When I get a little more time, some of the more detailed questions such as

“The previews are slightly different between Library and Develop and Fit and 1:1 views—why is that?”

“What happens if I’m still using an older version of ACR and Photoshop?”

“What’s the difference between ‘Render Using Lightroom’ and ‘Open Anyway’ in the ACR mismatch dialog?”

will also be posted as blog posts, but if you haven’t purchased the book yet, feel free to download the PDF excerpts.

The book is also now showing up on Amazon and other online bookstores.  My wholehearted thanks go out to all those who have reviewed the book on both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  It makes all the work worthwhile, and I’m so pleased you’re finding it so useful.

We’ll get back to ‘normal’ blog posts shortly… just need to catch up with myself first!

You haven’t missed anything – there was no 3.1.  The numbers have been shifted to match up with ACR’s .2 release to prevent further confusion.

Lightroom 3.2 - http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Lightroom_3.2

ACR 6.2 - http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Camera_Raw_6.2

As usual, there’s support for new cameras:

• Casio EXILIM EX-FH100 (improved support)
• Leica S2 (improved support)
• Panasonic DMC-FZ100, DMC-FZ40 (FZ45), DMC-LX5
• Pentax 645D
• Samsung NX10, TL500 (EX1)
• Sony A290, A390, Alpha NEX-3, Alpha NEX-5

There are also new lens profiles available and a few existing ones were improved.  Publish Services has also gained a Facebook option.

But then some of us get really excited – sticky filters are back!  If you preferred the old LR2 behavior, where you switched to a different folder and when you came back that folder’s filter was still active, this will make your day.  Go to File menu > Library Filters > and turn on Lock Filters and then return to that same menu and choose Remember Each Source’s Filters Separately.  If you prefer the new LR3 behavior, where filters are reset each time you switch folders or are locked to a single filter as you browse different folders, you can ignore this.  (And yes, the File menu does seem like a strange place, I know….)

There’s also a loooooooong list of bug fixes on the official Lightroom Journal post, and a very small note that additional fixes may also be added before the final release too.

So, if you’ve been affected by the performance issues that many have seen, then run, don’t walk, over to the Adobe Labs website to download this RC and see if your issues are solved.  If not, post on the official Adobe Forums or fill out the Official Bug Report form so that those problems can also be tracked down and hopefully fixed.

Oh, if you bought my book and wondered why I hadn’t sent out the updated PDF with the hyperlinked index yet, then I’ll let you in on a secret – this is why!    The new PDF download links should go out in the next 24 hours, updated with those changes of behavior and the newly hyperlinked index.  It’s just popped up on Amazon a couple of days ago, but it’s looking a little lonely at the moment, so if you’re enjoying the book, I’d really appreciate some pretty star ratings…

It’s true, Adobe Lightroom 3 – The Missing FAQ has graduated from its rough cut status and is now up-to-date for the Lightroom 3 final release.

The new Table of Contents is now live for you to browse and discover all of the topics covered in the final release.  The updated excerpts will be uploaded within the next day or so, but the LR3 rough cut excerpts are still available in the meantime.

The PDF version is available for download right now and the paperback is off to the printers and should start shipping shortly.  Emails have gone out to the pre-orders with their download links, so if you haven’t received your email, check your spam folder or let me know and I’ll resend it.

If you bought my LR1 or LR2 book, drop me an email for a special upgrade discount code.  I’ve been busy!  It’s had a massive overhaul since the beta rough cut.  It’s been completely rearranged into a more logical order and I’ve added a lot more information for newer users as well as rewriting the more technical questions.  It’s grown from 65,000 words to 105,000, so it’s well worth upgrading.

Pre-orders have already had the book for a day or so, and the response has been brilliant.  Here are a few of the comments which make all the hard work, grey hairs and lack of sleep worthwhile:

“The final edition looks wonderful and I look forward to spending many hours pouring through it.”

“Just wanted to say that I love the final version. You did a great job. Thanks!”

“Awesome diagram there on page 364. I bet even the guys at Adobe will print it out poster sized and put it on their desks because I don’t know if even they fully understand the complexity of the workflow”

“I am a dedicated reader of manuals.  Most of the time I wind up rewriting a manual into a more logical, concise and clear format.  But your manual requires no such rewriting.  It’s just perfect.”

