Lightroom Journal

The Lightroom 2 beta has two expiration dates.  If you already own Lightroom it's August 31st.  If you don't own Lightroom it's 30 days after you started testing the beta.(A 30 day trial)   I don't think anyone disagrees that it's important to reward the current owners for their purchase and use of the first version of Lightroom but we also don't want to discourage new customers from providing feedback on the future of Lightroom.  To that end, we've provided current Lightroom customers with the opportunity to invite friends or folks they meet on the forums to enjoy the beta through the end of August.  Don't be shy.  If someone has taken the time to provide feedback on the forums and wants to continue using the beta beyond 30 days, send them an invitation.  It's a quick process and I've already sent many invitations myself. 
The invitation link is here: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=labs_lightroom_invite
Enter your Lightroom 1 serial number to authenticate the process and you'll be able to send up to 5 invitations at a time. (The invitee will receive an email with a serial number for use with the beta)

Posted by Tom Hogarty at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.
  

Posted by Tom Hogarty at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)

Version 2 of Lightroom is now available as a public beta, allowing the the photographic community to provide feedback on new features and workflow enhancements. It's hard to believe that Lightroom 1.0 was released just over a year ago and Lightroom 1.1 shortly thereafter.  It really feels like the beta process never stopped and we've received a ton of great feedback through the feature request submissions, customer conversations, forum discussions, tradeshows and targeted customer visits. We're glad to continue the process by releasing this version before it's final to get your opinions on our progress.  This is different from the previous Lightroom beta in that we'll be targeting feedback on new enhancements and aiming to release the final version sooner than we did in the previous year-long beta.   I've provided a few key notes below but I strongly recommend reading the entire Release Notes document available on Labs.adobe.com.

Beta Eligibility

Q: Who is eligible for the  Lightroom 2.0 beta?
A: All Lightroom 1.0 customers.  Lightroom 1.0 customers can download and install Lightroom 2.0 beta for use throughout the beta program

Q: What about customers new to Lightroom?
A: Anyone can download the Lightroom 2.0 beta and try it for 30 days

Q: How can new customers try the beta for the entire program?
A: An invitation program  through labs.adobe.com allows Lightroom 1.0 customers to invite friends  to try the beta beyond  the 30 day trial until the beta expiration date

Q: When does the beta expire?
A: August 31, 2008

 

IMPORTANT NOTES, PLEASE READ

Primary Known Issues

• Lightroom 2.0 beta will not upgrade Lightroom 1.x libraries.  The beta is intended to be used for testing and feedback purposes.  Lightroom 1.x and 2.0 beta libraries will be migrated to the finished version of Lightroom 2.0.
• While data loss is not expected, this is a very early ‘beta’ quality build and you should always work on duplicates of files that are securely backed up. 
• Lightroom 2 beta will not overwrite or interfere with a machine that currently has Lightroom 1.3.1 installed. 
• Develop settings applied in Lightroom 2.0 beta are not guaranteed to transfer correctly to the final version of 2.0.  This is particularly true for localized corrections.
• The new Photoshop integration functionality is only available with Photoshop CS3 (10.0.1) and should only be used for testing purposes.  Metadata associated with the original file may not carry over to the subsequent file saved from Photoshop
• Additional known issues are listed in the release notes.

New Features
Library

• Streamlined Library Layout
• Smart Collections
• Powerful Filter Bar to search and refine images
• Suggested Keywords for simplified keywording
• 10k pixel size limit raised to 30k pixels
• Output-based Collections
  

Multiple Monitors:

• -Four flexible modes for an alternate window:  Grid, Loupe, Compare, Survey
  (Check out the Live Loupe mode!)

Photoshop CS3 Integration: 

• Open files in Photoshop as a Smart Object
• Select multiple images to merge as a Panorama
• Merge multiple exposures into a single Photoshop HDR image
• Load multiple files or virtual copies into Photoshop as separate layers in a single document.

