How should I set Lightroom's Standard Preview Size and Preview Quality?
Asked 5/22/2012
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In Lightroom Catalog Settings, what do "Standard Preview Size" and "Preview Quality" affect? Are these previews used for thumbnails, the Library view, or Develop? How should I choose the Standard Preview Size for the best balance of speed and image quality, and should it be based on my monitor resolution?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
5
Well I think I finally found a good answer here:
In the Catalog Settings preferences (Lightroom > Catalog Settings), you can adjust what size standard previews Lightroom builds from 1,024 pixels to 2,048 pixels depending on your monitor size. You can also adjust the Preview Quality (High, Medium and Low).
By adjusting these toggle boxes you can optimize Lightroom for your computer and monitor. I have Lightroom set to create standard sized previews that are 2,048 pixels wide for my Eizo ColorEdge CG243W display because it has a screen resolution of 1,920 x 1200 pixels. I also set the Preview Quality to High so that I can see the best quality preview as I edit images. Since I have my preferences set to the higher settings it slows Lightroom down just a little, but with 6 GB of RAM in my Apple MacPro it is a small difference and I prefer the higher quality previews. On my laptop, I set the previews to 1,440 pixels wide as that is the closest setting to match the width of my Apple Macbook Pro’s 13-inch monitor.
Originally by user5184. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user5184
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Lightroom’s standard previews are primarily for viewing images in the Library module, not for full-quality editing in Develop. The setting controls the size of the preview Lightroom builds for on-screen display, and it should generally be matched to your monitor resolution.
A practical rule is to choose a Standard Preview Size at or slightly above your screen’s pixel dimensions. For example, a 1920×1200 display is well served by a 2048 px standard preview. Setting it much larger than your display usually adds storage and processing overhead without visible benefit.
Preview Quality affects how detailed those Library previews look. Higher quality can look better, but may slow Lightroom somewhat and use more space. If you want the best-looking Library previews, use High; if speed matters more, try Medium.
So for the best balance:
- Base Standard Preview Size on your monitor resolution
- Use the smallest size that fully covers your display
- Increase Preview Quality only if you want cleaner-looking Library previews
These settings won’t improve actual Develop quality; they mainly affect preview rendering speed and appearance in Library.
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