So what are you waiting for?  Get your copy right now!

There will be another free update in a couple of weeks for all LR3 book purchasers, which will add the full index from the paperback version – hyperlinking that is quite a job!  If you’re planning on reading the PDF on your iPad, it works particularly well with the GoodReader app.  Kindle and ePub formats are still on agenda, also as free updates, but will take time to reformat properly due to the number of screenshots.

Enjoy!

What happens if I’m still using an older version of ACR and Photoshop?
If you’re using a mismatched version of ACR, it may not understand all of Lightroom 3’s new settings, and therefore the rendering may be different.  Besides the new camera support, there are a few other changes involved, depending on the version number.  In recent years, there have been changes to the demosaic, new sliders added such as Grain, existing sliders redesigned resulting in the introduction of Process Versions, and now the new lens corrections too.

The demosaic, in basic terms, is the initial translation of the raw data into an image, which applies to all of the photos regardless of your Process Version setting.  ACR 5.6 and earlier use an older demosaic, whereas Lightroom 3 and ACR 5.7 and higher all use the new demosaic.  The visible difference is an increased amount of detail in the newer demosaic, which can affect the amount of sharpening and noise reduction you choose to apply.  If you open a Lightroom 3 photo into a version of ACR with the old demosaic (5.6 or earlier), for example, opening a photo directly into CS3 with ACR 4.6, then it will appear softer and less detailed than Lightroom 3, even if you’ve used sliders that it understands.  If you open into 5.7 or later, the demosaic will match.

There are also new sliders which older ACR versions may not understand, for example, Grain and the post-crop vignette Highlight Priority and Color Priority options are understood by 5.7 but no earlier.

Further down the line are the processing algorithms, including Fill Light, Noise Reduction and Sharpening, which have changed so significantly this time that they now come in 2 different versions – Process Versions 2003 and 2010, more often shortened to PV2003 and PV2010.  We discussed those in more detail in the Develop chapter.

And of course, last but not least, there are the new lens corrections which require ACR 6.1 or later.

Here’s a quick reference of the most recent ACR versions for each Photoshop release, and the differences you’re likely to see if you open the files directly into Photoshop.

In summary:

CS3/4.6 – New sliders are ignored.  If you only use sliders that were available in 4.6, with PV2003, it’s close but 4.6 also uses an older demosaic which can result in sharpening and noise reduction differences.  Best to let LR render the file and then open that into Photoshop.

CS4/5.7 – No lens corrections are applied.  There are other minor differences (i.e. sharpening slightly different) but otherwise it’s very close.  5.7 can read LR’s settings but there’s no UI to change the new settings.  If you haven’t used lens corrections, the differences may not notice unless you’re looking for them, so you can probably open directly into Photoshop.

CS5/6.1 – Fully compatible with LR 3.0

There’s an additional dialog which often appears when the ACR version is mismatched, offering you the choice of ‘Render Using Lightroom’ or ‘Open Anyway’, although it’s currently missing with 5.7. More on the consequences of that dialog soon!

Thank you everyone for your emails.  I’ve had stacks of brilliant feedback since the beta 2 rough cut book was released a couple of months ago, and some really good suggestions to make the book even better, so I decided to go back and make significant changes for the final release.

Don’t worry, all of the information is still there, and it’s still in its FAQ format, but here’s a quick summary of the changes…

• I’ve added many of the questions that you’ve emailed, and a load of other new questions too, particularly around the new features.  If you’ve emailed me a suggestion or a question that didn’t make the cut this time, then it is still on the list for the next release.  I have plans…..
• I’ve been back through and rearranged all of the questions and chapters into a more logical workflow order, for those who are reading it cover to cover instead of using it as a reference.  It works well both ways now.
• I’ve added quick-start information for newer users, in addition to the more technical questions, so there’s something for everyone.
• Most questions have been revised and rewritten to make the answers even easier to understand.
• There’s now an index in the back, which will be really useful in the paperback version.
• And you’ll be pleased to know it’s been professionally proof-read, so the typos are gone now too!

