INTRODUCTION
A few weeks ago, Adobe launched the 4th version of the Lightroom program. Since the start early 2006, Lightroom was designed for photographers who wanted to organize and edit their images (mostly RAW images) quickly and easily. The 1st version of Lightroom was however little more than only an image database with basic editing. Six years of development and 4 versions later, Lightroom is a full product with a very good workflow and impressive features. As I wrote a full review about version 3 (which you can read HERE), I'm not going to discuss all features of Lightroom in this review, but I will only revert to the new or significantly changed topics.
© Adobe
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
As the whole package is fairly powerful, the manufacturer requests high specifications of your computer. Hereafter a split-up for the Mac & Windows users:
Mac:
- Operating System: Mac OS 10.6.8 or 10.7 Snow Leopard Lion
- Processor: Intel processor with 64bit support
- Memory: 2GB minimum
- Hard Disk: minimum 1GB free
- Screen resolution: 1024x768
- DVD-ROM drive
- Internet connection for Internet-related services
As a Mac-user, you will therefore need the Snow Leopard operating system to run this package.
Windows:
- Operating System: Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 SP1
- Processor: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 bit processor
- Memory: 2GB minimum
- Hard Disk: minimum 1GB free
- Screen resolution: 1024x768
- DVD-ROM drive
- Internet connection for Internet-related services
As a Windows-user, you may not be able to run this package if you still have Windows XP or a 10" netbook (screen resolution is too low).
As from this version, it is possible to choose the language from a fairly comprehensive list. In the previous version of Lightroom the language was associated with the language of your operating system. As I prefer to have everything in English, Lightroom and my operating system are in English. Therefore all expressions used hereafter will also be in English.
DEVELOP
The "BASIC" panel in the Lightroom 4 Develop module has been dramatically changed, but basically everything has become easier. The principle that Adobe wanted to show us is simple: start at the top and work step-by-step downwards. So you will notice that the "Recovery slider" & "Fill Light slider" are gone, just like the "Brightness slider" and yet everything works nicer, faster and you’ll be able to achieve better results.
If you want to recover details from the burned air-sections in a picture, you can simply use the "Hightlight slider". Conversely, you can push the dark areas in your picture with the second slider "Shadows".
The name "Process Version 2012" was given to the entire new processing engine in Lightroom 4. When you open your "old" pictures (edited in an earlier version of Lightroom), you will get a warning sign at the bottom right corner. The program will ask you to convert to the new version. Here, you also have the opportunity to do this automatically for all photos, but I wouldn’t advise this. The default settings are changed and this could lead to undesirable results. If you took pictures in the past which you couldn’t develop to the desired result, try them again with this version of Lightroom and you will discover the possibilities.
A final new feature in Lightroom 4 is that the default value of all sliders is now standard on "0" and this is a lot easier to work. In the previous version, some sliders had the default value of “0” and others started around “50”.
VIDEO
Although I am not a video fan (but surely a photo fan), I did some research for this section with great interest. Lightroom 4 is primarily a tool for photographers and their photos, but what if the photographers are also capable to capture videos with their photo cameras? Indeed, they can simply use their familiar software. But you have to know the following. You can perfect load your video files and view them within the Lightroom environment. You can also apply small color modifications with "quick developement" and you have the ability to adjust manually the start- and/or endpoint, but the video options in Lightroom stops here and you can not cut out pieces or add music or do even some zooming …
The recent evolution of video facilities on the dslr cameras is nice and having this feature into Lightroom 4 is even better, but for the moment the features are really too limited!
BOOK
A new feature in Lightroom 4 is "Book". Apple, with Aperture, already provided this feature a long time and therefore many Lightroom users were hoping for this feature in a new version of Lightroom. With the collaboration between Adobe and the company Blurb (LINK), this new features has become reality.
It is very easy to get your pictures in an instant digitally printed book. The import of your images can be done automatically or manually, but the thing I loved the most is the fact that the total price was known the whole time during the creation of the book.
If you don’t want to work with Blurb, you can also choose to export a PDF document.
When you open the module "Book", all selected photos will automatically be spread over a standard book. Afterwards it is up to the user, to create a book: choose the size of the book - cover type - type of paper - logo and all the different page styles. These page styles allow you to add 1 or multiple photos on one sheet, but also to use texts. For the background color, I personally prefer black, you can also add a background as desired.
The application allows to store the book and return later or re-print, but you can also create and save different versions of the same book. However, if you love the complete freedom over your page layout, you will be frustrated with some restrictions ...
The quality of the prints are amazing!
MAPS
The module "Maps" is in fact Google Maps which links your photos to a specific location (if they are provided with GPS coordinates). If you wish to export photos to Flickr, this is a great value.
As today there are very few DSLR cameras providing GPS coordinates into the metadata, I think this possibility is rather a "gadget" than real added value. If you have a GPS track logger - depending on the model - the file needs to be converted to enable Lightroom to read it. Another disadvantage is that it only works if you have an Internet connection.
In short: nice feature, but the added value is limited ...
PRICE
Finally, I would like to inform you about the price. This time, this element is a positive note. Adobe launches Lightroom 4 in two versions: the full version and the update for version 2 and 3. The full version is yours for just 130 Euros and the upgrade will cost you only just over 70 Euros.
CONCLUSION
Adobe launched the 4th version of Lightroom as a complete package for the digital photographer. The images are stored in the image database and can easily be edited. The process "version 2012" is more powerful than ever before and this provides the most value. The video feature is a nice addition, but here I miss more possibilities. The Blurb books are also a great new feature, if you want an easy way to print your images into a nice looking digitally printed book. The price is definitely a winner: for just over 70 € you already have the latest version at home!
Finally, I want to thank Adobe for providing this package. If you are interested in their packages, just take a look on their website.
Best regards,
Sven Michiels
