Adobe Lightroom 3.2 RC and Camera Raw 6.2 RC are Out

Adobe has released today new Release Candidate versions for Adobe Lightroom and Camera Raw.

This fix several bugs and add support for new cameras and profile lenses.


New Features

* The ability to publish directly to Facebook from within the Library module

New Camera Support in Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidates

* Casio EXILIM EX-FH100 (DNG*)
* Leica S2 (DNG*)
* Panasonic DMC-FZ100
* Panasonic DMC-FZ40 (FZ45)
* Panasonic DMC-LX5
* Pentax 645D
* Samsung NX10
* Samsung TL500 (EX1)
* Sony A290
* Sony A390
* Sony Alpha NEX-3
* Sony Alpha NEX-5

*The DNG raw file format is supported in previous versions of Lightroom and Camera Raw. This update improves the color and noise profiles for these models.
New Lens Profile Support in Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidates

Lens Mount Lens Name
Canon Canon PowerShot S90 Lens
Canon Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Canon Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Canon Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
Canon Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
Canon Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Canon Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Canon Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Canon Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Canon Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Nikon Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
Nikon Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR
Nikon Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G

Pentax smc PENTAX-D FA645 55mmF2.8AL[IF] SDM AW
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 33-55mmF4.5AL
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 35mmF3.5AL[IF]
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 45mmF2.8
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 45-85mmF4.5
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 55-110mmF5.6
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 75mmF2.8
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 80-160mmF4.5
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 MACRO 120mmF4
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 150mmF2.8[IF]
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 150-300mmF5.6ED[IF]
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 200mmF4[IF]
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA*645 300mmF4ED[IF]
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 300mmF5.6ED[IF]
Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 400mmF5.6ED[IF]

Samsung Samsung EX1
Samsung Samsung 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 OIS
Samsung Samsung 30mm f/2
Samsung Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS

Phase One Schneider LS 80mm f/2.8 (For 645DF System)

Nikon SIGMA 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM (Nikon mount)
Nikon SIGMA APO 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM (Nikon mount)

Sony Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS (For NEX System)

Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE
Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/21 ZE
Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28 ZE
Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZE
Canon Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZE
Canon Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZE
Canon Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50 ZE
Canon Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/85 ZE

NIKON Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/21 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/25 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50 ZF.2
NIKON Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/85 ZF.2

Canon Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USMt
Canon Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USMt

NIKON Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8Dt

These lens profiles were in the previous release but have been updated to address quality concerns.

Bugs Corrected in the Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate

The following bugs that were released as part of Lightroom 3.0 have been corrected. The team appreciates the very detailed feedback the community has provided on the Lightroom 3.0 release and we’re excited to correct a number of issues experienced by our customers. These issues have been FIXED

* Develop: A custom aspect ratios get rounded to nearest standard ratio when adjusting crop overlay
* Develop: A history state is incorrectly added after creating a preset that includes a graduated filter or lens profile correction
* Develop: In the crop mode the X key sets a photo to reject instead of rotating the crop (Windows only)
* Develop: Lens profile corrections were synced even when they were not selected in the sync dialog.
* Develop: The escape key incorrectly applies a crop after a CTRL/CMD right arrow with the crop tool enabled
* Develop: The local adjustment brush could have a very slow first stroke when exposure is the selected adjustment
* Develop: The Live Loupe view on a second monitor could become unresponsive when switching images in the Develop module
* General: Certain menu items were missing from the Windows version of Lightroom
* Help Documentation: Inaccuracies and translation errors were corrected throughout the help documentation
* Import: Copy as DNG selection not remembered for subsequent imports
* Import: For some devices the import dialog did not allow directory browsing
* Import: Import image number sequence is not incrementing properly
* Import: Panels in the import window fail to scroll via the mouse wheel in some multiple monitor configurations
* Import: The EXIF renaming token was not available
* Import: Windows could crash when attempting to import video files
* Library: Sub-optimal preview rendering performance could impact application performance
* Library: If a directory tree is collapsed prior to closing Lightroom it will appear expanded after re-launching the application
* Library: 1:1 preview generation could appear to repeat itself for DNG files
* Library: Importing keywords causes a catalog to hang when imported keywords already exist in the catalog
* Library: Attempting to drag and drop a folder when multiple folders are selected removes a folder
* Library: Cancelling a catalog backup can require an excessive wait time before the cancellation is complete
* Library: Cancelling a catalog export process could require an excessive wait time
* Library: An internal error could occur when published smart collection conditions are updated
* Library: Choosing to apply recent keywords in a keyword set would cause the recent keywords to reorder
* Library: Clicking the metadata flag on an image in the filstrip acts incorrectly on the selected image in the grid view
* Library: Failed publish comments remain in the comment box across different images
* Library: Flickr Publish Collection publishes to a Photostream in the reverse of the expected order
* Library: Grid scrolling in a publish collection with the hand tool could fail (Windows only)
* Library: Importing from a catalog fails when both catalogs contain images from the same folder
* Library: In Smart Collections a hyphen (“-”) Is now treated as a word delimiter for “contains words”
* Library: In the IPTC Date Created field the seconds could be incorrectly removed on writing to XMP
* Library: Lightroom 2 search criteria “+abc” meant “starts with abc” and “abc+” meant “ends with abc”. This was reversed in Lightroom 3
* Library: Moving a stack to another folder only moves the top image and unstacks the remaining images
* Library: Panning an image at 1:1 while the image is still loading can cause Lightroom to crash (Windows only)
* Library: Ratings and Labels were not propogated to a TIFF or PSD file created for an Edit in External Application workflow
* Library: Saving metadata on a folder is inccorectly labeled as “undoable”
* Library: Scrolling or louping through many photos can cause Lightroom to start paging aggressively
* Library: Setting “Caption is Empty” in a smart collection failes for some images
* Library: Setting “Rating is Zero” incorrectly includes all images in a catalog
* Library: Setting rating “is not” in a smart collection fails to include unrated photos
* Library: Smart collection exposure time incorrectly limited to 1,000 seconds instead of 100,000 seconds.
* Library: The “metadata for this photo has changed” dialog box lacks clarity
* Library: The keyword list will fail to display properly if there are database integrity problems
* Library: The save metadata command was incorrectly available when a video file was selected
* Library: There is no warning when incorrect data types are entered into IPTC fields
* Library: Updating DNG Previews and Metadata is incorrectly labled as “undoable”
* Library: Upgrading a Lightroom 2 catalog via the import catalog function will fail if duplicate files are present
* Library: Using an exclamation point in search criteria fails to work properly
* Print: A faulty or corrupt print template could cause a “nil” error message when changing templates
* Print: Image loses “pan” position when placed in cells that are not big enough
* Print: Lightroom could crash while preparing a print
* Print: The Print to JPEG save dialog box resets for every save
* SDK: A URL could fail to open properly in a web browser (Mac only)
* SDK: Calling info.publishedCollection:getName() from within updateCollectionSettings() causes “can only wait within a task” exception.
* SDK: copyrightState was not documented (Will be corrected when documentation is posted with the final release)
* SDK: Errors during collection or collection set update callbacks are not recognized when a collection or collection set is created
* SDK: Function “withPrivateWriteAccessDo” lacks clear behavior documentation (Will be corrected when documentation is posted with the final release)
* SDK: Lightroom does not respect the default system web browser (Windows only)
* SDK: Per comment URLs were incorrectly included in the documentation (Will be corrected when documentation is posted with the final release)
* SDK: Plug-in error reports “nil” instead of proper filename
* SDK: Renaming a publish collection dissasociates it from collectionSettings
* SDK: setEditedFlag does not work as intended
* SDK: The publish icon size was incorrectly documented as 26 pixels instead of 24 pixels wide
* Slideshow: Exporting a video that will overwrite an existing video that is currently being played will cause Lightroom to crash (Windows only)
* Tethered Capture: The develop settings text was misaligned (Windows only)
* Web: In-line editing of Site Info stops working if a number is entered
* Web: Setting “sequence” as the title or caption fails to work properly
* Web: Certain galleries do not handle accented characters properly
* Please provide feedback on your experience with the Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate Bug Report Form.

