The digital photography software market is probably going to get a whole lot more interesting over the next few months. That's because Adobe is releasing their Photoshop Lightroom software from its beta-testing cage and launching version 1.0. And it's out today. In case you've been living under a rock or still use that film stuff, Lightroom is Adobe's answer to Apple's much-touted and oft-maligned Aperture editing software. As such, the target market for both pieces of software is the same (reasonably advanced digital photographers), so there could be quite the sales war.Speaking of selling, Lightroom will run you $199 ($100 less than Aperture) until April 30, 2007, when the price goes up to $299. So if you're planning on buying, now's the time.
For those of you who have been using various beta versions, you'll need to pony up or find some other software by February 28, when the time is up for the beta versions.Adobe Camera Raw got an update today as well, to version 3.7.
The Nikon D40 and Pentax K10D cameras are now officially supported, but the big change is that version 3.7 of the (free) plugin is that it's required for Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Premier Elements to be compatible with Lightroom features (exporting, etc.), since Lightroom and Camera Raw use the same processing technology.
If you haven't heard much about Lightroom, or are still on the fence, be sure to check out Ars Technica writer Dave Girard's massive Lightroom review, coming later today. Happy editing!