Export Functionality:

• Auto-add exported images to the Lightroom catalog
• Auto Output Sharpening for images on export

Develop Module

• Non-Destructive Localized Correction for dodging and burning specific areas of an image
• Post Crop Vignette
• Basic Panel Keyboard Shortcuts
• Improved Auto Adjustment
• Improved memory handling through 64-bit support on OS X 10.5 and Vista 64-bit.(Not limited to develop module)

Print Module

• Picture Package for multi-page layouts
  
• Print Module output directly to JPEG
  
• Enhanced Print Sharpening based on PhotoKit Sharpener algorithms
• 16-bit Printing for Mac OS X 10.5

Additional Resources

• Lightroom video tutorials by Julieanne Kost:  Lightroom 2 beta Tutorial Part I and Lightroom 2 beta Tutorial Part III. (Part II is on the way)
• Lightroom 2 beta preview by Ian Lyons
• Lightroom Tasmania Adventure
• Lightroom 2 beta review by Uwe Steinmueller at OutbackPhoto.com.
• Lightroom 2 beta review for our French-speaking photographers
• Photoshop Cafe provides a feature review and 1 hour training video.

What about Lightroom 1.4?
Trust me, we haven't forgotten about the photographers who are awaiting a replacement to the Lightroom 1.4 update that we released and subsequently pulled from Adobe.com. Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera Raw 4.4.1 are currently undergoing additional testing before we release them in the first half of April. Thank you for your patience.

Posted by Tom Hogarty at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (49)

The entire Lightroom team is extremely sorry for any problems we've caused our loyal customers with the March 14th 1.4 update. In our eagerness to get new camera support into customers' hands as promptly as possible, we let some bugs slip past our testing that were frankly unacceptable. Compared to other Adobe applications, we've taken a much more aggressive approach to releasing frequent new versions with new features, but it's clear we need to take a hard look at our release process to make sure that this aggressive approach doesn't sacrifice quality. One thing that we may consider is continuing the community approach we've taken in the past by releasing betas of our updates, so that they can get the broadest testing possible before they are certified as final. The timing for what will need to be a Lightroom 1.4.1 release has not been determined but updated information will be posted to this blog when available. 

Posted by Tom Hogarty at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (61)

The Lightroom 1.4 update for Mac and Windows has been temporarily removed from the Adobe.com web site.  Those Lightroom users who have installed Lightroom 1.4 should uninstall the update and install Lightroom 1.3.1.(Mac, Win) until a further update can be provided. For those not in immediate need of the updated camera support available in Camera Raw 4.4 or the DNG 4.4 Converter, it's recommended that you also continue working with the 4.3.1 versions. (Mac, Win)  This decision is based on the following errors that have been discovered with the recent update:

• EXIF Time Stamp Error: There is an error in the EXIF time stamp update technology that causes Lightroom to believe that the files are out of sync with the correct time stamp as displayed in Lightroom. Any ensuing metadata update will attempt to incorrectly modify the EXIF time stamp in the original raw file itself.  This is the only metadata field that Lightroom will write to an original proprietary raw file. This error will not impact the integrity of your image data.  The Camera Raw plug-in also will incorrectly change the EXIF time stamp in files converted by the plug-in.  The information written to the XMP sidecar files or XMP metadata in the converted files will remain correct.
• DNG Conversion Error(Windows Only): With the latest version of the Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4 applications, Adobe has included technology to verify that the image data in a DNG file is unchanged from when it was originally converted to DNG.  Unfortunately, when converting to DNG using Lightroom 1.4 on Windows, the application will write an incorrect verification tag to describe the image data.  When Lightroom attempts to work with those files in the Develop module, the application reads that incorrect tag, believes that there is something wrong with the raw data and will present an error.  Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with the integrity of your image data or metadata.  For those that have already converted their files to DNG using Lightroom 1.4(Windows only) we recommend using the DNG 4.3.1 converter to convert the DNG files you’ve created with Lightroom 1.4.
• Olympus Conversion Error:  There is an error in converting Olympus JPEG files to other formats in Lightroom 1.4 and the Camera Raw 4.4 plug-in. 

To uninstall Lightroom 1.4 please see the instructions per your platform:
Mac: Delete the Lightroom application in the Application folder(Mac) and Delete the following file:  Library/Receipts/Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.pkg
Windows: Choose the Uninstall Lightroom 1.4 menu item from the Windows start menu.  The Add/Remove Program utility on Windows will also achieve the same result. 

To replace the Camera Raw 4.4 plug-in with the 4.3.1 plug-in, follow the manual installation instructions provided on the download page linked above.

I will post additional updates to this blog as we have more information on the timing and scope of the future update.

Posted by Tom Hogarty at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (111)