More formats are also planned – the paperback will be available a few days after the PDF, and Kindle and ePub formats will follow.  The new iBooks app update for iPad will read PDF’s later this month, which should retain the formatting better than its native ePub format.  Anyone buying the existing formats (PDF/Paperback) will have free access to other digital formats too.

All of that work put me a few days behind schedule, and I seem to have given up eating and sleeping for the last couple of months but it’ll be worth it. The final release is with the designers at the moment, having the final formatting finished off, so it won’t be long.

In the meantime, you can pre-order from http://www.lightroomqueen.com/lrqebook3.php and download the beta rough cut version today. Almost all of the information and instructions in the rough cut is still correct for the final release, as mainly just the lens corrections were added after beta 2.

If you bought my LR1 or LR2 book, drop me an email at victoria@victoriabampton.com for a upgrade discount code.

UPDATE 07 July 2010 – It’s DONE!!!

It’s grown somewhat!  The 2nd beta rough cut book was around 65,000 words, and the final release comes in at just under 105,000 words!

I’m sorry I was slightly overly optimistic about how much I could get done in the time available.  I had hoped to coincide with LR3′s release date, but the final design stages took much longer than I’d anticipated, so thank you for being patient, and I hope you agree it was worth the wait!

Emails have gone out to all pre-orders with your download links, so if you haven’t received it, check your spam folder or email me, and if you haven’t ordered it yet, why not?

If you’ve pre-ordered the paperback version, that’s off to the printers and should ship within the next 2-3 weeks, depending on their turnaround times.  If you’ve moved since you placed your order, please let me know so I send your book to the correct address.

The paperback version also has a full index in the back.  That’s not needed in the PDF version as PDF software can search for specific words in the text, however at the request of a few readers, I am working on a hyperlinked copy of the index.  That updated download, just with the addition of the hyperlinked index, will be available soon but I didn’t want to keep you waiting any longer.

Hope you enjoy it!  I’m sure you will!

Official Blog Post – http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2010/06/lightroom_30_now_available.html

Adobe TV – http://tv.adobe.com/show/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3/

Sean McCormack – http://lightroom-blog.com/2010/06/lightroom-3-now-available.html

Jeffrey Friedl – http://regex.info/blog/2010-06-08/1539

Ian Lyons – http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr3_review/lr3-1.htm

Laura Shoe – http://digitaldailydose.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/whats_new_lightroom_3/

Rikk Flohr – http://fleetingglimpseimages.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/lightroom-3-is-here/

Lightroom Lab – http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/lightroom-3-now-available/

Richard Earney – http://inside-lightroom.com/?p=542

NAPP – http://www.photoshopuser.com/lightroom3/

John Nack – http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2010/06/lightroom_3_has_arrived.html

Camera Dojo – http://cameradojo.com/2010/06/07/podcast-83-conversation-with-tom-hogarty-talking-about-lightroom-3/

TipSquirrel – http://www.tipsquirrel.com/index.php/2010/06/lightroom-3-a-review/

Colin Smith/Photoshop Cafe – http://photoshopcafe.com/lightroom/

Mark Wilson – http://blog.rusticolus.co.uk/

Jerry Courvoisier – http://www.lightroomworkshops.com/tutorials.html

Erik Berniskiold – http://www.bernskiold.com/2010/06/08/lightroom-3-is-here/

French language Gilles Theophile – http://www.utiliser-lightroom.com/blog/2010/06/08/lightroom-3-0-est-disponible-3/

German language Mike Schelhorn – http://mikeschelhorn.de/wordpress/?p=1155

Here’s the official announcement: http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/

Of course there’s a brand new 30 day trial for you to try before you buy.

And the download link, of course!  https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_lightroom

So what’s new…? I’ve included the new features that were available in the beta versions, for those who haven’t tried them, and the features new to the final release are in bright red….

Image Quality

The primary improvements in 3.0 are image quality. Lightroom’s been taken back to its bare bones and the raw processing engine has been given a complete overhaul. Even the demosaic algorithms have been substantially improved to give a cleaner file which will respond better to subsequent noise reduction and sharpening.

