Lightroom 2 beta Available

Fantastic Job ! This is a major upgrade for Photographers... Please have a look at a French story about Lightroom Beta 2 :

A question : is there any hope (on of these days) for an 50% screen view when working on details ? Nikon Capture NX can do this (could Lightroom also ?)...

[Jean-Francois, thanks for your appreciation. Sounds like a good piece of feedback for the forums at labs.adobe.com. -TH]

I have been using LR 1 since late last summer and am very happy with it,

I am a little apprehensive about trying the beta but would love to know, any hope for tone mapping or HDR functionality in LR 2 ?

[Scot, you can take multiple images and send them directly to Photoshop CS3 for HDR processing. You can also realize the full range of information captured by your digital camera through the localized dodge and burn corrections. Give it a try on a few files and let us know what you think. -TH]

Hey Tom, congratulations to you and your group for coming out with the new version of LR! Can't wait to try it out and just by looking at the new features, I'm very pleased and excited to try them out.

Great job on this release and I can't wait for the final 2.0 version!

[Thanks Mike. -TH]

Tom-Great Job. YOU and the team have hit a Grand Slam...and that's just with the Beta program. V2.0, that's a whole other bonus. You have answered my wishes on both fronts. NOW, if you could work on a release date of late April for 2.0....kidding, kidding...THANKS AGAIN!!!

[David, thanks for the kind comment. -TH]

just downloaded and tried Lightroom 2 beta and its great, speed, functionality and looks.

still waiting patiently for lightroom 1.4.1 now.

keep up all the good work

[Thanks Kevin. We're working on 1.4.1. -TH]

First let me say thanks for the Beta Version. Second, I did not notice the camera support that the Beta will cover. Will the camera support the same cameras that was mentioned in V 1.4?

[Rick, yes the camera support is aligned with Lightroom 1.4. -TH]

Dual screen support really has made me so happy with this beta. You really do listen to (reasonable) feature requests!

how do you anticipate Final Version Lightroom 2.0 interacting with Time Machine??

[It's still under investigation Jason. -TH]

What about Soft Proofing in the print module? Nothing? That's too bad.
[Nothing yet Peter. -TH]

Lightroom 2 seems to address most of the issues/missing features I found with 1.x. It is so awesome to see Adobe listening to user feedback.

My brief 10min with the beta makes me happy. The brush-based adjustments are a welcome feature also. very cool. and the open multiple files to merge into one pano or HDR image in lightroom really makes managing those types of photos easier :) AND DUAL monitor support!!

The BETA 2 is very promising. I want to use it allready!... I promise to wait until full release. What if i have an addition to the feature list? Where is the best place to post it? The feature is to add the option of labeling/rating the edit files as soon as they are opened in photoshop or other external applications. An easy yet powerful feature truly missed.
Kind Regards
Sofus Comer LR 1.3.1

[Sofus, post your requests to the Lightroom forums on Labs.adobe.com. -TH]

As a Nikon owner I have had the opportunity to compare the quality of RAW conversion between Capture NX and Lightroom. As of the most recent release, the quality of my images is far superior when converted by Capture. However, LR is superior in every other way for digital asset management. My frustration lies in the contorted way I have to 'bounce' from application to application in order to get the best of both worlds. I notice that Nikon makes their SDK freely available and so I wonder why LR does not exploit this to create a RAW processing pathway specific for Nikon images. I know that as a general rule you do not want to get into the unscalable situation of supporting all types of proprietary formats, but I would wager that Canon and Nikon owners make up a very large percentage of your users. In examining your plugin architecture I discovered that there is no way to get the file path to the original RAW file, so I can't create a plugin to integrate a separate conversion myself. Please consider this as a rational plea that will have a widespread positive impact should you choose to implement a solution to this problem.

