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Adobe Lightroom 4 Gets Maps, Video, and Books at Half the Price

The best software for the serious digital photographer just got better - and now costs $149 instead of $299.

March 6, 2012

Adobe today announced the availability of its latest pro photo workflow software, Photoshop Lightroom 4, for Mac OS X and Windows.

The new version adds basic video editing and playing, integrated maps that support GPS data, new content-aware auto-fix, more localized adjustment brushes, and integrate book creation tools. Upgraders from any previous version will only pay $79.

"Feedback from our customers is invaluable in developing Lightroom and the real trick to a great release is to combine these insights with Adobe's unrivalled image processing innovation," said Winston Hendrickson, vice president of Digital Imaging Products for Adobe. "Lightroom 4 is a stunning new release that will enhance photography workflows and help photographs stand out from the crowd."

Lightroom 4 had undergone extensive public beta testing since January.

The new map feature can place photos on a full-window map within Lightroom, based on either embedded GPS data in a photo or by syncing with a GPS tracking device or smartphone app. The maps feature pop up mini-slideshow views of photos taken in a particular location.

Lightroom previously could import video files, but with version 4, it adds the ability to actually play and trim videos in common file formats, rather than requiring external player software. Perhaps most interestingly, it now lets you apply image adjustments for exposure, contrast, and more to video.

Adobe's photo workflow app has a re-engineered image processor, with finer control over shadow and highlight correction. The exposure adjustment sliders have been normalized to zero, for more consistent interaction. More local adjustments brushes are available in the new version, too, including white balance, noise, and moiré.

Integration with book design tools that work directly with Blurb, a leading custom photo book publisher, let users produce high-quality bound volumes on archival quality paper.

The new version can "soft-proof" photos, showing images as they will appear when printed on paper or posted online. Colors that the output device isn't capable of displaying are highlighted in this view, allowing the photo editor to make adjustments to the colors for a better output result.

Maybe the most welcome change of all is the new price. At $149, Lightroom 4 costs about half that of its predecessor. Upgraders from any previous version will only pay $79. It's available for download purchase from Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom subsite.

For a through evaluation of what's new, see PCMag's full Editors' Choice review of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.

For more from Michael, follow him on Twitter @mikemuch.