Scott Gilbertson

Adobe Lightroom 1.1 Update Packed With New Features

Adobe has released an upgrade for its Photoshop Lightroom RAW image editing tool. Lightroom version 1.1 packs an impressive amount of new features for an incremental upgrade and it’s free for all Lightroom users. You probably won’t notice any great changes in the interface when you install the update, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t […]

Lr
Adobe has released an upgrade for its Photoshop Lightroom RAW image editing tool. Lightroom version 1.1 packs an impressive amount of new features for an incremental upgrade and it's free for all Lightroom users.

You probably won't notice any great changes in the interface when you install the update, but that doesn't mean there aren't significant improvements. Most of the changes are on the fine grained controls and image editing options.

An extensive list of changes (PDF) can be found on the Adobe site and there really is far more than I can cover in a single post, but here's some of the highlights I've noticed in the last hour or so of testing:

  • The application feels faster, switching between modules is quicker and when scrolling through the library thumbnails snap into focus much quicker (note I'm using a Macbook with one gig of RAM, YMMV).
  • Vastly improved sharpening tools. In the Develop module the sharpening slider has been replaced with four individual controls (Amount, Radius, Detail, and Masking). This could be a mixed bag, on one hand you have more fine-grained control on the other hand it takes longer — it would nice if this were a “advanced” option.
  • “Clarity” controls. A new Develop module feature which Adobe says “adds depth to an image by increasing local contrast.” I haven't had time to really get the hang of it, but in certain situations it can give images that extra “pop” that editors are always asking for.
  • The cataloging system has been revamped and you can now import images from one catalog for use in another (see the new menu item File >> Import For Catalog)
  • New metadata browsing option. Images can be sorted by things like camera, lens, aperture, ISO etc.

Version 1.1 also incorporates all the improvements of Adobe Camera Raw 4.1, which we wrote about previously as well as some other interface improvements and under-the-hood performance boosters.

Since the upgrade is free and the new features impressive, I'd definitely recommend Lightroom 1.1 for existing users. For those unfamiliar with the program, have a look at our earlier review.

The main Lightroom interface remains largely unchanged:

Lr1

The new, much improved, sharpening options:

Lrsharp

More metadata browsing options:

Lrmeta