Digital Camera News and Reviews

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.0

Adobe has announced the release of two new release candidates of their products. The release candiditates are Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 6.2. The updates adds support for Raw files from 12 new models, improved lens correction profiles and over 50 new lens profiles.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 6.2 can be downloaded for free for Lightroom customers and Photoshop CS5 customers.

Press release:
Adobe Posts Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidates on Adobe Labs

Adobe today announced the Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidates, available for immediate download on Adobe Labs. The updates extend raw file support to 12 new popular camera models, improve on several of the lens correction profiles introduced as part of the Lightroom 3 and Camera Raw 6.1 releases, and add over 50 new lens profiles to help photographers automatically correct for undesirable distortion and aberration effects.

In addition, the Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate now allows Lightroom 3 customers the ability to publish their photos directly to Facebook from within the application, and addresses issues reported by customers on the Lightroom 3.0 release. Adobe continues to encourage the community to provide feedback on the updates so it can ensure the highest quality experience for customers working on a variety of hardware and software configurations.

Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution, helping serious amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance and showcase all their images from one application. The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in provides fast and easy access within Photoshop to the raw image formats produced by many leading digital cameras.

Pricing and Availability
The Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate is available as a free download for Lightroom 3 customers, and the Photoshop Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidate is available as a free download for Photoshop CS5 customers. For more information and to test out the updates visit http://labs.adobe.com/uk. Feedback can be provided on the Adobe User to User forum at http://forums.adobe.com.

*Please visit the Lightroom Journal for more information on these Release Candidates and a full list of the improved and newly added lens profiles: http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal

Newly Supported Camera Models
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

Also, this update improves the colour and noise profiles for the following cameras that utilise the DNG raw file format already supported in previous versions of Lightroom and Camera Raw: Casio EXILIM EX-FH100 (DNG) and Leica S2 (DNG).

Adobe Photoshop CS5

Adobe has updated their famous image-editing software Photoshop to version CS5 (Creative Suite 5). It seems like Adobe releases a new version of Photoshop quite frequently so it can be expensive for us photographers to follow track. The big question is if it is worth the money to upgrade from earlier versions of Photoshop since the price tag is pretty high. Among the updates in CS5 we find 64-bit support for Mac, new HDR tools, Content-Aware fill and improved masking. Let us hear what the reviewer over at Photography Blog finds out.

Photography Blog ends up giving the Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-editing software a “Recommended” overall rating with a score of 4 out of 5 stars. The software scores highest on features, a bit lower on value for your money and lowest on ease of use. Compared to CS4 CS5 contains lots of useful features and upgrades, but if you are happy with CS4 (or earlier versions) you might want to download a trial version before spending a good amount of money on the newest Adobe Photoshop.
Read the full review of Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-editing software here.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

Notebook Review has tested the latest edition of the photo editing program Elements. The latest version is called Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and has some new features like the Organizer which lets you, unsurprisingly, organize your photos.

Notebook Review ends up giving Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 a bit of a lukewarm review as version 8 does not contain many useful upgrades compared to Elements 7. The software itself is very good as it based on Adobe Photoshop and you get many good features, but the reviewer does not like the new Organizer and the sharing option is a bit quirky. Seem like Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 might be a better choice as it costs less and give you about the same features.
Read the full review of the Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software here.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta

Adobe has announced a new beta version of their popular photo processing program Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Version 3 of Lightroom has several new features and improvements including more intutive importing which I find very intersting as I have been having a hard time explaining the importing system to new Lightroom users. We also get “unparalleled” noise reduction and sharpening tools, and the slideshow function has also been improved.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta is availble as a free download for everyone using Mac and Windows

Press release:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta Now Available

New Lightroom beta delivers faster performance and refined image processing

London. — October 22, 2009 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 3 beta software for Macintosh and Windows®, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution, helping serious amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance, and showcase all their images from one application. Available as a free download on Adobe Labs, Lightroom 3 beta delivers a preview of new tools that will be in Lightroom 3, including more intuitive importing, unparalleled noise reduction and sharpening tools and enhanced slideshow capabilities. Adobe encourages photographers to test this early selection of new features and provide the product team with their feedback.

“We are extremely fortunate that a strong community of photographers have rallied around Lightroom, helping to evolve the application and making it a meaningful part of their photographic workflows,” said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for Professional Digital Imaging at Adobe. “While we’re still hard at work on Lightroom 3, we recognise the value our customers bring to the development process and want their input so we can deliver the best final product possible.”

New in Lightroom 3 Beta
Lightroom 3 beta has been completely redesigned with under-the-hood efficiencies to better handle growing image libraries and improve responsiveness with a higher-quality processing engine. In the Library module, a rebuilt import system makes bringing photos into the software more intuitive. Users can easily specify the source and destination of their images, and save common processing, metadata or destination settings as easy-to-reuse presets.

In the Develop module, an overhauled processing engine allows users to create the highest quality images. Improved Capture Sharpening and Colour Noise Reduction tools provide superior results while still preserving an image’s edge detail and contrast. A new Grain tool adds a film-style grain to images, and two new Vignette modes help photographers get a more natural look.

Lightroom 3 beta also offers advanced output options, including the ability to export slideshows as videos with audio and title screens that can be posted to video-sharing sites or optimised for mobile media. New watermarking capabilities enable photographers to embed text or graphic information directly on an image and then adjust the size, position and opacity. In addition, photographers can customise print layouts and save settings for future use, giving them refined control over their images.

Adobe Photoshop Family
Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended software are at the heart of the Photoshop family, joined by solutions for users at every level who want to bring out the best in their digital images. Photoshop Lightroom addresses the workflow needs of serious amateur and professional photographers, helping them manage, find, enhance and showcase images in impactful ways. Adobe Photoshop Elements software provides exciting tools and sharing options for photo enthusiasts. Lastly, snap shooters can access Photoshop.com for free to simply fix and enhance photos, and quickly share those images on Photoshop.com or on social-networking sites.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta is available as a free download to anyone on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Visit http://www.labs.adobe.com/downloads to learn more and download the beta. Feedback can be submitted on the Lightroom forums: http://forums.adobe.com/community/lightroom. Users also can connect with Adobe at http://www.facebook.com/lightroom or http://www.twitter.com/AdobeLR, and can add the tag #AdobeLR3 to tweets about the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionises how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit http://www.adobe.com/uk.