Camera Raw 6.2 Release Notes

* Scroll bar arrow performance has been improved
* Please provide feedback on your experience with the Camera Raw 6.2 plug-in and the DNG Converter on the Camera Raw User to User forum.

You may ask what happened to Lightroom 3.1? Well, it never happened. In order to simplify the presentation of updates for raw file format compatibility, the Lightroom and Camera Raw “dot” version numbers have been aligned at “2″. We update the Camera Raw plug-in and Lightroom regularly to provide access to new proprietary raw file formats and have aligned the decimal place so that there’s no confusion over which Lightroom update corresponds to a Camera Raw plug-in update and vice versa.

The final releases of Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 may have additional corrections or camera support.

Download
Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate for Macintosh and Windows.

Camera Raw 6.2 plug-in for Mac and Windows.
DNG Converter 6.2 for Mac and Windows.

Enjoy

Adobe Lightroom 3.0 and Camera Raw 6.1 Final Versions

Adobe has updated it's Lightroom software to Version 3.0 and also took the time to update the Camera Raw for the Adobe Photoshop CS5 to final version 6.1.

Read all the new stuff that was implemented on each version and where you can download them.

Here's a quick list of what we've changed since the last public Adobe Lightroom 3 beta 2:

* Profile-based lens correction that addresses:
o Geometric lens distortion(i.e., barrel or pincushion)
o Chromatic aberration
o Vignette effects
* Manual geometric lens correction
* Horizontal and vertical perspective correction
* Improved Web templates for updated color and design options
* Additional Print templates to utilize the new creative layout options
* New develop presets for creative B&W and Color adjustments
* Focal length filtering available in the metadata filter
* Updated SDK with publish collection functionality and access to collection and keyword metadata
* Improved interactive responsiveness
* Ability to upgrade Lightroom 1, Lightroom 2 catalogs as well as Lightroom 3 beta or Lightroom 3 beta 2 catalogs
o Images edited in Lightroom 3 beta or Lightroom 3 beta 2 will migrate to Lightroom 3.0 with little to no visual adjustments. Minor sharpening adjustments may appear.
* Ability to migrate Photoshop Elements 6, 7 or 8 catalogs to Lightroom 3
* Updated print resolution limits of 720ppi for local printing and 1200ppi for printing to a JPEG file.

There have already been detailed blog entries about what has been added to Lightroom 3 through the two beta release.(Lightroom 3 beta, Lightroom 3 beta 2) Below, I've provided a high level summary of the top enhancements across all three releases. You can also watch a Lightroom 3 Overview video by Julieanne Kost.

* Completely revamped import experience including import presets

* Direct tethered capture support for popular Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras. (Full compatibility list here)

* Updated architecture for improved interactive performance and the ability to manage larger image collections

* Support for importing, managing, tagging and organizing common video formats, including DSLR video formats. (.MOV, .AVI, .MP4)

* Dozens of smaller workflow enhancements throughout the application.

* Tight integration with online photo sharing sites including Flickr. A new Lightroom 3 SDK allows developers to connect to additional sites with the same high level of integration.

* High quality image editing enhancements including
o Dramatically improved Sharpening and Noise Reduction results
o Additional post crop vignette styles with more photographic qualities
o The ability to apply lens correction manually or using profiles for automated correction
o Vertical and Horizontal transform controls
o Creative grain controls
o "Point curve" tone curve controls
o Process Version switch to preserve historical processing style

* Export slideshows as high quality H.264 video files that include selected music

* Fully customizable multi-page print layouts

* Flexible text or graphic watermark settings that can be applied to all output destinations

You can view some resources for helping you out with Lightroom 3.0 here.

Camera Raw 6.1 this update includes camera support for the following models:

* Canon EOS 550D (Digital Rebel T2i/ EOS Kiss X4 Digital)
* Kodak Z981
* Leaf Aptus-II 8
* Leaf Aptus-II 10R
* Mamiya DM40
* Olympus E-PL1
* Olympus E-600
* Panasonic G2
* Panasonic G10
* Sony A450


Release Notes

* Camera Raw 6.1 includes new lens correction functionality that can apply profile-based corrections to accommodate geometric distortions, chromatic aberration and lens vignette effects. Manual corrections for geometric distortion as well as vertical and horizontal perspective transforms are also available. A handful of lens profiles are included for automatic correction and more can be created by the community with the Adobe Lens Profile Creator.

* This release addresses a bug on the Mac platform that could cause Photoshop CS5 to quit unexpectedly when opening a file in the Camera Raw 6.0 plug-in.

* This release contains performance enhancements designed to improve the responsiveness of the controls and the scrolling mechanism relative to Camera Raw 6.0.

* The camera support provided in this release was previously provided in the Camera Raw 5.7 plug-in update with the exception of the Olympus E-600 which is new to this update. Please read the following blog post for an explanation of why redundant support has been released.

Downloads:

Adobe Lightroom 3.0 (Win & Mac)
Camera Raw 6.1 updater(Win) - (Mac)

Adobe Lightroom 3.0 Beta 2 is Out

The Second Beta version of Adobe Lightoom 3.0 is out now and with a lot of enhancements and improvements.

This is a much better version and a more refined one.

New in Lightroom 3 Beta 2

* Improved performance throughout the application for faster importing and loading of images
* Native tethered shooting support for select Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras
* Luminance noise reduction has been added to the previous color noise reduction improvements available in the first public beta for outstanding overall high ISO quality
* Support for importing and managing video files from DSLR cameras for better overall photographic workflow control
* Improvements to the import experience in the first beta to reflect public feedback
* Improved watermarking functionality from the first beta to reflect public feedback

Lightroom 3 beta 2 builds on the enhancements introduced in the first Lightroom 3 beta release:

* Brand new performance architecture, building for the future of growing image libraries
* State-of-the-art noise reduction to help you perfect your high ISO shots
* Watermarking tool that helps you customize and protect your images with ease
* Portable sharable slideshows with audio—designed to give you more flexibility and impact on how you choose to share your images, you can now save and export your slideshows as videos and include audio
* Flexible customizable print package creation so your print package layouts are all your own
* Film grain simulation tool for enhancing your images to look as gritty as you want
* New import handling designed to make importing streamlined and easy
* More flexible online publishing options so you can post your images online to certain online photo sharing sites directly from inside Lightroom 3 beta (may require third-party plug-ins)*

If you want to download the beta just click here. Photographer, Terry White, also did a video, go take a look here.

Read the release notes (PDF) for detailed information.

You can also watch a video of the new features, hosted by Julieanne Kost, here.

A more in depth blog post by Ian Lyons here.

Enjoy

Lightroom 2.6 & Camera Raw 5.6 Oficial Released

Lightroom 2.6 and Camera Raw 5.6 are now available as final releases and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.

Continue reading to check the new supported cameras and download links.

These updates include camera support for the following models:

* Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
* Canon EOS 7D
* Canon PowerShot G11
* Canon PowerShot S90
* Leaf Aptus-II 5
* Mamiya DM22
* Mamiya DM28
* Mamiya DM33
* Mamiya DM56
* Mamiya M18
* Mamiya M22
* Mamiya M31
* Nikon D3s
* Olympus E-P2
* Panasonic DMC-FZ38
* Pentax K-x
* Sigma DP1s
* Sony A500
* Sony A550
* Sony A850

Release Notes:

* Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6 provide a fix for an issue affecting PowerPC customers using the final Lightroom 2.5, Camera Raw 5.5 and DNG Converter 5.5 updates on the Mac. The issue, introduced in the demosaic change to address sensors with unequal green response, has the potential to create artifacts in highlight areas when processing raw files from Sony, Olympus, Panasonic and various medium format digital camera backs.

* The Lightroom 3 beta has not been updated with this new camera support. If you're working with one of these newer cameras and the Lightroom 3 beta, please use the DNG Converter 5.6 to convert proprietary formats to DNG files that can be used in the Lightroom 3 beta.

* This release includes improved camera profiles for the Leica M9 and Ricoh GXR.

Direct Downloads:

Lightroom 2.6 for Mac or Win
Camera Raw 5.6 and DNG Converter for Mac or Win

Adobe Lightroom 3.0 Beta is Out to Try for Free

Well it's out!!!

Beware that this is only a BETA version and by any means use this with your production pictures.

YOU WERE WARNED!!

My advise is to use it with some copied pictures and test it out.

Check what's inside and download links...

Here are a few key details on what they are looking for feedback on:


Import
We've redesigned the Lightroom import experience to make it much easier to visualize how Lightroom allows you to manage your files. You'll be able to see exactly where you've asked Lightroom to copy your files off your card and then use import presets in compact mode to get fast repeatable results every time. You can also quickly browse your hard drive to find exactly the right file you need to work on.


Publish Collections
We live in a connected world so you need direct access to publish your photos on your favorite sharing site from directly within the Lightroom Library. In the Lightroom 3 public beta we're providing direct access to the Flickr photo sharing site so that adding images to your Photostream is as simple as a drag and drop. You can see all of your uploaded images and if you make any changes to those images you can have them updated on Flickr automatically.(Pro accounts only) When a visitor comments on your images, Lightroom can pull that comment right back into the Library so that you can see feedback on your files where it belongs, next to the image in your Lightroom library. We've built this functionality with the same extensibility designed for our Export Plug-ins so if Flickr isn't your cup of tea we're working hard to support developers who can create connections to any of the popular photo sharing sites. Publish collections can do more than just publish to a photo sharing site. You can have a publish collection that allows you to publish images to my iPhone sync folder with drag and drop simplicity.

Image Quality
Sharpening and Noise Reduction
In the Develop module we've focused on tuning our raw processing algorithms to extract incredible detail and quality from your images. Capture sharpening and Color Noise Reduction improvements work together to give you incredible noise reduction results without losing that fine detail. We're only halfway through our noise reduction efforts but believe that you will be very pleased with the results so far. We've actually disabled the previous Luminance Noise Reduction so that you can focus on evaluating the Color Noise reduction implementation.

Grain
While Lightroom's improved noise reduction will give you incredibly smooth images, sometimes you want a little texture or grain in your images. We've added a grain tool that can add a natural film-style grain to your images to get that perfect look for your photo.

Vignette
The Lightroom team received quite a bit of feedback on our post-crop vignette tool in Lightroom 2 that allows photographers to apply beautifully styled vignettes after cropping is applied. While the tool was received quite well, we found that photographers wanted a more natural vignette that utilized an exposure or brightness effect rather than just painting black and white on the edges of images. We've added two vignette modes in Lightroom 3 beta, Color Priority and Highlight Priority that attempt to provide the natural vignette that photographers have requested. Let's not get hung up on the technical details of these models but rather focus on which you prefer for your images and why.

Process Version
The changes above are so significant that for the first time since the Camera Raw plug-in was introduced in 2003, we've needed to add the concept of a process version. The process version specifies which version of certain Camera Raw image processing elements should be used when rendering and editing files. Process version can affect raw, DNG, TIFF, JPEG, and PSD files. The process version is incremented only when major changes to the raw processing or features are changed. In Lightroom 3, the demosaicing, noise reduction, sharpening, and post crop vignette were all updated. Depending on what is applied to the image, different image characteristics will change more dramatically than others (i.e. sharpening should change sharpening characteristics etc.), but the demosaic changes apply across the board, so there will always be some change. By default, we'll leave your images just as they were but if you want to take advantage of the latest processing technology, just update to the current process version. You can update to the latest process version by selecting the notification triangle that includes an exclamation point above the left hand side of the histogram. (Or from the Settings -> Process Version file menu available in the Develop module) By default, all new files in Lightroom 3 beta will receive the latest process version.

Slideshow Export
One of the most elegant ways to present your images is in a slideshow accompanied by music. But until now, you could only share that slideshow with music when playing it directly from within the Lightroom application. But with Lightroom 3 we've added the ability to export high quality movie files that include your detailed layout and the music track you've selected. By utilizing the popular H.264 movie format you can share these movies on many popular video sharing sites or optimize it for mobile media!

Custom Print Package
Lightroom 3 adds a new custom layout option for photographers who need complete control over their print layouts. Add as many different images in whatever configuration you desire on a single or multiple pages.