Performance

While Lightroom was back on the drawing board, the underlying architecture has been completely reworked to improve the performance, particularly with large catalogs. It’s still a work in progress, but the basis is there for future improvements.  The preview system has also been redeveloped, so the thumbnail grid won’t keep going fuzzy as you scroll!

Import

• Entirely new Import dialog, with compact and expanded views, depending on the level of control you need.
• It has panels like the main modules, including Source and Destination.
• Folder browsing has improved – you can now dock and undock folders to navigate through deep hierarchies.
• Destination folders that will be created by the import as shown in italics so you can see exactly what will happen.
• Import presets can now be saved and reused in both compact and expanded views.
• There’s a new Loupe view within the Import dialog for viewing embedded previews.
• The import backup now backs up with the new filenames if you’re renaming while importing.
• CMYK files can now be imported, although all editing and output will still be RGB.
• Video files from most digital cameras can now be imported and managed like photos.
  
• If you right-click on a folder in Library module, there’s an ‘Import into this Folder’ option which opens the Import dialog and automatically sets the Destination folder.
• Drag/drop importing is now working again.
  
• Lots of fixes and everything works pretty well now.  It’s much more responsive than the beta builds.
  

Library Module

• Publish Services
  • Publish Services provides integration with photo sharing websites, keeping them up to date with the changes you make in your Lightroom catalog.
  • Sync runs 2-way, so comments made on your Flickr account appear back in Lightroom.
  • Flickr is the first to be available and more are sure to follow.
  • Jeffrey Friedl has already been busy updating his plug-ins for other websites.
  • Sync to hard drive is also available, and useful for syncing photos to your iPhone, screensaver, other networked computers, etc.

• Video Management
  • Videos can be tagged, rated, filtered, added to collections, saved in smart collections, and managed just like the rest of your photos.
  • The little video camera icon identifies the videos and shows the length.
  • Double clicking on the video, or clicking on the icon, will launch the video in your default video software.
  • Video support does not include editing within LR – that’s not its job.
    

• Tethering
  • No need for extra software or watched folders – built-in tethering makes its debut!
  • Limited set of certified cameras to start with, but more will be added. The officially supported list is:
    Canon 1D Mk2 (firewire only, not Windows x64), 1Ds Mk2 (firewire only, not Windows x64), 1D Mk3, 1Ds Mk3, 1D Mk4, 5D (not Windows x64), 5D Mark II, 7D, 20D (Mac only), 30D, 40D, 50D, 350D / Digital Rebel XT / Kiss Digital N, 400D / Digital Rebel XTi / Kiss Digital X, 450D / Digital Rebel XSi / Kiss X2, 500D / Digital Rebel T1i / Kiss X3 Digital, 1000D / Digital Rebel XS / Kiss F
    Nikon D3, D3s, D3x, D200 (Mac only), D300, D300s, D700, D90, D5000
  • You can view the camera settings but you can’t change them remotely.

Develop Module

• Lens Corrections!
  • This is the big one!  The new lens corrections are available in Lightroom 3 and they are STUNNING!
  • Really easy to use – intelligently picks the correct profile.
  • You can tweak the settings to taste, so you can choose to apply profiled chromatic aberration correction without correcting distortion, or various other combinations.
  • Switch to the Manual tab to apply manual corrections and perspective adjustments.
  • If your lens isn’t supported yet, you can build your own using the Lens Profile Creator.  It’s not as complicated as it looks!

• Process Version
  • Because so much work has been done on the base ACR engine, a ‘process version’ has been introduced to differentiate between the old process and new processes.
  • Any images with existing settings will be set to the old 2003 process version to get an almost identical rendering as 2.7. Any new images imported into 3.0 will be assigned the new process version.
  • There’s a warning exclamation mark to the lower right of the image (it’s moved) if it’s set to the old 2003 process version – click it if you want to update. You can also find process version under the Settings menu, in the Calibration panel and the Sync dialog, as well as the right-click menus).
  • New 2010 process version affects highlight recovery, fill light, sharpening & noise reduction, but not the post-crop vignette any more.

• Curves
  • Point curves make an appearance by popular demand!

