Lightroom 5 Beta Release

Lightroom 5 beta now released to the public Hi , Adobe have just made their latest version Lightroom available to the public by way of a beta release. What this means is that you download and use the software, free of charge, until the beta expires (30 June 2013). That's not a bad trial run, especially if you don't already have Lightroom. There are a heap of great new features available in Lightroom 5, but remember, it is a beta version and may have some bugs. I've been using it for a while now and have not had a single issue but be warned, it may lock up or crash on you. Having said all that it is well worth downloading and exploring. So whats new? Spot Removal brush improvement One of the big ticket items is the change to the Spot Removal tool. You can now use this to remove unwanted lines, hairs and the like, a job which previously you would have needed to open up the image in Photoshop. That's a pretty big deal for many people who would only visit Photoshop on the rare occasion. They can save a lot of money just using Lightroom 5. In the image below I removed the lines above the bride and groom just using Lightroom 5. Easy!! Smart Previews This feature is fantastic. If you are working with removable media (external USB drive) you create Smart Previews and then work on the images even when the drive is disconnected. Plug the drive back in next time and all your editing and changes are transferred to your original images. Brilliant! Auto Straighten The gurus at Adobe have woven some magic into this feature. Just click on 'Level' under 'Lens Corrections', 'Basic' and voila, image is straight. Radial Filter This one is a gem if you, like me, are prone to a little vignette. Just create a circle or ellipse, position anywhere, any size and the use the sliders to adjust to your own requirement. Easy. The beta does seem very stable and all my plug-ins and presets (NIK, OnOne, Imagenomics etc.) are still working from Lightroom 4. There many other tweaks and new tools and, like any beta, I'm sure a few more will sneak in before the actual product release. There is no doubt I'll be upgrading and saving even more time in my digital workflow. Weekend Digital Processing Bootcamp I have a full weekend Digital Processing Bootcamp coming up on the 11 and 12 May and I'll be discussing and demonstrating Lightroom 5 in depth over the weekend (as well as the usual Photoshop topics). There are still some spots available if you would like to join me. Details here -> Weekend Digital Bootcamp Happy shooting. Cheers, Mark