As with previous betas releases some of the new features and
enhancements have been shown off at various events over the weeks
preceding release. However, for those who haven't been following the
Lightroom forums here's a quick summary of what's New and
Improved in Lightroom Beta 4:
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New name - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
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New design for panels
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Enhanced search filters in Library module
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Improved Import dialog with ability to use EXIF metadata fields
when naming images
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Fast import and user definable preview quality
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Improved progress feedback
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New Toolbars in all modules
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On/Off switches for panels
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Greater use of context menus
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File renaming in Library module
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New command to convert previously-imported images to DNG
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Badges to denote: development adjustments, cropping,
keywords
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Burn to disk archiving
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Export/Import Photo Binders
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New Tone Curve and Histogram functionality
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Recovery, Fill Light and Vibrance in both Library and Develop
modules
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New White Balance tool with magnifier grid and live update in
Navigator
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Revised keyboard shortcuts
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Improved interoperability with Photoshop CS2 and Photoshop
Elements
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Dedicated Web module for Flash and HTML output with native FTP
client now in Windows
Obviously the list of new features and enhancements listed above are
only the highlights, and no doubt you'll be wondering what happened to
features such as: Dust Busting, Versions and Stacks. Well, this is Beta
4 not the final shipping product.
Library Module
User Interface (UI)
If you have been using Lightroom for a while you'll immediately
notice that the UI has undergone a significant facelift. The silver
look of Beta 3 is replaced with much more subdued grays. Likewise, the
panel headers have also been cleaned up a lot with each now including
context menus for switching them off. Whether users will like the new
look or not is open to debate, but I think it has improved things a
lot. Anyway, before getting too distracted by the updated development
controls I suggest that you spend some time familiarising yourself with
the new the UI, especially the context menus - Crtrl/right click
everywhere and see what you find. Especially useful are those that
allow you to configure side panel open/close behaviour and those
accessed by clicking on a panel header (e.g. Quick Develop) that allow
you to disable individual panels.
Enhanced UI in Library
Module
The toolbar in Library has undergone something of a
facelift, with lots of functionality being added. For example, you can
now apply and remove ratings from the toolbar, run an Impromptu
Slideshow, change the size of the Thumbnails, Rotate an image, and set
your preferred Sort Order. You can maximise screens real estate by
turning off the toolbar using the "T" key. To switch it back On again
press "T" again.
Alternative Toolbar views in
Library module
Image Ingestion (Import)
Importing images is an aspect of Lightroom that users
have always found wanting. Beta 4 improves things a bit but probably
still has some ways to go before it's nearly as slick as the
competition. That said, the changes that have been implemented are to
be welcomed. For example, you can now choose to use the preview
embedded within the image (i.e. Use Embedded and Sidecar Previews)
or previews rendered directly form the RAW images during import (i.e.
Render Standard Previews). There is another preview option, but
it's currently only available after import (i.e. 1:1 Previews).
This last preview type is rendered using the default sharpen and
denoise settings, so takes a while longer to create if done in a batch
(Library module: Library>Render 1:1 Previews). If you've already
imported images using either of the two options found within the import
dialog then simply zooming into an image (press "Spacebar") is enough
to create the 1:1 preview. Anyway, whatever preview type you choose to
use you should find that import and preview generation in Beta 4 is
significantly faster than in previous betas. By way of example, using
my Apple Dual 2.5GHz G5 I imported 6000+ Canon EOS 1DMKII images in 2
hours 20 minutes using "Standard Preview"; the same process took in
excess of 17 hours with Beta 3. Using the embedded preview option it
took less than 35 minutes. Obviously, lower powered computers than mine
will take longer, but should still be a lot faster than earlier betas.
Import Module - new
options for choosing size and quality of preview thumbnails
The options to import into a managed library or simply
reference the images in their existing location remains. However,
managed files can now be moved around within the Lightroom Library.
Also, Shoots within the managed library now reflect real folders, so
moving a Shoot really is the same as moving a folder. Likewise, images
that are moved from Shoot to Shoot within the Managed Library also move
in their respective folders. Shoots can also be named during import -
double click the current shoot name and amend as required (e.g.
highlighted Iceland 2004 in above screenshot).
