Adobe Releases Lightroom Classic 7.1 (and one the new features is pretty awesome!)

It’s new Lightroom features day! (whoo hoo!)
We’ll start with Lightroom Classic version 7.1 update (it gets two new features, plus some new camera and tethering support). Here we go:

(1) Feature #1 is a totally new reimagined “Auto” tone feature, with Adobe Sensei technology under the hood which analyzes your photo and then compares it to one of thousands of professionally edited images in its database, and it uses that info to create a better automatic adjustment for your image. In the tests I’ve done, overall the results are much, much better than the Auto button has ever delivered before (Note: it’s no longer called the “Auto Tone” button or feature — now it’s called “Auto Settings” because it goes beyond just the tonal sliders in the Basic panel’s by adding Vibrance and Saturation into the mix). Here’s a comparison.

Above: Here’s the original out-of-camera shot at Left, then I clicked the OLD “Auto Tone” button so you’re seeing the “after” shot on the right.

Above: Here’s the same image at left, but on the right I clicked the NEW Auto Settings feature in this update and that’s the result. Just one click — nothing else. Even if it’s not what you would consider the “final edit” it’s a far better starting place for sure.

Above: Look what a nice job the new Auto Settings did here on this tricky situation. Original RAW on the left. On the right, that’s nothing but clicking that new Auto Settings button. That ain’t bad!

Above: It did a nice job here as well. The color tone and exposure is pretty spot on.

Above: Come on, that’s pretty darn good for a one-click Auto Adjustment!

Also, this vastly improved Auto Settings feature doesn’t seem to over-expose the image like the old version did. If you’ve seen my Lightroom seminar tour, you’ve probably heard me refer to the old Auto Tone button as “The Over-expose it button.” Not any more.  This new one is vastly improved, and 9-times out of 10 will give you a far better starting place than the old version.

Also, according to Adobe, “If you apply a crop, white balance adjustment, or camera profile changes after applying Auto, Lightroom will re-enable the Auto button. Pressing Auto again will recompute the settings based on the updated image render.” That’s pretty sweet! Plus, what’s nice is that Adobe will be updating and enhancing this Auto feature as we go along, so it will only get smarter and better, until it eventually enslaves us all as robots take over the world. Too soon? Sorry.

(2) The other feature is just a tweak to the recently introduced Range Mask features. Now you can easily remove a color sample by holding the Option key (PC: Alt- key) and click on the sampler you want to remove. Not earth shattering, but certainly welcome.

(3) New camera support includes the long-awaited Sony A7R III (and a host of other cameras, like the Panasonic LUMIX DC-G9, the Canon EOS M100 mirrorless, the Hasselblad A6D -100c, and all the new iPhones, including the X). It also adds tethering support for the Nikon D-850.

Lightroom CC for Desktop Updates (the cloud-storage version of Lightroom)
This cloud-storage version of Lightroom also get the new Auto Settings feature (as does the mobile app Lightroom CC and Lightroom Web), but it adds some important features that were missing from the initial CC release like:

1. The addition of the Tone Curve
2. Split Toning
3. The ability to change an image’s capture time (especially helpful for people doing scans of old slides and prints)
4. Full Screen View

All good, and very necessary updates to Lightroom CC.

Lightroom CC for your iPhone or iPad
Coupla nice new features here, (plus the new Auto Settings feature), including: