Adobe have updated Lightroom to version 2.5.

Mainly new camera model updates plus a few bug fixes.

• Lightroom 2.4 on Windows continued to display the import dialog when a memory card was detected regardless of the preference setting “Show import dialog when a memory card is detected.”
• Lightroom 2.5 includes a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Bayer sensor cameras with unequal green response.

Get your copy

If you want the sliders in Lightrooms Develop Module to be more sensitive there is a really simple trick.

Move your mouse cursor over the left hand edge of the Develop Module panel until the cursor changes into a horizontal double arrow. Now drag the mouse to the left which will increase the width of the whole Develop Panel.

You will now have much greater control when adjusting the sliders. Just how effective this is, depends on your screen size, but it works well during fine edits.

One of the easiest ways to move quickly around an examine an image in Lightroom is to use the Navigator panel. Expand the size of the Navigator to it’s maximum and choose the 1:1 magnification from the right-hand top side of the Navigator.

Now position your cursor anywhere in the white square and drag the square over the Navigator thumbnail. As you do so you will quickly view the main image in 1:1 mode.

This is a very quick way to check your image for dust spots, focusing errors and other image problems.

Let me know if you have other better ways to do this …

As of Lightroom 2 you can access all of your collections from within the Slideshow, Print and Web modules. It is easy to forget this if you have worked with Lightroom for sometime as I have.

It is then really useful in the Web module to just click on one of your collections and select and view them all quickly.

What you may not know is that the Web Module remembers the Gallery choice that you made for that collection if you had displayed it previously. The same is true for Slideshow and the Print collections in that the collection selected will have retained the specific settings for that collection.

I hope this helps …

More tips from the Lightroom Tips Library

It is worth noting that when you use the Sharpening or Noise reduction sliders in Lightroom you will only see the effect at 1:1 magnification.

I already knew this for Sharpening but I have sometimes used the Noise reduction slider at less than 1:1 and had seen no effect. Well, now I know that I need to use it at 1:1.

I found myself using other noise reduction tools outside of Lightroom as I thought that the Lightroom Noise reduction was not working well. Now I use the Lightroom Noise tool as it is quite powerful when you want a quick result.

Lightroom version 2.4 is now available for download at:

Seems to be just bug fixes plus new camera support.

This week I was asked the question by a Lightroom user …

How can you set up the Lightrooms Slideshow to display a different text overlay  comment for each slide?

This can be tricky as if you just use the Custom Text field at the bottom of the Slideshow Module you will get the same text appearing on every slide.

Here is how to do it …

1. In the Slideshow Module click on the ABC button to bring up the text field. It will open up with a default label of Custom Text
2. Click and hold the text label and scroll down and select Edit..
   
   
3. A text template editor dialogue opens. I use an EXIF data field to put in my text comments for each slide.
   
4. I use the EXIF field “Label” which should be empty for your images. Select Label in the first drop down under EXIF Data and click the Done button.
5. You have to return to the Library module and type in your EXIF Label for each image you want to use in the slideshow.
6. Then when you play the slideshow you should see the different text for each slide.

A bit long winded, and I would not do this often, but it can be done.

When using the Local Adjustment Brush in Lightrooms Develop Module it is worth noting that in addition to the two brush presets –  A and B –  you can also select the Erase brush.

I have used the Local Adjustment tool many times and have always deleted corrections that have been incorrectly applied. Using the Erase brush allows you to quickly remove or tidy up the edges of your correction.

This is similar to how you would work in Photoshop using a mask but much easier and all within Lightroom.

Did you know that Star Ratings apply globally in Lightroom. This means that if you rate an image as 4 stars it will keep its rating in Grid view, each Modules Filmstrip and in any Collection that the image appears in.

By contrast if you Flag an image as a Pick it will only keep the Pick Flag for that view. So you can Flag an image in a collection and have the flag be specific to that collection alone.

This is useful when you want to create a collection and work with Pick Flags without having the Picks show up in the main catalog – or in other collections. An image can be flagged as a Pick in one collection but not in another.

Colors work the same way as Star Ratings i.e. they will keep the color globally across Lightroom.

When you are in the Library Module you often want to change the size of the displayed thumbnails in Grid view.
My normal way of doing this is to use the thumbnail slider on the right of the toolbar. This works OK – provided you have the toolbar displayed (press T) and if you have activated the slider tool.

A much quicker way is to use the plus and minus keys to increase or decrease the thumbnail thumbnail size. This works when the Toolbar is hidden giving you more viewing area. A quick press of the plus or minus key and the size changes.

Worth remembering this one!