• Noise Reduction & Sharpening
  • Lots of work has been done on improving the noise reduction without losing fine detail.  It is vastly improved, and can now compete with specialized noise reduction software.
  • There are now extra sliders, but don’t feel you have to use them on every image – they’re there for control over particularly difficult images.
  • The Edge Detail slider refines the edges on extremely noisy images at extremely high ISO.
  • Values have changed – old settings updated to the new process version may be too strong.
  • There have also been changes to the capture sharpening, particularly with the sharpening halos.
  • The Develop preview now shows sharpening & noise reduction at less than 1:1 view when using PV2010.
  • Minor additional changes to sharpening since beta 2.

• Grain
  • Film-style grain sliders added give a very natural looking grain.
  • It shares a new Effects panel with Post-Crop Vignette.

• Post-Crop Vignette
  • New more natural vignette instead of just painting white or black on the edges.
  • Color Priority mode retains more natural colours under the vignette with softer shadow transitions.
  • Highlight Priority remains heavily saturated under the vignette.
  • Paint Overlay brings back the effect of the post-crop vignette in LR2.
  • Highlights slider brightens the highlights under a dark vignette.

• Adjustment Brush
  • The buttons are gone, so it’s now either a single drop-down and amount slider, or the range of sliders.
  • New icon shows when no color tint is being applied.
  • Show/hide pins and overlays are now in the toolbar when the Brush/Gradient are active, so no more having to remember the shortcuts.
  • Oh, I missed one! The sharpening adjustment brush, when set to -50 or greater, now becomes a ‘blur’ brush!
  • Rikk Flohr says I’ve missed another one – Auto Mask works on the Eraser now too!
    

• Crop
  • The list of crop ratios has been tidied up to combine identical ratios like 2×3 and 4×6.
  • There’s now a keyboard shortcut to swap crop orientation, for those who hate the magic touch required to swap it – press the X key!

Slideshow

• Slideshows can now be exported to MP4 video format for uploading to video sharing websites, including your music track. It now prepares previews in advance so your slideshow doesn’t stall.
• Mac version is no longer tied to iTunes, matching the Windows behaviour.
• You can now sync the length of the slides to the music track length.

Print

• Custom Print Package
  • New custom layout option for different images in different sizes (without resorting to hacks!)
  • Drag and drop to create a flexible layout.
  • Images can now rotate within the cells for better print layout.

• Page background color can now be changed.
• Maximum print resolution has increased to 1200ppi for JPEG and 720ppi for printers.

Web

• Website developers can now write in ActionScript3.
  

Watermarking

• New watermarking allows a simple text or graphic watermark to be applied in Export, Publish, Slideshow, Print and Web.
• Watermarking has improved further in beta 2, allowing different positioning and sizing options.

Export

• Export can now be limited to a kb size which automatically adjusts the quality slider – great for uploading to websites.
• It now creates a history state at the time of export.
  

Backup

• Backup has moved to quit rather than startup, by popular demand!
• There’s a new checkbox in the backup dialog to run optimize catalog after the backup.

A couple of keyboard shortcut changes

• Auto-Sync is Ctrl-Alt-Shift-A (Windows) / Cmd-Opt-Shift-A (Mac)
• Match Total Exposures is Ctrl-Alt-Shift-M (Windows) / Cmd-Opt-Shift-M
• Crop to Same Aspect Ratio is now Shift-A not S
• Switch Crop Aspect Ratio is new – X
• Hide Tethered is Ctrl-T (Windows) / Cmd-T (Mac)
• New Tethered Shot is Ctrl-Shift-T (Windows) / Cmd-Shift-T (Mac)
• Spot Removal is now Q, not N, freeing up N to go back to Survey mode, as per Library module
• I’m busy working on the updated shortcut sheets, which should be available in the next few days.  I’ve run out of time!

Other bits and pieces

• The breadcrumbs bar on the filmstrip now has a Favorite Sources option.
• The Select Catalog dialog has had a facelift.
• Library menu > Find Missing Photos creates a temporary collection of all missing photos instead of having to go through Synchronize Folder.
• Camera raw cache can now be increased to 200gb, from a previous limit of 50gb. That’s a great help for speed!
• Updated SDK with access to collections and keywords, as well as Publish Services.
• New Develop presets and templates for Web & Print.

