Lightroom 2 tackles all Alpha RAWs

The latest release of Adobe Lightroom, v2, handles all Sony Alpha and earlier KM digital camera raw formats including the Alpha 700, 200, 300 and 350. It is also updated, along with the final release of Adobe Camera Raw 4.5, to handle Nikon D700. Because Canon appears to have left their filetype identical to the A400, their new 1000D was recognised immediately by ACR even in 4.5 beta version. Continue reading »

Adobe Lightroom 2.0 Beta available now

London— April 2, 2008 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) today announced Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is the professional photographer’s essential toolbox, providing one application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. Lightroom 2.0 beta will feature enhancements such as dual-monitor support, localised dodge and burn correction and will be the first Adobe application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Microsoft Vista 64-bit operating systems.

“Photoshop Light room 2.0 beta provides early access to requested improvements over version 1.3 and continues our ongoing dialogue and open communication with the photography community,” said Tom Hogarty, senior product manager for Photoshop Lightroom and Camera Raw. “We’re excited not only for our existing customers, but also for the general public who will have an opportunity to take Lightroom 2.0 beta on a test run.”

New in Lightroom 2.0 beta

An improved layout in the Library module allows for a more intuitive approach to image organisation by simplifying the location of the features needed to find and filter photographs. A new feature called Smart Collections automatically updates collections with images that match desired criteria such as star-rating, keyword or other metadata. “The Suggested Keywords feature eases the task of keywording by making recommendations based upon keyword associations across a catalog as well as the use of keywords in neighboring images.”

Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta includes improved memory handling through 64-bit support for OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Vista 64-bit operating systems. Additional enhancements in Lightroom 2.0 beta include support for a dual monitor configuration that maximizes a photographer’s workspace and can be easily adjusted to meet a particular workflow. Additionally, the Develop module has been updated to provide the ability to correct specific parts of an image without affecting other areas. Now, fundamental photographic techniques such as dodge and burn can be performed using the same non-destructive approach, allowing unprecedented control within the Lightroom program.

Beta Availability

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta is available as a 30-day trial for free download on Macintosh and Windows platforms at http://www.labs.adobe.com/downloads. Existing Lightroom 1.0 customers will be able to test the beta for an extended period until Aug. 31, 2008 and can invite friends to take part in this trial period. Recommended system requirements are Macintosh OSX 10.4, 10.5 1 GHz PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel-based processor, or Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise, Intel Pentium 4 processor, 1 GBRAM and a 1024×768 resolution screen.

Adobe Camera Raw 4.4 released

Adobe has released updates to Photoshop Lightroom and the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, both available immediately as free upgrades for existing users. The releases provide added raw file support for nine additional digital cameras, including the Canon EOS 450D and Nikon D60. Lightroom 1.4 also provides updated printer driver compatibility for Apple Leopard Mac OS X 10.5.

The camera raw functionality in the Adobe Photoshop software, including Photoshop Lightroom, Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Elements, provides fast and easy access to the latest raw image formats produced by many leading professional and midrange digital cameras. Working with these digital negatives allows greater artistic control and flexibility while still maintaining the original raw files. Photoshop Lightroom and the Camera Raw plug-in also support the same functionality for TIFF and JPEG files.

The Lightroom 1.4 update and Camera Raw 4.4 plug-in add support for nine additional digital cameras including the Canon EOS 450D (Digital Rebel XSi /EOS Kiss X2), Fujifilm S100FS, Nikon D60, Olympus SP-570 UZ, Pentax K20D, Pentax K200D, Sony A200, Sony A300 and Sony A350.

Pricing and Availability

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.4 update is available as a free download for existing Macintosh and Windows customers on http://www.adobe.com/downloads.  Recommended system requirements are Macintosh OSX 10.4, 1 GHz PowerPC G4 or G5 or multicore Intel processor, or Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise, Intel Pentium 4 processor, 768 MB RAM and a 1024×768 resolution screen.

The Adobe Camera Raw 4.4 plug-in is available with the purchase of Photoshop CS3 and as a free download for users of Photoshop CS3 Photoshop Elements 6 and Premiere Elements 4 by going to the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html

Adobe Camera Raw 4.4 supports A200, 300, 350

Adobe has released updates to Photoshop Lightroom and the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, both available immediately as free upgrades for existing users. The releases provide added raw file support for nine additional digital cameras, including the Sony Alpha 200 (already supported by 4.3.2 whether they knew it or not), Alpha 300 and Alpha 350. Lightroom 1.4 also provides updated printer driver compatibility for Apple Leopard Mac OS X 10.5. Continue reading »

ACR 4.3.1 hasn’t solved A700 high ISO mush problems

After reading Andrea Nivini’s article in Italian Tutti Fotografi, December 2007, which launches an attack on Adobe’s Camera Raw plug-in and its handling of many camera types – but specifically, the Sony Alpha 700 – I decided to check out whether the December 5th release, ACR 4.3.1, fixed the problems. Continue reading »

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