Adobe releases Lightroom 2

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 29 Jul 2008 at 09:23

Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 2, its digital darkroom software.

Significant new features include dual-monitor support, improved localised image correction, better memory performance for dealing with large images and enhanced search.

Alongside this, the Library module allows photographers to visually organise images across multiple hard drives, and find them quickly using the Library Filter Bar. The Suggested Keywords feature also helps photographers tag their images by making keyword suggestions based on existing tags.

There's also a new Local Adjustment Brush that lets photographers fine-tune specific areas of an image to precisely adjust colour, exposure and tonal range without affecting other areas of the image. The Graduated Filter on the other hand enables 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 provides new print capabilities, enabling users to quickly arrange photos of multiple sizes on one or many pages with flexible and customisable templates. The software then automatically determines optimal sharpening for screen or print.

Adobe has also addressed the problematic area of raw image processing. New raw technology allows photographers to create customised camera profiles as well as the default profiles.

Photoshop Lightroom 2 is available now with an estimated street price of £205.62 (£175 exc. VAT); upgrades cost £81.08 (£69 exc. VAT).