[David, I'd like to get to the bottom of your quality concerns with Adobe raw processing. Can you provide examples? -TH]

Tom, this is great news. You guys have done a marvelous job of helping the photographers of the world. I recommend LR to everyone, and most really appreciate it.
These beta improvements sound fabulous. Thanks for all the hard work.

[Thanks for your comment Gervaise. -TH]

What about ICC color profiles for camera in Lightroom 2.0???

[Nik, that's a fairly open-ended question. Do you mind taking it over to the forums at labs.adobe.com. -TH]

Hello,

is there any news on a possible Linux (Ubuntu) version of Lightroom?

Kind regards

[Tom, sorry, no details or plans around a Linux version to share. -TH]

While I'm delighted with Lightroom 2.0 and its feature list, I must point out that there are three major deficiencies (integration of third-party plug-ins, networking option and print soft-proofing) that should have been in this release. Your discussion forums are chock-a-block full with requests for these items.

[Huw, as we've noted with Scott Kelby's Lightroom wishlist(http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2008/archives/932) there are enough features to keep the team going for years. What would you drop from the Lightroom 2.0 beta to move your features ahead? Do you think that everyone else would agree? -TH]

Hi LR-Team

After only 2 hours of exploring I can't be without the new iTunes-like Filter Bar. ;-)

The beta works great on my new MacBook.

Any ideas on upgrade costs when the 2.0 is made final? Will it require purchasing a new version, and how that may effect people with special licenses (educational, etc...)?

Thanks

[Brian, like most Adobe products there will be upgrade pricing for Lightroom 2.0 but that has yet to be announced at this point. -TH]

Tom, I'll be happy to provide some examples - how do I get them to you?

[Responded offline. -TH]

Is there any chance that 3rd party developers who access standard image repositories in their apps via some sort of MediaBrowser, get some hints on how LR2 (and LR1.x) store thumbnails on disk. It is a current issue we have with LR, because we have to build those thumbnails by processing the large images.

[Matthieu, please post this request to the Lightroom SDK discussion on Labs.adobe.com. http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroomsdk/ -TH]

Hi Tom, kudos to you and the team for the library module updates and new local corrections. I can't imagine going back to a life without Lightroom. I'd just like to echo a previous request for networking options. In my situation the ability for multiple clients to work on collections across the network would make 2.0 a must-have upgrade.

[Thanks for your comments Mark. -TH]

I'd like to see LR more closely integrated into OS X (iPhoto, .Mac), very much the way Aperture is.

(having said this - you guys doing great; very refreshing how you brought the photographer's essentials into something more usable than PS).

[Any specific workflow you're trying to solve through the OS? -TH]

If version 2.x is no more network-friendly than 1.x, I see no point in upgrading. My wife is legally blind, so both at home and at her job she has PC's outfitted to compensate for her poor vision -- this is done through both software and hardware. I rarely touch her PC (I find it a nightmare) and she stays away from mine. When we organized our photos with the old cheap Canto Cumulus single user version, we could effortlessly share the one database on our two networked PC's as long we didn't each try to access the database at the same time, and we were happy with that. Now that we have switched to Lightroom, our happy sharing days are over. Adobe, this is not the 80's. Nowadays, people network their home computers.

[Thanks for the feedback Hugo. -TH]

Please give us the option to use the 0-256 scale instead of the 0-100 scale.

[Steve, Lightroom operates in a 16-bit space and 0-255 is terminology designed for an 8-bit space. There have already been many discussions on this topic. -TH]

Hi,

Great features!!! But could LR handle more monitor profiles? I use 2 monitors and the colors not match in LR like Photoshop does... I'm on Windows XP with the color applet. Hope in the release version, the problem will be resolve!

Cheers!
Visna.

[Visna, please share this on the Lightroom beta forums. labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom/ -TH]

I've been testing the beta for a week now and so far I'm very happy with it. Dual monitor support is a feature that I've been waiting for and the way it's implemented fulfills my requirements fully. Takes some time to get used to but when you get used to it, it's quite hard to move back to 1.3.1. Localised correction feature also requires some time to rethink the scope of the Lightroom editing (although dust/spot removal was the first step in this direction) but again - very useful feature which will further reduce a number of Photoshop starts.