Watermarking
Lightroom 3's new watermarking function lets you embed your identity or other information in your images themselves. You can apply text or graphic watermarks to a photograph with adjustable size, position, and opacity. Available in the Print and Web modules as well as the Export dialog, your identity can now travel with all of your images.

What's Next?
We're not even close to finished in terms of features, performance or image quality but we want early feedback on our improvements so that we have time to make sure Lightroom 3 is your ideal workflow assistant.

Additional Details
General

* On Mac, the 'hit zone' for the right scroll bar in the grid view has been expanded so that a closed right hand panel doesn't automatically open too easily. The automatic panel opening experience has been modified so that it takes a longer amount of time for the panel to open in cases of overshooting the scrollbar. (Mouse towards the white triangle for instant opening) Please provide feedback on this new behavior so that it can be modified or added to the Windows version of Lightroom.
* Images can be sorted by aspect ratio
* The catalog selection dialog has been expanded and improved


Library

* You can backup your catalog when you quit Lightroom instead of on launch
* A volume can be ejected or un-mounted from your system directly from the volume browser in the Library module.
* Collections can be created directly within a collection set by right-clicking on the collection set
* Images can be sorted by aspect ratio
* The name of a collection is displayed when an image is added to a target collection
* Stack badges can now be toggled on or off independently in the filmstrip via an interface preference
* Erasing with the spray paint tool now requires the use of the Alt key
* Select a folder in the Library module and choose a new option "Import to here" to launch the import dialog with that folder preselected as the destination
* The import dialog provides source folder and destination volume capacity information
* The option to include items from subfolders has been included in the primary Folder panel drop down menu
* Choose Library -> Show Missing Images to locate offline or missing files
* A lock icon has been added to the metadata filter bar in the Library module to make filter selections "global" across folders or collections
* An icon has been added to grid thumbnails to indicate that an image is part of a collection. Click on that icon to view and/or visit the collection
* Favorite sources can be added to the filmstrip source pop-up menu for quick access to specific collections or folders
* Flash state is now included as part of the smart collection filter criteria
* When the 'spray can' is used to add an image to a collection, the collection name is now displayed upon application
* The optimize catalog feature is now available in the File menu
* Lightroom now imports CMYK files. Any output, with the exception of export original, or adjustments to these images will take place in an RGB color space
* Filters are now longer automatically "sticky" on folders or collections


Develop

* Crop presets choices have been edited for clarity
* A checkbox has been added to the toolbar to turn on/off overlay visibility
* All adjustment brush and graduated filter sliders can be reset by holding down Option/Alt and clicking on Amount
* The color setting for the adjustment brush and graduated filter clearly display an 'x' overlay when no color is selected
* The Collections panel is now available in the Develop Module
* The targeted adjustment tool is deactivated when switching to a new Develop panel
* The local adjustment brush and graduated filter panel have been simplified to a single mode (Previously there was a button and slider 'mode')


Slideshow

* The music selection in the Slideshow module has been decoupled from iTunes on the Mac
* Click the track duration to sync the length of the slideshow to the length of the music track


Print

* Black or a custom color can be selected for a print layout background
* The Identity Plate can be moved in small increments by selecting it and using the arrow keys
* Match photo aspect ratio is now a persistent option in the Cell panel


Export

* The file extension case(UPPER/lower) can be selected in the export dialog


Full release notes are located here:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/releasenotes.pdf

You can check some cool videos here:
http://tv.adobe.com/product/lightroom

And download the Mac and Pc versions at Adobe Labs here:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/

Adobe Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 Now Available

Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.

These updates include camera support for the following models:

* Nikon D300s
* Nikon D3000
* Olympus E-P1
* Panasonic DMC-FZ35**
* Panasonic DMC-GF1

**Note that in Europe and Japan this model is marketed as the DMC-FZ38. Unfortunately, due to a metadata difference between these cameras, files from the DMC-FZ38 will *not* be supported until the next Camera Raw and Lightroom updates.

Release Notes:

* Camera Raw 5.5 and Lightroom 2.5 include a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Bayer sensor cameras with unequal green response. Olympus, Panasonic and Sony are among the more popular camera manufacturers affected by this change. But the demosaic correction provides only a subtle visual improvement to the processing of those raw files.

* Lightroom 2.5 corrects for the following problem in Lightroom 2.4. Lightroom 2.4 on Windows continued to display the import dialog when a memory card was detected regardless of the preference setting "Show import dialog when a memory card is detected."

Direct downloads:

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.5 - Mac - Win
Adobe Camera Raw 5.5 - Mac - Win

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 updated

Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.

These updates include camera support for the following models:

* Canon EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i/EOS Kiss X3 Digital)
* Canon PowerShot SX1 IS
* Epson R-D1x
* Hasselblad CF-22
* Hasselblad CF-22MS
* Hasselblad CF-39
* Hasselblad CF-39MS
* Hasselblad CFH-22
* Hasselblad CFH-39
* Hasselblad CFV
* Hasselblad 503CWD
* Hasselblad H2D-22
* Hasselblad H2D-39
* Hasselblad H3D-22
* Hasselblad H3D-31



* Hasselblad H3D-39
* Hasselblad H3DII-22
* Hasselblad H3DII-31
* Hasselblad H3DII-39
* Hasselblad H3DII-39MS
* Hasselblad H3DII-50
* Kodak EasyShare Z980
* Nikon D5000
* Olympus E-450
* Olympus E-620
* Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
* Pentax K-7
* Sigma DP2
* Sony A230
* Sony A330
* Sony A380

Note: Hasselblad support is for the 3FR file format only. The Hasselblad FFF file format is not currently supported.

Lightroom 2.4 Bug Fixes

The Lightroom 2.4 update includes several bug fixes.

The following is a list of items FIXED in this release:

* Web galleries with a Collection Title of six characters would not export or upload
* The crop aspect ratio could revert to the last selected ratio even when reset to original
* The crop aspect ratio in Quick Develop could be lost after a crop adjustment
* The crop aspect ratio lock could be lost after an orientation switch
* Images could preview incorrectly when imported using the MTP/PTP USB protocol
* Sony .ARW files may not have been recognized by Lightroom’s import dialog
* The Japanese language configuration of Lightroom on Mac OS X 10.5 could fail to switch to the print module if the HP B9180 was set as the default printer
* Metadata options that are intended for use were dimmed incorrectly when exporting DNG files
* The Japanese language configuration of Lightroom on Mac OS X was missing a shortcut for “Zoom Out”
* Several translation and shortcut corrections were made for the eight additional languages introduced with Lightroom 2.3

New Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 DNG Options

This release includes new DNG Compatibility conversion options. These choices help address the additional options available with the new DNG 1.3 Specification (http://www.adobe.com/dng):

