Digital Camera News and Reviews

Adobe has updated their software Photoshop Lightroom to version 2.2. The new version adds Raw support to seven new cameras and a function that adds camera profiles to Lightroom that let you mimic the output of how the camera manufacturer wants the pictures to be. This function was previously only available in Adobe Labs.

The seven new cameras that Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.2 supports are these:
-Canon EOS 5D Mark II
-Canon PowerShot G10
-Panasonic DMC-G1
-Panasonic DMC-FX150
-Panasonic DMC-FZ28
-Panasonic DMC-LX3
-Leica D-LUX 4

You can download Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.2 for Windows here and Mac here.

The company Photodex Corporation has released a free program called Proshow which is a free plugin for Adobe Lightroom. According to the company Proshow will help photographers with adjusting pictures and setting up slideshows in Lightroom and export these to the programs Proshow Gold or Producer.

Proshow Gold and Producer are two professional slideshow programs that can be used for adding effects and other ways to make your slideshows look like you want them to be. The slideshows can then be burned on DVD or Blu-ray, or sent to Youtube to be shown there.

Details about the plugin can be found on photodex.com.

Adobe has released updates for Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4. The updates fixes some issues with the EXIF time date field of images and problems with artifacts in Olympus JPEG files when exported.
The latest version of Adobe Lightroom can be download here and the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw can be downloaded here.


From the Adobe blog:
The Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera Raw 4.4.1 updates have been posted to the following locations: Lightroom(Mac, Win), Camera Raw(Mac, Win). The updates provide all of the changes included in the original Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4 releases but also include corrections for issues described below and in previous blog posts. The Camera Raw plug-in will also be available later this evening via the Adobe Update Manager and the Lightroom update can be located by choosing ‘Check for Updates…’ under the Help menu. The Lightroom and Camera Raw team apologize for any inconveniences caused by the issues presented in the initial updates

Lightroom

* Lightroom 1.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that had a metadata update applied. This incorrect modification does not appear in Lightroom or Bridge and is only viewable through third party EXIF tools. This error has been corrected in Lightroom 1.4.1 and all files in a Lightroom catalog that have been incorrectly modified will be corrected on their next metadata update. (Metadata can be updated by selecting the files in the Library grid view and choosing Command or CTRL + S to save and update the metadata.)
* Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Lightroom 1.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.
* Any conversion to DNG in Lightroom 1.4 (Windows Only) would cause the DNG file to become unreadable by Lightroom’s Develop Module or Camera Raw 4.4 in Photoshop. The issue has been corrected and files can be converted to DNG again in order to resolve the issue for existing files. Returning to the original native raw files is not necessary. The affected DNG files can be selected and converted again using the DNG Converter 4.4.1 available at www.adobe.com/dng/. This process is not required but recommended to ensure that a correct validation value is stored within the DNG files.
* Lightroom 1.4 provided degraded import performance relative to Lightroom 1.3.

Camera Raw

* Camera Raw 4.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that were saved as TIFF or JPEG files from the Camera Raw dialog. This has been corrected in Camera Raw 4.4.1
* Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Camera Raw 4.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.

Adobe has announced that they have opened their popular photo tool Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 up for beta testing.

The beta of Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 is available for download here. The beta will only work for 30 days if you are not an existing Lightroom user.


PRESS RELEASE: Adobe Delivers Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Beta

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 2 — 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, localized 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 Lightroom 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 organization 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 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.