Has anyone tried Lightroom beta3 for Windows from AdobeLabs?

I enjoy digital photography as a hobby & especially enjoy the benefits of using RAW captures. Earlier this week, Adobe released Lightroom Beta3 for Windows. The Mac version (beta2) had been available for quite awhile and the vast Windows public were anxiously awaiting the Windows version... well, it's finally out!

I've installed on my WinXP32pro system and it operates fine, although it does seem to be a resource hog, but many have complained about that already. I was curious if the program would perform any better on a 64bit system, so I installed it on my Vista64 beta2 system. I have Vista installed on a separate HD than my XP and use the BIOS to choose which drive to boot from.

I can say that Lightroom (a 32bit app)installs and performs on Vista64 just as well as it does on XP, withone exception. In the preference dialogue, some of the drop-down choices will not drop down and are unable to select anything else. This problem (at least a problem on MY pc) will exist in some areas of the Print dialogue box, as well.

This is a great opportunity to try a very powerful digital image enhancement application for FREE! The beta will expire January 30, 2007. The final retail price is unknown at this time.

No, I am not employed by Adobe but I do admire the products that software giants Adobe and Microsoft release. I am very excited about Vista and have changed my mind about sticking with XP, which I love.

Any comments are welcome!

 

Is this like an adobe photoshop?

 

No it isn't like Photoshop, butit integrates well with PS if one wishes to "enhance" an image with masks, layers, sharpening, etc. LR is intended for quick processing of several files withina shoot. The RAW plugin is different than the one in PS and , personally, I prefer it. If one is accustom to using curves, then LR wouldn't benefit the user but if one isn't a curves master, like me, then LR is wonderful!

I see great potential for this application for those that enjoy inproving digital captures. One is able to reduce harsh shadows, enhance highlights, change color temperature and much more. It takes awhile to get used to the interface, but once you do it's a cake walk.

As I stated previously, I don't know what Adobe will charge for this app, but for now it's FREE! Give it a try and let me know if you have the same difficulties I had within VISTA.