Why you should upgrade to Adobe Lightroom 5? :
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The Spot Removal brush - which is really an advanced healing brush - has been greatly improved and works more like the content aware healing brush in Photoshop. You can paint over the entire defect in a continuous motion and then even adjust the correction source. Terrific! On the bottom of the picture, you can check visualize spots: then adjust the size to help locate spots by edge detection on smooth surfaces, the sky, dust on tables, etc. Very helpful. See example below.
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The Graduated Filter has always been one of my favorite additions to Lightroom. Now there is an additional Radial Filter, that gives more control to global and localized adjustments such as off center vignettes and adding highlights, which is an improvement over the Adjustment Brush tool. See below.
Candle snuffed
Candle snuffed edited
Visualize spot tool
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Perspective can now be fixed with vertical correction and also level to correct the horizon easily with the new Upright Tool. In the Lens Correction module>Basic - check Enable Profile Corrections (don’t check remove chromatic aberration) and check auto, level, vertical or full depending on the image. If not enough and you need more control, select Manual on the top bar.
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If you would like to work on your files on a laptop (such as after a shoot while traveling) or on a work computer without the original Hard Drive connected, you can create Smart Previews (at time of download or after) that will allow you to work in the Develop module without the original images. These are 20% of the size of your original files and allow for faster downloads and then you need to create only standard previews. When you re-link to your hard drive, it will update your original files and connect them with your develop or metatadata updates keeping the smart preview and the original.
Orchid Duet 1
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Some additional Notes: Negative Sharpness reduces apparent depth of field while negative clarity creates softening. Audio and video can now easily be added to slideshows, even on a PC. And the best part, all your settings and presets from the prior version are remembered. On MAC however make sure you check - store presets with catalog. Plus the Book module has been greatly improved. Great! Lightroom 5 is priced at $149 as a standalone purchase, with upgrading pricing of $79 available to current Lightroom users. Subscribers to Adobe's Creative Cloud service will also receive access to Lightroom 5 with their memberships.
