Adobe Labs has released the Lightroom 3 Beta 2, an update to the public beta of their latest photo management software. Here’s a quick look at some of the new features of the new Lightroom 3 Beta and what they mean for low light shooting and your digital photography workflow. First, here’s what Adobe says about the updated beta:
New in Lightroom 3 Beta 2
- Improved performance throughout the application for faster importing and loading of images
- Native tethered shooting support for select Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras
- Luminance noise reduction has been added to the previous color noise reduction improvements available in the first public beta for outstanding overall high ISO quality
- Support for importing and managing video files from DSLR cameras for better overall photographic workflow control
- Improvements to the import experience in the first beta to reflect public feedback
- Improved watermarking functionality from the first beta to reflect public feedback
Luminance Noise Reduction
For me, the most interesting item here, aside from improved overall performance, the biggest news here is the addition of luminance noise reduction. When the first version of the Lightroom 3 Beta was released, only color noise reduction was enabled, and while I was very impressed by the results, chrominance noise is only one side of the story.
With the addition of luminance noise reduction, Lightroom 3 Beta 2 steps up as an even more complete one-stop-shop for image processing.
For live music photographers, wedding photographers, or any anyone dealing with available light, this new software update should stir up at least a little curiosity about how the new Lighroom 3 update tackles low light fact of life: digital noise.
The Goods: ISO 6400
Here’s a shot of Less Than Jake frontman Chris Demakes, rocking a powerstance at ISO 6400 with the Nikon D3:
And here are some 100% crops – click to see the full-sized comparison:
The Verdict on Lightroom 3 Beta 2′s Noise Reduction:
My verdict? If I were a regular user of Noise Ninja, I can pretty confidently say that that plugin would start gathering a whole lot of dust starting now.
The dead-simple controls of Lightroom’s improved noise reduction and the tight integration into the program make its use a no-brainer if you’re a Lightroom user. While Noise Ninja offers auto-profiling and more control over filtering strength, contrast, and smoothness, I think that the simplicity of one slider for color noise and one for luminance noise in Lightroom 3 is a definite winner when considering the effectiveness.
Even better, Lightroom’s noise adjustments are non-destructive, so results are easily reversible for future editing.
Lightroom 3 Beta 2 – Additional Features
If you’re entirely new to Lightroom 3 and haven’t been testing the original beta, released earlier this year, here’s a rundown of the improvements Adobe cites over the current v2 release
Lightroom 3 beta 2 builds on the enhancements introduced in the first Lightroom 3 beta release:
You can see my initial thoughts on the original Lightroom 3 Beta as compared to my old standby for RAW conversion, Nikon Capture NX 2, here:
Lightroom 3 Beta vs Nikon Capture NX 2
If all this sounds good, you can download the new beta release here and try it for free: Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 2:19 pm and is filed under Photography Gear and tagged with beta, chroma, lightroom 3, lightroom 3 beta 2, luminance, nikon nx, noise ninja, noise reduction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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RT @toddowyoung: My thoughts on luminance noise reduction in the new Lightroom 3 Beta 2: http://bit.ly/a5odUH (chapbook version: yeah, it's good)
From Google Reader: Lightroom 3 Beta 2: Initial Thoughts http://goo.gl/fb/Gfh3
RT @scottwyden: From Google Reader: Lightroom 3 Beta 2: Initial Thoughts http://goo.gl/fb/Gfh3
RT @toddowyoung: My thoughts on luminance noise reduction in the new Lightroom 3 Beta 2: http://bit.ly/a5odUH (chapbook version: yeah, it's good)
RT @toddowyoung: My thoughts on luminance noise reduction in the new Lightroom 3 Beta 2: http://bit.ly/a5odUH (chapbook version: yeah, it's good)
RT @toddowyoung: My thoughts on luminance noise reduction in the new LR 3 Beta 2: http://bit.ly/a5odUH (chapbook version: yeah, it's good)
Thanks for this! Can’t wait to try out the new version, I love Lightroom!
Hey Diana, you’re welcome. The ironic thing about this update is that I will probably keep luminance noise reduction set to zero. But this update is still a step in the right direction for Lightroom 3 Beta.
Well, recently I’ve had the tendency to shoot at ISO 3200, so you better believe I’m going to at least TRY out the luminance reduction.
I did a quick and informal test against Noise Ninja via Photoshop, and overall I found that Lightroom’s NR is good enough and certainly convenient enough that it’s hard to think of a time when I’d actually use Noise Ninja.
I’m using it too right now, and, for one reason or another, when I updated my LR3 b1 catalog, all of the settings I had made to older pictures went completely wrong,with lots and lots of blownout parts as a result. I don’t know if thi’ll happen to anyone else, but be careful and back up please. (as always)
Yeah, I got an error when trying to use the LR3 Beta 1 catalog – I haven’t looked into the best way to export/import yet, but that’s a definite need.
Downloading Lightroom 3.2 now, . That is a pretty awesome feature, i cant wait to try it out myself some of these new options seem to good to be true lol :-D
The difference in the crops is amazing, i do like the options in noise ninja so im curious to see how lightroom does handle it with less controls or how i handle it with less controls).
The watermarking feature is going to come in soooo handy, i have yet to find a program/plug in that i realy like yet.
Oooh my download is finished lol off to install, im really glad you posted this i would really not have bothered looking at this until the final release as several friends havent been impressed by the beta at all.