* Camera Raw 2.4 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 2.4 (Photoshop CS) and later, and Lightroom 1.0 and later
* Camera Raw 4.1 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 4.1 (Photoshop CS3) and later, and Lightroom 1.1 and later. The DNG file will often be readable by earlier versions, depending on the camera model
* Camera Raw 4.6 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 4.6 (Photoshop CS3) and later, and Lightroom 2.1 and later. The DNG file will often be readable by earlier versions, depending on the camera model
* Camera Raw 5.4 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 5.4 (Photoshop CS4) and later, and Lightroom 2.4 and later. The DNG file will often be readable by earlier versions, depending on the camera model
* Custom: (Not available in Lightroom 2.4)
o Backward Version Option: DNG 1.1, DNG 1.3 (default 1.3)
o Checkbox: Linear (demosaiced) (default unchecked)
o Checkbox: Uncompressed (default unchecked)

DNG 1.3 Specification Update

The DNG specification has been updated to version 1.3.[LINK] The update includes the following changes:

* In Chapter 2, “DNG Format Overview”, the section on Defective Pixels has been updated
* The section on Opcode Lists has been added to Chapter 2, “DNG Format Overview”
* The CFALayout tag has been updated in Chapter 4, “DNG Tags”.
* Additional Tags for Version 1.3.0.0 were added to Chapter 4, “DNG Tags”
* Chapter 7, “Opcode List Processing” was added.
* “Appendix A: Compatibility with Previous Versions” was updated.

The additional "Opcode Lists" allow complex processing to be moved off the camera hardware, which can have limited processing power, and into the DNG reader, which is often running on more powerful hardware. This also allows processing steps to be specified, such as lens corrections, which ideally should be performed on the image data after it has been demosaic, while still retaining the advantages of a raw mosaic data format.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Adobe Camera Raw 5.4 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3 Final

Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3 have graduated from Adobe Labs and are now available as final releases on Adobe.com.(UPDATE: Use this link to download the new language versions of Lightroom ) These updates include camera support for the following models:(Previously provided in the release candidates of these updates)

* Nikon D3X
* Olympus E-30

This update also includes preliminary support for the recently announced Epson R-D1x (and R-D1xG).

The Lightroom 2.3 update includes several bug fixes.

FIXES originally provided in the Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidate

* In the Windows 64-bit version of Lightroom an sFTP upload process could cause Lightroom to crash.
* Slideshows could return to the first image randomly during playback.
* A memory leak could cause Lightroom to crash while attempting to process files with local adjustments.
* Canon EOS 5D Mk II sRAW files could process with artifacts in Lightroom 2.2.
* Lightroom 2.2 could cause disc burning to fail for Windows customers.

FIXES new to the final version of Lightroom 2.3

* Attempting to undo(CTRL-Z) a single step in Lightroom 2.2 on Windows could cause a series of previous actions to be undone.

Lightroom 2.3 now provides language support for the following additional languages:
(UPDATE: It indicates a trial version but it's identical to what we're now shipping from the Adobe.com Store for this new version. Since technically these versions didn't exist before there was no place to put them on the Update page.)

* Chinese (Simplified)
* Chinese (Traditional)
* Dutch
* Italian
* Korean
* Portuguese (Brazilian)
* Spanish
* Swedish

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Adobe Camera Raw 5.3 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 RC OUT!!

Adobe just put out today to the public the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidate and the Camera Raw 5.3 also has a Release Candidate.

The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Lightroom team would like the community to help verify the quality of this update through normal usage as this will ensure that the application is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.

If you do experience an issue with this release candidate please report it here: Bug Report Form.

For more information on Lightroom 2 please visit the Lightroom pages on Adobe.com.

Read the full article to know what is coming with this Release Candidate Version and where you can download it from.

Camera Raw 5.3 and Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidates are now available on Adobe Labs.(Camera Raw 5.3, Lightroom 2.3) The release includes new camera support for the following models:

* Nikon D3X
* Olympus E-30

There are several bug fixes in this update :

* In the Windows 64-bit version of Lightroom an sFTP upload process could cause Lightroom to crash
* Slideshows could return to the first image randomly during playback
* A memory leak could cause Lightroom to crash while attempting to process files with local adjustments
* Canon EOS 5D Mk II sRAW files could process with artifacts in Lightroom 2.2
* Lightroom 2.2 could cause disc burning to fail for Windows customers

Additional Languages
Lightroom 2.3 now provides language support for the following additional languages:

* Chinese (Simplified)
* Chinese (Traditional)
* Dutch
* Italian
* Korean
* Portuguese (Brazilian)
* Spanish
* Swedish

The translation effort for these languages is over 90% complete in this release. We appreciate your feedback as we complete this work so that we can ensure that the final release provides a high quality update for all of these new languages. If you find a translation error or problem with these new language versions please report them here: Bug Report Form

Notes on the Additional Languages

* Localized help is not yet available for these additional language versions
* The new language versions cannot be installed simultaneously with the English/French/German 2.3 RC build

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed in the Adobe User to User forums to help us track down some of the bugs we corrected in this release.

This release installs alongside with your current version so it will not overlap the older one.

Camera Raw 5.3 RC direct downloads:

- Windows
- Macintosh

Adobe DNG Converter 5.3 RC direct downloads:

- Windows
- Macintosh

Adobe Lightroom 2.3 RC direct downloads:

- Windows
- Macintosh

Adobe Releases Photoshop Lightroom 2.2

The long waited update to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom has just arrived and before Christmas time.

The Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2.2 update includes these enhancements:

• Additional camera support for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon PowerShot G10, Panasonic DMC-LX3 and more**
• Includes several corrections for issues introduced by the Lightroom 2.0 release

Mac Version
PC Version

The release includes new camera support for the following models:

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II
* Canon PowerShot G10
* Panasonic DMC-G1**
* Panasonic DMC-FX150**
* Panasonic DMC-FZ28**
* Panasonic DMC-LX3**
* Leica D-LUX 4**

They've also fixed a few bugs that were introduced with the Lightroom 2.0 release:
Lightroom 2 Bugs - Fixed

* Images rendered from the Slideshow export process produced a jagged effect on hard edges relative to the quality of normal JPEG export
* Increased the number of characters allowed in Web gallery labels beyond 150 characters
* Catalogs with hundreds of root (top level) folders caused very slow launch times
* Drag and drop to move a subfolder to a different folder showed the incorrect photos in the grid
* Print Sharpening produced edge artifacts in certain conditions
* Density defaulted to 100 percent for initial stroke regardless of position of slider
* The Adjustment brush created blocky, straight edges to brush strokes under certain conditions
* Lightroom could become unresponsive when using the graduated filter under certain conditions
* It was possible to lose the ability to edit an adjustment brush setting after applying a graduated filter with hidden pins
* Turning auto-mask on produced a lag in Lightroom performance in when applying the adjustment brush
* Print to JPEG functionality produced a low resolution image when printing photos with panorama aspect ratios
* Extended characters in a folder name caused Edit in Photoshop functionality to fail
* Smart collection did not respond to changes in custom metadata
* Enabling auto-mask produced a lag in performance in when applying the local adjustment brush

Lightroom 2 Enhancements

* Camera profiles are now available in the Calibration panel in the Develop module. These profiles are designed to provide different interpretations of raw capture.

