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Adobe Lightroom update brings direct Facebook publishing; Camera Raw 6.2 released

For photographers who use Adobe's Lightroom program, there's an update available that fixes a number of issues with the previous version; it also adds new online publishing features. There is also an update for Adobe's Camera Raw plug-in, which brings new Camera Raw profile support to various Adobe programs that use the plug-in.

Before installing any of these updates be sure you create a full restorable system backup using Time Machine or a drive clone.

Lightroom 3.2

Additional camera support for several new camera models including the Panasonic DMC-LX5, Sony NEX-5, and Canon EOS 60D Numerous … Read more

Apple supports new high-end compact cameras

Apple recently issued software that lets iPhoto and Aperture handle raw photos from a range of new compact, higher-end cameras from several manufacturers.

Camera makers are racing to compete in a new market pioneered by Micro Four Thirds models from Olympus and Panasonic that feature small camera bodies but also interchangeable lenses. The Apple update adds support for Olympus' newer E-PL1 model and Panasonic's Lumix DMC-G10 and G2 models in this range.

Others are getting into the market too, and Apple supports them as well: Samsung's NX10 and Sony's NEX-5 and NEX-3. Each of these ranges has its own incompatible lens mount compared with the Micro Four Thirds models.

Also supported in the update is Sony's recently released lower-end Alpha A390 SLR, a more traditional design. … Read more

Lightroom 3.2 to fix bugs, add Facebook support

Adobe Systems issued a release candidate for Lightroom 3.2 on Tuesday that fixes dozens of bugs, lets users publish photos to Facebook, adds automated optical corrections for dozens of lenses, and supports Pentax's new medium-format digital camera among other models.

Accompanying the software is a corresponding release candidate for Camera Raw 6.2, the Photoshop module that uses the same engine as Lightroom for converting raw files into more broadly supported, compact formats such as JPEG. Adobe skipped the Lightroom 3.1 number to synchronize the two related packages' release numbers.

If you want to fetch the software, … Read more

Apple releases raw image profile update

Apple released an update to its raw image compatibility profiles, adding support for the raw format from a number of new camera models. The update lets you manage raw images shot by newer cameras in Aperture 3 and iPhoto '09. The update is available for Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6.

The specific cameras that Apple added to the compatibility list are:

Canon PowerShot SX1 IS Olympus E-PL1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10 Samsung NX10 Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 Sony Alpha NEX-3 Sony Alpha NEX-5

In addition to this update, which is available for download at on Apple Support Web page, … Read more

Apple expands raw, tethered camera support

Apple's Mac OS X 10.6.4 update Tuesday contained several additions of note to serious photographers: support for several cameras' raw image formats and for tethered shooting with Canon cameras in the company's Aperture software.

Apple, like photography software rival Adobe Systems, is on a constant treadmill supporting new cameras' raw formats. The proprietary file formats offer higher quality and greater flexibility, but each camera has its own format for software companies to decode.

By my scrutiny of previous Apple announcements and the updated Apple raw image support page, here are the new cameras supported beyond earlier … Read more

Raw power on display in Lightroom 3

The bottom line: Critical enhancements in areas like noise reduction, video handling, and printing make Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 a recommended upgrade for most current users.

For the uninitiated, Lightroom is Photoshop's specialized sibling; where Photoshop is an imaging Swiss Army Knife, Lightroom is a steak knife for photographers. Like its most well-known competitor, Apple Aperture, you use it to organize, process, nondestructively retouch, and output volumes of raw files. Now with version 3, Adobe enhances the product in some critical ways that make it a significant upgrade over version 2.x. There's pretty much something for everyone … Read more

Lightroom 3 gets new core, features

Adobe Systems plans to release Photoshop Lightroom 3 late Monday, swapping in a new engine and bolting some significant new photography extras onto a user interface that largely remains the same.

Available for Windows and Mac, highlights of the new version include a speedier interface, tethered shooting with the camera directly communicating with the software, better noise reduction to get rid of pesky speckles, some basic video handling, publishing services that can ease uploads to Web sites or iPhone photo synchronization, and new lens correction tools. (You can read our full review on download.com.)

Lightroom competes directly with Apple's Aperture, version 3 of which was released in February with its own set of big changes. Lightroom costs more--$299 to Aperture's $199--though both cost $99 to upgrade.

Such software is geared for photo enthusiasts and professionals, in particular those who prefer the greater flexibility and quality available with higher-end cameras' raw image file formats.

There are snapshooters, and then there are more serious photographers for which Lightroom is designed. "When they start taking the camera out of the bag because they see an image, something compelling they want to capture, it's more photography than just recording family events," said Tom Hogarty, Adobe's senior product manager for Lightroom. … Read more

Photoshop CS5 gets new lens fixes, raw support

Adobe Systems has released the final version of an update to its new Photoshop CS5 that gives the program the ability to automatically correct lens flaws while editing raw images.

Photoshop CS5 already could correct geometric distortion, vignetting, and chromatic for ordinary image files, but the Camera Raw 6.1 plug-in lets photographers do the same with the Photoshop module geared specifically for handing raw images from higher-end cameras. The update, released Tuesday, is on the Adobe.com update site.

Raw images taken directly from camera sensors offer more flexibility and quality than JPEGs that have been processed by the … Read more

Aperture 3: Good option for photo enthusiasts

With three updates now out of the way since its debut in February, Apple's Aperture 3 is ready for prime time, and I recommend the software.

The $199 software is geared for photography enthusiasts and professionals, especially those who shoot raw images rather than just JPEG, and I put the software through its paces for several weeks for a review. My overall opinion: It's solid software that produces very nice images.

If you're an iPhoto user who wants more, it's a good upgrade, though it costs $199 new. If you're an Aperture 2 user, it'… Read more