I realy should have given it a go before i waffled on randomly lol
Hey Christine, thanks for the comment. Overall, I prefer the simplified controls of LR’s noise reduction compared to Noise Ninja.
The LR 3 Beta isn’t perfect, but it’s getting better and better. I find that this beta 2 is faster for rendering previews and loading images – my one gripe with the first release.
Pretty impressive Todd.
I just can’t stand that import function…aaaarg
I do wish Lightroom didn’t rely on catalogs – a fully-featured browsers would be great without the need to “import” photos into the current catalog.
I was taking a break from PP’ing last nights’ shoot of a 5 band punk show in a poorly lit dive (along with those pesky red spotlights) ISO3200 all night (and a few at ISO6400)
I immediately downloaded the 3.2 beta after reading your review and was really impressed with the addition of luminance noise reduction.
Even at my level, I don’t have the time to spend hours on every image, or the inclination to learn a turbo charged noise reduction application.
This just works.
Hell, it even makes my Canon 1d Mk3 images look like Nikon D3 images…(just kidding)
What I would love to see in the final release is a slider that or button that fixes red stage lighting. :-p
Thanks for the heads up Todd!
Hey Steve,
You’re welcome, glad to share this info. It’s certainly good news for concert photographers, that’s for sure. It’s possible to set up developing profiles for specific ISOs and cameras, so you can have Lightroom automatically apply NR if you want. Pretty nice.
Yes the slider for Red Stage Lighting would be amazing!
Lightroom comes a lot closer though in my opinion. All the little sliders sure are easy to use!
I really need a D700 for my concert photography, but it looks like after trying Lightroom 3.2, that I might not need to upgrade. My ISO 1600 shots are coming out crystal clear, with so little l-Noise that I think i can go up to 3200 and still get usable images out of my D90.
Thanks for the review Todd.. Made my day.
Yeah, a little Lightroom developing preset for turning red concert lighting into say, spotlights, would be amazing.
I don’t even use noise reduction, but this update to Lightroom 3 beta has me thinking that I should shoot at ISO 6400 more often.
My thoughts on luminance noise reduction in the new Lightroom 3 Beta 2: http://bit.ly/a5odUH (chapbook version: yeah, it's good)
I use Bibble Pro for RAW file editing and batch conversion and I like that I don’t have to use an asset management feature like some other apps. I can just access client files from server drives and edit and batch convert from there. Is that possible in Lifhtroom? Also, can it batch convert multiple file formats at once and create an HTML web based gallery? These are features in Bibble Pro I prefer not to give up but would like to check out Lightroom 3. What are your thoughts Todd? Thanks.
Ps. SXSW was awesome. Wish you could’ve made it to Austin.
David
Hey David,
Nice to hear from you. Wish I could have come out for SXSW as well, sounds like a party.
With LR, you do have to import files/folders into the catalog – you cannot just browse around like some other programs. You can do batch exports for a set of images to a common denominator with LR, and there are options for creating a gallery as well. I haven’t explored the options, but I know there are plugins that people have written as well for more custom galleries. These aren’t all supported by the v3 beta, though, so keep that in mind.
At any rate, LR3 is a free beta trial, so it’s worth a shot. Overall, I’m very pleased by the image quality (with the exception of a few points) and the interface is looking very nice.
Todd,
What do you think of the water marking tool? Have you used it? It would be nice to get that task done right inside LR.
Nice write-up,
Tom
Hey Tom, I haven’t tried the new watermarking tool, so I can’t comment on that. Thanks for the comment.
RT @toddowyoung: My thoughts on luminance noise reduction in the new Lightroom 3 Beta 2: http://bit.ly/a5odUH (chapbook version: yeah, i …
Lightroom 3 Beta 2: Initial Thoughts On Luminance Noise Reduction …: … New import handling designed to make.. http://bit.ly/9HzejD
I’ve been using Lightroom since its first release,and after reading your critique about the beta revision , couldn’t wait to try it. Maybe because it was late at night, or one two many cabernets, but I don’t seem to be able to show the panels- develop, slideshow, etc.
Have tried short cut F 6,7 to no avail. How do bring them up?
Thanks much.
[...] For more info, read my initial comparison of Nikon Capture NX 2 vs Lightroom 3 Beta and my initial thoughts about Lightroom 3 Beta 2. [...]
Hi,
I got a version of Silkypix with my camera. I am trying to decide whether it’s worthwhile converting the images into DNG format for Lightroom processing instead.
Do you have an opinion comparing Silkypix with Lightroom?
Rizwan,
Lightroom doesn’t require that you convert images to DNG – you can work on your RAW files in their native format.
Is it my imagination or is the noise reduction in the final release of LR3
Not nearly as good as the beta???
I like it. It’s a lot easier to use than noiseninja.
ok Todd, I finally ditched Bibble Pro to try out LightRoom 3. I have to admit, it’s pretty amazing. The noise reduction makes it worth the price of admission alone. But I do have a question about the best way to present a shoot to a client. I have always made a web gallery and then posted it on my own FTP server. A direct link to the client and they could view a thumbnail gallery, click to enlarge and let me know what they want. However, Lightroom’s web gallery shows arbitrary image numbers in the thumbnail view with no way to display the actual filename so they can refer to a specific fielanem/image number to let me know which phots they want. Does anyone have any recommendations how to handle this best? Is Flikr the way to go for client stuff like this? I don’t actually sell images from this point, I just need to know which ones they want me to finalize for them.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance.