Archive notice: This article was originally published on June 15, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Adobe Lightroom 3.0 Beta is available now. The new workflow solution for digital images allows professional photographers to import, select, develop and present large quantities of images. Lightroom now also has several functions suggested by beta testers: Improved control over export size and resolution, refined selection of metadata with print output, as well as RGB color value display for greater precision during editing.
New in the Develop module are preview tools for the before-and-after view and history functions. They enable quick previews and the tracing of changes. According to Adobe, they also provide better control over the size and resolution of exported photos. A new Web module handles rich web content and includes a real-time preview of HTML and Flash output. Other tools control resolution in the Export module, correct camera perspective errors thanks to an additional distortion-correction tool, offer keyword import and export, as well as the ability to save module settings with collections or shots. With Auto Import or folder monitoring, photographers can automatically add images from a definable directory to the Lightroom library.
With its modular and task-based environment, Lightroom Beta offers tools for a photographer’s complete workflow. The included Adobe Camera Raw 3.4 technology supports more than 120 native raw-data formats. Added in this beta is support for the new camera models Canon EOS 30D, Epson R-D1s, Leaf Aptus 65 and Aptus 75, Olympus EVOLT E-330 and SP-320, Pentax *ist DL2, as well as Samsung GX-1S. Once images have been imported, they can be presented via slideshows including music, drop shadows, decorative frames, a reference to the author and differently colored backgrounds.
Lightroom Beta 3.0 for Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.3) runs as a Universal Binary application on Power PC and Intel Mac and is available as a free download on the Adobe Labs website (see link below). According to the manufacturer, a Windows beta will follow later in the summer.
Further links:
- Lightroom Beta at Adobe Labs
