This morning, Adobe announced the latest updates to Lightroom Classic as well as the cloud-based Lightroom ecosystem. Included is additional export options for Lightroom Classic, batch merge for HDR, Panorama and HDR Panorama in Lightroom Classic as well as a handful of organizational enhancements for the Lightroom ecosystem.
Lightroom Classic updates
GPU accelerated editing
Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw have been updated to take advantage of more powerful graphic cards while editing. This should provide a smoother and more responsive experience. GPU acceleration is more pronounced with larger resolution monitors (4k and above) as well as with more powerful GPUs.
PNG export
Adding to the already extensive export options, the August update adds the ability to export images as PNG files — a popular uncompressed file format often used on the web.
Library speed enhancements
Significant improvements have been made to the speed and performance of the Library module while browsing folders.
Color label support for collections
After being brought to folders last year, color labels may now be added to collections, collection sets and smart collections.
Batch merge for HDR and panorama images
You can now batch process HDR and panorama images. To do so, first make a stack of each HDR or panorama that you want to merge. Then, select each stack you want to merge and select the appropriate option from the Photo > Photo Merge menu.
Lightroom updates
The following updates are for Adobe’s Lightroom cloud-based ecosystem.
Recover deleted photos
A new Deleted folder has been added to all Lightroom apps, making it possible to recover photos that were accidentally deleted. Photos are made available for up to 60 days. Free accounts can recover photos on the device which they were deleted, while Creative Cloud subscribers can recover deleted photos on any device connected to your account.
Available for Lightroom for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, ChromeOS and lightroom.adobe.com.
Create presets from Discover posts
After being introduced in May 2019, you can now turn your Discover post edits into a preset, making it easily to apply adjustments to any of your photos. To do so, tap to open a Discover post and then tap on the three-dot menu at the top right and select Download as Preset. It will then automatically appear within your preset library, named after the Discover post.
Available for Lightroom for iOS, Android and ChromeOS.
Improved search options
Three new auto-complete search tools have been added, making it easier than ever to find the photo you’re looking for. You can now search for photos shot with a specific focal length, for RAW, HDR or panorama photo types, as well as for images that include a depth map. To use, start typing “focal length:,” “type:,” or “depth map:” and the search auto-complete will let you select from available options in your catalog.
Available for Lightroom for iOS, Android and ChromeOS. Previously added to Lightroom for Mac and Windows.
Batch metadata
You can now select a range of photos and adjust the metadata of all the selected photos. You can change the title, caption, copyright, star rating and flag status for all selected photos at once.
Available for Lightroom for Android and ChromeOS. A future update will bring this to iOS.