In regards to your Scott Kelby wish list remark, who dies and put him in charge? I agree...there is a really useful info on the forums, pay attention!!! You're losing customers to Aperture!!! Trust me on this one.

Where is the dodge and burn feature?

[Look for the brush in the Develop module. It's hard to miss. -TH]

'It really feels like the beta process never stopped'

No kidding. One year on and several revisions later, Lightroom still continues to feel and act like a beta version.

I've said it before, I'd settle for the feature set we had if it could be made stable.

[Could you be more specific about what feels unstable to you? Lightroom 1.3.1 is rock solid so I'm not sure what you're referring to in terms of stability. -TH]

Thanks for the reply regarding dodge and burn. It would be helpful to have Lightroom "Help".

[Bob, it's hard to finish writing the help when the application isn't 'finished.' Try the tutorials that Julieanne recorded. http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html -TH[

Tom, thank you for taking the time to respond to individual posts. Its refreshing to use a product that works so closely to the community and even considers the "bathroom wall" suggestions. I've noticed that Adobe is eerily silent about any enhancement to allow the LR database to be placed on network volumes. Will we see any changes in this policy in LR2?

[Charles, one thing I'm generally quiet about is pre-announcing features that aren't available yet. It's better to show new features when they're available than to just talk about them. -TH]

I'm looking forward to checking out the Photokit Sharpener features in the Print Module. The only thing I use Photoshop for now is to print, and the only reason I do that is because I can't live without Photokit Sharpener. -David

Does Lightroom 2.0 correct the printing profile issues with the Epson 2200?

[Stanley, not sure what issue you're referring to but the bulk of the compatibility issues with printer drivers and OS X 10.5 has been corrected in Lightroom 1.4.1 and Lightroom 2 beta. -TH]

I want to purchase Lightroom but with v2.0 in Beta I'm wondering if it makes sense to buy v1.4 now only to pay for an upgrade a few months later. Can you please give me an idea of how long 2.0 will be in beta?

[Ruan, we haven't announced any information regarding the timing of the Lightroom 2 release. -TH]

This beta looks fantastic, esp the removal of using the inefficient extra PSD/TIFF files everywhere.

However, a question at the risk of exposing myself as ignorant...

Will LR2 be able to "modify" RAW files on import the same way that ACR can?

I can see how locking bit-depth and colorspace per import makes sense. (Although I'm sure you have users who would want to try to mix both for an arbitrary images. Just 'cause.)

Some of us really need to be able to resize (up or down) images and maintain those as virtual copies/instances or as unique files by themselves.

Basically, I ultimately want all the same options available in the LR ACR module as are in PS ACR module. It seems as though LR has always accessed only a subset of those functions.

Obvs. can/will provide example cases if needed.

Everyone else, please kick my *&^ if this info is already available elsewhere.

Thanks again!

[Those are actually not 'import' settings in Camera Raw but rather workflow settings that affect the file when converted to a TIFF, JPEG or PSD. Lightroom offers the same options in the Export dialog. -TH]

I would like to request whether Lightroom 2 is going to consider supporting png files at all.

Transparent PNG images also do not seem to be supported in Bridge as well (my means of showing them but not being able to see transparency, instead we see white background). However PNG images are a great flexibility for web and graphic designers and are well supported by at least 3 major adobe software (Photoshop-Illustrator & Flash)

I agree with David Berkowicz. Capture NX is a much better RAW renderer. I usually only touch WB in Capture NX and I am satisfied with results. The difference in quality between Capture NX and Lightroom seems to be bigger with NEFs of the new cameras (D300 and D3). But in every other aspect Capture NX is abysmal, especially when compared with Lightroom. Any improvements coming for D300 and D3?

Thanks for your reply on workflow options for Camera Raw 'export.'