**With the release of Camera Raw 5.2 (and upcoming Lightroom 2.2 release) there is an important exception in our DNG file handling for the Panasonic DMC LX3, Panasonic DMC FX150, Panasonic DMC FZ28, Panasonic DMC-G1 and Leica D-LUX 4. In this release the native, proprietary files from these cameras can only be converted to linear DNG files. A linear DNG file has gone through a demosaic process that converts a single mosaic layer of red, green and blue channel information into three distinct layers , one for each channel. The resulting linear DNG file is approximately three times the size of a mosaic DNG file or the original proprietary file format.

This exception is a temporary solution to ensure that Panasonic and Leica's intended image rendering from their proprietary raw file format is applied to an image when converted DNG files are viewed in third party software titles. The same image rendering process is applied automatically in Camera Raw 5.2 and in Lightroom 2.2 when viewing the original proprietary raw file format.

In a future release Adobe plans to update the DNG specification to include an option to embed metadata-based representations of the lens compensations in the DNG file, allowing a mosaic DNG conversion. In the interim Adobe recommends only converting these files to DNG to allow compatibility with third party raw converters, previous versions of the Camera Raw plug-in or previous versions of Lightroom.

Adobe Releases Photoshop Lightroom 2.0

On Tuesday 29/07/2008 Adobe announced the immediate availability of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 software, with new enhancements such as dual-monitor support, radical advances in non-destructive localized image correction, and streamlined search capabilities. Lightroom 2.0 Adobe’s first application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Macintosh computers with Intel® processors and Microsoft® Windows® Vista® 64-bit operating systems, Lightroom 2 also provides improved memory performance for dealing with large scale images.

So let's take a deep look on what's new...

New in Lightroom 2.0

Library

Streamlined Organization and Worfklow

Layout: The entire Library layout has been revisited to provide a more intuitive image organization experience. The left hand panel of the Library has been streamlined to include only the most relevant image sources: the folders the images are physically stored in and collections of images that the photographer creates.

Folders: Photographers working across multiple hard drives will find that the enhanced volume and folder layout will make it a much more intuitive experience to manage images on one or many hard drives. The volume indicators clearly indicate the hard drive that you’re working with and provide the option to show the online/offline status, the amount of space available, the number of photos you’re working with and there’s an indicator light that migrates from green to red as your hard drive fills up. Now it’s visually much easier to move your images from hard drive to hard drive and understand where your images are stored when a external hard drive is no longer connected.


Collections: The Collection panel has received significant attention with the addition of improved iconography and collection sets that allow photographers to create a hierarchy while maintaining collection-specific sort order. There is also the ability to save output specific collections for Slideshow/Print/Web. This can be accomplished by creating a new collection item while in the specific output module. The subsequent icon in the collection panel will provide a quick reference and link to the images and output settings you created. Collections still maintain their auto-save capabilities when it comes to on-the-fly output creations that don’t require a persistent entry in the Library.

Smart Collections are now available. Specify the criteria for a smart collection and images will be automatically added to the collection if they meet the criteria. An expert user tip: Try alt/option clicking when adding a new search criterion.

Target Collection functionality allows you to specify any Lightroom collection as the destination of the quick collection shortcut key, B.

Filter Bar: With the source location of the images clearly defined in the left hand panel, the top of the grid view provides a panel that will filter the content. Use the ‘\’ key to hide or show the filter functionality and expand one section at a time to filter the content. Each category below can be toggled on or off by clicking on the name and multiple filter categories can be shift-selected to provide additional control.

Text: Search across your images using text search field

Refine: Filter your grid view by flags, star ratings, color labels and the type of file, Master or Virtual Copy. This functionality was previously located only in the right hand side of the filmstrip. It still remains in that location now labeled ‘Filter’ as a quick tool that can be used in any module.

Metadata: A wide range of metadata is now presented in easy to browse filter columns that can be added, removed and customized per your organization workflow. Choose the field to filter on by clicking on the column header and select menu icon at the right side of each column to add or remove a column. The column arrangement and selection can be stored as a preset that is defined in the upper right hand corner of the filter bar. Note that the Date and Location fields contain the option to show hierarchical or flat representations of the data. The Date field also includes the day of the week in addition to the numerical date.

The Keywording pane has a new Keyword Set called “Suggested Keywords.” Keywording is simplified through Lightroom’s ability to suggest keywords for the current image based on existing keywords applied to that image as well as keywords applied to images that are close neighbors in terms of capture time. For example, if a number of images in a catalog contain the keywords dog and beach, an image assigned the keyword ‘beach’ will cause the suggested keyword panel to automatically update to show ‘dog’ as a suggested keyword. The Keywording panel also includes a dedicated keyword entry field below the larger box that displays all of the assigned keywords. The Keyword List provides a convenient filter to help find and manage your keywords. Checkboxes are available to quickly apply additional keywords to the selected images and arrows to the right of each keyword are a link to view all of the images tagged with that keyword.


Multiple Monitors: Lightroom 2.0 offers a dual monitor solution that can adjust to fit your particular monitor set up. The main Lightroom window that includes the Module picker can be positioned on either monitor and the following views can be provided on an additional monitor. To activate a multiple monitor environment, choose the monitor icon in the lower right hand side of Lightroom, just above the filmstrip. If a second monitor is not attached, a second window will appear on a single display.

* Grid: Place the grid on a secondary monitor for quick image selection while the develop module is displayed on the other monitor. Or use the grid to reorder images while creating slideshow, print or web output.
* Loupe: Allows an image at a preferred zoom level display on an alternate monitor.
o In Normal mode, the image displayed on the alternate monitor is changed when the selection is changed in the primary Lightroom window.
o Live mode is continually updated based on the image and area of an image the mouse is currently hovering or passing over. Zooming to a 1:1 view allows for quick focus checking across a number of images displayed in a grid view on the primary monitor.
o Locked mode fixes the image displayed on the alternate monitor until you wish to change the selection by selecting alt/option-Enter to make the current selection visible.
* Compare: Offers the same powerful compare functionality previously in the Library but can now be used to compare images while selections are made in the grid view in the Library or while adjustments are made in the Develop module.
* Survey: View multiple images at once while organizing or adjusting in another display.


