isn't designed to be a full copy of lightroom on a mobile device.

Lightroom Mobile is an extension of that desktop application that syncs to and from the desktop via the cloud. It is means to be a light-weight sorter and simple manipulator of images for the desktop catalog and desktop image store. As such it can sync full-size images from the desktop LR to the mobile app as reduced sized previews that allow overall toning and cropping operations to be performed from the comfort of the couch, but eventually those adjustments are meant to be applied to the desktop LR’s original images and from the desktop is where further and the final processing occurs.

The Lightroom mobile companion app has been designed with the laid back approach in mind and providing access to your images everywhere. The Lightroom mobile app has the added benefit of being able to review, pick/unpick, make basic edits, some pre-configured presets as well as a run a slide show on your images. However, in this workflow, Lightroom Desktop is at the center of this process, or the single point of truth. You can apply basic edits (including highlights, shadows, black point, white point, temperature etc), whilst on the move, in a plane, bus or even on the water. Any adjustments that are made in the Lightroom mobile app will sync automatically when Lightroom mobile next gets a connection to the internet. Likewise, if any edits are made in Lightroom Desktop, and the images are part of a synced set of images, these changes will be sent to Lightroom mobile once a connection is obtained.

Good article here about how this works:
http://blogs.adobe.com/richardcurtis/2014/04/08/lightroom-mobile-deep-dive/