If you kept Lightroom 1.4 (hoping for a new update from Adobe) and converted files to DNG you’ll need to run that process again. DNG files created under v1.4 can’t be read using LR 1.4.1 due to an error in the processing. Do a search by date for DNG files to identify those you need to redo.

Lightroom users also need to pay attention to the instructions on the download page. Adobe suggests doing a backup of your catalog prior to the update. They have further instructions on what to do if the backup fails the Integrity check. (Fortunately, all my catalogs went fine)

You can get Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera RAW 4.4.1 from Adobes Updates Download website. Mac and Windows versions are there.

Another round in the game of camera hardware and software Leap Frog. Since a few new cameras have been introduced it’s time for Adobe to push out some updates.

Camera Raw has been bumped to version 4.4 and Lightroom steps to version 1.4. Happy news for certain camera owners and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard users.

Here’s the skinny -

Added support for RAW files for some of the new cameras. Specifically, the Canon XSi/450D, Fuji S100FS, Nikon D60, Olympus SP-570, Pentax K20D and K200D, and the Sony A200, A300 and A350.

There was also a problem with legacy print drivers under Mac OS X that’s been fixed. The last item corrected had to do with Greyscale conversions. Seems that Color Noise was set to Zero and some B&W conversions looked like Tri-X pushed to 3200! (Or something close to that) Color Noise is back on during B&W conversions.

Dash on over to Adobes Updates Download section to grab these.

To make your life easier in Lightroom, you need to make use of the numerous shortcut keys. You can find a list of shortcut keys off the Help menu from any module. Or just hit CTRL+/ (Cmd+/ for Mac) to popup the list.

The ones I use the most are:

• G - jumps right back to the Grid in the Library
• D - Jumps to the Develop module
• R - jumps to Develop and the Crop tool
• L - Lights out darkens all but the image. Useful when sorting or using the Crop tool.
• F5 and F6 - Show/hide the top toolbar or the Filmstrip at the bottom
• F7 and F8 - Show/hide the left or right tool panels
• Tab - Show/hide all toolbars and panels
• X - Flag for deletion. Then filter for Delete flag, select all and Delete.
• 1-9 - 1-5 Set Star rating, and 6-9 set Color ratings. Zero sets star rating to none
• Y - In Develop module show Before and After.

Depending on how you use Lightroom, you’ll have your own personal favorites. I would encourage you to look up all that are available, since you’ll likely find some you didn’t know about.

Nikon has updated ViewNX to v1.0.3 and added a number of enhancements. The most important items are an error with IPTC info added from other apps causing ViewNX to crash, and an automatic correction of vignetting with D3 RAW files shot with the 80-200 or 70-200. Grab the Windows version here and the Mac version here.

They also put out a 30 day trial version of Camera Control Pro 2 for Nikon shooters. The software allows you to connect your DSLR via a USB port (or wireless on certain cameras with the WT transmitter added) to your computer and shoot pictures. You can change camera settings via the software and automatically have images download to a folder on the computer. Pretty cool stuff.

Version 1 users can get a reduced price on upgrading. Functions for the D300 and D3 have been added, along with some enhancements and direct connections into ViewNX and Capture NX.

Visit Nikons tech support website and grab Camera Control Pro here.

Adobes latest updates are for Camera Raw and Lightroom. Seems the 4.3 update from a few weeks ago had a few bugs with Nikon D100 compressed RAW files and with Mac OS X 10.5. They are fixed in Camera Raw 4.3.1 and in Lightroom 1.3.1.

Visit Adobe’s Download Updates page to find the appropriate versions for your system. Mac users of Lightroom most likely got an Update warning already. Such a smart operating system!

One of my favorite photo magazines is Rangefinder Magazine. Throughout the year I get inspired by the beautiful work I see in each issue. You’ll learn a lot from Rangefinder also.

Each issue has a theme: The Editorial Issue, The Commercial Issue, The Wedding Issue, the Fine Art Issue. Articles by, and interviews of, photographers from each specialty are intermixed with news on photo gear and software. Not only can you learn new shooting techniques, but you can also get all the info on the equipment and software needed to do it.

You can subscribe to Rangefinder here.

After Capture magazine was started about a year ago and is the sister publication of Rangefinder. As the title implies, the focus of this publication is on what you do with your image files after they’re downloaded.

Photo editing software, computer systems, hard drive systems, and printing and presentation products are the types of things you’ll find here.

