Photokina: Adobe Releases Lightroom beta 4 - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Featured Guides

Macintosh Guides

How to Switch

Buying a Mac - Tips and Advice

Mac Models

Photokina: Adobe Releases Lightroom beta 4 - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Sep
25

By: switchtoamac at: 5:49 AM on September 25, 2006 | Comments (0)

Pre Photokina 2006. Adobe today released Lightroom beta 4, the latest revision to the free public beta version of its professional image editing software. Adobe has now changed the name of Lighroom to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The new name clearly demonstrates that Adobe is positioning Lightroom as a complement to Adobe Photoshop.

The software is available as a download from Adobe's web site in Mac and Windows versions. The software is a Univesal Binary as support for Intel based Macs is specified and the following is stated on the software's FAQ section:

"Yes. The Macintosh version of Photoshop Lightroom is a Universal application that will run natively both on PowerPC systems and on the new Intel-based Macintoshes."

According to Adobe, the final version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is expected to ship in early 2007. According to Adobe's website, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is:

"The efficient new way for professional photographers to import, manage, and showcase large volumes of digital images now supports Mac and Windows system"

System Requirements are as follows:

Macintosh

Mac OS X 10.4.3 (Tiger) or higher
1GHz or faster PowerPC G4 or G5 processor or Intel Core Duo processor
768 MB memory (1GB Recommended)
1GB or more free HD space

Windows

Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
Pentium 4 processor
768 MB RAM (1GB Recommended)
1GB or more free HD space
1024 x 768 resolution screen

The following new features are available in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom beta 4.0

New elegant user interface.
Enhanced exposure and tone curve controls.
File renaming and DNG conversion within the Library module.
Improved Slideshow, Web and Print modules.
CD/DVD authoring capabilities.
Improved search and filter functionality.
Ability to share files and edits between Photoshop Lightroom Libraries.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom beta 4 supports over 125 native Raw file formats, and now supports Raw formats from many new cameras from Canon, Nikon, and Sony. The following is from Adobe's Press Release:

"Lightroom supports over 125 native raw file formats, in addition to JPEG and TIFF, and brings raw conversion into a single workflow experience. The latest camera models supported by this beta are the Nikon D2Xs, Sony A100, as well as preliminary support for the Canon Digital Rebel XTi (400D) and Nikon D80. This support means that photographers can use Lightroom with even the newest cameras on the market, knowing that the image files will be recognized today and into the future."

The full release notes for the product are available here. Not to be outdone by Adobe, Apple Computer is expected to announce the latest revision to the company's professional imaging editing software, Aperture at an afternoon special event later today.

Updates

September 25, 2006