Lightroom 4 Review (Beta)
I am of the opinion that the real world improvements made in raw editing software makes it a better buy than upgrading a DSLR that has been made in the past four years or so. Adobe Lightroom 4 is an excellent example of this. It shows subtle but discernable refinements that produce better images from my existing raw files. Since I am a photographer, I am going to focus my observations on the raw photo editing capabilities of Lightroom 4, rather than comment on the new video editing features.
The first thing I noticed when opening familiar raw files is that the default rendering of images appear to look better than they did in Lightroom 3. This is no doubt due to the improvements to the rendering engine. The 2012 engine makes subtle but distinct improvements in raw conversion that produce better results from my raw files. In version 3, I was always switching from the Adobe profile to Camera Standard because I was never quite happy with how Lightroom 2 or 3 rendered the default image. The midtones and shadows just never seemed quite right. In Lightroom 4 I am delightfully surprised at how good the default images look before making any adjustments. I am seeing more shadow and highlight detail, and a greater sense of realism in my default images.
Secondly, the image editing controls have been renamed and organized in a more intuitive way. New control sliders for Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks, replace the former Exposure, Recovery, Fill Light, Blacks, Brightness, Contrast. I quickly adjusted to the new controls. The order they are in feels much more logical, and the new names give a better sense of what they do within an image. I think new users will also find this naming convention more understandable. I also like the fact that all the controls at a center default “0″ setting with – negative settings to the left, and + positive settings to the right. This follows the convention all cameras use for exposure settings. That detail makes Lightroom 4 more intuitive for new users.
I was a big fan of Pixmantic’s RawShooter, the predecessor of Lightroom (the company was bought by Adobe). Rawshooter was a nimble, lightweight raw editor that produced natural looking results. Lightroom 4 carries the heritage of RawShooter more than any version of Lightroom before it. The Lightroom 4 images from my Canon Rebel XS raw files are beautiful, and more filmlike (can I still say that) in their realism. However, I did find that the default results in Lightroom 4 were not as pleasing when opening raw files from an older DSLR, a 6 megapixel Samsung GX1S.
I do wish that Adobe made a version of Lightroom without the resource hogging image catalog features. I don’t use the Lightroom Catalog for my image archives, and would find a lightweight, nimbler version, sans catalog, very appealing. Adobe, are you listening?
I am still exploring Lightroom 4 Beta. Although it has a few new bells and whistles, such as the ability to layout photography books and video editing, the subtle refinements to image quality and editing controls really appeal to me most of all. Seeing the quality I can extract from my archived digital files is exciting, and makes Lightroom 4 a worthy upgrade for me. Raw digital files are really becoming quite capable of a range of subtlety and refinement that was not available as little as three years ago. The refinements in Lightroom 4 will be appreciated by discerning and critical photographers.
This photo above was created from a raw camera file (Canon Rebel XS and 18-55mm IS kit lens 400 ISO, F:8, 1/20 sec., hand-held) in Adobe Lightroom 4. It shows display windows and electronic billboards of Thomson Reuters in Times Square, New York City shot at a 45 degree angle to create an abstract pattern in the shadows and reflections.
-Photo by Donald Peterson. In my other life I design web sites.
