News
News Categories

Adobe announces release of Lightroom CC, now available online (Updated)

By Marcus Wong - on 22 Apr 2015, 2:37pm

Adobe announces release of Lightroom CC, now available online (Updated)

Photography enthusiasts will probably be pleased to hear that the latest of version of Lightroom is now available, and you can still get it as a standalone program without having to opt into Creative Cloud.

Lightroom CC (or Lightroom 6 if you get the standalone version) now includes the ability to easily create HDR images, as well as including the Photomerge feature previously found in Photoshop CS. What is different though, is that Lightroom CC’s Photomerge automatically creates a new DNG file when running Photomerge, so all adjustments made can be reversed at anytime, thus keeping in line with the non-destructive editing philosophy of Lightroom. What’s also handy is that it can also do HDR blending meaning you can easily get HDR panoramas, by first running the HDR blend tool, and then moving to Photomerge.

Slideshows have also been improved, with the option to add manual control or extra music tracks. There’s also an option to let Lightroom automatically sync the timing of the images shown to the pace of the selected track, and you have more control over how Lightroom Pans and Zooms your images in the slideshow now, making for better transitions overall.

Enhanced facial recognition features now let you tag your friends and family members for easy sorting within the Lightroom catalogue, and there is also touch support for devices like the Surface Pro, so that will help with features that require the use of a brush. Lightroom CC now allows you to edit the masks used by the filters available in Lightroom’s Develop module, giving you even more control over the editing you’re applying to your images.

The new photomerge feature allows for HDR blending right in Lightroom.

There’s also an improved social sharing aspect to Lightroom now, with the ability to easily share collections online via Lightroom on the web. In essence, you can sign in to Lightroom on the web, upload the photo collection you wish to share, and then select the appropriate sharing option (selected users only, anyone with the link, etc) and outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Google+) to publish to. As with file-sharing services like DropBox, you’ll also get a link to your web gallery that you can share via email.

Of course, if you’re using about Lightroom CC then you’ll also be able to edit images in your library via the Cloud, using iOS and now Android devices. iPad and iPhone users will now also be able to copy adjustments from one photo to paste on another, allowing you to speed up the time used for processing.

The mobile versions of LR CC make it a perfect complement to Adobe's Creative Cloud offerings.

Adobe Lightroom CC is available as part of the Creative Cloud Photography suite from S$13/month, as a DVD box set from stores like B&H, and as a standalone download for US$149 from the Adobe US site. (The Adobe SEA site is still showing Lightroom 5.0).

Source: Adobe, B&H

*Update: The links on the Adobe SEA site have now been fixed and will point to the Lightroom CC page. 

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.