Adobe Systems has released Photoshop Lightroom 2, a significant upgrade to the original Lightroom toolbox for managing, adjusting and presenting large volumes of digital photographs.

 

July 29, 2008: Adobe Systems has released Photoshop Lightroom 2, a significant upgrade to the original Lightroom toolbox for managing, adjusting and presenting large volumes of digital photographs.
Available in Australia for an RRP of $539, Lightroom 2 is Adobe’s first application to support 64-bit for Macintosh OS X 10 Intel Macs and Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit operating systems. New enhancements include dual-monitor support, advances in non-destructive localised image correction and streamlined search capabilities make Lightroom 2 smarter, faster and more accurate than its predecessor. The Library module has been improved to make it easier for photographers to locate wanted images with a powerful Library Filter Bar and Suggested Keywords function.
In the Develop module, the new Local Adjustment Brush lets photographers fine-tune specific areas of an image to precisely adjust color, exposure and tonal range without affecting other areas of the image. The new Graduated Filter expands the toolbox in Lightroom, allowing for edits to larger areas by applying gradually diminishing or increasing adjustment effects such as exposure, clarity, and saturation, alone, or in any combination.
Lightroom 2 also helps photographers print more efficiently by quickly arranging photos of multiple sizes on one or many pages with flexible and customisable templates to maximize paper and ink. Intelligent algorithms automatically determine optimal sharpening for screen or print, producing crisper images faster. Developers can further extend the Lightroom workflow with Web, Export and Metadata Software Development Kits available at the Adobe Developer Connection, http://www.adobe.com/devnet/ .
New raw technology gives photographers access to flexible camera profiles. Camera profiles are the visual starting point for the raw processing workflow, but image preferences vary for every photographer. Adobe is supplying default camera profiles that closely emulate the visual looks that photographers are used to seeing from their favorite camera, while also providing the ability to create customised profiles to suit different tastes. Camera profiles are available for immediate download on Adobe Labs (http://labs.adobe.com ) for use with Lightroom 2 and Camera Raw 4.5, along with the DNG Profile Editor for the community to test and create their own profiles.
The Adobe Camera Raw 4.5 plug-in and DNG Converter 4.5 are also now available on Adobe.com and support over 190 camera models including the Olympus E 420 and E 520 models. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 is available now through the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/store in English, French and German with the Japanese language version planned to be released at a future date. Discounts are available to registered users of Lightroom.