Adobe have released Beta 2 of the Lightroom 3. This version is apparently closer to the final release with the developers being more focused on receiving feedback on the improvements made since the original public beta.
I am pretty much hooked on Lightroom as both a photo management and editor, if you haven’t embarked on a Lightroom journey then this free beta is the best place to start.
Feature updates in Beta 2 :
- Improved performance throughout the application for faster importing and loading of images
- Native tethered shooting support for select Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras
- Luminance noise reduction has been added to the previous color noise reduction improvements available in the first public beta for outstanding overall high ISO quality
- Support for importing and managing video files from DSLR cameras for better overall photographic workflow control
- Improvements to the import experience in the first beta to reflect public feedback
- Improved watermarking functionality from the first beta to reflect public feedback
For more information & Download visit the Lightroom Labs.
It would be interesting to know what photo software you use and why ? should amateur photographers be using Aperture or Lightroom ? Does iPhoto meet your needs to date ? Please let us know in the comments.
Very interested in seeing what kind of speed improvements are here. The new 5dmk2 files are huge and even on 64 bit system its not as snappy as I’d like. Way to go Adobe!
Downloaded it this morning and played with it a little. It’s much faster than beta 1 and 2.6. I’ve been using Lightroom for the past 1 1/2 year (2 and 3 beta 1 for months) but when Apple released Aperture 3 I started using that and I’m quite happy with it. Snappy, great integration with the OS and the brushes work wonderful.
After using Aperture for a few weeks Lightroom didn’t feel as clear to me anymore. Switching between Library and Development is something I don’t like, and the dark interface seemed ugly.
So for the time being I’m staying with Aperture 3 and will look at Lightroom when the final version is released.
yes its fantastic and a great improvement but not the way to go as will expire when the actual release comes which may result in loss of work. be careful. mainly for running alongside LR2 at the mo…
How will work be lost by using the beta? Lightroom 3 beta stores all my photos in folders in their original format. I can access/modify the same files using Google’s Picasa. Your statement is unquallified.
LR3B2 can definitely give better results than ACR 5.6. However I’ve found the improvements are more pronounced with lower quality RAW files than high quality ones. For example, files from my Nikon D90 look much the same when processed in ACR 5.6 or LR3B2. However, files from a Canon G10, at moderate ISO values, say ISO 800, look rough at 100% when processed via ACR 5.6 (even though they print up ok), but look very much better when put through LR3B2. In simple terms, the sharpness and noise performance of LR3B2 gives roughly 1 – 2 stops of additional usable ISO range with a G10, worth having if, like me, you don’t carry a DSLR all the time. I wonder if the new image processing routines deployed in LR3 will eventually find their way into ACR?
As a very amateur photographer, I downloaded the Lightroom for my personal use to try and make my photos better. I have enjoyed it tremendously! I can take the photos that were a little off and give them new character, which I love.
I have been using Lightroom 3 since beta 1. LR3 beta 2 seems snappier than beta 1 but I was disappointed that my Nikon D40 would not be supported for tethering. I downloaded a copy of Aperture 3 and use that for a while as well. The feature set is similar to that provided in LR3 but I did not like the workflow. Aperture 3 feels like a more capable version of iPhoto. I will most likely be sticking with LR. Why? Presets and plug-ins. Aperture does not have a developed ecosystem for those while LR has a lot of very food paid and free solutions.