The focus (pun intended) of After Capture is on processing of RAW files. Techniques for maximizing your image data are in every issue. Tips for Lightroom, Photoshop, Aperture and other RAW software tools will have you mastering these programs in no time.

Go subscribe to After Capture here.

Both websites have various articles in PDF format for you to download.

Lightroom users will benefit from the update as there are a few enhancements. Automatic XMP writing performance has been improved, Importing can now build 1:1 previews, the Export dialog layout is improved, and Lightroom supports Canon sRAW and Fuji compressed RAF files. Grab the Readme file off the download page for full details.

The updates incorporate support for the MAC OS X 10.5 Leopard and add support for the following new cameras:

• Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III
• Canon PowerShot G9
• Nikon D3
• Nikon D300
• Olympus E-3
• Olympus SP-560 UZ
• Panasonic DMC-L10

The Camera Raw update is for users of Photoshop CS2/3, Elements 4, 5 and 6 and Premier Elements 3.

If you’ve recently purchased one of the cameras above (or are waiting impatiently for your D300 to arrive at the end of this month) go grab the update now.

You’ve seen me reference the Lightroom Killer Tips website a number of times. Starting in October of this year they’ve added a new feature - Monday Presets. Every week Matt Kloskowski is posting a group of presets for either the Develop or Print modules.
You can go find all of them here.

Another place to find presets is the Inside Lightrom website. They have a growing collection of user uploaded presets and the Inside Lightroom Develop Presets v3.0 pdf you can grab for free. This document will put you on the path of creating your own presets. Perhaps you could share your best creations at Inside Lightroom.

I’ve talked about it before, but if you want an all encompassing collection of Develop presets go get the PhotoPresets with One-Click WOW! from OnOneSoftware. Check out the video on that page too for details on how to use these presets. Essentially, there are a number of presets for color temp, contrast, saturation, sharpening etc. Just go down the list and apply as needed. By the time you get to the bottom of the list your image is perfect (theoretically).

Use presets in Lightroom and unlock one of the most time saving functions of this great software.

He starts by pushing the Exposure up a stop or more. Set the Recovery and Fill Light to 100, Blacks to about 50 and Saturation to -70. Clarity and Vibrance also get pumped to 100. (I know, this sounds totally whacked out!)

All of this will create some noise, which you can leave alone if you like. You can get rid of some of it with a Luminance setting of 25 and Color setting of 50. Reduce your Sharpening and Detail a bit too.

The final bit is to add a vignette around the corners. Start with your Lens Vignette at -50, then adjust to your liking. You’ll also want to revisit your Exposure and Blacks settings to bring back some snap. Now save this as a Preset so you can use it again.

Buildings, flowers, or any image without a lot of fine detail work best. Try some crazy corrections during your next editing session in Lightroom. You never know what you’ll get.

Lightroom comes with a few standard Keyword sets and you can edit them, add new ones or delete them if they don’t apply to your type of photography. Each Keyword set allows 9 keywords in it. To add any keyword you can click on the word or use ALT-1 thru ALT-9. From the menu select Photo - Set Keyword to see which is which or just hold the ALT key for a bit and the numbers will appear next to the keyword.

If you do a lot of nature or landscape photography you could have sets like Flowers, Landscapes, Insects, Animals and so on. In each set you’d include keywords specific to those subjects. The Flowers group could include Rose, Hibiscus, Columbine, Cactus, Sunflower, Orchid etc. You see where I’m going.

Sit down and think through how you want to use the Keyword sets. Start with looking at your current Keyword Tags (left side of Library) and edit and revise from there. Have fun.

Lightroom has a Snapshot function too and you should be using it. It’s a quick and easy way to save all your corrections, cropping etc. so you can easily go back to that point. Since you can have multiple Snapshots, you could save 2 or 3 of them as you proceed in adjusting your image.

You could have saved Snapshots like ‘Basic Color Correction‘ and then ‘Noise and Sharpening‘ and then ‘Complete-8×10crop‘. Using Snapshots for cropped images is one thing I find useful. If you routinely print 8×10 and other sizes from the same image, go ahead and save Snapshots of each crop. It will save you time in the long run.

Another time to use Snapshots is for saving a B&W conversion of your image. Instead of using Virtual Copy or duplicating the file just save a B&W Snapshot.

If you later decide to make a few tweaks to your image, you can update a Snapshot with the current settings. Just right-click and select Update with Current Settings. Simple.