Photoshop Integration: Lightroom can now open images directly in Photoshop without writing out TIFF or PSD files first. The previous ‘write file to disk first’ behavior was inefficient and the new behavior enables a faster a more functional workflow that includes:

* Open files in Photoshop as a Smart Object: Utilize the non-destructive smart object workflow by opening the image as a smart object directly into a Photoshop document.
* Select multiple images to merge as a Panorama utilizing Photoshop CS3’s incredible new panorama functionality
* Merge multiple exposures into a single Photoshop HDR image
* Load multiple files or virtual copies into Photoshop as separate layers in a single document.
* Important Note: This integration is only available with Photoshop CS3 (10.0.1)

Export Functionality: Managing and organizing exported images is much easier now with the following capabilities:

* Export files automatically to the same folder as the original or a subfolder of the original
* Add the exported images to the Lightroom catalog with the option of stacking the export file with the original
* Sharpen images on export for Print or Screen usage utilizing an adaptive algorithm that takes into account the intended use and resolution.
* Send exported images directly to another third party application selected in the export dialog

More notes on Library functionality:

* The 10k pixel limit has been lifted and now images with up to 65,000 pixels per side or 512MP total may be imported into Lightroom. This is particularly useful when utilizing the new Photoshop integration for panorama creation.


Develop Module

Localized Correction: The develop module now provides the ability to correct specific areas of an image without affecting other areas. A common example of this in traditional photography would be the dodge and burn experience in the darkroom. Lightroom provides brushes that a photographer can ‘load’ with different types of corrective techniques that were previously only available globally including exposure, brightness, clarity and saturation. Images can also be tinted locally using specific hue and saturation values that can provide an excellent way of counteracting mixed lighting environments.

The tools previously available in the toolbar have been relocated to the right hand panel just below the histogram. (Crop, Clone/Heal, Red Eye and the new local correction brush) Selecting a tool from the panel will reveal the options for that tool. Click on it again to hide those options and return to the standard develop panel.

Adjustment Brush

The controls available for the local correction brush are segmented into three basic areas: Mask, Effect and Brush. A quick walkthrough of the correction technique is below:

* On entering the local correction panel the brush will become active.
* The type of desired correction should be selected from the Effect section. A photographer can paint in a positive brightness effect for the shadows and a negative exposure effect for a bright sky.
* Combinations of effects can be selected and saved as presets by showing the effects sliders. (Horizontal toggle in the upper right area of the effect panel)
* The brush size, feather and opacity can be set before applying the correction. An Auto Mask option is available to help confine the brush strokes and subsequent mask within an area of similar color. The airbrush option provides a diffused correction application relative to the standard painting mode.
* Once a brush stroke is applied, a circular point or pin will appear on the image where you first applied the brush stroke. Additional brush strokes can be applied that will add to the current correction area. To refine the area hold down the Alt or Option key to begin erasing with the brush.
* To adjust the amount applied to the entire area click down on the circular marker or pin and move the cursor to the left or the right to decrease or increase the amount setting.
* To refine the correction settings, click on the pin and detailed adjustments are available in the right panel and will be applied to the selected pin.
* Create a new correction mask or brush stroke by selecting the New option.
* The pins can be hidden or shown with the H shortcut key.
* Use one of the tint presets provided to apply a color tint or use the Lightroom color selection dialog by double-clicking on the rectangle to the right of the presets. Change a preset by selecting a color in the dialog then click-and-hold on the preset box to be populated by that selection.
* There are two brush presets represented by A and B in the brush section. After modification of the brush controls, a preset can be updated by clicking and holding on the specific preset letter to be associated with the settings.

Graduated Filter

Recreating the effect of a graduated neutral density filter, this tool goes even further allowing the ability to modify all of the effect parameters in a single graduated effect. Select the effect and click and drag the gradient onto the image. Rotate and adjust as necessary. You can also return to the specific effect settings and modify them after the filter is applied.


Shortcut Keys

Local Adjustment Keyboard Shortcuts

* Toggle Adjustment Brush - K
* Toggle Graduated Filter - M
* Graduated Filter Scale from Center - Alt/Option + Drag
* Hide/Show Pins - H
* Always Show - Shift + Command/Control + H
* Show Selected/Never Show - Shift + H
* New Adjustment Pin - Enter/Return
* Switch Brush - /
* Increase Amount - Right Arrow
* Decrease Amount - Left Arrow
* Erase - Alt/Option
* Increase Brush Size - ]
* Decrease Brush Size - [
* Increase Feather - Shift ]
* Decrease Feather - Shift [
* Set Flow Amount - Number Keys
* Auto-Mask - A
* Show/Hide Mask Overlay - O
* Cycle Mask Overlay Colors - Shift + O
* Constrain brush stroke to straight line - Shift
* Invert Gradient - '


Vignette: The previous lens correction vignette effect was only applied to the entire image frame and as an artistic effect could be obscured after an image was cropped. An additional framing vignette effect has been added that will apply a vignette to an image, respecting the cropped borders.


Basic Panel Keyboard Shortcuts: Photographers who prefer to utilize their keyboards for basic image adjustments will find that the +/- keys are linked to the Exposure adjustment in the Develop module. Adding the Shift key will boost the increment amount, the comma and period keys will cycle through the basic panel controls and the semi-colon will reset the control currently in focus.


Improved Auto Adjustment: The Auto adjustment has been modified in response to feedback that previous adjustments were too bright.


Improved profiles for Raw data: An enhanced set of profiles has been released on Adobe Labs in order to provide an improved default rendering of raw data. (Many Canon photographers complained that our reds were too orange.) In addition to the improved Adobe default profile, there are additional profiles for each camera that emulate the results that would be obtained were those settings chosen in the camera manufacturers software or if the photographer chose to shoot JPEG.


Print Module

Picture Package: The print module now provides the ability to create multii-page layouts for a single image arranged in multiple sizes. This allows photographers to quickly and easily print a package of images quickly and easily.

* Choose Picture Package from the Layout Engine in the top right corner of the print module and a blank page will be presented.
* In the Cells panel click on one of the preset size to add an image cell to the page or use the drop down option to edit and create your own custom size. Cells can be added to the page until the page is filled and a new page will be added to the layout automatically. Up to six pages can be included in a layout.
* After all of the required cells have been added, choose Auto Layout to automatically create an efficient, easy to cut print layout or manually move the cells to your liking.
* To move a cell, click on the image and move the cell to the desired location. To delete an image cell, click on the image and choose delete. A page can be deleted by mousing over the page and clicking on the ‘X’ in the red circle.
* When an image aspect ration is much different than the cell aspect ratio, the image can be moved within the cell by holding the CMD/CTRL key down and clicking on the image and dragging it.

Print to JPEG: Many photographers have asked for the ability to send their Lightroom print layouts directly to a lab that will print JPEG files. Choose JPEG as the option in the Print Job dialog to specify your print output as a JPEG file for lab delivery. (Select a custom ICC profile for your lab in the color management area)

Print Sharpening: Lightroom previously provided three levels of print sharpening. Impressive new algorithms have been added to automatically determine the correct amount of print sharpening required based on the output media and resolution of the file.