Another welcome addition to the import process is the
new progress viewer. In the screenshot shown below you should be able
to see that the viewer not only includes the progress but also has a
small thumbnail of the image along with its name. The same progress
monitor is used when exporting images or uploading them to the web.
Progress Monitor now shows the
file name and thumbnail
Preferences and User Definable
Information
Like the Import dialog Preferences (see below) has
undergone a few changes. Some users will immediately notice that the
ability to switch off background processing is gone, well, that's
because choosing to import using the Embedded or Sidecar previews
option means that you no longer need it. Notice also that I've chosen
Photoshop Elements as an External Editor. Making this choice in the
Preferences dialog means that it will appear as an export processing
action in the Export dialog.
Lightroom Preferences - General
Once you get images into Lightroom it's time to get
down to the real work of: Rating, Keywording, etc. In previous betas
there was no visible indication of these tasks having been carried out,
but Beta 4 has changed this for the better. In Grid view you can set
Lightroom to display Badges, which denote whether an image has been
edited, rated, etc. The badges are also be visible in the filmstrip,
which means that you can quickly check the status of an image from
within module rather than switching back to the Library or Develop
modules.
View Options
Determining what and how information is displayed is
the job of the new Library View Options dialog shown in above
screenshot. The "J" key can be used to cycle through the various Grid
view options. As an alternative to opening View Options you can
right-click the 4 corners of the top section of the expanded type
thumbnails and a context list containing all of the info options will
appear.
Expanded Thumbnail Cells with
Info Context Menu
The "I" key can be used to cycle though the various
user definable Information Overlays (also available in Develop module).
The following screenshot shows a sample of the Info choices available
in Loupe View (Library and Develop modules) along with how they will be
displayed.
Loupe View Information Overlay
Ratings or at least the method by which they can be
applied has also undergone a few welcome changes. For example,
Lightroom now supports auto advance, which is activated by pressing on
the "Shift" key as you press the rating value between 0 and 5.
However, an even better method is to set "Caps lock" key to On and thus
avoid the need to hold down the "Shift" key.
Library and File Management
The ability to rename images already within the
Lightroom Library was a really annoying omission from previous betas,
but with the release of Beta 4 I think most users will be pleased to
see that renaming of images is now supported. The token based approach
used in the Import and Export dialogs has been reused within the new
Rename dialog, which should mean that most users are up and running
fairly quickly.
Rename images within Library
The application of metadata to multiple selected images
is now fully functional, so, adding a Caption or Title to the most
selected image means that it will automatically be applied to all of
the other selected images.
At some point you'll probably want to burn part or all
of your image Library to DVD, export it to an external disk or load it
onto another computer. All of this is now possible from within
Lightroom. The screenshot shown below is of the new Burn to disk as a
Photo Binder dialog.
Archive your images to disk
using Burn Photo Binder
The Export Photos as Photo Binder option enables you to
move "Shoots" from one computer to another with all adjustments,
keywords, metadata, previews, etc intact. To load them onto the
recipient computer you use Import Photos from Photo Binder command. The
actual process is really quite straightforward, but can be time
consuming on lower powered computers. Photo Binders are apparently
intended to provide the means by which the libraries on two or more
computers can be synchronised. However, until such times as we know for
sure I think that the unitary library method is a safer bet than
committing too much to Photo Binders.
Image Adjustment
The last aspect of the Library module that I want to
discuss is the Quick Develop panel. This panel seems to have its fair
share of dissenters, which is a bit surprising when you consider the
unique set of features that it provides. For example, lots of requests
have been made for Lightroom to include a facility whereby Relative
adjustments could be made to images rather than the more conventional
Absolute adjustments. Well, Quick Develop already provides this
functionality. Also, love it or hate it the Quick Develop panel sports
the new Recovery, Fill Light and Vibrance controls, although I'm that
sure of their utility in Library.
