Along with the release of Photoshop CS6 today, Adobe Camera Raw 7.1 release candidate is also available to download from Adobe Labs.

Camera Raw 7.1 adds support for the following cameras:

• Canon EOS 1D X
• Canon EOS 5D Mark III
• Canon EOS 60Da
• Canon PowerShot G1 X
• Fuji FinePix F505EXR
• Fuji FinePix F605EXR
• Fuji FinePix F770EXR
• Fuji FinePix F775EXR
• Fuji FinePix HS30EXR
• Fuji FinePix HS33EXR
• Nikon D4
• Nikon D800
• Nikon D800E
• Olympus OM-D E-M5
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5
• Pentax K-01
• RICOH LENS A16 24-85mm F3.5-5.5
• Samsung NX20
• Samsung NX210
• Samsung NX1000
• Sony Alpha NEX-VG20
• Sony SLT-A57

Additionally, Camera Raw 7.1 has added new features and fixed several issues:

• ACR 7.1 adds new Defringe controls to help address chromatic aberration. Defringe is available as part of the Lens Correction panel.
• Camera Raw can also now read 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit HDR files. Supported HDR formats are TIFF and DNG.
• Keyboard shortcuts for the point curve channel on Windows were not functional.
• Local corrections are not refreshing after applying lens corrections. This occurs on both TIFF and JPEG files with noise reduction disabled.
• Point curve adjustments made to a single R,G, or B channels in the Tone Curve tab can be reset a channel curve is adjusted.
• Photoshop CS5 and Bridge show different values for the image resolution in certain images. Photoshop and Bridge are not changing the image resolution, but displaying different values.
• Applying keywords to multiple files can sometimes cause errors when writing the keyword metadata to file. This can occur when the “Save Image Settings in” preference within Camera Raw is set to the Camera Raw database.

Finally, here are some new lens profile supports:

• Canon EF 35mm f/2 (Canon)
• Tokina AT-X 107 AF DX Fish-Eye 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 (Canon)
• Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D (Nikon)
• Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED (Nikon)
• Tokina AT-X 107 AF DX Fish-Eye 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 (Nikon)

Also, if you purchase Lightroom 4 at the same time, it is only $99!


As we have mentioned in our previous post on the Photoshop CS6 Beta download, Photoshop CS6 brings several key changes and improvements:

• New dark skin interface similar to Lightroom 4, which I like because it freshens up the look without drastically changing the interface too much
• More GPU-optimized performance for a snappier experience, particularly with tools such as Liquify
• Content-Aware move that is one of Adobe’s black magic tricks
• ACR7, which brings the RAW processing of Lightroom 4 into Photoshop CS6. I like the way LR4 renders RAW more than LR3, so I’m happy for this
• And the best feature, the Auto-Save feature that saves your work periodically and Background Save that allows you to continue working while Photoshop is saving your file

Stay Creative!

Good news Photoshop fans! Adobe has just announced that Photoshop CS6 and the rest of the Creative Suite CS6 is going to be shipping within the next 30 days. Photoshop CS6 is US$699 for a new license, or US$199 to upgrade from Photoshop CS3 or later, while Photoshop CS6 Extended is US$999, or US$399 to upgrade. Just like CS5, the major difference in the standard Photoshop and the Extended edition will be the 3D tools in the latter.

As we have mentioned in our previous post on the Photoshop CS6 Beta download, Photoshop CS6 brings several key changes and improvements:

• New dark skin interface similar to Lightroom 4, which I like because it freshens up the look without drastically changing the interface too much
• More GPU-optimized performance for a snappier experience, particularly with tools such as Liquify
• Content-Aware move that is one of Adobe’s black magic tricks
• ACR7, which brings the RAW processing of Lightroom 4 into Photoshop CS6. I like the way LR4 renders RAW more than LR3, so I’m happy for this
• And the best feature, the Auto-Save feature that saves your work periodically and Background Save that allows you to continue working while Photoshop is saving your file

The Creative Suite CS6 programs includes the popular software Illustrator CS6, Premiere Pro CS6, and After Effects CS6, as well as some new programs like SpeedGrade CS6 which is the “is the in-suite solution for applying lookup tables (LUTs), balancing gamma and more. For any footage, you can use intuitive tools to draw and apply masks to specific objects and areas within a frame. The software works with traditional video, RAW footage, HDR footage and stereoscopic 3D clips, in formats that include DPX, Alexa, RED, QuickTime, Targa, TIFF, Phantom, Weisscam and OpenEXR.”

Be sure to check out B&H’s extensive look at Photoshop CS6 and the Creative Suite CS6 in their post here.


You can also pre-order the different CS6 programs or the entire Creative Suite at B&H in this link.

Stay Creative!

Check out Adobe’s CS6  Beta Test Download HERE.

Click HERE to learn more about the new features in CS6…

DPReview.com has an even more in-depth overview of the latest features, HERE.

The most notable changes are:

• New interface, very Lightroom/Bridge-esque and sleek looking.  …Yay?

