Since compact system camera technology is relatively new in the market, enhancements on both software and hardware front are constantly being made with the passage of time. Recently, Adobe released the updated version of Lightroom version 4.1 and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 7.1 with several features that added support for compact system cameras, unlike before. The updated versions support several of the new DSLR and compact system cameras such as the Nikon D800 and D3200, the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, the Sony NEX-F3, Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the Leica M Monochrom. An interesting name in the list of the supported cameras happens to be Canon EOS-1D X, which has not even been released yet. Since the name has been included in the list, it is possible that the launch of this camera is just around the corner.
The new update of Lightroom 4.1 can now handle the HDR TFF images even in 32 bit format, something that was before missing and was highly demanded. Besides, adding this functionality is certainly a great option since the HDR TFF images are usually very large files. According to the official announcement by Adobe, the ability to process HDR TFF files is particularly useful when users have merged multiple exposures into a single 32-bit image. The overall balance across the tonal range is made possible with the help of the new basic panel controls.
The ability to correct the chromic aberrations has also been considerably improved in the latest version and consumers are now also be able to save photobook JPEGs from the Lightroom Book module. An addition of a new plug-in has also been made using which users can publish images directly to Adobe’s new Revel mobile app. Finally, some minor bugs present in the earlier version have also been fixed. For example, the edit-in functionality for external applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Nik plugins has been restored. The overall user interface has also been improved with the subfolders and stacks in folders with a large number of photos. Other than that, the ability to update DNG previews and metadata for more than 100 photos has also been restored
There are still some issues in this version which might perplex a small number of users and it would be great if Adobe could fix them in some future update. For example, double byte fonts that are usually found in Chinese and Japanese characters are not exported to PDF or when published to Blurb. Besides, photos are deleted from the carousel by the Revel Publish Service. This continues to happen even if the user cancels the option after mistakenly asking to delete the carousel.
Other than the new DSLR and compact system cameras, support for various new lenses has also been added. These lenses include the Canon EF 35 mm F2, Sigma APO 5-150 mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM, Tokina AT-X 107 AF DX Fish-Eye 10-17 mm F3.5-4.5 and Tokina AT-X PRO FX 17-135 mm F4.
Updates for Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe DNG converter have also been released. These updates can be downloaded form the website of Adobe and are available for both Windows and Mac.
