Light Crafts Releases LightZone 2.2.1
By
Mike Pasini, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - 09:53 EST)
Version 2.2 makes some major changes to the Zone System-based image editing software.
Light Craft has updated LightZone, its cross-platform image editing software based on the Zone System to version 2.2.1. The minor update fixes a bug that prevented saving or exporting images to disks other than the system/boot disk. But the 2.2 update adds a number of new features and fixes.
According to the release notes, those include:
New Mac OS X Requirement
• Java 1.5 Release 5 is now required. If you have not already updated to it, get it by selecting Software Update from the Apple menu.
New Features
• You can now rate your photos.
• Raw conversion has been improved.
• Orientation changes (and ratings) are now stored in sidecar XMP files for interoperability with other applications.
• In previous versions of LightZone, orientation information was stored in a LightZone database. To preserve the orientation of photos you've already rotated, the first time your browse a folder with LightZone 2.2, it will create a new sidecar XMP file for every photo in that folder that's been rotated using LightZone's browser. If the folder is read-only, no XMP files can be created so orientation information will be lost for photos in that folder.
• Printer settings are now saved with your work so you can easily reproduce prints.
• The user interface has a darker and all-gray appearance to reduce color distractions.
Camera Support
• Nikon D40 raw files are now supported.
Fixes
• All known printing problems have been fixed.
• Fixed a problem where rotating a photo would also rotate all saved versions derived from that photo.
• Fixed a compatibility problem between sidecar TIFF files created by LightZone and opening them in other applications.
• Fixed a crash with some display color profiles.
• Fixed artifacts with the noise reduction and Tone Mapper tools.
Other Changes
• Performance on computers having Intel (or compatible) processors has been improved.
• The way preview images are generated has changed. The first time you click on a thumbnail, it may take several seconds for the preview to appear.
• XMP metadata embedded inside JPEG files is now read.
• The browser menu previously available only via right/control click has been given its own menu in the menu bar.
• You can now edit a photo simply by clicking on its preview image.
• The behavior of the "eye" button that shows the before and after versions of your photo has changed: you now need to click and hold the button to see the before version.
• Support for PNG images has been removed.
Downloads
The latest version can be downloaded from the Light Crafts download page. The 13.5-MB Mac version and 26.7-MB Windows version are free updates for registered users.
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