I was hoping to have LR manage that without having to re-import what was just exported, but if that's what I need to do, that's what I'll do.

Thanks again.

Hi,
I've been using LR since the first beta for version 1, and I chose it over Aperture without much hesitation (I used them both at the same time, so I could compare them).

Now, I would like to start using LR2 beta, but every time I try to download it, I get the same "Permission denied" error. Maybe anyone could tell me why is that? Thanks in advance!
Rob

[Rob, it sounds like an Adobe ID problem. Try logging out and logging back into the Adobe Labs web site. -TH]

Tom, thanks for a prompt advice. I also think that there is a problem with the ID, because when I go from Adobe Labs Home (where I am greeted by my 'screen name') to the downloads page, the greeting changes to 'Guest'. I even reset my password specifically for Adobe Labs, but to no avail. Oh well, I will probably have to wait for the retail version...

[Rob, I'll ask the Labs team to look into this. -TH]

Tom

I have some more examples for you from NX vs LR 2 beta for a Nikon D300 high ISO image here:

http://textblog.anands.net/archives/117

I would love to help you guys in any way I can with sample images and such.

I really like the workflow of LR and batching, but I do see [like a few others here], much better results from Capture NX by default :(.

Right now, I use LR for organizing, culling and using NX for editing the photos followed by CS3, if need be.

[Thanks Anand. -TH]

Lightroom 1.x is good, 2.x looks even better! But please do work on a Linux version! Lightroom is the only reason I still use a Windows OS...

[Arno, you're not the first to ask for *NIX support and you won't be the last. I'm curious, what flavor are you using and does it support monitor profiles and proper printer color management? -TH]

The multiple monitor support provided in the 2.0 beta is an improvement but what would work better for me is the ability to move the tool bars/paletts to the second monitor and leave more room on my color-profiled main monitor for the image I am working on.

I loved LR2 so much I am going to buy LR1 so that I can use it beyond the 30 day trial. Should I un-install 2 before loading 1, and then reload 2?
Thanks,
Sam

Hi Tom

Just a quick note to express my appreciation to you and adobe for sticking to the beta program (customer feedback) and spending time actually replying to customer comments.

2.0 is looking really good, and while we all have our favourite enhancements, I think you have done a great job of picking the priorities.

My personal priority was localized editing, so naturally I am a happy camper. I have some concerns about the limited implementation of retouch, so I am pleased to have an opportunity in the lab forum to articulate my two cents worth. Although no one from adobe has responded I know you are reading and listening.

Thanks again.

Cheers
Rory

Thanks for your answer, I'm using Ubuntu Linux on x86-32/64

Haven't really looked into color profiles yet, but this site is a nice starting point:
http://photobuntu.wordpress.com/category/color-management/

Just another request for a Linux release.

Im also using Ubuntu 8.04

If you cant release a Linux version is there any chance you could work with www.winehq.org to help get it running in their emulator?

I believe Google has helped pay to get CS2 running in Wine.

[Maybe Google can help get Lightroom running in Wine! ;) -TH]

I like many of the new features. I am very interested in thr Plugin feature. Will I be able to use Nik Vivezia and Color Effects from within Lightroom?

[James, I've mentioned many times that the immediate focus of our plug-in efforts are focused on workflow SDK solutions, not image processing. -TH]

Will there be additional "seeds" of LR2?

Dave B

[Dave, we haven't announced any details regarding additional beta releases. -TH]

Incredible new features - well done!
The ability to automatically export to a sub-folder now within the image folder is fantastic!

[Thanks Iain. That was a big one for me as well. -TH]

I'm a little slow - ok, I'm a lot slow - and I was wondering if LR2.0 exports to .jpg incorporating ICC printer profiles, a la Drycreek -> Costco Frontier?

Many thanks, and keep up the great work!