Quick Develop Panel
The ability to Crop an image or apply an arbitrary
rotation is still not available within the Library module, but a menu
option that enables you to jump directly to the Crop controls with the
Develop module can be found in the View menu. Alternatively, you can
just press the "R" key.
Develop
Module
As with the Library module Develop has seen some very significant
improvement, especially those associated with the Histogram, Basic and
Tone Curve panels. Another important change is the fact that many of
the Lightroom adjustments are now compatible with Adobe Camera Raw.
Obviously some Lightroom adjustment controls aren't available in Camera
Raw, so don't be expecting miracles. Nevertheless, these aren't the
only big change/improvements in the Beta 4 Develop module.
Develop Module with new active
Histogram and Tone Curve
Basic Panel Controls and
Histogram
So what else is new? The active Histogram and Tone
Curve complete with live feedback! These two adjustment sets are
exceptionally powerful, but can appear somewhat complicated. Describing
how the active Histogram and Tone Curve works is a lot more difficult
than demonstrating it. However, I'll give it a try...
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In Lightroom Beta 4 the Histogram is divided into 4 segments each
of which corresponds with a specific control slider: Blacks, Fill
Light, Exposure, Highlight Recovery. In the screenshot I've
colour coded each segment for clarity: red for Blacks, blue for
Fill Light, green for Exposure, and yellow for Highlight
Recovery.
Say you want to adjust exposure - click anywhere
inside the green segment and drag left or right; note that the
Exposure slider will also move. Alternatively, just hover the
mouse over the exposure segment or slider and use the up/down
arrow keys to increase/decrease the exposure. Then again you
could simply grab the slider and drag it left/right, scrub the
text input filed left/right or just type in a value. To reset
Exposure back to default just double click inside the exposure
region of the Histogram or on the slider button. So, now you know
how the active Histogram works you can play around with it
yourself.
The Auto Adjust Tonality checkbox is another useful
addition, which can be very useful, so don't dismiss it. Once set
to "On" drag sliders or histogram as required to fine-tune
the image. Note that unchecking it does not reset the sliders to
default.
The little squares in the top right/ left corners of the
Histogram are an idea derived from Raw Shooter to denote
Highlight, Shadow and Channel clipping. Clicking on them switches
them toggles them through various display modes. In one mode you
they'll automatically light up to show which channel is clipping
and in another they only light up when you roll the mouse over
them. Again, experiment with them and all will become clear.
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Now that we know how the controls in the Histogram work it's time to
explain what the new Recovery, Fill Light and Vibrance controls do.
Anyone familiar with Adobe Camera Raw or earlier Lightroom betas will
know that the Exposure slider was used so set the highlight point and
Brightness was then applied to counteract any brightening or darkening
of the midtones. The Exposure slider was also the means by which
negative exposure could be applied to the image and thus recover
highlight detail. Unfortunately, this process also tended to be a bit
counterintuitive, hence the new Recovery slider. Now, instead of
applying negative exposure to recover lost highlight detail you use the
Recovery slider, which also has the benefit of not darkening the image.
So, the idea is that you use the Exposure slider first to set the
overall brightness level of the image, then drag the Recovery slider to
the right until the highlight detail is recovered. Actually, the best
way of using the Recovery slider is to begin with it set to 0 then
press the Option/Alt key whilst dragging, thus activating the highlight
clipping display in the image (i.e. same principle Camera Raw uses with
Exposure slider).
The Fill Light is another new control and can be used to brighten up
shadows. Fill Light is the control that I've found most beneficial in
Lightroom Beta 4. In particular, images that previously required the
use of the Shadow/Highlight feature in Photoshop can now be edited very
easily without even leaving Lightroom. The Brightness, Contrast and ACR
Curve adjustments have been retained for legacy regions (i.e.
compatibility with Camera Raw images), which means that they can
generally be left in the their default positions.
The release notes state that the Vibrance control was inspired by
RawShooter, although the effects are somewhat different. Again, the
release notes indicate that this slider controls a non-linear
saturation adjustment, which should avoid blowing out the saturation on
heavily saturated colours. Essentially this means that it effects lower
saturated pixels more than highly saturated pixels. The Vibrance
control is particularly effective when applied to flesh tones.
