Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Beta launched

[David Rasnake]

If you're a fan of Lightroom, Adobe's popular RAW conversion and image editing suite, and you've been eagerly awaiting a new version, it's official: your wait is over.

In a headline announcement at midnight, Adobe made a beta version of the software's latest edition – Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 – available to the public. Version 2.0 provides several key upgrades over the original release of Lightroom, including new corrections capabilities, better image organization tools, and more thought-out integration with Photoshop.

Late last week, Adobe demoed Lightroom 2.0 for members of the press, showing off the new system's expanded power. Specifically, the maker touted the software's 64-bit system support, as well as the ability to perform localized corrections.

(view large image)

Flexible multiple monitor support allows users to keep the primary Lightroom interface on one screen and use the other display to dock a multi-function pane that houses several functions (including a detail-view "loupe" tool).

(view large image)

Print production tools allow photographers to create quick and easy proof sheets or pages with multiple prints on a single sheet.

(view large image)

Just like the original Lightroom release, in which the final version of the software was fine-tuned based on the input of more than half a million beta testers, version 2.0 is being given a five-month test window to gather user feedback. Lightroom 1.0 users can download and use the new beta version for the full trial period (through August 31, 2008), as can guests of Lightroom 1.0 users that are "invited" to the beta program. All other users can download a 30-day trial of Lightroom 2.0 at any time during the beta period.

Visit www.adobe.com to find out more and download the beta version.

[CalebSchmerge]

Awesome! I use lightroom quite a bit, and can't wait to participate in the Beta to help make it better! 2.0 here I come!

[Jerry Jackson]

Being able to move the various tool windows (like the histogram, color/grayscale sliders, tone curve, chromatic aberration corrections, etc.) to my second monitor so that the main monitor has a larger view of the image was my only major complaint about the current version of Lightroom.

Being able to move parts of Lightroom to another monitor is great.

I'm glad to see Adobe is making some solid changes to Lightroom that will make it even better.

[CalebSchmerge]

I agree, that will be a nice new feature. The only other thing I have to complain about right now has to do with selecting multiple images and doing things like applying keywords - it doesn't always apply the keyword to all of them.

[David Rasnake]

I agree, that will be a nice new feature. The only other thing I have to complain about right now has to do with selecting multiple images and doing things like applying keywords - it doesn't always apply the keyword to all of them.

I know that they've done a lot to the keywording and sort/catalog functions, so this glitch may be corrected in the beta (I'm assuming you're talking about some of the keyword weirdness with 1.x, and not the beta?).

dr

[CalebSchmerge]

Yep. I'm doing a reinstall in a few days, so I will install the beta then. In the mean time, I will try to think of more things to test out!