JG

[JG, very solid request. -TH]

I loved LR2 so much I am going to buy LR1 so that I can use it beyond the 30 day trial. Should I un-install 2 before loading 1, and then reload 2?
Thanks you.

[Lightroom 1 and Lightroom 2 beta will live together on your machine without any problem. You just can't share catalogs during the beta. -TH]

I'd love to see Lightroom integration with Mac OS X system wide media browser, as used in iWork. Right now it only works with the Apple photo applications, and I don't have my photo's there (obviously, as I use Lightroom).

Oddly enough, Sandvox has got it right, and you can browse your Lightroom collections and all images from its media browser. This browser is available for other application writers as well: http://www.karelia.com/imedia/

The obvious thing would be for Apple to use the Karelia code, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it? Haven't had much luck with LinkBack either. I'm not sure how Lightroom can improve this situation, but steps in this direction would be nice. Of course further support for the Karelia browser is appreciated of course.

Maarten

Hi,
Just started looking at LR2, first impressions are really good. One request, one problem:
Request: additional monitor support is great, but like a previous comment, I would love to see the ability to float the left and right-hand sets of tools off to the second monitor, allowing full-size image on the first monitor.
Problem: all of the sub-options for editing within PS CS3 are 'greyed-out'. Is this a known beta issue, or am I doing something wrong?
Regards

[Monty, just swap the window arrangement so that the full screen loupe view is available on the monitor of your choice. FYI, in the release notes I make it clear that Photoshop 10.0.1 is required for the CS3 integration. -TH]

networking capabilities are a must have in my opinion, I am very disappointed to see that this was not addressed in the new version. If lightroom is going to act as a true database program, it has to be able to live on a network drive. Please make this a priority!!!!!!!

Hi

How about Adobe taking a leaf out of Quark's book and offering a free upgrade to Lightroom 2 if you buy Lightroom 1.4 now? I have got fed up with Expression Media and want to switch, but no way am I going to do it when you're only months away from a new release. And who knows, in three months time I may have changed my mind! Better to hook in people like me now.......

[Good point TIm but I've noticed that many folks have gone ahead and picked up Lightroom 1.4 with the knowledge that you'll only be paying an upgrade price for Lightroom 2. (Sorry, can't disclose what that price will be) -TH]

When I log on to access the website to download beta 2.0 my computer begins to keep opening the site and flickering as it does. It never stops and I must shut the page down. It is the first time this has happened. Anyone else have this issue? I am running Vista and Lightroom 1.4.1

Obviously a few teething troubles (it is a Beta after all), but I really can't wait for Lightroom 2 to launch. I'll be ready with my credit card!

Just another quick request for Lightroom running on Linux (Kubuntu 8.04). Pretty please? :-)

Picasa just isn't quite doing it for me...

[If you search the web you may find some references to folks running Lightroom on Linux. I can neither confirm nor deny those claims. -TH]

You probably have gone over this, as I have read in one quick note you put up saying many discussions have already been had, but... If photoshop can use the 0-256 printers scale in 16 bit mode, then why can't Lightroom. It is EXTREMELY important for commercial photographers like myself to be able to use this scale that is industry standard in the printing industry for RGB files that will be converted to CMYK

I would like to make a request regarding the Export module.

I keep my files in the format of "date/RAW" and processed pictures in "date/POST".

I tried the "save to same folder as original" option and setting the subfolder to "../POST" only to find that LR will not permit "../" in that particular field.

Therefore, I am having to resort to changing the export directory every time I process pictures from a different day.

So I would like to ask for either an option to export to "../POST" or something that lets you define a relative directory instead of an absolute path. Thanks.

when we can see Lightroom on Ubuntu?

OK, I need to install LR @ and it will not install over the LR 2 Beta. It says, that ai have a newer version on my commuter - but the 30 day trial is over. Can't get though to Adobe - anybody still working on this Forum??

print module: would like to be able printing borderless directly from lightroom versus going back and forth to propriety printer software (e.g. epson easy print)

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