Tone Curve
The Tone Curve works in a similar fashion to the Histogram, but the
segments relate to: Highlights, Lights, Darks, and Shadows. Floating
the mouse over the Tone Curve or the image will result in a dot
appearing on the curve. You can either drag this dot up or down to a
adjust the curve. Alternatively you can use the Up/Down arrow keys.
Also note that the old tone curve adjustments found in previous betas
have been greatly simplified, and with the addition of the third "split
point" (triangles under the curve) you should now have even more
control than before. Remember that the "split points" can also be
adjusted. Resetting the individual tone curve sliders back to zero is
as easy as it was with the Histogram - double click the relevant region
in the curve or the slider button. Likewise, double clicking the "split
points" will reset them. Lastly, if you want to save some screen space
you can close the slider section of the Tone Curve.
Tone Curve with visual
feedback
Both the Histogram and Tone Curve have their own context menus that
enable/disable some of the features described above, so make sure that
you configure them to suite your own method of work.
With the addition of the Recovery, Fill Light, and
Vibrance adjustment toolset it has been necessary to redesign the
Synchronise Settings dialog. Whilst important I think this particular
dialog may becoming a little overloaded.
Synchronize Setting allows you
to apply settings from one image to selected others
White Balance
The new White Balance tool along with its floating
Pixel Magnifier and RGB readout should make setting the white balance a
lot easier than it ahs been to date. You can still access it via the
"W" key or simply click on it and drag it off its dock. Once you click
on the image it will automatically re-dock. However, this change in
operation from earlier betas mean that you can't easily make multiple
attempts at white balance. Not to worry, hold down the "W" key and the
tool stays active. Also, note that the navigator preview shows how the
white balance will alter if you click the point under the sample tool.
New White Balance Tool with
RGB Readout and Pixel Magnifier
Toolbar and Views
As with the Library module there's a new look
toolbar in Develop module. At present it's fairly stark, which might
imply that there are other tools waiting in the wings to be included
when ready. The following screenshot shows two views of the redesigned
toolbar with the lower version showing some of the hidden buttons.
These buttons appear depending upon the actual type of split view. As
with the Library module, you can maximise screens real estate by
turning off the toolbar using the "T" key. To switch it back On again
press "T" again.
Develop Module Toolbar
Other than the method of accessing the various Before
and After views little has changed with this viewing mode. The
following screenshot shows how the Before /After Left/Right Split
appears on screen.
Before/After Left/Right Split
Exporting Images
Exporting images from Lightroom is the only way that
they they can be saved, so any improvements to the Export dialog need
to make the task easier than it has been to date. However, as of going
public the Beta 4 Export dialog only has one new feature, but it's very
useful nonetheless. This new feature is found towards the bottom of the
dialog and provides the user with a number of post-processing actions,
which includes burning the images to disk or opening them into
Photoshop. You might ask why a second method opening an image into
Photoshop is required. Well, it could be any other editing application
(e.g. Photoshop Elements) that you've selected as the External Editor
in Preferences.
Enhanced Export dialog with
new post processing options
Side Panel Behaviour
The last feature I want to mention is the ability to
configure which panels are available on each pane. Previously all
panels were displayed, which meant that even those you used rarely or
not at all took up real estate and often required that you scrolled a
lot. Beta 4 now has lots of context menus that allow you to switch
these panels off. It also has context menus that allow you to control
how/when the side panes, etc spring out and in. The following
screenshot shows the context menu for the right Develop module pane.
Disable individual side panels
Conclusion
In this relatively short review I've only really
skimmed the surface. To be honest there just too many new features to
cover, so, I'll leave the rest for you to discover for yourself. In the
meantime I'll try to add more information on features such as Photo
Binders, etc. As for the features you hoped would be included but can't
find, well it's the same as story as with Beta 3 - "Rome wasn't
built in a day". Also, remember that this is still beta code, so
there will be bugs (hopefully not serious).
