Those folks at Adobe are full of new stuff. And this is another one that’s free (for a test drive, anyway).
[photopress:51BSa3UbCmL._SL500_AA280_.jpg,full,alignright]
SAN JOSE, Calif. – April 2, 2008 – Adobe Systems Incorporated
(Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta, a
public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the
next major release. Lightroom is the professional photographer’s
essential toolbox, providing one application for managing, adjusting,
and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. Lightroom 2.0 beta
will feature enhancements such as dual-monitor support, localized dodge
and burn correction and will be the first Adobe application to support
64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Microsoft Vista 64-bit operating
systems.

“Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta provides early access to requested
improvements over version 1.3 and continues our ongoing dialogue and
open communication with the photography community,” said Tom Hogarty,
senior product manager for Photoshop Lightroom and Camera Raw. “We’re
excited not only for our existing customers, but also for the general
public who will have an opportunity to take Lightroom 2.0 beta on a test
run.”

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta is available as a 30-day trial for
free download on Macintosh and Windows platforms at
this link. Existing Lightroom 1.0 customers
will be able to test the beta for an extended period until Aug. 31, 2008
and can invite friends to take part in this trial period.

I am so in. All of the things weve been asking for. Especially dig the 2 monitor upgrade.
As soon as we take it on a test run, we’ll report back with some real world results. Spinning thorugh it, it is promising to get a bit closer to Photoshop than before, with ability to do localized corrections on your images.
Perfect timing: shooting a magazine layout tomorrow with a fast turnaround (is there any other kind these days?) Great way to test it out.