System Spec Changes

• System specs have increased to a minimum of 2gb of RAM on Windows
• No more PPC for Mac, Intel processors only.
• No more Tiger – Leopard or Snow Leopard only.

Upgrading

Lightroom 3 can upgrade Lightroom 1, Lightroom 2 and Lightroom 3 Beta catalogs and also Photoshop Elements 6, 7 or 8 catalogs

My Lightroom 3 book has already had a great reception, and I’ve received loads of really positive emails, so thank you very much! I’ve had loads of really useful feedback on the rough cut, and made loads of adjustments accordingly, so I’m just finishing off the formatting and the final release should be available shortly.  In the meantime, you can pre-order from: http://www.lightroomqueen.com/lrqebook3.php I’ll get back to finishing the formatting now, while you go and play with the final release! Have fun!

A couple of weeks ago, Tom Hogarty, Lightroom Project Manager, gave a quick preview of the powerful new lens corrections tools that are promised for Lightroom 3′s final release.

You’ve been dying to play, ever since?

ACR 6.1 for  CS5 is now available on Adobe Labs as a release candidate, and will give you a sneak peak of the promised lens corrections that will appear in LR3.

It also brings CS5 support for a few new cameras.

• Canon EOS 550D (Digital Rebel T2i/ EOS Kiss X4 Digital)
• Kodak Z981
• Leaf Aptus-II 8 & 10R
• Mamiya DM40
• Olympus E-PL1 & E-600
• Panasonic G2 & G10
• Sony A450

Have fun!  http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Camera_Raw_6.1

For a start, there’s a difference between a demosaic and a process version – they’re entirely different concepts.

In basic terms, the demosaic is the initial translation of the raw data into an image, which applies to all of the photos regardless of your settings. Lightroom 2.6 and ACR 5.6 and earlier use the old demosaic.  LR 2.7, LR 3, ACR 5.7 and ACR 6.0 all use the new demosaic.  It’s such an integral part of the program that you can’t switch between demosaic versions, so if you’re using 2.7/5.7 or later, you’re going to be using the new demosaic.  That means even existing photos show more detail than 2.6, but they may also show a little more noise.

Further down the line are the processing algorithms, such as noise reduction and sharpening, which have changed so significantly this time that they now come in 2 different versions – 2003 and 2010.

• LR 2.7 just has the new demosaic and doesn’t understand process versions or the new LR3 features such as grain.  Those new LR3 settings will not be backwards compatible to LR2.
• ACR 5.7 for CS4 has the new demosaic, and it also understands PV2010 and the new features (grain, etc) in PV2003, for full compatibility with LR3 beta 2.  It doesn’t, however, have a UI to change those settings.
• ACR 6.0 for CS5 has the new demosaic, is fully compatible with LR3 beta 2, and it now has a UI to be able to adjust those settings using the ACR dialog if you wish to do so.  It is missing the new cameras which were added in 5.7, due to a difference in timing, but those will be added in 6.1.

If you want to test any of this for yourself, open a file into LR3 beta 2 and apply a heavy grain setting.  Save the metadata back to the file using Ctrl-S / Cmd-S and then open the file in LR 2.7 and ACR 5.7.  LR3 and ACR 5.7 will show the grain, but LR 2.7 won’t.

Clear as mud?

The full table of contents is available here, and if you find a question I haven’t covered, email me at victoria@victoriabampton.com and I’ll not only try to answer it for you, but I’ll also consider adding the question into the final release.

Everyone who has already pre-ordered should find a download link in their email inbox any time now, and if it doesn’t appear and it’s not hiding in SPAM, send me an email and I’ll get a new link sent out to you.

And if you haven’t pre-ordered, what are you waiting for?  If you pre-order today, you not only get the final release version when Lightroom 3 is released, but you also get early access to the rough cut PDF version today.  Here’s the shopping cart link.

If you bought one of the previous releases of the book and you’d like the new improved Lightroom 3 version, I’m working on setting up an “upgrade” discount code, so drop me an email and I’ll set that up for you.