Lightroom 2 SDK

The Lightroom SDK allows you to customize and extend certain Lightroom features by creating plug-ins. In the current release these features are extensible:


Export functionality: You can create an export plug-in, which customizes the behavior of Lightroom's Export dialog and export processing. You can add or remove items from the Export dialog, alter or augment the rendering process, and send images to locations other than files on the local computer.


Metadata: You can define customized public or private metadata fields for Lightroom. Public or private metadata can be associated with individual photos.


Web engine functionality: You can create an HTML web-engine plug-in, which defines a new type of HTML photo gallery. The engines you define appear in the Gallery panel at the upper right of the Web module.


A Lightroom plug-in consists of Lua-language files (scripts) that define the plug-in functionality, and an information or manifest file that describes the contents of the plug-in. The information file must have a specific name, and be placed in a folder with the Lua source files and resource files; the folders may need to be in specific locations.


Lightroom 2 beta vs. Lightroom 2

Changes from LR2 beta to LR2 below:

* Hierarchical Dates and locations in the Library Filter. (Including days of the week for the date)
* The Volume Browser in the folder panel.
* Improved iconography for folders, collections, collection sets and output collections.
* Dedicated keyword input field in the keywording pane.
* Ability to add or remove metadata filter columns.
* Improved Keyword List interface. (Including filter by keyword to manage and organize keywords)
* Repositioned and refined dual monitor support location and experience. (Moved from right to left and the ultimate dual monitor experience is much more polished in terms of performance and stability
* Ability to set target collection for quick collection shortcut(b). (Target any collection as the target when you hit the B key)
* Lightroom Web, Metadata and Export SDK available on the Adobe Dev Center
* Local control improvements
o Complete list of local controls including, Exposure, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness, Clarity and a color toning option available for the brush or gradient adjustment tool
o Additional gradient adjustment tool
o Improved auto-mask functionality
o Improved brush performance
* Additional post crop vignette options: roundness, feather
* DNG Profiles Concept
o DNG Profile Editor available on Labs
o Profiles for our current raw support list available
o Match camera JPEG looks in the Calibration tab by selection Camera Standard profile
* Export to JPEG functionality in the Slideshow Module. (Intermediate format for additional authoring tools)
* Enhanced output sharpening
* 64-bit memory handling improvement

Tom Hogarty (Lightroom’s Product Manager) has the inside track, so his blog is always a good place to start when a new version is released.


Camera Raw 4.5
Camera Raw for Photoshop CS3 has been updated to version 4.5. It will provide exactly the same rendering obtained in Lightroom 2 but will not have all of the new controls provided in Lightroom 2. Download Camera Raw 4.5 and DNG Converter 4.5 (Mac, Win)

Camera Profiles and DNG Profile Editor
Download the new Profile Editor and Profiles that are available to help provide photographers with a starting point that is appropriate for their raw workflow.

I've been doing my stuff over version 2.0 and I can tell you that this Lightroom will promise great new features and is becoming my main workflow software.

I still think that they need a browser for when you just want to navigate a couple of folders without having to import them. They now have that but you still need to import the folder.

Adobe Lightroom Plugins

If you are using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to manage and tweak your photos this is good news for viewing your Lightroom catalogs database outside Lightroom and present it or share them with your clients.

LRViewer is a standalone viewer for Lightroom image previews and that's what makes this piece of software so wonderful.

LRViewer makes no changes to the Lightroom catalog, which means that it can't create any previews that aren't already present in some other words it will not temper your Lightroom files by any means.

Both the catalog (ending in "lrcat" or "lrdb") and the associated preview file (ending in "lrdata") must be present. You open just the catalog; LRViewer then opens the preview file automatically. No images have to be exported from Lightroom, since LRViewer accesses the catalog and previews directly.

Select a picture to see its metadata in the panel at lower-left. Double-click a picture to zoom it to fill the window, or to the largest preview size available. You can navigate between zoomed pictures with the arrow buttons at the top of the window or with the left and right arrow keys.

But this is not all. For about $50 you can add to it LRMaker and it will allow photographers to customize the appearance and behavior of LRViewer for their clients. Planned features of LRVmaker include:

* A built-in DVD burner will allow you to easily assemble the package for a client (catalog, preview file, and LRViewer app) so your client can immediately run LRViewer off the DVD, without installing it on his or her computer. (DVD burning on Windows may not be in the first version. In that event, you'll be easily able to burn DVDs with other burning utilities.)
* You can lock a catalog so that LRViewer will open it only under control of the configuration you provide. (Note that anyone with Lightroom can bypass the lock, so it's not completely secure.)

* You can prevent clients from seeing EXIF information and other metadata.
* You can control what top-level items appear in the outline (Quick Collection, Folders, etc.).
* You can control whether JPEGs can be extracted (a planned feature for LRViewer).
* You can control the maximum preview size to be shown.
* You can arrange for a watermark to appear on images, to help guard against screen captures.
* You can put your logo and a link to your web site on the main window.
* There will eventually (probably not in the first version) be a way for clients to rank or otherwise select images, and for that information to be passed back to you. It won't be entered into the Lightroom catalog, but will be available externally, via a file you can browse and/or with an email.

Note that these are planned features, for which there is no commitment. The final design may include more or less than these, and may implement them in different ways. Not all features listed will be in the first version, but updates will be free.

You can download the LRViewer is a free version from here for both Mac and PC users.

The PDF Instructions manual can be found here.

Another Lightroom Plugin is the Geotag. If you are into Geotagging your photos this plugin would be a must.

This project installs menu items into the Adobe Lightroom interface that allows photos to be tagged with geographic information through the Lightroom interface.

Locations are read from the standard GPX file format and exif information is stored in the image files using Phil Harvey's exiftool.

Geotag-lightroom-plugin is still in a Beta stage and it was created by Jeff Barnes.

It uses a feature of the Export SDK, where you can create a menu item within Lightroom.

The plugin reads GPX information and writes it to the file in Lightroom using Exiftool.

The Features included are:

- Sync photo to GPS using picture of GPS display
- Interpolate location between track points
- Add geotags to original images or save to new location

Hope you enjoy these new Adobe Lightroom Plugins.

If you are into Lightroom...

If you are into Adobe Lightroom you should consider paying a visit to Sean McCormack on His blog lightroom-blog.com.

He managed to create a Simple Scroll Gallery script that I think it is very well achieved, he also shows you how you can use Adobe Lightroom to format your text to the web.

Did you know that it is possible to create Text slides for Slideshows in Lightroom?
Well He shows you how in a small video.

He also have some podcasts available with Steve McCurry and Chris Rainier.

So again, if you are into Adobe Lightroom you cannot miss this and the updates.