Adobe releases Camera RAW ACR 5.7, probably the last update for CS4.
On april 21 last, Adobe released the Camera RAW plugin and DNG converter v.5.7, while they started this week shipping the new Creative Suite 5 with ACR v.6.0. Given the history of the Camera RAW plug-in and how it is tied-in to mayor CS releases, my guess is that ACR v.5.7 will be the last ACR update for CS4.
People who's cameras are not supported in this version, will most likely have to upgrade to Creative Suite 5, the next versions of Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and/or Premiere Elements or look for other alternatives.
PSE and PRE 8 are compatible with ACR up to this latest release, but I consider it extremely unlikely that ACR v.6.0 will support either them or Lightroom (2.x) in their current versions.
ACR v.5.7 adds support for the following cameras:
• Canon EOS 550D (Digital Rebel T2i/ EOS Kiss X4 Digital)
• Kodak Z981
• Leaf Aptus-II 8
• Leaf Aptus-II 10R
• Mamiya DM40
• Olympus E-PL1
• Panasonic G2
• Panasonic G10
• Sony A450
Free downloads (CS4):
You can download ACR v.5.7 for PS CS4 and Lightroom 2 here and the DNG Converter v.5.7 here.
Note that for Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements you need different ACR downloads. Get them here.
For a complete compatibility overview of Nikon Cameras, Adobe Camera RAW and DNG, take a look at my Nikon/ACR/DNG compatibility chart (PDF 60 Kb.).
Upcoming: a test drive of Photoshop CS5
With CS5 now shipping, I'm going to take Photoshop for a spin as soon as it finishes downloading. That may take a moment or two, by the way, because it comes in at a whopping 979 Mb.
I will be checking out if it is really that much faster on a 64-bit system, review a number of new tools, such as content-aware fill, natural painting brushes, automatic lens correction and dynamic background removal, and see if the tools Adobe claims to have improved really did improve.
For starters, we urgently needed a decent HDR tool. It is the one thing I never managed to get working properly; neither in CS3 nor in the CS4 trial I tested last year.
I will - of course - also thoroughly test the improvements Adobe claims to have made in Camera RAW 6, and look forward to see how the new mini bridge program runs inside Photoshop.
If it is anywhere close to Bridge as I have learned to appreciate it, it may turn out to be an extremely practical improvement for instant access to meta data, EXIF, etc., directly from Photoshop.
You may want to come back in a few weeks more and look for the review or - even better - simply RSS this post. I will include an update here as soon as I post the results of my PS CS5 test drive.
Hope to see you then.
See also:
Nikon updates software. Now compatible with Apple Snow Leopard (OS 10.6.x) and Windows 7, Vista 32/64 bits.
Nikon View NX does not work on Snow Leopard (OS 10.6)
Which is the best RAW converter: Camera RAW, Nikon View, Capture or Phase One Capture One?
New Nikon camera? Photoshop or Camera RAW Trouble? Check out Nikon View NX!
Let's stick it to Adobe and Nikon! 3 Alternatives to upgrading RAW software every time you get a new camera.
Adobe now officially WORSE than MS. Sell by NOT doing, rather than doing.