The Lightroom team is proud to introduce the fourth major version of the product designed for and by photographers. It was 6 years ago today when we introduced the very first public beta of Lightroom at MacWorld on January 9, 2006. (Yes, it was Mac only, smaller in footprint than most raw files and didn’t have a crop tool!) Since 2006 we’ve been hard at work improving an application that’s intended to be as easy to use as it is powerful. This release builds on the fundamental performance architecture and image quality improvements in Lightroom 3 to provide a truly complete workflow solution. I kept hearing from customers that they love Lightroom but needed to leave the Lightroom to complete X, Y or Z. Lightroom 4 tackles those issues with improvements to image organization, adjustment tools and comprehensive publishing options.

Download the beta http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom4/

Talk about the beta http://forums.adobe.com/community/labs/lightroom4/

Learn about the beta http://www.youtube.com/lightroom

IMPORTANT NOTES, PLEASE READ

Primary Known Issues

• Lightroom 4 beta is not complete but please provide feedback on the available enhancements.
• Lightroom 4 beta will not upgrade Lightroom 1.x, Lightroom 2.x or Lightroom 3.x catalogs. The beta is intended to be used for testing and feedback purposes. Lightroom 1.x, 2.x, 3.x and 4 beta libraries will be able to be migrated to the finished version of Lightroom 4.
• While data loss is not expected, this is an early ‘beta’ quality build and you should always work on duplicates of files that are securely backed up.
• Lightroom 4 beta will not overwrite or interfere with a machine that currently has Lightroom 1, Lightroom 2 or Lightroom 3 installed.
• Develop settings applied in Lightroom 4 beta are not guaranteed to transfer correctly to the final version of Lightroom 4
• The Lightroom 4 beta will expire after Lightroom 4.0 is available
• Additional known issues are listed below.

Minimum system requirements

 Macintosh

• Multicore Intel® processor with 64-bit support
• Mac OS X v10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) or v10.7 (Lion)
• 2GB of RAM
• 1GB of available hard-disk space
• 1,024×768 display
• DVD-ROM drive
• Internet connection required for Internet-based services

Windows

• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor
• Microsoft® Windows Vista® with Service Pack 2 or Windows 7 with Service Pack 1
• 2GB of RAM
• 1GB of available hard-disk space
• 1,024×768 display
• DVD-ROM drive
• Internet connection required for Internet-based services

Install Lightroom 4 beta

Download the beta http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom4/

Mac
1. Download Lightroom 4 beta from labs.adobe.com
2. Unzip the download then open the disk image and double-click the Lightroom Beta 4 package in the resulting window then follow the on-screen instructions

Windows Vista, Windows 7
1. If you are running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or Windows Vista, we recommend downloading the 64-bit version of Lightroom.
2. To find out if your computer is running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows in Windows 7 or Windows Vista, do the following:
a. Open System by clicking the Start button, right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.
b. Under System, you can view the system type.
c. If your version of Windows is not 64-bit, or if you are not sure, download the 32-bit version.
3. Unzip the download then double-click the Lightroom 4 beta installer then follow the on-screen instructions

Serial Numbers

Anyone can download and work with the Lightroom 4 beta for the duration of the beta program. There is no serial number requirement.