• New graphics enhancements for increased performance.  …Basically, certain tools go faster.  All I care about personally are the few actions I use.  Everything else already seems to be pretty darn instantaneous in Photoshop CS5, on my computer at least…

• Content-Aware Patch.  …Basically, just the next generation of cloning.  Cloning is already pretty easy in CS5, but now instead of “erasing” a single object, …now you can just move it around?  This is hard to explain, but I don’t think it is going to be useful very often.  Cloning is already quite easy in Photoshop CS5.   When I can clone things just by looking at them, THEN I’ll get excited…  ;-)

• ACR 7 – essentially the same RAW processing tools as Lightroom 4.  (Available by opening RAW / JPG files in Bridge CS6 Beta, or by opening a RAW file in Photoshop CS6 Beta) This is certainly a whole different subject for discussion another time, but basically I am a huge fan of Adobe Bridge as an alternative to Lightroom.  For any photographer who shoots a low volume of images, and simply is not ready or interested in undertaking the huge learning curve of a catalog system such as Lightroom, Bridge gives you all the same editing power but without requiring any importing / cataloging.  Just browse your folders the same as you would in Explorer / Finder, and edit.

Yeah, yeah , …okay, none of these features are probably worth the $600 that Adobe will likely charge.are you ready for something AWESOME?  Here it comes:   

• AUTO-SAVE Functionality.  Um, hello Adobe.  Party like it’s 2003?  What a LONG-OVERDUE feature!!!!  This feature has been available in other programs since before digital cameras had surpassed even ~3 megapixels, and now we’re up to 20-30 megapixels.  Thank you for this much-needed feature, Adobe..

Last but not least, a couple benchmark tests and notes on general speed:

• At fresh-open idle, Photoshop CS5 consumes 99 MB of RAM (less than the average Google Chrome window) and ~200 MB with a 12-megapixel RAW NEF image open.  Photoshop CS6 Beta consumes 101 MB of RAM at idle, and ~290 MB with a 12-megapixel RAW NEF image open.  (So both consume almost nothing compared to the 1-3 GB of RAM that Lightroom 3-4 gobbles up!)  I can’t quantify it because it’s already so quick, but it seems as if Photoshop CS6 is able to open / save images faster.  Often I’m going from Lightroom to Photoshop just so that I can play a single action, and then quickly back into Lightroom.  So now with Photoshop CS6 and button mode enabled for actions, sometimes I don’t leave Lightroom for more than NINE seconds!  (For you nerds out there, that would be CTRL-E, Enter, Click action, CTRL-S, CTRL-W, Alt-Tab.  Done.)

The question is, …is it going to be worth it, when the final version is released for sale?  Usually Adobe Photoshop can cost $600 for a full version, without any student discount etc.  An upgrade can cost $180 usually, which is still quite a lot especially considering that Adobe Lightroom 4 is “only” $150 for the full version and $80 for the upgrade.  So quite honestly, my initial recommendation  is going to be the same as always-  If you already have CS4 or CS5, and if you don’t use Bridge very much, then you can skip this version.

And you know what?  Often times, even official Adobe spokespeople acknowledge that most buyers will “skip a version” and only buy every-other upgrade.  Well, this sounds like it’s leaning in that direction.

Bridge CS6 doesn’t seem to have a full-screen version like Lightroom and Photoshop have, at least not until you enter the ACR window.  Also, Bridge CS6 still seems to freeze from time to time, just like Bridge CS5 does, and seems slightly less responsive than Lightroom 3 or 4.

Lastly, Bridge / ACR does not seem to have gained the “hover-to-adjust” capability that Lightroom’s develop module has, where you can adjust settings simply by hovering your mouse over them and then hitting the up/down arrows on your keyboard.  (Which I have found to be a MINIMUM REQUIREMENT for editing at the speed that our studio needs…)

So, while I’m sure many will be excited to try out this new version of Photoshop, and some will find the new specialized tools very useful or even essential; this is once again something that the average hobbyist or pro will not ABSOLUTELY need to have.

If you have $180 laying around, let alone $600, and you want to improve your photo editing experience; my preliminary recommendation is to just buy Lightroom 4.0 especially if you already have Photoshop CS5
or even CS4, and then if you’re STILL itching for something to do, maybe buy an SSD, or a new graphics card, or something.  That’ll give you a LOT more mileage for your $$.  ;-)

Of course we’ll have a more in-depth review to publish once the final version is released, but until then, enjoy toying around!  I can at least promise you that if you have a decently fast machine, Photoshop CS6 Beta won’t bog down and crash all the time, like the un-usable betas of yesteryear.  (Anybody remember the Lightroom 1.0 Beta? Ouch!)

Take care,
=Matt=

Related Products:

For those of you that have already purchased and are enjoying the SLR Lounge Vintage Action Pack, we will be constantly releasing new Mixologies for you all to enjoy! Each new Mixology Action takes only 30 seconds and a few clicks to create and gives you a completely new look and action that you can add to your Photoshop Action Repertoire.

This week are displaying the “Carmel Popcorn” Mixology. It gives you a very warm and poppy look. Check it out!

MIXOLOGY
Carmel Popcorn — From the top layer to bottom
Contrast Boost @ 100%
Saturate @ 25%
Warmer @ 60%
Brighten @ 30%
Desaturated Cross + Neutral Punch @ 50%
Cross Process @ 50%
Desaturate @75%
Punch @ 80%
Apricot + Neutral Punch @ 50%
Reverse Saturation @ 100%
Apricot Punch @ 80%

For those of you that would like to watch the video tutorial on how we create this Mixology as well as turn it into a new Photoshop Action, click the video below: