Adobe Adds New Room to Lightroom

Adobe recently announced the public availability of the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta. This beta offers a look at some of the features that will be in Lightroom 2.0, but according to a post on the Adobe forums not all of the features that will be available in 2.0 are in this public beta. Time will tell. The improvements that are in there are quite nice.

Improvements include:

Photoshop CS3 Integration:

• Open files in Photoshop as Smart Objects.  (This way you can tweak your Lightroom adjustments within Photoshop just by double-clicking the Smart Object layer that contains your raw file.)
• Select multiple images to merge as a panorama
• Merge multiple exposures into a single Photoshop HDR image
• Load multiple files (or virtual copies of a single file) into Photoshop as separate layers in a single document

Selective image editing that rocks:

• Lightroom 2 adds a Retouch tool in the Develop module, that means you can paint regions of the image to dodge, burn, saturate/desaturate, adjust contrast, and more. And, all edits are storied in the metadata and are non-destructive.

Library Module:

• Streamlined Library layout
• Smart Collections (based on search criteria)
• Powerful Filter Bar to search and refine images
• Suggested Keywords for simplified keywording
• 10,000 pixel size limit raised to 30,000 pixels
• Output-based collections

Multiple monitor support:

• Four flexible modes for an alternate window: Grid, Loupe, Compare, Survey
• Live Loupe mode

Export functionality:

• Auto-add exported images to the Lightroom catalog
• Auto Output Sharpening for images on export

Develop Module:

• Non-Destructive Localized Correction for dodging and burning specific areas of an image
• Post-Crop Vignette
• Basic Panel Keyboard Shortcuts
• Improved Auto Adjustment
• Improved memory handling through 64-bit support on OS X 10.5 and Vista 64-bit.(Not limited to develop module)

Print Module:

• Picture Package for multi-page layouts
• Print Module output directly to JPEG
• Enhanced Print Sharpening based on PhotoKit Sharpener algorithms
• 16-bit Printing for Mac OS X 10.5

As you can see there are some very nice, useful and important additions to Lightroom 2.0. If it is true that the public beta doesn’t reveal all of the new features and improvements one can hope that we will also see much more powerful noise reduction as well as distortion correction tools.

I am totally thrilled that the 10,000 x 10,000 pixel image size limit has been raised to match that of Adobe Photoshop, that being 30,000 x 30,000 pixels. This means now I can catalog my rather large collection of panorama images.

The availability of a 64-bit native version is also good news, though 64-bit as far as I am concerned is still in its infancy and it will be a few years yet before I jump on that band wagon, however I am glad to see Adobe leading the way in 64-bit application development.

You can download the public beta from the Adobe Labs site. One thing to keep in mind is that this is a time limited beta. If you don’t have the current release of Lightroom installed your trial period will be limited to 30 days. If you have the current version installed this beta will expire at the end of August 2008.

Finally, the 2.0 beta WILL NOT import and/or convert your Lightroom 1.3.1 catalogs. You will need to re-import your images to get them in to the 2.0 beta. Adobe has done this to protect you. The Lightroom 2.0 beta is not production level software. Please make a backup of any images you plan to import in to it before you import them. Image loss or corruption isn’t likely to happen, but there are no guarantees this is beta software.