Monthly Archives: May 2012

Adobe Lightroom 4.1 & Camera Raw 7.1 Now Available

Adobe has just released the final release version of Lightroom 4.1. The software is available directly from Adobe.Com and through the update mechanism in Lightroom 4.  The goal of this release is to provide additional camera raw support, lens profile support and address bugs that were introduced in previous releases of Lightroom. In addition, Lightroom 4.1 introduces the following new features:

The ability to process HDR TIFF files.  (16, 24 or 32-bit TIFF files)  This can be useful if you have merged multiple exposures into a single 32-bit image using Photoshop’s HDR Pro.  Using the new basic panel controls can be a very effective and straightforward method of achieving an overall balance across the tonal range.

  • Additional Colour Fringing corrections to help address chromatic aberration.  Click here to learn more
  • Save photobooks created in the Book Module as JPEG files
  • Publishing photos to Adobe Revel is now accessible via a Publish plugin.

Also, released is Adobe Camera Raw 7.1 and DNG Converter 7.1. As with Lightroom 4.1, Camera Raw now includes support for the editing HDR TIFF files and colour fringing corrections.  Camera Raw and DNG Converter 7.1 can be downloaded from:

A full list of cameras supported by Lightroom 4.1 and Camera Raw 7.1 can be seen at Adobe.Com

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Ships

Along with the various Creative Suite options discussed yesterday Adobe has also released the individual point products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc. Although, readers of this site will likely be more  interested in Photoshop CS6.  With this new version Adobe has delivered increased performance and a host of new features. The highlight features will no doubt be discussed widely both on-line and written media, but for those that can’t wait, here’s a brief summary on a few of my favourites.

  • Content Aware Patch – this feature is designed for those occasions when you need to remove unwanted content from a photo and replace it with a seamless patch. The patch is automatically applied, but only after you’ve identified exactly which area of the image you want to sample from. More details along with a short video tutorial can be viewed on Adobe’s Content-Aware Patch page.
  • Blur Gallery – with the new Blur Gallery you can quickly create photographic blur effects using a simple but powerful interface. There are 3 blur options: iris blur for a shallow depth of field, field blur for graduated blur, and tilt-shift for special effects blur. Using the principle of dropped pins and on-image control points the user can fine tune where blurs start and finish. For those who really want to mix-the-pot, multiple blur effects can be applied to the same image. More details and a couple of examples are demonstrated on this short video tutorial.
  • New Crop Tool – many users of both Photoshop and Lightroom often remark that cropping in Lightroom is much more intuitive. Whether you agree or not it seems that the engineers must have heard these remarks because they’ve totally re-engineered the crop tool in Photoshop CS6. Adobe’s Brian O’Neil Hughes demonstrates the new crop tool in this short video.
  • Camera Raw 7 –  with version 7 Adobe have incorporated the all new processing algorithms that Lightroom 4 users have been enthusing about for months. Stop Press: it gets better, with Camera raw 7.1 (currently available as release candidate) Adobe have included the ability to process 8bit, 16bit and 32bit HDR images. And there’s more, Camera Raw 7.1 has a new set of controls for correcting colour fringes. Eric Chan, one of the Camera Raw developers has put together a short tutorial on how to use the defringe tool.
  • Background Save – this feature helps you keep working even while saving the largest of Photoshop files in the background.
  • Auto-Recovery – the auto-recovery option works behind the scenes to save your edits without interrupting your progress. A copy of your work is automatically saved every 10 minutes and recovered in the event of an unexpected shutdown.

More details on above and other new features in Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended can be found on the Photoshop Family page at Adobe.Com.

Adobe Release Creative Suite 6

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the immediate availability of Adobe® Creative Suite® 6 software. The CS6 product line includes powerful new releases of Photoshop®, InDesign®, lllustrator®, Dreamweaver®, Adobe Premiere® Pro, After Effects®, Flash® Professional and other products as well as four suite versions – Creative Suite 6 Design & Web Premium; Creative Suite 6 Design Standard; Creative Suite 6 Production Premium; and Creative Suite 6 Master Collection.

Top new features across the CS6 product line include:

  • New levels of performance with tools that take advantage of Adobe Mercury Graphics functionality, allowing users to go from ideas to finished work faster than ever before.
  • Enhanced user interfaces that vastly simplify workflows, so users can focus on their content and achieve results quicker.
  • New capabilities that streamline the creation of responsive content, ensuring website and apps look great across virtually all screen sizes and form factors.
  • Remarkable new science, integrated into imaging and video apps, makes previously impossible tasks suddenly possible.
A buying guy and product comparison chart is available at http:/www.adobe.com/uk/products/creativesuite/buying-guide.html

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Creative Suite 6 products are immediately available through Adobe Authorised Resellers, the Adobe Store in United Kingdom and Adobe Direct Sales. In the UK the estimated street price for the upgrade suites range from £476.80 for CS6 Master Collection, £357.60 for CS6 Production Premium, £357.60 for CS6 Design & Web Premium, and £262.80 for CS6 Design Standard. For more information visit www.adobe.com/uk/products/creativesuite.html.

Creative Cloud™
Adobe Creative Cloud™, a radical new way of providing tools and services for creatives worldwide is expected to be available on Friday, May 11.  Adobe Creative Cloud is a hub for making, sharing and delivering creative work and it is centered around a powerful release of Adobe Creative Suite® 6 software, packed with innovation across its industry-defining design, Web, video and digital imaging tools. CS6 point product subscriptions will also be available May 11. Adobe Creative Cloud™ is a subscription-based offering (one year plan – £46.88 per month). Owners of Creative Suite Cs3 and higher can benefit from an introductory price of £27.34 per month for first year.

Adobe Creative Cloud membership delivers:

  • Access to download and install all CS6 applications, new HTML5 desktop products – Adobe Muse™ 1.0 and Adobe Edge preview – and deep integration with Adobe Touch Apps.
  • Easy storage and sharing of content across desktop, mobile devices and the cloud.
  • Integrated website publishing and hosting.
  • Ongoing innovation that provides members with the most up-to-date products and services