New Lightroom beta out!

[potato1]

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom/

Check out screen shot from the new version:

http://www.timaustinimages.com/p985663506/?photo=h37CBBA99#936098457

looks pretty slick!

[RomeBoy]

Yeehaa! Just had a quick breeze through looking for one of my most desired features, soft proofing, and I don't see it. In fact, I don't see much change to the Print Module at all. Darn. Anyone have an idea if this is on the roadmap?

Here are some of the new features I find intriguing based on a brief survey:

Library Module:

- Smart collections. Same idea as smart folders in Mac OS. Basically a way to have saved searches act as virtual folders. Nice!

- Keywords have been moved to the right side of the Library Module under the keyword selectors/entry boxes. Makes more sense over there, in my opinion.

- The quick filters are now on top and accessible via pull-down interface.

- Ability to have a second, simultaneous view: "Show Secondary Display". Great for dual monitors of just splitting a screen to have, for example, grid view on one display and loupe on the other. Nice!


Develop Module:

- Localized editing has made its way in with the brush tool in the Develop Module. Looks like you can paint pixels (metadata) and implement masking. I don't see any layers feature, per se, but you can create different localized edits that can be controlled & modified independently. How these interact is not yet clear to me.

- Noise reduction and sharpening effects can now be seen without having to zoom-in on the photo. There is a view window above the noise & sharpening tools that displays a zoomed-in view of the photo.

- Vignetting can now be done on the overall photo or with reference to the crop points.


I'm sure there's plenty more, but these are the high points based on my first play with the beta.

I am curious if anyone knows if any changes have been made to the underlying behavior of some of the tools. That is, are there new processing algorithms that change the way things such as white balance, tone, presence, curves, etc. behave?

[thebigsky]

:clap At last... dual monitor support (should have been in from the start!)

Charlie

[SloYerRoll]

Read the fine print....
"The beta is free to anyone, but perversely it expires after 30 days for those who aren't Lightroom 1 users or who haven't been invited by a version 1 customer. Maybe Adobe is trying to generate some viral-marketing buzz that invitation programs sometimes help new Web sites benefit from, but I'm not sure how much cachet an invite will have with the free 30-day version.":deal
Source. (http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9908233-39.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20)

[RomeBoy]

Write up on some of the new features at the Lightroom Killer Tips site:

http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/2008/its-lightroom-20-baby-beta-that-is/

[DonRicklin]

The Official Lab Forum for the Beta is http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/webforums/forum/categories.cfm?forumid=72&catid=678

And the RSS Feed is: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/webforums/forum/rss.cfm?forumid=72&catid=678

Don

[arodney]

No soft proofing (we'll have to get over that).

Output sharpening in print module (how do you like it?)
Export to JPEG from print module
Picture packages from print module

[arodney]

I am curious if anyone knows if any changes have been made to the underlying behavior of some of the tools. That is, are there new processing algorithms that change the way things such as white balance, tone, presence, curves, etc. behave?

Auto has been changed and Adobe would love feedback as to how you like the new algorithms.

[gandalf44]

No soft proofing (we'll have to get over that).

Output sharpening in print module (how do you like it?)
Export to JPEG from print module
Picture packages from print module

So would we now use the Print module to "print to JPEG" and embedd the EZPrints ICC profile, then upload to smugmug?

-gandalf44

[Rhuarc]

Anyone seen a list of what changes you can make to the files that will carry over into xmp and then be editable in ACR? I primarily use Lightroom as a RAW editor, and I wouldn't want to be doing edits to my pictures that wouldn't carry over into ACR after I convert to DNG and export all the edits to the xmp.

Thanks!

[arodney]

Anyone seen a list of what changes you can make to the files that will carry over into xmp and then be editable in ACR? I primarily use Lightroom as a RAW editor, and I wouldn't want to be doing edits to my pictures that wouldn't carry over into ACR after I convert to DNG and export all the edits to the xmp.


NONE of the selective edits will for one. Next, don't expect other rendering to be honored (it might, it might not). For example, Auto is different and still undergoing refinement. For that matter, other older rendering controls may as the beta progresses. When the time comes that we have ACR 5, than and only then will the two work back and forth. Further, a rendering you make today may or may not be identical in the shipping version. Its a beta so, if you're working with images that you know must be used in ACR (now or the future), you might want to work on copies.

[jfriend]

So would we now use the Print module to "print to JPEG" and embedd the EZPrints ICC profile, then upload to smugmug?

-gandalf44

No. Smugmug only wants images with the sRGB profile embedded and that is also all that is appropriate for general web viewing. The EZPrints ICC profile is used for soft proofing - temporarily simulating what the EZPrints printer will deliver when preparing an image that will be printed.

If you deal with an online lab directly and send them images that are only for printing and not for web display, then there are some labs that will accept images that have been converted to their profile. That is not the case when printing through Smugmug.

[gandalf44]

No. Smugmug only wants images with the sRGB profile embedded and that is also all that is appropriate for general web viewing. The EZPrints ICC profile is used for soft proofing - temporarily simulating what the EZPrints printer will deliver when preparing an image that will be printed.

If you deal with an online lab directly and send them images that are only for printing and not for web display, then there are some labs that will accept images that have been converted to their profile. That is not the case when printing through Smugmug.

Thanks jfriend, for the response. That was my thinking, as I have been using the EZPrint ICC profile for softproofing in Photoshop CS3. Just wanted to make sure.

Oh I wish LR 2 Beta included soft proofing! It won't be in the final version either, confirmed by Adobe on thier forums. But, I guess for the shots I want to soft proof, I've probably already decided they need "Photoshop'ing" anyhow, either further tweaking, Noise Ninja NR, or more advanced sharpening (FocalBlade in my case). I guess with local corrections in Lightroom though, I will be round tripping less I think....

-gandalf44

[DonRicklin]

Soft Proofing is the Biggest Shout about on the Forums (many) but it is still unlikely for 2.0. I assure you the Adobe LR Team is *Well aware* of our wishes, even from such insiders as Jeff Schewe, as he has often stated, and he is even working directly with the Engineers on the new Print Sharpening available in 2.0 Beta.

Only time will tell how things will actually go down, though.

Don

[SloYerRoll]

No soft proofing (we'll have to get over that). Why do we have to get over that? I, like many others are very far from ever being over w/ that until it's a reality.

[arodney]

Why do we have to get over that? I, like many others are very far from ever being over w/ that until it's a reality.

Cause you're not going to get it in 2.0 (that ship sailed awhile ago). Everyone has a list of wants for the product. Some got what they wanted, some didn't.

Would you trade selective editing for soft proofing? You might. Others might not. Ultimately it comes down to what the engineers can do well in the time frame they have. I have an equally large wish list for Photoshop (I've wanted a saturation curve since at least version 5). And being an Alpha, I have the ability to ask, ask real early in the process and ask convincingly and I still rarely get everything I want. I get over it, I wait until the next rev and hope for the best. Complaining about it is the wrong tact, trust me, I've got a bit more experience dealing with both the Photoshop and LR team.

We will get soft proofing some day. Just not today.

[SloYerRoll]

We will get soft proofing some day. Just not today.Sounds good. Sometimes written words come across wrong. Some peoples more than others.

-Jon

[dadwtwins]

This really sucks:giggle, just when i said I would stop using LightRoom, they come up with this killer update. Sure it doesn't have everything we want but it is a huge step towards it:ivar