Adobe has announced version 3 of it’s Photoshop Lightroom (or just Lightroom, for short). Now, it’s no secret that Nick and myself have long been advocates for Lightroom. While software and worflow will always be a subjective topic, for my money at least there’s no better workflow and raw developing solution for digital cameras than Lightroom. And, everything I’m reading about version 3 is convincing me it only got better.

The biggest thing is of course the new Adobe Camera Raw, the processing engine at the heart of Lightroom (and Photoshop’s raw development, too). The new ACR is basically just all around an awesome engine, it seems, and most notably its noise reduction seems to now be bordering on the godlike. The importance of this is difficult to stress quite enough, especially for those of us who aren’t shooting these newest gen pro bodies with their better high ISO performance. Lightroom looks to be breathing some new life into some of our aging bodies, and I can’t wait to try re-editing a few of my E-3′s high ISO shots with the new engine.

The other biggest feature, for me, is one that I always found a bit curiously lacking in LR2: perspective correction. Now I no longer have to drop out to Photoshop to correct keystones, I can do it completely non-destructively in raw. How isn’t that brilliant, I ask you?

What else is there? Well…

• Reportedly accelerated performance. Always good when software gets faster, yeah?
• Lens correction. Saved profiles for many lenses let you correct for distortion with a click. Still trying to find a list of supported lenes, I’ll report back.
• Movie file support. You can now manage your DSLR’s videos in the library alongside your stills. I think this is just library stuff, not development. Again, I’ll report back.
• Flickr integration, Publish to folder. Easier and easier to share your pictures, or keep a directory for syncing to your iPhone, iPad, or, in ym case, Zune HD.
• Tethered Shooting. Import photos directly from selected cameras to your library for instant review. Will find the list of which cameras Adobe supports.
• Film grain. I actually had a preset in LR2 that mucked with contrast and sharpness to enhance noise, for that old-timey look. Now adding grain is an easy slider. Novelty? Perhaps, but it’s something I’ve still been finding use for, so…
• More flexible print packages, improved import, more.

Basically, Lightroom 3 takes Lightroom’s already excellent library management and streamlined raw developer and just boost them all, adding even more ability to do all your image editing from one program, non-destructively. LR2 changed how I view digital photography, and LR3 could do it again.

Read more about LR3, or grab you a 30 day free trial by hitting the external link.