Light Crafts Launches LightZone 3.0
As you probably know by now, LightZone has replaced Nikon Capture NX in my digital workflow since the V2.0. LightZone simply being better than NX… Also, LightZone offers way more updates and better technical support than Nikon does. That’s why I am really excited by this V3.0!
With the V3.0, LightCrafts offers a new approach for a new digital photography market, which applies to all dSLR photographers.
Advanced photo editing is made even simpler than before with LightZone’s new, built-in intelligent styles. With LightZone, photographers can quickly convey what they saw, or what they want to evoke, often with a single click.
In short, here is what’s new in LightZone 3.0 :
User Interface
- Brand new, revamped interface
- LightZone now has distinct browse and edit modes.
- There is now context-sensitive help throughout LightZone.
Photo Browser
- Related photos can now be stacked.
- You can now move photos via drag & drop to folders in the Folder Navigator.
- You can now select only the most recent versions of your photos in a given folder.
- You can now edit IPTC metadata (VERYgood update)
Photo Editor
- LightZone now comes bundled with many ready-made Styles.
- The Relight tool (an improved ToneMapper tool) has new Depth and Fuzz sliders.
- There is now a History tab that shows you all the edits you have make to your photo since opening it for the current editing session.
- The Raw Adjustments tool has a new As Shot button.
- LightZone no longer uses LZN files and now always saves your work as either JPEG or TIFF files for maximum interoperability with other applications.
- All operations are performed in a 16-bit dynamic range for maximum editing flexibility.
- Unlimited layers, edit instructions are stored as non destructive operational layers (rather than pixel layers).
Camera Support
- Canon EOS 1D Mark III raw files are now supported
- EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D
- Nikon D40
Another thing I really like about LightZone is its interaction with Photoshop Lightroom. Instead of launching Photoshop CS or NX to edit my RAW files, I can use LightZone and seamlessly switch from one application to the other!
I’ll get back on this V3.0 with some serious testing to illustrate what has really improved. So stay tuned!
In the meantime, you can check the press release here for more info.
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Sounds pretty interesting, might be worth having a look at though I am pretty dedicated to Aperture now and finding that it really does the job for me….still, it never hurts to checkout other avenues, specially if it runs faster on my MacBook Pro..
Capture NX excels Lightzone in every way. As a raw converter for Nikon’s NEF format - there is no equal. Granted, Lightzone has a couple of interesting tools, but it is certainly not on equal footing with Capture NX. As a professional printer who converts and color corrects over 40 thousand prints a month - I think I might know a thing or two about raw conversion, proper colour, shadow/highlight detail and so forth.
I would like to suggest that the author invest a little more time learning to use tools such as Capture NX before making blanket statements about a products value or usefulness. This type of ill-informed journalism hints at both amateurism and patronage.
I have used Lightzone since it was in early beta version 1. I do not consider it to be a finished product even at version 3 (hence the frequent updates). As for customer service - Lightcrafts is a very small company with even smaller resources. Thus, they cannot afford to alienate their customers. Nikon, on the other hand, does in fact have a relatively good customer service record given their size and complexity.